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Every Friday morning at 11:00
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Nero Wolfe signs the salary checks
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for Fritz and Theodore and me.
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He never likes spending money
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but that particular day
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he was more sour than usual.
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What's the matter, you got bugs in the orchids?
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No, but I saw your bag in the hall
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and I note your finery.
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Straining as you are to be gone.
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It is gracious of you to wait for this pittance.
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This meager return for your excessive labors.
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Especially since the bank balance
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is the lowest its been in two years.
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That deserves an answer. Here it is.
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As for finery...
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I'm headed to the country for the weekend.
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And I'm dressed accordingly.
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Lovely.
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As for straining... I'm not.
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As for pittance...
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Yes, you're right.
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As for bank balance... well, you have a point.
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I'm willing to help.
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After all, it's just a pittance anyway, so...
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Archie!
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Yes?
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Phooey!
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Nuts!
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By Monday morning, the air might possibly have cleared
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if it hadn't been for the torn up check.
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We both knew the stub would have to be voided and a new check drawn
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but he wasn't going to tell me to do it without being asked
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and I wasn't going to do it without being told.
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A man has his pride.
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And with that between us
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the stiffness Monday morning lasted through lunch and beyond
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into the afternoon, and for all I cared
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it could have lasted into the next decade.
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Yes, may I help you?
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You're Archie Goodwin?
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Yes.
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Can you bring my suitcase in, please?
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I want to see Nero Wolfe
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but of course he's always up in the plant room
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from 4:00 till 6:00.
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That's why I chose this time to come.
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I want to see you first.
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Well, I'm flattered, but...
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The door to the front room.
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The door to the dining room down there on the right.
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The office on the left.
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Yes.
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Hall's wider than I expected.
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Shall we go into the office?
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I had to go away.
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I had to go somewhere and stay there till October 26.
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Someplace where no one would know
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and no one could possibly find me.
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I thought about it
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and figured the best place was Nero Wolfe's house.
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A hotel or a rooming house wouldn't do
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because they need to know names.
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Would $50 a day be enough?
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You won't tell us your name?
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No.
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Have you committed a crime
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or have you been an accessory to one?
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Are a fugitive running from the law?
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No.
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Well, prove it.
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That's silly.
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I don't have to prove it.
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You're going to stick to this
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"no names, no identify"?
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I certainly intend to.
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Well, you better leave Mr. Wolfe to me.
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I'll bring you up to your room, I'll leave you there.
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When he comes down, I'll tackle him.
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It might help if he saw some cash.
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Seven days, $50 a day.
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$350.
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With the understanding, of course
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that it's not a deal until Mr. Wolfe accepts it.
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Of course.
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And if he accepts, I'm willing to pay more.
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It's bigger than I thought.
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I appreciate this, Mr. Goodwin.
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Ah, certainly.
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You know, I'm going to have to watch you unpack.
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Watch me? Why?
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For the kick.
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You know, there's probably a thousand or more people
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in the metropolitan area
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who think Nero Wolfe has lived long enough.
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And one or more of them may have decided
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to put a copperhead or a rattler in your hatbox.
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Nothing dangerous so far.
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I guess that'll do.
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I haven't inspected you handbag or your person.
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So, uh, I hope you don't mind...
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I locked the door.
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Did you put that money there, Fritz?
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No, sir, I did.
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Indeed.
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Thank you, Fritz.
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Well, flummery?
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No, sir.
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Then what?
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Well...
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So, I explained.
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She seemed sweet and unspoiled
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and has fine legs
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and if we like her and get used to her
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one of us might want to marry her.
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Phooey, Archie.
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However, the immediate point is this...
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since I am responsible for that handy little contribution of cash
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you may feel like signing a replacement check
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for the one that I tore up on Friday.
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Archie, that was an admirable performance.
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Well, thank you.
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Friday, I spoke hastily
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and you acted hastily
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and the fait accompli
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of that torn check had us at an impasse.
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By contriving one of your fantastically puerile inventions
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you have made the problem itself absurd
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and so disposed of it.
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Admirable. Very satisfactory.
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I...
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I didn't know we had 50s in the emergency cash reserve.
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You'd better get rid of that. Put that back.
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I don't like money lying around.
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No, see, that didn't come from the safe.
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No, that came from the visitor...
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as described, up on the south room.
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I didn't invent anything
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puerile or not.
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Nothing was invented, you see?
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Now shall I bring her down and you can decide.
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Bah.
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Bah?
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What are you...?
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Would you like another beer?
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Fritz, Fritz...
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Yes, a little point of information.
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Our lady visitor that's upstairs in the south room
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is she old, haggard
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crippled, deformed, ugly?
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No, Archie.
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She's quite the opposite.
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No, no.
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She precisely the opposite.
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Thank you, Fritz.
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Is it true?
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Have you actually installed a woman
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in a room of my house?
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Now, not installed, exactly.
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You see, that implies a personal kind of...
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Where did you get her?!
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I didn't get her as I told you.
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She came.
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I invented nothing.
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I am just reporting.
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You take that money
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bring it up to her
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and give it back to her right now!
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Dinner is in 20 minutes.
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I want her out of the house in ten minutes!
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Well, you see, I mean normally I would... do... that.
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But, you see, acting as your agent
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I practically promised her that you would see her.
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Now, if she sees you
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she'll probably drop this mystery act
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and she'll divulge her name.
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And the resulting fee
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will take care of my salary checks for a year.
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Okay, well
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she'll just have to get baccala someplace else.
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I shouldn't have mentioned it.
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Baccala?
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Yeah, I happened to mention to her
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we're having baccala for dinner and she said, "What is that?"
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And I told her, and she said
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"Salt Cod isn't fit to eat
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no matter how you cook it. "
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So... all right, all right.
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You know what? Skip it.
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Since we have to return that money to her anyway
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I've contributed nothing to the bank account.
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And the situation regarding my salary check
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snapped back to this morning
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and it leaves me no alternative...
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Archie, don't tear that check!
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Yes, may I help you?
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My name is Perry Helmar.
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I'm an attorney.
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I want to see Nero Wolfe
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about a matter of utmost urgency.
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Now ordinarily, when a stranger calls
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I let the caller wait while I go check with Wolfe.
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But I wanted to give Wolfe another tack to sit on
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and postpone a showdown over our guest upstairs.
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Sit right here, please.
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Mr. Wolfe, I am a senior partner
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at a law firm of highest repute.
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A young woman for whom I am responsible
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has just disappeared
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and she must be found as quickly as possible.
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So I will pay you $5,000
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plus necessary expenses if you will find her
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and have her communicate with me by October 25th
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which is, what, six days from now.
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00:09:46,284 --> 00:09:48,512
However, I will pay double that
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if you produce her in New York alive and well
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by the morning of October 26.
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Tell me about her, briefly.
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You're an attorney.
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You should know what I need to decide whether to take a job.
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00:10:00,434 --> 00:10:03,435
Well, sir, why would you decide to refuse it?
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00:10:03,470 --> 00:10:05,187
I don't know.
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00:10:06,206 --> 00:10:06,870
Very well.
224
00:10:06,905 --> 00:10:08,640
I'm am Priscilla Eades legal guardian.
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I am also the trustee of her property
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00:10:10,851 --> 00:10:12,547
according to the will of her father.
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00:10:12,582 --> 00:10:14,244
So, this evening I paid a call to her
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to discuss some business; however she was not there.
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Her maid became alarmed because she was expecting
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her mistress to come home for an early dinner...
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I don't need that much.
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You don't?
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I see.
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00:10:27,310 --> 00:10:30,329
Well, I found on her writing desk
235
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an envelope addressed to me.
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00:10:32,532 --> 00:10:34,631
Inside was a handwritten note.
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00:10:35,538 --> 00:10:38,570
It reads, "Dear Perry, I hope you won't be too mad at me
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"for standing you up.
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"I doubt if you will hear from me before October 26
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"but you will then all right.
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"Please don't try to find me. "
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00:10:47,447 --> 00:10:48,538
Love, Pris. "
243
00:10:49,144 --> 00:10:52,583
Now, October 26 will be my ward's 25th birthday
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when according to the terms of her father's will
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the trust will be terminated
246
00:10:57,127 --> 00:10:59,399
and she will take complete control of her property.
247
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90% of Softdown...
248
00:11:01,263 --> 00:11:04,609
a large and successful corporation that makes towels.
249
00:11:04,644 --> 00:11:07,956
There are complications, however, as there usually are.
250
00:11:07,991 --> 00:11:09,368
Such as?
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00:11:09,801 --> 00:11:13,272
Such as Eric Hagh, Priscilla's former husband
252
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and her one disastrous blunder.
253
00:11:15,874 --> 00:11:18,848
She ran away with him when she was 19
254
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to South America.
255
00:11:19,966 --> 00:11:23,682
She left him after three months, and then she divorced him.
256
00:11:23,717 --> 00:11:26,372
How does that blunder complicate her inheritance?
257
00:11:26,407 --> 00:11:29,249
Well, two weeks ago I received a letter from Eric Hagh
258
00:11:29,284 --> 00:11:31,490
claiming that she signed a document
259
00:11:31,525 --> 00:11:33,319
shortly after they were married
260
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granting him half of her property.
261
00:11:35,493 --> 00:11:37,563
You say her name was Priscilla Eades?
262
00:11:37,598 --> 00:11:38,829
Yes.
263
00:11:38,864 --> 00:11:41,033
She took back her maiden name.
264
00:11:41,068 --> 00:11:42,568
I think I met her.
265
00:11:42,603 --> 00:11:44,069
Got a picture?
266
00:11:44,503 --> 00:11:45,769
Yes...
267
00:11:45,804 --> 00:11:47,973
I have a picture.
268
00:11:48,008 --> 00:11:50,142
I have two pictures.
269
00:11:57,082 --> 00:11:58,348
Now I doubt
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00:11:58,383 --> 00:12:00,299
that his claim has any legal validity
271
00:12:00,334 --> 00:12:02,180
but morally there may be a question.
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It is indubitably a question with my ward.
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00:12:05,359 --> 00:12:07,295
The letter came from Venezuela.
274
00:12:07,492 --> 00:12:09,548
I fear that she might have gone there
275
00:12:09,583 --> 00:12:11,316
to speak to him and see him.
276
00:12:13,096 --> 00:12:13,130
She's woth looking at.
277
00:12:13,131 --> 00:12:15,300
And I don't just mean the pictures.
278
00:12:15,335 --> 00:12:17,245
Like I said, I think I've met her.
279
00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:20,256
In fact, I'm sure of it... recently.
280
00:12:20,291 --> 00:12:23,233
I just can't remember where or when...
281
00:12:23,268 --> 00:12:26,144
It was the night we had baccala dinner.
282
00:12:27,303 --> 00:12:30,048
What the devil are you gibbering about?
283
00:12:30,083 --> 00:12:32,017
You heard me.
284
00:12:32,052 --> 00:12:33,952
Baccala dinner.
285
00:12:43,929 --> 00:12:46,531
I, uh... will consider your offer
286
00:12:46,566 --> 00:12:48,232
Mr. Helmar.
287
00:12:48,267 --> 00:12:49,785
If I decide to take it
288
00:12:49,820 --> 00:12:51,995
Mr. Goodwin will contact
289
00:12:52,030 --> 00:12:53,905
your office tomorrow morning at 10:00.
290
00:12:53,940 --> 00:12:55,441
Tomorrow morning?
291
00:12:55,476 --> 00:12:56,907
I need an answer now.
292
00:12:56,942 --> 00:12:58,388
What would you think of me
293
00:12:58,423 --> 00:13:00,817
If I, solely based on information
294
00:13:00,852 --> 00:13:02,351
you supplied me here and now
295
00:13:02,386 --> 00:13:05,183
decided to accept a job and work on it?
296
00:13:05,796 --> 00:13:07,317
What would I think?
297
00:13:07,352 --> 00:13:09,955
That, sir, is what I want.
298
00:13:09,990 --> 00:13:11,655
Surely not.
299
00:13:11,690 --> 00:13:13,390
Surely you would be employing a jackass.
300
00:13:13,939 --> 00:13:17,559
If you want the kind of detective who will dive in heedlessly
301
00:13:17,594 --> 00:13:19,896
based on requests from a stranger
302
00:13:19,931 --> 00:13:22,534
Mr. Goodwin will give you some names and addresses.
303
00:13:23,293 --> 00:13:25,102
Very well.
304
00:13:25,137 --> 00:13:28,085
I'll expect a call from you in the morning.
305
00:13:32,944 --> 00:13:36,848
The subtlety of a rhinoceros.
306
00:13:38,583 --> 00:13:40,319
Bring her down here now.
307
00:13:42,487 --> 00:13:44,222
And here we go.
308
00:13:50,729 --> 00:13:52,863
Mr. Wolfe?
309
00:13:52,898 --> 00:13:54,782
You look exactly right.
310
00:13:54,817 --> 00:13:56,650
Just as I thought.
311
00:13:56,685 --> 00:13:58,711
I...
312
00:13:58,746 --> 00:14:00,012
don't shake hands with you
313
00:14:00,047 --> 00:14:03,742
because you might later think it an imposition.
314
00:14:03,777 --> 00:14:05,008
But we'll see.
315
00:14:05,043 --> 00:14:06,995
Sit down, Miss Eades.
316
00:14:07,697 --> 00:14:09,221
What did you call me?
317
00:14:09,256 --> 00:14:11,487
Your name: Eades.
318
00:14:11,522 --> 00:14:13,684
B- but how...?
319
00:14:14,663 --> 00:14:16,321
Why didn't you tell me?
320
00:14:18,056 --> 00:14:20,624
Not that it makes much difference.
321
00:14:20,659 --> 00:14:22,793
I suppose I'll have to pay you more.
322
00:14:22,828 --> 00:14:24,996
But I was willing to do so anyhow.
323
00:14:25,031 --> 00:14:26,298
I told Mr. Goodwin so.
324
00:14:26,333 --> 00:14:27,564
And he told you
325
00:14:27,599 --> 00:14:29,768
he was taking the money you gave him tentatively.
326
00:14:29,803 --> 00:14:31,527
Conditional on my approval.
327
00:14:32,371 --> 00:14:34,938
Your presence here
328
00:14:34,973 --> 00:14:37,792
Miss Eades, is preposterous.
329
00:14:37,827 --> 00:14:40,577
This is neither a rooming house
330
00:14:40,612 --> 00:14:42,781
nor an asylum for hysterical women.
331
00:14:42,915 --> 00:14:44,348
It is my office...
332
00:14:44,383 --> 00:14:45,782
I am not hysterical.
333
00:14:45,817 --> 00:14:48,331
Very well, I withdraw it.
334
00:14:49,219 --> 00:14:51,455
It is not an asylum for unhysterical women.
335
00:14:51,490 --> 00:14:53,372
It is my office and my home.
336
00:14:53,407 --> 00:14:56,317
For you to come here and ask to be allowed to stay a week...
337
00:14:56,352 --> 00:14:59,298
sleeping and eating in the room directly above mine
338
00:14:59,333 --> 00:15:01,398
without revealing your identity
339
00:15:01,433 --> 00:15:04,903
or any of the circumstances impelling you, was grotesque.
340
00:15:04,938 --> 00:15:07,037
I'm sorry.
341
00:15:07,072 --> 00:15:08,156
I'm terribly sorry.
342
00:15:08,191 --> 00:15:09,206
I'll leave at once.
343
00:15:09,241 --> 00:15:10,976
If you please, there has been
344
00:15:11,011 --> 00:15:12,242
a development.
345
00:15:13,327 --> 00:15:14,700
We have had a visitor.
346
00:15:14,735 --> 00:15:16,615
He left here only a few minutes ago.
347
00:15:16,650 --> 00:15:18,174
A man named Perry Helmar.
348
00:15:18,209 --> 00:15:20,433
Perry?
349
00:15:20,595 --> 00:15:22,581
You told him I'm here?
350
00:15:22,687 --> 00:15:26,239
No. He wanted to hire me to find you.
351
00:15:26,274 --> 00:15:29,523
He told me of the communication he received recently
352
00:15:29,558 --> 00:15:31,363
from your former husband now in Venezuela
353
00:15:31,398 --> 00:15:33,638
regarding a document you once signed
354
00:15:33,673 --> 00:15:36,055
giving him half your property.
355
00:15:36,090 --> 00:15:38,437
You did sign such a document?
356
00:15:38,472 --> 00:15:39,569
Yes.
357
00:15:40,467 --> 00:15:42,641
Wasn't that a foolish thing to do?
358
00:15:42,676 --> 00:15:44,956
Yes, but I was a fool then
359
00:15:44,991 --> 00:15:47,202
so naturally I was foolish.
360
00:15:47,237 --> 00:15:51,212
Mr. Helmar offered to pay me $10,000 and expenses
361
00:15:51,247 --> 00:15:52,725
if I were to produce you in New York
362
00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:56,137
alive and well by the morning of October 26.
363
00:15:56,172 --> 00:15:57,354
Produce me?
364
00:15:57,389 --> 00:15:58,655
That was his phrase.
365
00:15:59,377 --> 00:16:02,136
The moment Mr. Goodwin recognized the photographs
366
00:16:02,171 --> 00:16:03,028
and informed me
367
00:16:03,063 --> 00:16:05,197
I was, of course, in an anomalous
368
00:16:05,232 --> 00:16:06,897
position.
369
00:16:06,932 --> 00:16:08,667
A man I've never seen before
370
00:16:08,702 --> 00:16:10,835
comes and offers me $10,000
371
00:16:10,836 --> 00:16:13,245
to find and produce a certain object
372
00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:14,956
by a certain date.
373
00:16:14,991 --> 00:16:16,440
And, by chance...
374
00:16:16,475 --> 00:16:21,680
by chance alone, that object is locked in a room in my house.
375
00:16:21,715 --> 00:16:23,380
Is there any reason
376
00:16:23,415 --> 00:16:28,186
I should not disclose it to him and collect my fee?
377
00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:30,320
I see.
378
00:16:30,355 --> 00:16:32,311
So, that's how it is.
379
00:16:33,203 --> 00:16:34,259
He was lucky he brought the photographs
380
00:16:34,294 --> 00:16:36,827
for Mr. Goodwin to recognize, wasn't it?
381
00:16:36,862 --> 00:16:39,898
I suppose I should congratulate you, Mr. Goodwin.
382
00:16:39,933 --> 00:16:42,067
There was no legal or professional obstacle
383
00:16:42,102 --> 00:16:43,604
to prevent my disclosing you to him
384
00:16:43,639 --> 00:16:45,338
and demanding payment.
385
00:16:45,373 --> 00:16:50,742
But, confound it, there is my self-esteem.
386
00:16:51,270 --> 00:16:54,611
Also, there is Mr. Goodwin.
387
00:16:54,646 --> 00:16:56,810
I have rebuked him for installing you
388
00:16:56,845 --> 00:16:58,333
and told him to get rid of you.
389
00:16:58,368 --> 00:16:59,816
And if I now collect ransom for you
390
00:16:59,851 --> 00:17:02,020
he will be impossible to live with or to work with.
391
00:17:02,055 --> 00:17:03,772
You got that right.
392
00:17:03,807 --> 00:17:06,021
But if my self-esteem
393
00:17:06,056 --> 00:17:08,925
will not let me profit by your presence here
394
00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:13,732
neither will my self-interest permit me to suffer loss by it.
395
00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:17,636
So I have two alternative suggestions to offer.
396
00:17:17,671 --> 00:17:21,071
The first is simple.
397
00:17:21,106 --> 00:17:23,275
You told Mr. Goodwin, in effect
398
00:17:23,310 --> 00:17:24,541
there was no limit
399
00:17:24,576 --> 00:17:26,515
to the amount you would pay to stay here.
400
00:17:26,550 --> 00:17:29,148
I now say, $10,000.
401
00:17:29,183 --> 00:17:30,614
This is blackmail.
402
00:17:30,649 --> 00:17:35,024
You're saying if I don't pay you $10,000
403
00:17:35,059 --> 00:17:38,890
you'll tell Perry Helmar I'm here and you'll get it from him.
404
00:17:38,925 --> 00:17:40,519
I'm saying no such thing.
405
00:17:40,554 --> 00:17:43,085
I said I have an alternate suggestion
406
00:17:43,120 --> 00:17:44,928
if you don't like the first one.
407
00:17:44,963 --> 00:17:48,867
You can be out of here in five minutes, with your luggage
408
00:17:48,902 --> 00:17:51,001
and there will be no surveillance.
409
00:17:51,036 --> 00:17:53,688
We will forget you exist until 10:00 tomorrow morning
410
00:17:53,723 --> 00:17:55,695
at which point I shall phone Mr. Helmar
411
00:17:55,730 --> 00:17:57,668
take his job on the terms he proposed
412
00:17:57,703 --> 00:17:58,808
and start after you.
413
00:17:58,843 --> 00:18:01,012
I'm not paying you any $10,000.
414
00:18:01,047 --> 00:18:02,114
It's ridiculous.
415
00:18:02,149 --> 00:18:03,146
As you please.
416
00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:05,832
You have no time to lose
417
00:18:05,867 --> 00:18:07,369
if you expect to make it a job for me.
418
00:18:07,404 --> 00:18:09,678
Archie, will you bring her luggage down, please?
419
00:18:09,688 --> 00:18:12,290
I can manage. Thanks.
420
00:18:21,399 --> 00:18:22,701
Uh, good morning.
421
00:18:25,303 --> 00:18:26,570
Uh, Fritz said
422
00:18:26,605 --> 00:18:27,689
you wanted to see me.
423
00:18:27,724 --> 00:18:28,899
Yes. Good morning.
424
00:18:28,934 --> 00:18:30,075
What time is it?
425
00:18:30,110 --> 00:18:32,642
8:32.
426
00:18:32,677 --> 00:18:37,015
Oh, please get Mr. Helmar at his office 10:00 sharp
427
00:18:37,050 --> 00:18:39,184
and put him through to me upstairs.
428
00:18:39,219 --> 00:18:40,884
Meanwhile, it won't hurt
429
00:18:40,919 --> 00:18:43,088
to ring Miss Eades' apartment to see if she's there...
430
00:18:43,123 --> 00:18:44,724
if you haven't done so already.
431
00:18:44,759 --> 00:18:46,309
Uh, no, sir.
432
00:18:46,344 --> 00:18:47,824
Then try it.
433
00:18:47,859 --> 00:18:51,021
If she's not at home, we must be prepared to waste no time.
434
00:18:51,056 --> 00:18:53,029
Get Fred, Saul, Ory.
435
00:18:53,064 --> 00:18:55,215
Have them be here by 11:00.
436
00:18:55,250 --> 00:18:57,367
No, sir. I don't refuse to play
437
00:18:57,402 --> 00:18:59,102
but I will not be a part of any fudging.
438
00:18:59,137 --> 00:19:01,306
Now, you said we would forget about her existence
439
00:19:01,341 --> 00:19:02,173
until 10:00 this morning.
440
00:19:02,208 --> 00:19:03,440
I have done so.
441
00:19:03,475 --> 00:19:05,644
But I don't know who or what you're talking about.
442
00:19:05,679 --> 00:19:07,613
Now, should I come back upstairs at 10:00
443
00:19:07,648 --> 00:19:09,547
and see if you have any further instructions?
444
00:19:09,582 --> 00:19:12,549
No.
445
00:19:12,584 --> 00:19:13,885
Very well.
446
00:19:14,469 --> 00:19:15,933
I mean, yes!
447
00:19:22,127 --> 00:19:23,645
Inspector.
448
00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:25,128
Goodwin.
449
00:19:25,163 --> 00:19:27,085
Mr. Wolfe won't be available for two hours
450
00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:29,067
but you know that as well as anybody.
451
00:19:31,480 --> 00:19:32,628
Will I do?
452
00:19:32,971 --> 00:19:34,706
Yeah, you will...
453
00:19:34,741 --> 00:19:36,007
for a start.
454
00:19:36,042 --> 00:19:37,707
What?
455
00:19:37,742 --> 00:19:40,911
Last night a woman was murdered
456
00:19:40,946 --> 00:19:44,249
and your fingerprints were found on her luggage.
457
00:19:44,683 --> 00:19:46,383
How did they get there?
458
00:19:47,340 --> 00:19:49,471
That's no way to do it, Inspector.
459
00:19:49,506 --> 00:19:52,132
My fingerprints could be found on women's luggage
460
00:19:52,167 --> 00:19:54,008
from Maine to California.
461
00:19:54,043 --> 00:19:55,492
You want to give me a name
462
00:19:55,527 --> 00:19:57,696
address, description of luggage?
463
00:19:57,731 --> 00:19:58,997
Priscilla Eades.
464
00:20:00,692 --> 00:20:02,033
Oh...
465
00:20:04,202 --> 00:20:05,468
I see.
466
00:20:06,465 --> 00:20:09,438
618 East 74th Street.
467
00:20:10,275 --> 00:20:11,987
A suitcase and a hat box.
468
00:20:12,022 --> 00:20:14,144
Both crocodile.
469
00:20:14,179 --> 00:20:15,914
She was, uh, murdered?
470
00:20:15,949 --> 00:20:16,746
Yes.
471
00:20:16,781 --> 00:20:19,384
And your prints were fresh.
472
00:20:19,419 --> 00:20:20,685
How come?
473
00:20:24,736 --> 00:20:25,855
Well?
474
00:20:25,890 --> 00:20:27,590
Uh, yes, Mr. Wolfe.
475
00:20:27,625 --> 00:20:30,011
Inspector Cramer here was just informing me
476
00:20:30,046 --> 00:20:32,522
that a woman named Priscilla Eades was murdered
477
00:20:32,557 --> 00:20:35,079
and that my fingerprints are all over her luggage.
478
00:20:35,114 --> 00:20:37,602
He wants to know why and whether or not I knew her.
479
00:20:37,637 --> 00:20:39,771
Did I know her?
480
00:20:43,241 --> 00:20:46,711
Cramer expressed appreciation for the information I provided
481
00:20:46,746 --> 00:20:48,411
taking dozens of pages of notes.
482
00:20:48,446 --> 00:20:51,049
After a while, he even started calling me Archie
483
00:20:51,084 --> 00:20:53,651
which had happened before, but not often.
484
00:20:53,686 --> 00:20:56,054
I guess it's all on the level.
485
00:20:56,089 --> 00:20:58,539
You too busy to answer a question
486
00:20:58,574 --> 00:21:00,990
from a citizen in good standing?
487
00:21:01,025 --> 00:21:04,062
Well, I have to be at the D.A.'s office at 10:30.
488
00:21:04,097 --> 00:21:06,797
Why did you want to make it so tight
489
00:21:06,832 --> 00:21:09,498
about the time Helmar left here?
490
00:21:09,533 --> 00:21:12,659
It was about an hour later
491
00:21:12,694 --> 00:21:14,871
that Miss Eades left.
492
00:21:14,906 --> 00:21:18,341
Well, around 1:00 a Margaret Fomos
493
00:21:18,376 --> 00:21:23,148
was found in a vestibule on East 29th Street.
494
00:21:23,183 --> 00:21:27,051
Strangled with a cord... not very thick.
495
00:21:27,086 --> 00:21:28,318
Her purse stolen.
496
00:21:28,353 --> 00:21:30,738
Back when she was still breathing
497
00:21:30,773 --> 00:21:34,639
she was a maid for Priscilla Eades.
498
00:21:34,674 --> 00:21:37,176
Around 4:00 they found the bag
499
00:21:37,211 --> 00:21:38,728
in a nearby trash can.
500
00:21:38,763 --> 00:21:40,845
And one of the investigating officers
501
00:21:40,880 --> 00:21:42,892
who was working with Lieutenant Rowcliff
502
00:21:42,927 --> 00:21:46,788
started to wonder why she was strangled over a bag.
503
00:21:46,823 --> 00:21:50,041
Going over the contents of Fomos's bag with her husband
504
00:21:50,076 --> 00:21:51,741
one missing item stuck out...
505
00:21:51,776 --> 00:21:54,378
the keys to Priscilla Eades' apartment
506
00:21:54,379 --> 00:21:55,679
where she worked.
507
00:21:55,680 --> 00:21:57,415
Hmm, that officer's going to have your job some day
508
00:21:57,450 --> 00:21:58,681
you know that.
509
00:21:58,716 --> 00:21:59,983
Well, he's welcome to it now.
510
00:22:01,395 --> 00:22:04,121
Priscilla Eades was found on the floor of her apartment.
511
00:22:04,156 --> 00:22:06,841
She'd been hit in the head with fireplace poker
512
00:22:06,876 --> 00:22:09,526
and strangled with a cord... not very thick.
513
00:22:09,561 --> 00:22:13,898
The killer was waiting for her when she got home.
514
00:22:13,933 --> 00:22:15,598
Well...
515
00:22:15,633 --> 00:22:18,670
thank you for answering the question.
516
00:22:18,705 --> 00:22:20,370
Well, it's the least I could do
517
00:22:20,405 --> 00:22:23,875
considering how cooperative you've been, Archie.
518
00:22:25,639 --> 00:22:28,646
I believe you, for a change.
519
00:22:31,382 --> 00:22:36,454
Especially since Wolfe doesn't have a client.
520
00:22:36,489 --> 00:22:38,588
And none in sight.
521
00:22:38,623 --> 00:22:41,659
He'll be in a hell of a humor.
522
00:22:42,093 --> 00:22:44,262
And I don't envy you.
523
00:22:58,142 --> 00:23:01,144
I suppose Mr. Helmar will soon know
524
00:23:01,179 --> 00:23:05,048
if he doesn't already, of our stratagem.
525
00:23:05,083 --> 00:23:08,553
And I doubt it's worth the trouble to communicate with him.
526
00:23:08,588 --> 00:23:10,739
He wanted his ward alive, and...
527
00:23:10,774 --> 00:23:12,916
well, that's out of the question.
528
00:23:12,951 --> 00:23:15,024
But he's the only contact we have
529
00:23:15,059 --> 00:23:18,963
and no matter how sore he is, we should start with him.
530
00:23:18,998 --> 00:23:22,000
Start? Start what? With whom?
531
00:23:22,035 --> 00:23:23,266
We have no client.
532
00:23:23,301 --> 00:23:25,686
She was here. She wanted to stay.
533
00:23:25,721 --> 00:23:28,037
We kicked her out. She got killed.
534
00:23:30,373 --> 00:23:32,855
I should think that would have some bearing on your self-esteem
535
00:23:32,890 --> 00:23:34,145
as you were discussing last night.
536
00:23:34,180 --> 00:23:35,411
Nonsense.
537
00:23:36,227 --> 00:23:38,448
Okay, I guess I knew how it would be.
538
00:23:39,405 --> 00:23:41,953
I realize I have, uh, my personal problem.
539
00:23:41,988 --> 00:23:44,087
I put her back out on the street.
540
00:23:44,122 --> 00:23:46,291
I put her in the taxi that sent her home
541
00:23:46,326 --> 00:23:47,592
and now... she got it.
542
00:23:47,627 --> 00:23:49,018
I- I-I will not
543
00:23:49,053 --> 00:23:53,054
undertake a major and expensive operation
544
00:23:53,089 --> 00:23:54,187
with no chance of income
545
00:23:54,222 --> 00:23:56,701
merely because you have been piqued by circumstance.
546
00:23:56,736 --> 00:23:59,469
I will do my best to make people know
547
00:23:59,504 --> 00:24:00,633
that I'm not working for you.
548
00:24:00,668 --> 00:24:03,606
Some won't buy it; can't help that.
549
00:24:03,641 --> 00:24:07,111
If you decide you'd rather have me quit, well, okay.
550
00:24:07,146 --> 00:24:09,679
But I don't have time to discuss it
551
00:24:09,714 --> 00:24:12,099
if I'm going to catch this guy before lunch.
552
00:24:12,134 --> 00:24:14,450
I had a pretty good idea where to start.
553
00:24:14,485 --> 00:24:17,088
Priscilla Eades stood to inherit 90% of Softdown, Incorporated
554
00:24:17,522 --> 00:24:19,571
if she made it to her 25th birthday.
555
00:24:19,606 --> 00:24:22,079
She missed by six days.
556
00:24:22,872 --> 00:24:25,370
I called my friend Lon Cohen at the Gazette
557
00:24:25,405 --> 00:24:27,932
and learned that now her 90% was going to be divided
558
00:24:27,967 --> 00:24:30,101
between a handful of Softdown officers.
559
00:24:32,505 --> 00:24:33,536
Goodwin, Detective.
560
00:24:33,571 --> 00:24:36,174
I'm here investigating the murder of Priscilla Eades.
561
00:24:36,209 --> 00:24:37,874
I want to ask you a few questions.
562
00:24:37,909 --> 00:24:40,511
We'll start with you at the end of the table there.
563
00:24:40,546 --> 00:24:42,047
What's your full name?
564
00:24:42,082 --> 00:24:43,513
I'm Jay Luther Brooker.
565
00:24:43,548 --> 00:24:46,350
Now, what does that "J" stand for?
566
00:24:46,385 --> 00:24:49,152
That's J-A-Y, Jay. I'm president.
567
00:24:49,187 --> 00:24:51,789
When did you first learn of Miss Eades' death?
568
00:24:51,824 --> 00:24:53,950
This morning on the radio.
569
00:24:53,985 --> 00:24:56,127
Uh-huh. Can you explain your whereabouts?
570
00:24:56,162 --> 00:24:57,827
Yes.
571
00:24:57,862 --> 00:25:00,430
I was in bed.
572
00:25:00,465 --> 00:25:02,577
I have a suite at the Prince Henry Hotel.
573
00:25:02,612 --> 00:25:05,670
Well, you understand the situation
574
00:25:05,705 --> 00:25:06,936
Mr. Brooker.
575
00:25:07,926 --> 00:25:09,574
You see, a lot of people stand to profit
576
00:25:09,609 --> 00:25:11,854
from Miss Eades' death, right?
577
00:25:11,889 --> 00:25:13,911
How much are you going to inherit from the company?
578
00:25:13,946 --> 00:25:15,611
Well, under the terms
579
00:25:15,646 --> 00:25:19,550
of the will of the late Nathan Eades... the, uh, son
580
00:25:19,585 --> 00:25:21,250
of the founder of the business...
581
00:25:21,285 --> 00:25:25,840
19,362 shares of the common stock come to me.
582
00:25:25,875 --> 00:25:30,395
The same amount goes to four other people...
583
00:25:30,430 --> 00:25:31,661
Miss Duday
584
00:25:31,696 --> 00:25:33,865
Mr. Quest, Mr. Pitkin
585
00:25:33,900 --> 00:25:35,999
and, uh, Mr. Helmar.
586
00:25:36,034 --> 00:25:38,345
Uh, smaller amounts go to others.
587
00:25:38,380 --> 00:25:39,937
Right, right, well, I'll get those names
588
00:25:39,972 --> 00:25:41,672
but I want to... start here first.
589
00:25:41,707 --> 00:25:43,849
What's your name? Bow tie?
590
00:25:43,884 --> 00:25:48,578
Well, sir... I am Bernard Quest.
591
00:25:48,613 --> 00:25:51,215
I've been with this business 62 years
592
00:25:51,250 --> 00:25:54,252
and Vice President for 29.
593
00:25:54,287 --> 00:25:55,518
Oh. You?
594
00:25:55,553 --> 00:25:56,819
Viola Duday.
595
00:25:56,854 --> 00:25:58,121
I was Mr. Eades' secretary.
596
00:25:58,156 --> 00:26:01,192
During his last illness, the last 14 months of his life
597
00:26:01,227 --> 00:26:02,493
I ran the business.
598
00:26:02,927 --> 00:26:05,963
My present title is assistant secretary of the Corporation.
599
00:26:05,998 --> 00:26:08,097
Mm-hmm. And you?
600
00:26:08,132 --> 00:26:14,639
Oliver Pitkin, Secretary and Treasurer of the corporation.
601
00:26:15,073 --> 00:26:16,773
Um, Daphne O'Neil.
602
00:26:16,808 --> 00:26:18,074
But I don't think I belong
603
00:26:18,109 --> 00:26:20,278
in your little black book, Mr. Detective.
604
00:26:20,313 --> 00:26:22,412
You see, I wasn't in Mr. Eades' will.
605
00:26:22,447 --> 00:26:24,615
I was just a good little girl when he died.
606
00:26:24,650 --> 00:26:27,218
Um, I've only worked at Softdown
607
00:26:27,253 --> 00:26:28,484
for four years now.
608
00:26:28,519 --> 00:26:30,905
Now I'm the Softdown stylist.
609
00:26:30,940 --> 00:26:33,256
Perhaps you should know
610
00:26:33,291 --> 00:26:35,676
that if Miss Eades had lived until next Monday
611
00:26:35,711 --> 00:26:38,495
Miss O'Neil would be looking for another job.
612
00:26:38,496 --> 00:26:40,622
Miss Eades did not appreciate Miss...
613
00:26:40,657 --> 00:26:43,216
Is-is this necessary, Vi?
614
00:26:43,251 --> 00:26:45,328
I think so.
615
00:26:45,363 --> 00:26:46,937
No one's going to be able to hide anything
616
00:26:46,972 --> 00:26:48,326
so why not shorten the agony?
617
00:26:48,361 --> 00:26:49,681
They'll dig up everything.
618
00:26:49,716 --> 00:26:52,376
That for ten years before Nate Eades died
619
00:26:52,411 --> 00:26:53,643
you tried to get him to give you
620
00:26:53,678 --> 00:26:55,847
a third of the business... and failed.
621
00:26:57,002 --> 00:26:57,980
That Ollie here
622
00:26:58,015 --> 00:27:00,618
beneath his mask of modest efficiency
623
00:27:00,653 --> 00:27:02,318
is fiercely antifeminist
624
00:27:02,353 --> 00:27:04,522
and hates to see a woman run anything!
625
00:27:04,557 --> 00:27:06,208
My dear Viola...
626
00:27:06,243 --> 00:27:07,825
That my appetite
627
00:27:07,860 --> 00:27:09,661
and ambition for power are so strong
628
00:27:09,696 --> 00:27:12,107
that you three men and Perry Helmar
629
00:27:12,142 --> 00:27:13,631
much as you fear and distrust each other
630
00:27:13,666 --> 00:27:15,762
fear and distrust me more!
631
00:27:15,797 --> 00:27:17,535
And you knew that when Priscila was in control
632
00:27:17,570 --> 00:27:18,801
I would have had top authority!
633
00:27:18,836 --> 00:27:21,812
They'll learn that this... Daphne O'Neil...
634
00:27:21,847 --> 00:27:24,475
my God, what a name for her... Daphne...
635
00:27:24,510 --> 00:27:26,210
It means "laurel tree. "
636
00:27:28,813 --> 00:27:32,717
That she was playing Perry Helmar and Jay Brooker
637
00:27:32,752 --> 00:27:33,983
against each other
638
00:27:34,018 --> 00:27:36,621
and with October 26 approaching, she was getting desperate
639
00:27:36,656 --> 00:27:37,922
and so were they.
640
00:27:37,957 --> 00:27:38,789
That Jay...
641
00:27:38,824 --> 00:27:39,223
Aah!
642
00:27:41,826 --> 00:27:44,393
You... you asked for it, Vi
643
00:27:44,428 --> 00:27:47,128
and if you're counting on Ollie and me being with you
644
00:27:47,163 --> 00:27:51,369
as I think you are, you're making a big mistake.
645
00:27:51,404 --> 00:27:53,069
Miss Duday is absolutely right...
646
00:27:53,104 --> 00:27:55,273
it's all going to come out... the good and the bad...
647
00:27:55,308 --> 00:27:56,539
and the quicker, the better.
648
00:27:57,426 --> 00:27:58,959
It wouldn't be a bad thing, Mr. Brooker
649
00:27:58,994 --> 00:28:01,310
if you followed Miss Duday's example.
650
00:28:01,345 --> 00:28:04,598
Why don't you tell me what this conference was about today.
651
00:28:04,633 --> 00:28:07,852
Uh, we were saying that we would have to accept the fact
652
00:28:07,887 --> 00:28:10,847
that the nature of Miss Eades' murder
653
00:28:10,882 --> 00:28:14,358
created a very unpleasant situation for all of us.
654
00:28:14,393 --> 00:28:16,961
We agreed that it was unthinkable
655
00:28:16,996 --> 00:28:18,661
that any of us could possibly
656
00:28:18,696 --> 00:28:20,431
have been involved in her murder...
657
00:28:20,466 --> 00:28:22,400
Yes, like any of you
658
00:28:22,435 --> 00:28:23,570
had any motives.
659
00:28:23,605 --> 00:28:26,937
We discussed the letter that recently arrived
660
00:28:26,972 --> 00:28:30,203
from Eric Hagh, Miss Eades' former husband.
661
00:28:30,238 --> 00:28:31,067
Do you know about that?
662
00:28:31,102 --> 00:28:32,108
Yes.
663
00:28:32,143 --> 00:28:34,304
The letter was sent from Venezuela
664
00:28:34,339 --> 00:28:37,909
but he could easily have come to New York by ship or plane
665
00:28:37,944 --> 00:28:39,968
or... heck, he didn't even need to come...
666
00:28:40,003 --> 00:28:42,206
could have hired someone to kill her.
667
00:28:42,241 --> 00:28:43,854
Why?
668
00:28:45,156 --> 00:28:48,591
We don't know why.
669
00:28:48,626 --> 00:28:50,326
We were only trying to find
670
00:28:50,361 --> 00:28:52,929
some plausible explanation for her murder.
671
00:28:52,964 --> 00:28:56,035
But how do you figure Eric Hagh was the killer?
672
00:28:56,070 --> 00:28:59,469
I mean, if he had his document, all he had to do was wait a week
673
00:28:59,470 --> 00:29:03,094
for Priscilla Eades to suddenly get a lot more property
674
00:29:03,129 --> 00:29:04,675
which he could come and claim half of.
675
00:29:04,710 --> 00:29:05,942
One possibility
676
00:29:05,977 --> 00:29:09,013
would be that she had denied she had signed the document
677
00:29:09,048 --> 00:29:11,701
or that he thought she was going to
678
00:29:11,736 --> 00:29:13,316
and he was afraid he would get nothing at all.
679
00:29:13,351 --> 00:29:17,688
No. No, no, 'cause she already stated that she had signed it.
680
00:29:17,723 --> 00:29:19,423
Had she? To whom?
681
00:29:20,725 --> 00:29:25,496
Uh... look, I'm asking the questions here, okay?
682
00:29:25,531 --> 00:29:26,762
Now...
683
00:29:27,826 --> 00:29:31,135
Ho, well, for God's sake.
684
00:29:31,170 --> 00:29:32,835
You're under arrest.
685
00:29:32,870 --> 00:29:34,605
Oh, yeah? You got that in writing?
686
00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:36,340
I don't need writing.
687
00:29:36,375 --> 00:29:37,173
I'm taking you.
688
00:29:37,208 --> 00:29:39,104
I'm Lieutenant Rowcliff, Manhattan Homicide.
689
00:29:39,139 --> 00:29:41,710
Outside, this man said he was a policeman, didn't he?
690
00:29:41,745 --> 00:29:42,354
Isn't he?
691
00:29:42,389 --> 00:29:44,113
No. Did he say he was a policeman?
692
00:29:44,148 --> 00:29:46,317
We're a pack of fools! He's a reporter!
693
00:29:46,352 --> 00:29:49,787
Eh, he's no reporter.
694
00:29:51,522 --> 00:29:54,957
His name is Archie Goodwin...
695
00:29:54,992 --> 00:29:58,896
and he's the confidential as-s-sistant of Nero Wolfe...
696
00:30:00,197 --> 00:30:01,897
Private detective.
697
00:30:01,932 --> 00:30:04,066
Oh-ho-ho-ho, I'm taking you.
698
00:30:04,101 --> 00:30:06,487
In the act of impersonating an officer.
699
00:30:06,522 --> 00:30:08,565
Handcuff him and search him, Doyle.
700
00:30:08,600 --> 00:30:10,573
Look, look, downstairs
701
00:30:10,608 --> 00:30:12,777
and up here, I identified myself by name
702
00:30:12,812 --> 00:30:14,945
and I said the word "detective. "
703
00:30:14,980 --> 00:30:16,247
I showed my license
704
00:30:16,681 --> 00:30:18,416
which no one bothered to examine.
705
00:30:18,451 --> 00:30:20,116
I never said I was a policeman.
706
00:30:20,151 --> 00:30:22,320
I asked some questions, which these people answered.
707
00:30:22,355 --> 00:30:24,940
Now, you can apologize now and get out.
708
00:30:24,975 --> 00:30:26,188
You asked questions about what?
709
00:30:26,223 --> 00:30:28,357
About the death of Priscilla Eades.
710
00:30:28,392 --> 00:30:31,429
Oh. You lied to Cramer when you told him
711
00:30:31,464 --> 00:30:33,597
that Wolfe had no c... client.
712
00:30:34,031 --> 00:30:36,634
No, I never libout whether or not he had ac-clientor not.
713
00:30:36,669 --> 00:30:37,952
He didn't have one then;
714
00:30:37,987 --> 00:30:39,201
he doesn't have one now.
715
00:30:39,236 --> 00:30:40,224
Then what are you doing here?
716
00:30:40,259 --> 00:30:43,574
I'm here for personal reasons. Strictly on my own.
717
00:30:43,609 --> 00:30:45,743
Mr. Wolfe has nothing to do with this.
718
00:30:45,778 --> 00:30:49,612
So, Wolfe has a c... client
719
00:30:49,647 --> 00:30:53,687
and a client... that he doesn't care to acknowledge.
720
00:30:53,722 --> 00:30:58,322
and try to cover for him by telling another outrageous lie?
721
00:30:58,357 --> 00:31:00,057
You know, I've taken great pleasure
722
00:31:00,092 --> 00:31:01,792
in lying to you in the past
723
00:31:01,827 --> 00:31:03,492
and sure lieto you again...
724
00:31:03,527 --> 00:31:05,262
Mr. Wolfe... That's enough.
725
00:31:05,297 --> 00:31:06,798
That's more than enough.
726
00:31:06,833 --> 00:31:08,264
Giving false information;
727
00:31:08,299 --> 00:31:10,468
withholding evidence; material witness;
728
00:31:10,503 --> 00:31:13,470
obstructing justice...
729
00:31:13,505 --> 00:31:16,031
and impersonating an officer.
730
00:31:16,066 --> 00:31:18,240
T... T...
731
00:31:18,275 --> 00:31:20,409
Take him, Doyle!
732
00:31:20,444 --> 00:31:22,144
Hey, be careful... I'm ticklish.
733
00:31:22,179 --> 00:31:26,517
There's one other thing I wanted to know.
734
00:31:31,256 --> 00:31:33,891
I spent four hours being asked the same question
735
00:31:34,325 --> 00:31:36,025
by every member of the NYPD
736
00:31:36,060 --> 00:31:38,012
and when they'd run out of interrogators
737
00:31:38,047 --> 00:31:39,873
they handed me over to the D.A.'s office
738
00:31:39,908 --> 00:31:41,664
and then stuck me in the hall to wait.
739
00:31:41,699 --> 00:31:44,952
I figured they at least owed me a few phone calls
740
00:31:44,987 --> 00:31:48,205
preferably in a quiet office with a door that closed.
741
00:31:48,240 --> 00:31:50,808
...based on the idiotic assumption
742
00:31:50,843 --> 00:31:52,119
that Mr. Goodwin and I
743
00:31:52,154 --> 00:31:53,827
are old acquaintances.
744
00:31:53,862 --> 00:31:55,466
So what happens today?
745
00:31:55,501 --> 00:31:58,833
Mr. Rowcliff took advantage
746
00:31:58,868 --> 00:32:00,785
of the absence of Mr. Goodwin
747
00:32:00,820 --> 00:32:03,352
whom he fears
748
00:32:03,387 --> 00:32:05,087
and petulantly envies
749
00:32:05,122 --> 00:32:06,857
and entered my house by force.
750
00:32:06,892 --> 00:32:08,592
That's a lie. I rang.
751
00:32:08,627 --> 00:32:09,026
Shut up!
752
00:32:12,496 --> 00:32:14,448
He was ass enough to think
753
00:32:14,483 --> 00:32:16,309
that I would speak with him.
754
00:32:16,344 --> 00:32:18,135
Naturally, I ordered him out
755
00:32:18,569 --> 00:32:21,570
and when I persisted in my refusal
756
00:32:21,605 --> 00:32:26,376
I turned to leave and he put a hand on me.
757
00:32:26,411 --> 00:32:31,148
He then took me into custody, under warrant
758
00:32:31,183 --> 00:32:34,202
conducted me out of my home
759
00:32:34,237 --> 00:32:37,452
and in a rickety old police car
760
00:32:37,487 --> 00:32:41,565
with a headstrong and paroxysmal driver
761
00:32:41,600 --> 00:32:44,667
brought me to this building.
762
00:32:44,702 --> 00:32:49,813
I had assumed, charitably, that it was some
763
00:32:49,848 --> 00:32:51,934
major misapprehension
764
00:32:51,969 --> 00:32:57,174
that had driven Mr. Rowcliff to this frenzied zeal
765
00:32:57,209 --> 00:33:00,176
but I learned fro you, Mr. Bowen
766
00:33:00,211 --> 00:33:04,114
that it was merely a fit of nincompoopery.
767
00:33:04,149 --> 00:33:08,018
That you- you think that I have a client.
768
00:33:08,452 --> 00:33:12,355
That I know something that you don't know and would like to
769
00:33:12,356 --> 00:33:13,657
and that you can bully it out of me.
770
00:33:13,692 --> 00:33:15,843
Well, you can't!
771
00:33:15,878 --> 00:33:18,454
I haven't got it!
772
00:33:18,489 --> 00:33:20,996
But you are correct
773
00:33:21,031 --> 00:33:23,634
in assuming that I have a client... I do.
774
00:33:23,669 --> 00:33:24,900
I knew it.
775
00:33:24,935 --> 00:33:27,069
As you may know
776
00:33:27,104 --> 00:33:29,707
Mr. Goodwin is not indifferent
777
00:33:30,140 --> 00:33:33,142
to those attributes of young women
778
00:33:33,177 --> 00:33:37,515
which constitute the chief reliance of our race
779
00:33:37,550 --> 00:33:40,591
in our gallant struggle against
780
00:33:40,626 --> 00:33:43,118
the menace of the insects.
781
00:33:43,153 --> 00:33:47,491
He is also especially vulnerable to young women
782
00:33:47,526 --> 00:33:48,324
who have a knack
783
00:33:48,359 --> 00:33:51,395
for stimulating his love of chivalry
784
00:33:51,430 --> 00:33:52,661
and adventure.
785
00:33:52,696 --> 00:33:55,733
Priscilla Eades was such a woman.
786
00:33:55,768 --> 00:33:58,769
Within hours of her eviction
787
00:33:58,804 --> 00:34:01,770
by him, at my behest
788
00:34:01,805 --> 00:34:05,241
she was brutally murdered.
789
00:34:05,276 --> 00:34:08,312
He then bounded out of my house like a man obsessed
790
00:34:08,347 --> 00:34:11,348
after telling me he was going, single-handed
791
00:34:11,383 --> 00:34:13,083
after the murderer.
792
00:34:15,686 --> 00:34:19,156
It was... pathetic
793
00:34:19,590 --> 00:34:21,290
but also
794
00:34:21,325 --> 00:34:23,893
thoroughly admirable.
795
00:34:24,707 --> 00:34:29,133
And your callous and churlish treatment of him
796
00:34:29,168 --> 00:34:32,603
leaves me with no alternative.
797
00:34:33,037 --> 00:34:34,303
I am at his service.
798
00:34:34,338 --> 00:34:37,808
You mean Archie Goodwin is your client?
799
00:34:37,843 --> 00:34:39,777
All that rigmarole
800
00:34:39,812 --> 00:34:41,712
was leading up to that?
801
00:34:42,580 --> 00:34:44,713
I'm hungry.
802
00:34:44,748 --> 00:34:46,703
I had a soda fountain lunch.
803
00:34:46,738 --> 00:34:49,086
I could eat a porcupine with quills on it.
804
00:34:49,121 --> 00:34:50,387
Let's go home.
805
00:34:59,357 --> 00:35:03,400
A paradise for puerility.
806
00:35:08,172 --> 00:35:10,341
I'm a client, now, Fritz.
807
00:35:10,376 --> 00:35:11,607
And he's a buffoon.
808
00:35:11,642 --> 00:35:13,776
No, sir, I sit here not as a gag
809
00:35:13,811 --> 00:35:15,979
but to avoid misunderstanding.
810
00:35:16,014 --> 00:35:18,148
As a client, the closer to you, the better.
811
00:35:18,183 --> 00:35:19,415
As an employee
812
00:35:19,450 --> 00:35:21,544
nothing doing until my personal problem is resolved.
813
00:35:21,579 --> 00:35:23,163
Now, you tell me how much
814
00:35:23,198 --> 00:35:24,609
you want for a retainer and I'll write a check.
815
00:35:24,644 --> 00:35:27,691
Otherwise I will bound out of this house like a man obsessed.
816
00:35:27,726 --> 00:35:28,524
Confound it!
817
00:35:28,559 --> 00:35:30,294
I'm helpless. I'm committed.
818
00:35:30,329 --> 00:35:31,126
Yes, sir, you are.
819
00:35:31,161 --> 00:35:32,463
Now, what about a retainer?
820
00:35:32,498 --> 00:35:33,330
No!
821
00:35:34,632 --> 00:35:37,234
You care to hear how I spent my day?
822
00:35:37,269 --> 00:35:38,934
Care to, no.
823
00:35:38,969 --> 00:35:41,572
But how the devil can I escape it?
824
00:35:41,607 --> 00:35:43,307
Report, I mean...
825
00:35:43,342 --> 00:35:45,007
Tell me.
826
00:35:45,042 --> 00:35:46,777
Well, we're in a pickle.
827
00:35:46,812 --> 00:35:48,078
You see...
828
00:35:51,326 --> 00:35:52,850
How many of these five people can you have
829
00:35:52,885 --> 00:35:55,019
in this office by 11:00 tomorrow morning?
830
00:35:56,118 --> 00:35:58,055
As it stands now, without any bait?
831
00:35:58,090 --> 00:35:58,909
Yes.
832
00:35:58,944 --> 00:36:00,258
I wouldn't bet on one.
833
00:36:00,259 --> 00:36:01,490
I'm ready to try.
834
00:36:01,525 --> 00:36:03,694
I might get something from Lon Cohen to use as bait
835
00:36:03,729 --> 00:36:05,863
if I bought him a thick enough steak.
836
00:36:05,898 --> 00:36:07,129
Well, do so.
837
00:36:07,164 --> 00:36:09,767
Invite him to dine with us.
838
00:36:10,634 --> 00:36:12,152
Tonight?
839
00:36:12,187 --> 00:36:13,671
Yes.
840
00:36:19,743 --> 00:36:22,780
I'm, uh, in a pickle, Mr. Cohen.
841
00:36:24,948 --> 00:36:29,719
I have committed to investigate a murder
842
00:36:29,754 --> 00:36:34,491
but I have no entre, I need a toehold.
843
00:36:34,526 --> 00:36:36,226
Who killed Priscilla Eades?
844
00:36:36,261 --> 00:36:37,961
I intended to ask you.
845
00:36:39,912 --> 00:36:40,529
I don't know.
846
00:36:40,564 --> 00:36:42,733
You can shed no light on this subject?
847
00:36:42,768 --> 00:36:43,565
Uh, well
848
00:36:43,600 --> 00:36:47,071
maybe I can, and, uh, maybe I can't.
849
00:36:50,107 --> 00:36:51,175
Am I in your debt
850
00:36:51,210 --> 00:36:53,045
or are you in my debt, Mr. Cohen?
851
00:36:53,080 --> 00:36:55,212
All right, that's the point, isn't it?
852
00:36:55,247 --> 00:36:56,797
Well, I'm happy to say that we're square.
853
00:36:56,832 --> 00:36:58,348
I'll call it square if you'll call it square.
854
00:36:58,383 --> 00:37:00,396
You'll call it square?
855
00:37:00,431 --> 00:37:00,916
Yeah.
856
00:37:00,951 --> 00:37:02,252
Means you're in my debt.
857
00:37:02,287 --> 00:37:03,354
What do you know?
858
00:37:03,389 --> 00:37:05,255
Oh, wait a minute.
859
00:37:05,290 --> 00:37:07,813
I'm not in your debt if it's square.
860
00:37:07,848 --> 00:37:10,494
If it's square, then we're starting from scratch, okay?
861
00:37:10,529 --> 00:37:11,868
If it's square I give you something
862
00:37:11,903 --> 00:37:13,207
I get something back; that's square.
863
00:37:13,242 --> 00:37:14,437
If it's relevant.
864
00:37:14,472 --> 00:37:16,820
Yeah, and I get an exclusive.
865
00:37:16,855 --> 00:37:19,169
I determine its relevance.
866
00:37:21,772 --> 00:37:24,773
Fine, fine.
867
00:37:24,808 --> 00:37:27,721
Okay, um... Priscilla Eades.
868
00:37:27,756 --> 00:37:30,447
Priscilla Eades completely and routinely
869
00:37:30,482 --> 00:37:32,633
changed her life every two years.
870
00:37:32,668 --> 00:37:34,811
She'd go from being a college student
871
00:37:34,846 --> 00:37:37,172
to being a New Orleans party girl
872
00:37:37,207 --> 00:37:39,464
to being a South American housewife
873
00:37:39,499 --> 00:37:42,042
to being a divorced Salvation Army tambourine shaker
874
00:37:42,077 --> 00:37:44,473
until finally she became a corporate executive.
875
00:37:44,508 --> 00:37:45,629
How's that for relevance?
876
00:37:47,019 --> 00:37:48,464
What?
877
00:37:50,834 --> 00:37:52,136
Okay.
878
00:37:53,003 --> 00:37:54,738
How about this, then?
879
00:37:54,773 --> 00:37:55,606
This may help.
880
00:37:56,039 --> 00:37:57,740
Um, an informal poll
881
00:37:57,775 --> 00:38:00,493
of all the reporters working on this case
882
00:38:00,528 --> 00:38:03,648
favors Oliver Pitkin as the killer.
883
00:38:04,521 --> 00:38:05,981
And that's just the male reporters.
884
00:38:06,016 --> 00:38:09,052
The females seem to like, uh, Viola Duday.
885
00:38:09,087 --> 00:38:10,847
And Franklin, at The Times
886
00:38:10,882 --> 00:38:12,572
he's betting on Sarah Jaffe.
887
00:38:12,607 --> 00:38:14,691
That's just because, you know, he likes impossible odds.
888
00:38:14,726 --> 00:38:17,728
Sarah Jaffe? Is that a name that you've come across?
889
00:38:17,763 --> 00:38:19,862
No. No, no reason why you should
890
00:38:19,897 --> 00:38:22,464
unless you like impossible odds, too.
891
00:38:22,499 --> 00:38:25,536
Sarah Jaffe, actually, was probably the closest person
892
00:38:25,571 --> 00:38:26,368
to Priscilla Eades.
893
00:38:26,403 --> 00:38:27,921
Was she mentioned in the will?
894
00:38:27,956 --> 00:38:29,936
No, no, no, she already got
895
00:38:29,971 --> 00:38:31,608
ten percent of the company from her father.
896
00:38:31,643 --> 00:38:32,710
Single?
897
00:38:32,745 --> 00:38:33,742
Widow.
898
00:38:33,777 --> 00:38:36,814
Her husband was killed in Korea last year.
899
00:38:36,849 --> 00:38:38,982
And sh...
900
00:38:46,356 --> 00:38:47,658
Archie?
901
00:38:48,959 --> 00:38:51,995
Lon was probably mistaking Wolfe's expression
902
00:38:52,030 --> 00:38:53,695
for indigestion, but I knew better.
903
00:38:53,730 --> 00:38:56,333
Something Lon said had got Wolfe thinking
904
00:38:56,368 --> 00:39:00,237
which meant I could expect a very busy moring.
905
00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:05,442
My conception of a widow was formed in my early boyhood
906
00:39:05,477 --> 00:39:07,611
from a character called Widow Rowley.
907
00:39:07,646 --> 00:39:08,877
I have known others since
908
00:39:08,912 --> 00:39:11,949
but the conception had never been entirely obliterated
909
00:39:11,984 --> 00:39:14,082
so there's always an element of shock
910
00:39:14,117 --> 00:39:16,685
when I meet a woman who has been labeled a widow
911
00:39:16,720 --> 00:39:19,756
and I find she has some teeth can walk without a cane
912
00:39:19,791 --> 00:39:22,359
and doesn't constantly mutter to herself.
913
00:39:22,394 --> 00:39:23,894
Good morning.
914
00:39:23,929 --> 00:39:25,395
Please, come in.
915
00:39:28,866 --> 00:39:31,034
May I take your hat and coat?
916
00:39:31,069 --> 00:39:31,902
Uh, yes, thanks.
917
00:39:38,408 --> 00:39:41,011
Uh, thank you for seeing me on such short notice.
918
00:39:41,046 --> 00:39:43,197
Please come in, sit down.
919
00:39:43,232 --> 00:39:45,314
I was in bed when you phoned.
920
00:39:45,349 --> 00:39:47,951
I assume you've had breakfast, but how about some coffee?
921
00:39:47,986 --> 00:39:49,253
Uh, thank you, yes.
922
00:39:49,288 --> 00:39:50,085
No, not there!
923
00:39:50,120 --> 00:39:52,723
That's my husband's place.
924
00:39:54,024 --> 00:39:54,892
You could sit there.
925
00:39:54,927 --> 00:39:55,879
Here?
926
00:39:55,914 --> 00:39:56,831
There.
927
00:39:58,362 --> 00:40:00,964
Olga! Cup of coffee, please.
928
00:40:00,999 --> 00:40:02,266
Coming, ma'am.
929
00:40:05,302 --> 00:40:06,568
It's all right.
930
00:40:06,603 --> 00:40:08,772
I'm a nut, that's all.
931
00:40:10,507 --> 00:40:11,808
You know my husband's dead?
932
00:40:13,876 --> 00:40:15,279
So I understand, yes.
933
00:40:17,014 --> 00:40:18,853
He was in the Reserve.
934
00:40:18,888 --> 00:40:18,983
A major.
935
00:40:19,018 --> 00:40:20,015
Coffee?
936
00:40:21,476 --> 00:40:23,086
When he went away one day in March a year ago
937
00:40:23,121 --> 00:40:25,689
he left his hat and in the hall.
938
00:40:25,724 --> 00:40:27,692
I didn't put them away.
939
00:40:27,727 --> 00:40:30,027
When I got word that he had been killed
940
00:40:30,062 --> 00:40:31,387
three months later
941
00:40:31,422 --> 00:40:32,594
they were still there.
942
00:40:32,629 --> 00:40:37,456
That was a year ago, and there they are.
943
00:40:37,491 --> 00:40:40,003
I'm simply sick to death of looking at them, but...
944
00:40:40,038 --> 00:40:41,738
there they are.
945
00:40:45,642 --> 00:40:47,342
That's, uh...
946
00:40:47,377 --> 00:40:49,714
that was your husband's place at breakfast?
947
00:40:49,749 --> 00:40:52,017
Mm. I'm sick of looking at that, too.
948
00:40:53,237 --> 00:40:55,185
Weren't you surprised when I told you on the phone
949
00:40:55,220 --> 00:40:56,486
"All right, come up"?
950
00:40:56,521 --> 00:40:57,805
Yeah, a little.
951
00:40:57,840 --> 00:40:59,054
Of course you were.
952
00:40:59,089 --> 00:41:01,962
A while back, I decided to quit being a nut
953
00:41:01,997 --> 00:41:03,227
and I decided how I would do it.
954
00:41:03,262 --> 00:41:05,162
I would have a man sit here with me
955
00:41:05,197 --> 00:41:06,428
at breakfast, in Dick's place
956
00:41:06,463 --> 00:41:08,848
and I would have him take hat and coat
957
00:41:08,883 --> 00:41:11,199
out of that hall, and did you hear me?
958
00:41:11,234 --> 00:41:13,837
"No, not there... That's my husband's place. "
959
00:41:13,872 --> 00:41:15,971
I simply lost my nerve.
960
00:41:17,378 --> 00:41:19,042
Do you suppose I really am a nut?
961
00:41:32,489 --> 00:41:33,322
Toast, please.
962
00:41:33,357 --> 00:41:35,525
I'd like some toast.
963
00:41:37,694 --> 00:41:38,527
Oh, excuse me, you now
964
00:41:38,562 --> 00:41:39,863
but if you want this to stick
965
00:41:39,898 --> 00:41:41,164
I should eat something, right?
966
00:41:41,199 --> 00:41:42,049
Yeah.
967
00:41:42,084 --> 00:41:42,864
Right.
968
00:41:42,899 --> 00:41:45,502
No marmalade, jelly?
969
00:41:49,340 --> 00:41:51,141
You know, if you hadn't been so rude about the bread
970
00:41:51,176 --> 00:41:52,442
I would soon have been crying.
971
00:41:52,477 --> 00:41:54,177
Yeah, I thought so.
972
00:41:57,647 --> 00:42:00,250
Will you take that coat and hat away with you?
973
00:42:00,684 --> 00:42:01,950
Certainly.
974
00:42:01,985 --> 00:42:03,251
Now, I understand...
975
00:42:03,286 --> 00:42:05,889
that you and Priscilla Eades...
976
00:42:05,924 --> 00:42:08,023
were best friends.
977
00:42:08,058 --> 00:42:09,793
When was the last time you saw her?
978
00:42:10,765 --> 00:42:12,330
I don't think I want to talk about it.
979
00:42:12,365 --> 00:42:12,794
Okay.
980
00:42:12,829 --> 00:42:14,130
That's, that's fine.
981
00:42:14,165 --> 00:42:15,397
That's all right.
982
00:42:15,432 --> 00:42:16,733
You owe me three dollars.
983
00:42:16,768 --> 00:42:17,566
What?
984
00:42:17,601 --> 00:42:18,433
Sure. Taxi fare here
985
00:42:18,468 --> 00:42:20,637
to take your husband's place at breakfast.
986
00:42:20,672 --> 00:42:22,372
That's the only reason you let me in.
987
00:42:22,407 --> 00:42:23,638
There'll be a little more
988
00:42:23,673 --> 00:42:24,975
'cause I have to stop at the Salvation Army
989
00:42:25,010 --> 00:42:26,276
to get rid of the hat and coat.
990
00:42:26,311 --> 00:42:27,144
That's three bucks.
991
00:42:27,179 --> 00:42:28,808
I prefer cash.
992
00:42:31,048 --> 00:42:33,216
Have I ever met you before?
993
00:42:33,251 --> 00:42:35,805
Well, not that I remember
994
00:42:35,840 --> 00:42:38,360
and I think I'd remember.
995
00:42:38,395 --> 00:42:38,820
Why?
996
00:42:38,855 --> 00:42:41,892
You seem to know exactly the right things to say.
997
00:42:45,362 --> 00:42:47,964
Pris and I have been friends since we was four.
998
00:42:47,999 --> 00:42:49,231
We got to be like sisters.
999
00:42:49,266 --> 00:42:51,868
We shared a place in the Village after college
1000
00:42:51,903 --> 00:42:54,054
and then, all of a sudden, she was off.
1001
00:42:54,089 --> 00:42:56,171
Next thing I knew, here came a letter
1002
00:42:56,206 --> 00:42:58,375
saying she had found a prince, married him
1003
00:42:58,410 --> 00:43:00,942
and they were off for Peru.
1004
00:43:00,977 --> 00:43:03,728
I remember she enclosed a picture of him.
1005
00:43:06,183 --> 00:43:07,918
Since that time, have you heard from her?
1006
00:43:09,219 --> 00:43:10,520
About a month ago.
1007
00:43:10,555 --> 00:43:11,353
She phoned.
1008
00:43:11,388 --> 00:43:13,088
Back in New York.
1009
00:43:13,123 --> 00:43:15,257
Back to her maiden name.
1010
00:43:15,292 --> 00:43:17,894
She decided she wanted to take over her father's business
1011
00:43:17,929 --> 00:43:18,722
and wanted my help.
1012
00:43:18,757 --> 00:43:20,531
your help or your shares?
1013
00:43:20,532 --> 00:43:21,763
Both.
1014
00:43:21,798 --> 00:43:23,099
She said she wanted to elect
1015
00:43:23,134 --> 00:43:24,852
a new board of directors...
1016
00:43:24,887 --> 00:43:26,535
all women, including me...
1017
00:43:26,570 --> 00:43:29,389
and we would elect Viola Duday
1018
00:43:29,424 --> 00:43:32,174
president of the corporation.
1019
00:43:32,209 --> 00:43:34,377
Is that right... "president of the corporation"?
1020
00:43:35,679 --> 00:43:38,246
Sounds right, sure.
1021
00:43:38,281 --> 00:43:39,981
Miss Jaffe, I have to tell you something.
1022
00:43:40,016 --> 00:43:42,402
I'm here under slightly false pretenses, okay?
1023
00:43:42,437 --> 00:43:45,552
I said Mr. Wolfe and I need some information
1024
00:43:45,587 --> 00:43:46,054
and that's true.
1025
00:43:46,089 --> 00:43:47,355
We also need some help.
1026
00:43:47,390 --> 00:43:49,091
You realize that with Priscilla gone
1027
00:43:49,126 --> 00:43:51,728
that leaves five people who are basically in control
1028
00:43:51,763 --> 00:43:53,029
of the remaining Softdown stock.
1029
00:43:53,064 --> 00:43:55,227
Yes. Certainly.
1030
00:43:55,262 --> 00:43:58,405
Well, we want you to bring an action against them.
1031
00:43:58,440 --> 00:43:59,970
We want you to ask a court
1032
00:44:00,005 --> 00:44:00,951
to get an injunction
1033
00:44:00,986 --> 00:44:03,084
restraining them from exercising
1034
00:44:03,119 --> 00:44:05,803
any of the rights of ownership of that stock
1035
00:44:05,838 --> 00:44:08,458
until it's determined whether one or more of them
1036
00:44:08,493 --> 00:44:12,115
might have acquired that stock through commission of a crime.
1037
00:44:12,150 --> 00:44:14,284
Why should I do that?
1038
00:44:14,718 --> 00:44:16,453
Well, because you have a legitimate interest
1039
00:44:16,488 --> 00:44:18,153
in the proper handing of the firm's affairs,
1040
00:44:18,188 --> 00:44:20,641
see, and you were... well, you were also
1041
00:44:20,676 --> 00:44:23,827
Priscia's oldest friend.
1042
00:44:25,954 --> 00:44:27,514
I don't know, I thought maybe...
1043
00:44:28,825 --> 00:44:29,900
Who do you think killed her?
1044
00:44:31,201 --> 00:44:33,153
I don't know.
1045
00:44:34,015 --> 00:44:34,797
I wish you...
1046
00:44:35,598 --> 00:44:36,788
Don't do this.
1047
00:44:36,823 --> 00:44:38,207
Miss Jaffe, you realize
1048
00:44:38,242 --> 00:44:39,442
that we can't just march in like the cops.
1049
00:44:39,477 --> 00:44:40,656
We have to come up with something
1050
00:44:40,691 --> 00:44:42,180
something to get to these people,
1051
00:44:42,215 --> 00:44:43,634
you know and this will get to them
1052
00:44:43,669 --> 00:44:47,250
and Priscilla, she would be asking the same thing.
1053
00:44:47,285 --> 00:44:48,552
I mean, if she could talk.
1054
00:44:48,587 --> 00:44:50,087
Well, I won't do it.
1055
00:44:50,122 --> 00:44:51,553
I won't do that.
1056
00:44:52,920 --> 00:44:54,624
Please show yourself out.
1057
00:45:01,131 --> 00:45:04,601
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1058
00:45:04,651 --> 00:45:09,201
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