Rex Stout - Alphabet Hicks

“It is,” Corbett declared. “That’s about the size of it, Mr. Vail.”

“Damn you!” Vail said through his teeth; and his eyes, malevolent still but no longer wary, aimed at Hicks, left no doubt as to whom he was damning. “If he had killed you too it would be worth it!”

“Ah,” said Hicks, “I see you prefer to go home.”

Not even then did Brager, staring popeyed across at Judith Dundee, look scared.

Since it was after six o’clock Saturday evening, Rosario Garci should have been attending to his duties in the kitchen, but for the fifth time in half an hour there he was, pretending he had an errand in the dining room. His wife, moving among the tables of customers with dishes, cast amused but nevertheless heedful glances at him out of the corner of her eye.

To one of the customers Rosario was speaking:

“Excuse me, Mr. Heecks, but you know what? If you want my opinion.”

“Shoot, Rosy.”

“This lady.” Rosario was gazing with the frankest admiration at the face of Hicks’s companion. “I say this with my heart. Of all the ladies you have brought to eat here with you, this one is the flower! She is the Queen! Absolute! So do you know what? I own this building. I can do anything I feel like with this building, tear it down, build it up, anything I want! Okay. I have been thinking. That floor where your room is, there are four rooms on that floor. One I can make a beautiful bathroom. I can make doors. In the little room, a window. New paint everywhere—”

“No, Rosy. It’s a swell idea, but no go.”

“Why no go?”

“Because the lady is in love with another man. God knows why. If you could see him — you can see him! Turn around and look at him. Here he comes.”

“This,” Heather Gladd said, coloring, “is simply ridiculous.”

Whether it was Rosario’s suggestion, or Hicks’s statement, or the sudden arrival of Ross Dundee, that was simply ridiculous, was not clear. Rosario backed off a step, and looked both astonished and disappointed when the newcomer was received amicably by Hicks and invited to a chair at the table. Mrs. Garci approached, and was asked to bring another set of utensils and the antipasto. Rosario retreated to the kitchen, shaking his head.

“This looks like a nice place,” Ross Dundee said. “I like this kind of a place.”

“How’s your mother?” Hicks asked. “Have you seen her?”

“No, but I phoned her as soon as I got up, around three o’clock. She and Dad were getting ready to go out to Litchfield, a little place they have there. Right now they’re probably playing badminton and fighting like fiends. They always do when they play badminton. Mom beats him.”

“She may let him win this time to quiet his nerves.”

“I doubt it.” Ross surveyed the antipasto. “It looks wonderful, but I’m not hungry.” He forked two or three onto his plate. “I ate like a horse when I got up.” He looked at Heather. “Did you eat?”

Heather met his eyes. “Look here,” she said determinedly, “we might as well settle this now. You’ve got to stop following me around. Last night you followed me, and you wouldn’t get out of the car, you insisted on going along, and that was all right, I mean I admitted that at the time, you know I did, after you jumped at him and took the gun away from him. But your following me into town today, and following me here—”

“I didn’t follow you here.”

“Certainly you did! How could you—”

“He didn’t,” Hicks said.

Heather gasped at him. “He didn’t?”

“No. I invited him here.” Hicks broke a piece of bread. “For a purpose. But before I go into that I’ll answer the question you asked a minute ago. You asked how I knew it was Brager. The answer is, I didn’t.”

They both stared. Ross demanded, “What do you mean, you didn’t?”

“I mean I didn’t know it was Brager until last night. I thought it was Vail. He had an alibi for Thursday afternoon, but I supposed it was phony. But as soon as I learned of that fake message phoned to Mrs. Darby, I knew Vail was out. He couldn’t have sent it, because he didn’t know you were there in that car, and besides, there was no conceivable reason why he would want to bring you to him in that way.”

“In what way?”

“In a way that involved him. Even giving the license number of his car. How could he know Mrs. Darby wouldn’t give the message to the police instead of you? It was obvious that that message was sent by someone who wanted to tie Vail up by getting him involved, and that couldn’t be anyone but Brager. So after I went there and found Crescent Road deserted, I thought it over and decided two things. I decided that you would go straight to Mrs. Dundee, because you had said you would, and I decided that Brager’s alibis for both murders were frame-ups. So I went and enlightened Corbett and he started a search of the laboratory. Manny Beck had kept a man on guard there — but I don’t want to bore you. You’re not listening.”

“I am too listening!” Heather protested.

“Nope. You’ve lost interest. Since Ross came. You’re probably so mad at him for coming that you can’t get your mind on anything else.” Hicks took a sip of wine. “So I’ll proceed to the purpose I invited him for, and then he can go and you’ll feel better.” Hicks turned. “Nedda!”

Mrs. Garci came trotting.

“Will you please ask Rosy for the package he’s keeping for me?”

Mrs. Garci went.

“A package?” Heather inquired suspiciously.

Hicks nodded, wiping sauce from his plate with a chunk of bread. “I didn’t want to leave it in my room, for fear Vail might take it into his head to look around while I was away. As for my inviting Ross, I didn’t want to make myself liable to a lawsuit. In England, the letters a man writes and sends remain his property, not that of the recipient. In this country the question of ownership is still more or less up in the air, but I didn’t want to take a chance— Thank you, Nedda, that’s it. So I thought it best to return these things with both of you present—”

“Don’t open that!” Heather clutched his sleeve. “Don’t you dare—”

“What is it?” Ross demanded. “From its shape, it looks—”

“Its shape does rather give it away,” Hicks admitted. “It’s sonograph plates that Miss Gladd was preserving. Seven of them. There were eight, but one — no you don’t, I’m hanging onto them until you folks decide—”

Heather was glaring at him, speechless with fury. Ross was gazing at her, also speechless, though not with fury.

“Why, you—” he stammered. “You s-s-said you d-d-didn’t keep them!” He swallowed. “You darned little liar! You d-d-doggoned liar! Heather!”

Hicks chewed on the luscious chunk of bread and sauce.