“Yes, we did have lunch up there,” she said. “I can name the place, if you’d like.”
“Oh, now I get it,” Hirsch said, “this has been a setup. You’ve brought her here to contradict everything I say. Her word against mine.”
Wolfe ignored the gambler. “Miss Carr, how did you and Mr. Hirsch happen to meet and dine at that location upstate?”
“I was handing Mr. Hirsch a certified check for fifty thousand dollars.”
“Indeed? For what purpose?”
“Now wait a minute — I feel like I’m on trial here!” Hirsch barked.
“Just to make something clear,” Inspector Cramer cut in, “this is not a courtroom, whatever Nero Wolfe thinks, and you do not have to respond to any charges or comments.” Cramer seemed to be coming to Hirsch’s defense, although it was clear from the inspector’s facial expression that he had little if any use for the gambler and horse breeder.
“Thank you for clarifying that,” Wolfe said, glaring at Cramer. “Miss Carr, for what reason were you giving Mr. Hirsch that certified check?”
“I was paying off a debt for my brother, who had a gambling problem and had borrowed heavily from Mr. Hirsch.”
“Are you in the habit of lending large sums of money to individuals who gamble?” Wolfe asked Hirsch.
“No comment.”
Wolfe turned to Maureen. “Would you describe your brother as one who gambled heavily?”
She nodded. “I had never been close to Everett, but I always knew he had this problem, usually involving horse racing. I was unaware that he had lost such large sums until I got a telephone call from my brother.” She looked at Hirsch. “This... person said Everett owed him thousands of dollars, and he wanted his money. Everett told me his tone was threatening.”
“How did Mr. Hirsch select the Albany area as the place for your meeting?”
“He told me that at the time he was staying at his home in Saratoga Springs and that it was more convenient for him if we met up there. I did not feel like I had any choice in the matter.”
“Did the two of you dine alone?”
“Yes, although when he picked me up at my hotel in Albany, he had a driver — that man,” Maureen said, pointing a finger at Everts.
“It would seem that you function in a variety of roles for Mr. Hirsch,” Wolfe stated. Everts shrugged but said nothing.
“After you returned from Albany,” Wolfe said to Maureen, “you did not go back to your home but rather to the residence of a friend in Greenwich Village.”
“Yes, I was trying to... well, go underground, I suppose you might say.”
“For what purpose, madam?”
“I did not want to see Hirsch again.”
“Had he threatened you?”
“When we had that lunch, he told me I might have to pay him more money, because Everett was running up more debts.”
“With money Mr. Hirsch was supplying him?”
“I suppose so. I don’t know where else Everett could have gotten it.”
“Am I correct in assuming Mr. Hirsch charges interest on these loans?”
“Boy, does he ever! That’s why, once he got hold of me, he did not want to let go,” Maureen said, glaring at Hirsch, who seemed to be bored by the proceedings. I half expected him to start yawning.
“Unfortunately, you were not able to shake Mr. Hirsch by moving from your address to another one.”
“Then you must know that he and this Everts came to the Greenwich Village house — Elaine Musgrove’s — where Everett and I were staying. I had gotten the key from the man who looks after her place when she is away. Elaine, bless her, had wired him from France and asked him to give me the key after I had talked to her.”
“How did Mr. Hirsch find you?”
“I really don’t know, unless he followed me when I left home. I hadn’t told anyone where I was going. I was frankly terrified.”
“What did Mr. Hirsch say to you when he came to your temporary abode?”
“To start with, he fooled me by having this Everts man ring the bell, and when I answered on the speaker, he said ‘Western Union.’ I did not recognize his voice, so I opened the door and they both pushed on in. Then Hirsch laughed and said something like ‘So you thought you would lose me by ducking out, eh? Well, Harley and I, we want to keep close track of you. We never know when we might need you.’”
“How did your brother happen to be in that Greenwich Village home with you?” Wolfe asked.
“Everett had called me at home in a panic and wanted me to help keep him from this... Hirsch. So that’s how we both ended up staying at Elaine’s house for a day or so, and when these two men came barging in, Everett went out the back way, so they never saw him. I never saw him again, either,” Maureen said in a somber tone.
“When I found out what had happened to him — the shooting was all over Greenwich Village, as you can imagine — I panicked again and left the Greenwich Village house by the back door so as not to be seen in case Hirsch was watching the place. I stayed with Sofia and Stanley for a couple of nights and then called Lily, who took me in.”
“Miss Carr, who do you think killed your brother?” Wolfe asked.
“Don’t try to pin this on me, damn it,” Hirsch interrupted. “Why would I want to get rid of someone who owed me money? That makes no sense.”
Once again, Wolfe ignored Hirsch, giving Maureen a questioning look.
“I really have no idea who did it. I saw so little of Everett that I don’t know anything about who his friends were — or his enemies, assuming that he had some enemies, given what happened.”
“Mr. Jurek, did you know Everett Carr?” Wolfe asked.
Stan Jurek flinched, surprised by being brought into the conversation. “Uh, well, I had met him, but I can’t say that I really knew the man.”
“What were the circumstances of your having met?”
“We both, well... we like to bet on the horses. We ran into each other in a... a bookie joint.”
“Would you say you were successful in your wagering endeavors?”
Jurek hunched his shoulders. “Well, I’ve had some good days and some not-so-good days.”
“You must have learned during your conversations that Mr. Carr was related to your wife’s employer.”
“Yeah, you know, we did. What a coincidence in a city this large, huh? We laughed about it, although I got the impression that the Carrs weren’t very close.”
“From our earlier conversation, I learned that you saw a lot of action during the war, and that you killed a German soldier in hand-to-hand combat,” Wolfe said.
“I did,” San Jurek replied. “It was either him or me.”
“Did you, like so many servicemen, bring home any souvenirs from Europe?”
“Oh, a few,” Jurek said offhandedly. “An iron cross and some medals off a Jerry corpse I came across, and the Luger from the guy I shot.”
“The spoils of war,” Wolfe observed, turning to Sofia. “And you, madam, were most generous in giving Miss Carr a place to stay during a time of turmoil for her.”
Sofia’s face reddened. “Stan and I were happy to do that. She was so frightened.”
“I understand that after she had stayed in your apartment and Mr. Jurek left for work, the two of you took a taxi to a bank. I am most interested in that occurrence.”
Sofia looked down at her lap and kneaded her hands. “I had asked her for some money,” she said hoarsely.
Wolfe nodded. “No doubt you were somewhat strapped financially, not having worked for Miss Carr for several weeks.”
“Yes, yes, that is it,” Sofia said.
“What you’re saying is that my salary isn’t big enough, is that it?” Stan Jurek demanded.
“Miss Carr, may I inquire as to how much money you gave to your housekeeper that day?” Wolfe asked.