Rex Stout - In the Best Families

We're going to ask Wolfe about this, naturally, but I thought I might save time by putting it up to you. I appeal to you to co-operate with us in solving this dastardly and cowardly murder. As you know, I have a right to insist on it; knowing you and Wolfe as I do, I prefer to appeal to you as to a responsible citizen and a man who carries a licence to work in this state as a private detective. I simply do not believe that you were sent up here merely to investigate the poisoning of a dog. They were all glaring at me. “I wasn't, I said mildly. “Ha, you weren't!

“Hell no. As you say, Mr Wolfe wouldn't be interested. “So you lied, you punk,

Noonan gloated. “Wrong, as usual. I grinned at him. “You didn't ask me what I was sent here for or even hint that you would like to know. You asked if I was investigating the dog poisoning, and I told you I spent an hour at it, which I did. You asked if I had made any progress, and I told you nothing remarkable.

Then you wanted to know what I had seen and heard here, and I told you, in full.

It was one of the bummest and dumbest jobs of questioning I have ever run across, but you may learn in time. The first-

Noonan blurted, “Why, you goddam- Til handle it, Archer snapped at him. Back to me: “You might have supplied it, Goodwin.

“Not to him, I said firmly. “I tried supplying him once and he was displeased.

Anyway, I doubt if he would have understood it.

“See if I can understand it.

“Yes, sir. Mrs Rackham phoned Thursday afternoon and made an appointment to see

Mr Wolfe. She came yesterday morning-Friday-at eleven o'clock, and had Leeds with her. She said that it had been her custom, since marrying Rackham three years and seven months ago, to give him money for his personal use when he asked for it, but that he kept asking for bigger amounts, and she began giving him less than he asked for, and last October second he wanted fifteen grand, and she refused. Gave him zero. Since then, the past seven months, he had asked for none and got none, but in spite of that he had gone on spending plenty, and that was what was biting her. She hired Mr Wolfe to find out where and how he was getting dough, and I was sent up here to look him over and possibly get hold of an idea.

I needed an excuse for coming here, and the dog poisoning was better than average. I fluttered a hand. “That's all.

“You say Leeds was with her? Noonan demanded.

“That's partly what I mean, I told Ben Dykes, “about Noonan's notion of how to ask questions. He must have heard me say she had Leeds along.

“Yeah, Dykes said dryly. “But don't be so damn' cute. This is not exactly a picnic. He spoke to Noonan. “Leeds didn't make any mention of this?

“He did not. Of course I didn't ask him.

Dykes stood up and asked Archer, “Hadn't I better send for him? He went home.

Archer nodded, and Dykes went. “Good God, Archer said with feeling, not to

Noonan or me, so probably to the People of the State of New York. He sat biting his lip a while and then asked me, “Was that all Mrs Rackham wanted?

That's all she asked for.

“Had she quarrelled with her husband? Had he threatened her?

“She didn't say so.

“Exactly what did she say?

That took half an hour. For me it was simple, since all I had to use was my memory, in view of the instructions from Wolfe to give them everything but the sausage. Archer didn't know what my memory is capable of, so I didn't repeat any of Mrs Rackham's speeches verbatim, though I could have, because he would have thought I was dressing it up. But when I was through he had it all.

Then I was permitted to stay for the session with Leeds, who had arrived early in my recital but had been held outside until I was done. At last I was one of the party, but too late to hear anything that I didn't already know. With Leeds, who was practically one of the family, they had to cover not only his visit with his cousin to Wolfe's office, but also the preliminaries to it, so he took another half-hour and more. He himself had no idea, he said, where Rackham had been getting money. He had learned nothing from the personal inquiry he had undertaken at his cousin's request. He had never heard, or heard of, any serious quarrel between his cousin and her husband. And so on. As for his failure to tell Noonan of the visit to Wolfe's office and the real reason for my presence at Birchvale, he merely said calmly that Noonan hadn't asked and he preferred to wait until he was asked.

District Attorney Archer finally called it a night, got up and stretched, rubbed his eyes with his fingertips, asked Dykes and Noonan some questions and issued some orders, and addressed me. “You're staying at Leeds' place?

I said I hadn't stayed there much so far, but my bag was there.

“All right. I'll want you to-morrow-to-day. I said of course and went out with

Leeds. Ben Dykes offered to give us a lift, but we declined.

Together, without conversation, Leeds and I made for the head of the trail at the edge of the woods, giving the curving paths a miss. Dawn had come and was going; it was getting close to sunrise. The breeze was down and the birds were up, telling about it. The pace Leeds set, up the long easy slope and down the level stretch, was not quite up to his previous performances, which suited me fine. I was not in a racing mood, even to get to a bed.

Suddenly Leeds halted, and I came abreast of him. In the trail, thirty paces ahead, a man was getting up from his hands and knees to face us. He called,

“Hold it! Who are you?

We told him.

“Well, he said, “you'll have to keep off this section of trail. Go around.

We're just starting on it. Bright and early!

We asked how far, and he said about three hundred yards, to where a man had started at the other end. We stepped off the trail, to the right into the rough, and got slowed down, though the woods were fairly clean. After a couple of minutes of that I asked Leeds if he would know the spot, and he said he would. j^

Soon he stopped, and I joined him. I would have Known it myself, with the help of a rope they had stretched from tree to tree, making a large semi-circle. We went up to the rope and stood looking.

“Where's Hebe? I asked.

“They had to come for me to get her. She's in Nobby's kennel. He won't be needing it. They took him away.

We agreed, without putting it in words, that there was nothing there we wanted, and resumed our way through the woods, keeping off the trail until we reached the scientist at the far end of the forbidden section, who not only challenged us but had to be persuaded that we weren't a pair of bloodthirsty liars. Finally he was big-hearted enough to let us go on.

I was glad they had taken Nobby away, not caring much for another view of the little hall with that canine corpse on the bench. Otherwise the house was as before. Leeds had stopped at the kennels. I went up to my room and was peeling off the pants I had pulled on over my pyjamas when I was startled by a sudden dazzling blaze at the window. I crossed to it and stuck my head out: it was the sun showing off, trying to scare somebody. I glanced at my wrist and saw 5.39, but as I said, maybe it wasn't a true horizon. Not lowering the window shade, I went and stretched out on the bed and yawned as far down as it could go.