Before Midnight

"Nonsense. Not worth considering. Send them home. Can you possibly think them worth discussing?"

"No," Cramer conceded, "but I'm not sending them home. They were there when the poison was put in the drink. They're being questioned now, separately. I thought you wouldn't mind if we used the rooms on that floor and the basement."

"I am in no position to mind anything whatever." It had cut deep. "I respect your routine, Mr. Cramer, question them by all means, but I doubt if he was inept enough to let himself be observed. Also you may get more than you want. Miss Frazee may well declare that she saw each of them in turn, including the other contestants, putting something into bis drink. I advise you not to let her know that the paper was found. – -By the way. You told me last Wednesday that none of those five men--you were including Assa--could prove he hadn't gone to Dahlmann's place the night he was killed. Does that still hold?"

"Yes. Why?"

"I wanted to know."

"What for? You looking for a murderer now? By God, I could lock you in!"

"I still have my job, to find out who took the wallet. Those who may suppose I'll now be satisfied that Mr. Assa took it will be wrong." All of a sudden, with no warning, Wolfe blew. He opened his mouth and roared, "Confound it, can a man kill with impunity in my office, with my liquor in my glass?"

"A goddam shame," Cramer said. "But you stick to your job and let mine alone. I'd hate to see you humiliated again. I wouldn't mind humiliating you myself some day, but not by a stranger and a murderer. Anyway, if it's down to those four, two of them are, your clients."

"No. My client is a business firm."

"Okay, but keep off. I don't like the look on your face, but I seldom do. Other things I don't like. You seem positive the contestants are out of it."

"I am."

"Why? What do you know that you haven't told me?"

"Nothing of any substance."

"Do you know of any motive any of those four men had for killing Dahlmann?"

"No. Only that apparently they all envied him. Do you know of any?"

"None that has looked good enough. Now we'll look closer. Have you any information at all that points in any way to one of them?"

"No one more than another."

"If you get any I want it. You keep off. Another thing I don't like, this client stuff. I have known you--come in!"

Bad manners again. It wasn't his door that was knocked on. It opened and a dick stepped in.

"Inspector, the lieutenant wants you. He's in the kitchen with one of the women."