“But my God, why did he—”
“Mr. Tedder. You could ask a thousand questions; I said it would take all afternoon. Do you want that money?”
“You’re damn right I want it.”
“Then take my conclusion on my word, tentatively at least. I say the money is there. Who is at that house now?”
“No one. Only the caretaker.”
“No other servants?”
“No. We don’t use it before the middle of May. Usually later.”
“This is Sunday. Not on weekends?”
“We did when my father was alive, but not now. My mother says it’s too cold until June.”
“Mr. Vail went there last weekend. Saturday morning. What for?”
“To see about the roof and some other things. The caretaker said the roof was leaking.”
“What’s the caretaker’s name?”
“Waller. Jake Waller.”
“Are you on amicable terms with him?”
“Why, I guess so. Sure.”
“A leaky roof should be attended to. How likely is it that your mother or sister or uncle will go there today to see to it?”
“My mother certainly won’t. It’s possible that my sister or my uncle will, but they haven’t said anything about it so far as I know.”
“Is the house locked up?”
“I suppose the doors are locked, yes.”
“Have you a key?”
“Not now I haven’t. I have one in the summer.”
“Would the caretaker let you in?”
“Certainly he would. Why wouldn’t he?”
Wolfe turned. “Archie. Will anyone be guarding that place? County or state or federal?”
I shook my head. “What for? Not unless someone has got to the same conclusion as you, which I doubt.”
Back to Noel. “Mr. Tedder. I suggest that if you want that money you go there and get it Now. Mr. Goodwin will drive my car. Mr. Panzer, Mr. Durkin, and Mr. Cather will go with you. They are competent, reliable, and experienced. My chef has prepared a hamper of food which you can eat on the way; it will be acceptable to your palate and your stomach. I have no suggestions as to your procedure when you get there; I didn’t know Mr. Vail; you did. He returned to that house Wednesday morning with the suitcase in his car, and his time was rather limited. He wanted to act naturally, and naturally he would want to come to New York, where his wife was, without undue delay. According to the caretaker, in the published reports, he arrived about half past seven, and he left for New York around nine o’clock. Meanwhile he had bathed, shaved, changed his clothes, and eaten, so he hadn’t spent much time on disposal of the suitcase; but it is highly likely that he had known on Saturday that he would bring it there for concealment and he had probably made preparations. You knew him and you must have some notion of how his mind worked, so ask yourself: where on those premises would he hide the suitcase? He anticipated no intensive search for it, since he thought it would never be suspected that he had got it and brought it there; what he had to make sure of was that it would not be accidentally discovered by a member of the family or a servant. I presume you know what the suitcase looked like?”
“Sure. Who doesn’t?”
Wolfe nodded. “From the published descriptions. I think you may safely expect to find that suitcase. There was no reason for him to transfer the money to another container, and there was good reason not to; he would have had the added problem of disposing of the suitcase.” Wolfe’s head turned to take us in. “There it is, gentlemen, unless you have questions. If you have, let them be to the point. I wish you luck.”
Noel squeaked, “I hope to God...” He let it hang.
“Yes, Mr. Tedder?”
“Nothing.” Noel stood up. “Hell, what can I lose that I’ve got? Let’s go.”
I went to the kitchen to get the hamper.
13
About two miles northeast of Katonah you turn off the highway, right, pass between two stone pillars, proceed up the graveled drive, an easy slope, winding, about four hundred yards, and there is the house, old gray stone with high steep roofs. At a guess, not as many rooms as Frost’s on Long Island — say twenty-five, maybe less. Trees and other things with leaves, big and little, were all around, and a lot of lawn, but although I can’t qualify as an expert I had the impression that they weren’t getting quite enough attention. Saul eased the Heron to a stop a foot short of the bushes that bordered a surfaced rectangle at the side of the house, and we climbed out. He was at the wheel because at Hawthorne Circle I had decided that I could use some of the contents of the hamper, which they had all been working on, and I don’t like one-handed driving.
Noel, in between bites of sturgeon or cheese or rhubarb tart, or swallows of wine, had briefed us on the prospect and answered questions. The house itself looked like the best bet. Not only was there no likely spot in the stable, which no longer held horses, or the kennels, which no longer held dogs, but also Jimmy would have risked being seen by the caretaker if he had lugged a suitcase to one of them in the open. Nor was there any likely spot in the garage, which was connected with the house. The only other outbuilding was a six-room stone structure in the rear, living quarters for servants, occupied now only by the caretaker. Something really fancy, like wrapping the suitcase in plastic and burying it somewhere on the grounds, was of course out, with the caretaker around. The house was the best bet, and not the cellar, since there was no part of it that the caretaker might not poke around in, or, later, if the suitcase was to stay put for a while, a servant or even a member of the family.
As we climbed out a man appeared from around a corner — a tall, lanky specimen in a red wool shirt and dungarees who hadn’t shaved for at least three days. As he caught sight of Noel he spoke. “Oh, it’s you, Mr. Tedder?”
“On my own two feet,” Noel said, meeting him and offering a hand. Either he believed in democracy or Wolfe had made it a habit. “How are you, Jake?”
“I’ll make out if they don’t trip me.” Jake gave us a glance. “The roof, huh? We had a shower Friday and it leaked again. I phoned your mother.”
“She’s been... not so good.”
Jake nodded. “Too bad about Mr. Vail. Terrible thing. You know they’ve been after me, but what could I tell ‘em? For nearly a week all kinds of people drivin’ in. I’m takin’ no chances.” His hand went to his hip pocket and came out with a gun, an old black Marley.32. He patted it. “Maybe I couldn’t hit a rabbit, but I can scare ’em off.” He put it back. “You want to see in your mother’s room where it leaked?”
“Not today, Jake.” Noel’s squeak wasn’t so squeaky; perhaps his voice was changing. “My mother may be out this week. These men are detectives from New York and they want to look around in the house. They think there may be something — I don’t know exactly what. You know how detectives are. Is there a door open?”
Jake nodded. “The back door’s open, the one off the kitchen. I cook and eat in the kitchen, better tools there. Your mother knows I do. Lucky I had bacon and eggs on hand when he came Wednesday morning. Terrible thing about him. I sure do know how detectives are, I do now.” He looked at us. “No offense to you fellows.”
Obviously one of us ought to say something, so I said, “We don’t offend easy. We know how caretakers are too.”
“I bet you do.” He chuckled. “I just bet you do. You want me to help with anything, Mr. Tedder?”
“No, thanks. We’ll make out. This way, Goodwin.” Noel headed for the corner Jake had come from, and we followed.
To prove how competent and experienced we are I could describe the next forty minutes in detail, but it wouldn’t help you any more than it did us. We had learned from Noel that the possibilities were limited. Jimmy Vail had been a town man and had never got intimate with this country place. His bedroom was the only spot in the house he had had personal relations with, so we tried that first, but after we had looked in the two closets and the bottom drawer of a chest, then what? The bed was a big old walnut thing with a canopy, and there was enough room under it for an assortment of wardrobe trunks, but room was all there was.