The Missing Heiress

Chapter 22

At just after eleven the next morning, Wolfe, fresh from his playtime with the orchids, settled in at his desk, inquired as to whether I had slept well, and rang for beer. After watching the foam settle in the stein and taking a sip, he turned to me, nodding. That was his way of indicating that I should now call Mortimer Hotchkiss of the Continental Bank & Trust Co.

I knew the bank’s number by heart, and after a few rings, I got a functionary. He passed me along to another male individual, who acted like he had some standing in the bank’s hierarchy. “May I ask who wishes to speak with Mr. Hotchkiss?”

“Nero Wolfe,” I said. After a pause, the voice said, “Hold the line, please.”

When the vice president came on, I nodded to Wolfe, who said, “Good day, Mr. Hotchkiss.”

“Good day to you as well, Mr. Wolfe. How may I be of help?”

“You will recall our recent conversation. I am in need of further information concerning the subject of that talk.”

That brought a long pause, after which Hotchkiss replied cautiously, “Please tell me what it is that you need, Mr. Wolfe.”

“I request confirmation that another large withdrawal has been made from the account of the subject, and I make this request with great respect for you, sir. I would not be asking for this information were it not because of the danger I feel said subject could be in.”

“May I call you back in just a few minutes?”

Wolfe said yes and gave Hotchkiss our number. Seven minutes later, the phone rang and we both picked up.

“Mr. Wolfe,” Hotchkiss said, “in regards to our talk a few minutes ago, I can give you the confirmation you desire.”

“I will ask for nothing more than that, sir,” Wolfe said. “You have my thanks and my admiration for your principles and your dedication to duty.”

“So we know that Maureen Carr has coughed up some more dough,” I told Wolfe after he and the banker had ended their call. “Where do we proceed from here?

“We know from Saul that Sofia Jurek returned home from that trip to the bank, but she was alone. Which raises two questions: Where did the elusive Maureen Carr go, assuming that was her with Miss Jurek? And should we still keep watch on the Jureks’ building?”

“The second question first,” Wolfe replied. “We will drop the surveillance immediately. As to Miss Carr’s destination after that trip to the bank, I am interested in your thoughts.”

That is Wolfe’s way of saying it seems like he might be stumped, although I haven’t seen him stumped very often.

“All right,” I said, “I will tell you where I think she did not go. One, Elaine Musgrove’s Greenwich Village home. Reason: Hirsch already knew she had been staying there. Two, her own place on Park Avenue. Reason: Hirsch knew her address. And the last person she wanted to run into was Miles Hirsch.”

Wolfe closed his eyes and steepled his fingers. “Which of course leaves—”

“Damn it, of course it does!” I shouted, bolting from my chair, dashing down the hall, and grabbing my coat and hat without breaking stride as I headed for the front door.

I climbed out of a taxi at my destination. The doorman smiled and nodded at me as I entered the lobby and made for the automatic elevator. After all, he had seen me often enough, and he knew exactly where I was going. No name was needed. Getting out of what the British call the “lift,” I crossed the hall to the door and rang the bell. The door immediately swung open, telling me that the doorman had called upstairs, announcing my arrival.

“Somehow, I expected to see you,” Lily Rowan said, looking up at me with an expression that seemed to be half relief and half concern.

“How long has she been here?” I asked.

“Since late this morning. Need I tell you that Maureen is a nervous wreck?”

“I’m hardly surprised to hear that. But at least she has been found. What have you learned from her?”

“Not a lot, but then, I haven’t pushed. I am just happy to see her. She seems so shaken that she doesn’t want to say much. I’ve put her to bed.”

“Has she been harmed?”

“Not physically, at least as far as I can tell,” Lily said.

“Good. Well, Wolfe won’t get his fee for finding her, but that is really not important right now. He will want to see her, of course.”

“Why? Hasn’t she been through enough?”

“That certainly seems to be the case. But there is also a murder to be dealt with.”

“But that is hardly Nero Wolfe’s affair, is it?”

“I happen to think it is,” came a voice from a doorway across the foyer. I spun around and saw Maureen Carr, clad in a bathrobe and slippers and with tousled hair and tired eyes. “I want to hire Mr. Wolfe to find out who killed Everett,” she said.

“I thought you were asleep,” Lily said in a voice that bordered on accusatory. “Right now, what you need is rest more than anything.”

“The doorbell woke me up, and I’m glad it did. I can’t be lazing around right now. I want to see Mr. Wolfe.”

“Hold on,” I told her. “Let’s not rush things. I agree with Lily that you need time to... well, recuperate.”

“Recuperate from what!” she snapped, hands on hips. “I appreciate the concern from both of you, but I do not have a need to be babied. You may have noticed that I am a big girl.”

“Oh, I noticed that a long time ago,” I said with a smile that I hoped would defuse what threatened to become a tense situation.

That brought the hint of a smile in return from Maureen. “I really do want to see Wolfe,” she said. “And I overheard you tell Lily that your boss will want to see me.”

“You heard correctly,” I told her. “But the best way to handle this is for me to talk to him first. You have got to trust me on this.”

“Lily has said so much about you over the years — all of it nice — that I do trust you, Archie.”

“Ooh, I do wish you hadn’t said that, Maureen,” Lily put in. “Now he will be even more difficult to live with than he already was.”

“Hey, my middle name is ‘cordial’ and ‘unassuming.’”

Lily narrowed her eyes as she always does when giving me grief. “That’s two middle names, Buster.”

“Okay, I’m not about to argue the point. But I do need to talk to Mr. Wolfe before we move ahead,” I said, turning to Maureen. “I promise that you will hear from me before the end of the day. You will be here, I trust.”

“She will be here,” Lily said. “I can guarantee it.”

“That is plenty good enough for me,” I replied as I got smiles from two very attractive women.

When I got home, Wolfe was at his desk, going through the morning mail, which Fritz had stacked on his blotter in my absence. He gave me a questioning look.

“She was at Lily’s, of course.”

“Of course.”

“She is somewhat frazzled, which should hardly be a surprise, but she definitely is not unhinged, which means you won’t be dealing with a hysterical female when she comes to call.”

“That is comforting to know. When can you have her here?”

“When do you want her?”

“After lunch, at two forty-five. We are having baked scallops in shells,” Wolfe announced, rising and heading for the dining room. All talk of business had ended until the meal was consumed.