“I’m sorry, but I don’t. Maureen and I were in a group that went up there two years ago to appear before a state panel that wanted to learn more about existing facilities in New York for unwed mothers. I recall her saying that it was the first time she had been in Albany.”
Wolfe drank beer and dabbed his lips with a handkerchief. “Mr. Panzer has learned a little about Miss Carr’s more recent visit to that city.” Saul then proceeded to describe his discovery that Maureen had left the hotel with a man said to be “fiftyish, short, balding” and she returned alone an hour and a half later.
“And nobody at the hotel knew anything about this mystery man?” Mason asked.
“Neither the desk clerk nor the bellhop told me they had ever seen him before,” Saul replied.
“Did the guy take Maureen away from the hotel in a car?”
“I asked, and nobody had paid any attention to them, or to the car, either, for that matter.”
“Why not?” the adman demanded.
“Why should they? No one at the hotel had any reason to be suspicious,” Saul said. “For all they knew, it was just a man picking up a woman to go out on a date, dinner maybe. That likely happens all the time.”
“Mr. Panzer is right,” Lily said. “Neither Maureen nor the mystery man, as Eric refers to him, were known to the staff at the hotel. What would they have to be suspicious about?”
“So it seems that we really haven’t learned anything substantive,” Mason said, “despite all your efforts.” He made a sweeping arm gesture meant to encompass Wolfe, Saul, me, and presumably, the absent Fred Durkin. “Did Maureen leave Albany?”
“She apparently did, that day,” Saul replied. “The bellhop put her in a cab to the station. I showed the ticket taker at the depot her picture, and he had no recollection of seeing her board a train, so we’re left to assume she went back south, presumably to New York on a round-trip ticket.”
“Miss Rowan, I understand you make a telephone call to Maureen Carr’s residence every few hours,” Wolfe said.
“I do. There is never an answer, obviously, except once when Sofia answered, hoping, so she said, that it might be Maureen. She was there to do dusting, as she has twice a week since Maureen has been... gone.”
“It is time to again check Miss Carr’s mail. Can you see to this?”
“Of course,” Lily said. “And I suppose you want me to bring the mail to you?”
“Yes,” Wolfe replied. “It will once again remain unopened, but there is a possibility, albeit slim, that something in the post will provide a suggestion as to where she is.”
“Sounds like you are really grasping at straws,” Mason said.
“Perhaps, sir, but even straws can be helpful in telling which way the wind blows.”
“I don’t know about the wind, but I’m paying to find out where Maureen is, and I will spend whatever it takes. There ought to be some way for you to find out who she was with in Albany.”
“Isn’t it possible that Maureen’s luncheon partner that day was her own brother?” Lily posed.
“It is, although unlikely,” Wolfe replied. “However, your point is well taken. We have neither a photograph nor a description of him. Has Miss Carr ever mentioned his physical appearance?”
“No, not once. I haven’t any idea at all about his height, his hair color, whether he wears glasses, nothing whatever,” Lily said.
Chapter 15
Both our clients left the brownstone that morning frustrated, but they were hardly alone. The three of us — Wolfe, Saul, and I — were also far from satisfied. For several seconds after their departure, no one spoke. Finally, Wolfe said, “Archie, get Fred and Orrie here at three. Saul, I assume you can also be present at that time.”
“Yes, sir, I can.”
That was Wolfe at his finger-snapping best. Give an order, and expect it to be carried out, without question. But then, I follow orders — most of the time. In this case, I was able to deliver, and the trio of operatives sat in the office at three with drinks, awaiting direction.
Wolfe summarized the situation, admitting a lack of progress. “We don’t know where Maureen Carr is, we don’t know where her brother is, and we also don’t know the identity of the man Miss Carr met with in Albany, call him Mr. X.”
“I wasn’t very successful up there,” Saul said. “I will pay for that trip myself, to atone for my failure.”
“Nonsense!” Wolfe snapped. “You did not have a lot to go on. I would like to learn the identity of Mr. X, which may allow us to break this logjam. I propose, if you are willing, that all three of you go to Albany, armed with photographs of Miss Carr, and spread out, combing the city and its environs.
“Go into establishments there, primarily restaurants and bars, and learn if anyone can identify Mr. X. I concede this is a challenge, but Miss Carr and this man apparently were together for between one and two hours. It is likely they were seen, and it also is likely, although by no means sure, that one of those individuals who observed the pair might be able to identify Miss Carr’s escort, who may well be a denizen of Albany. And each of you probably should rent an automobile to assist in your search.”
“I’m game,” Saul said. “What about you two?”
“Count me in,” Durkin answered. “They must have gone someplace to eat — or drink.”
“Or both,” Orrie chimed in. “Is Archie going, too?”
As I mentioned before, Orrie Cather always has been interested in what my role will be in a case, because he is convinced that he would fit nicely into my role as Wolfe’s assistant.
“I have assignments for Archie here, Orrie,” Wolfe replied. “I believe the three of you are an adequate force to cover Albany and the surrounding area. I expect daily reports from you, Saul.”
“What if we learn the guy’s identity? Do we try to find him?” Orrie asked.
“Not yet,” Wolfe said. “Telephone for instructions.” That settled, the boys departed and Saul said they would leave for Albany that afternoon.
“The expense accounts for this project will be hefty,” I told Wolfe.
“So far, these trips have only been to Albany. It is not as if we are putting people on airplanes to California or Florida,” he said.
“True. And Eric Mason seems ready and eager to provide whatever funds are needed, so I suppose I shouldn’t worry. Do you honestly believe that one among our stalwart trio will learn the identity of our Mr. X?”
“You have said you like long shots, Archie.”
“True, it’s always entertaining to see a fifty-to-one horse win a race. But I would never bet those odds myself. All right, what do we do now?”
“We wait to look at Miss Carr’s mail, another long shot.”
Wolfe was frustrated, and so was I, for that matter. But I failed to see how looking at unopened mail could possibly help us. As if on cue, Lily telephoned, and I told Wolfe to pick up his phone. “I have Maureen’s mail, Archie. When would you like me to bring it over?”
“I am about to visit the orchids, Miss Rowan, but you can bring it here anytime,” Wolfe said.
Lily told us she would come now, which was jake with me. Her presence would give me a lift, and I needed one.
Less than a half hour later, the doorbell rang, and there she was on the stoop, clutching to her chest a shopping bag filled with mail.
“Set it down on Wolfe’s desk,” I told her when we got to the office. “Did you see Sofia at Maureen’s place?”
“I didn’t. I had asked her to give me a key so I wouldn’t have to pester her every time I went there.”
“She had a spare?”
“She does now. She said she was afraid to lose the one she had, so she got two duplicates made at a hardware store and gave one to me. She said she was sure Maureen wouldn’t mind.”