Over My Dead Body

"I'm asking you. Let me tell you folks something. I may not be your best and dearest friend, but I'm quite a pal compared to the guys downstairs I mentioned. Otherwise I would have brought them up here. That can be done at any moment. What time did Driscoll get here this morning?"

"About half past eleven."

"That was his first appearance here to-day?"

"Yes."

"What time did he leave?"

"He didn't leave at all. He had some lunch brought in on account of Miss Lovchen."

"She got here at eleven-twenty."

"Yes." The secretary was getting no warmer. "How did you know that? How did you know she was here?"

"Intuition. I'm an intuitive genius." I shifted to Driscoll. "So you didn't kill Faber, huh?"

He stammered, "You mean… you must mean Ludlow-"

"I mean Rudolph Faber. A little before noon to-day he was found in the apartment occupied by Neya Tormic and Carla Lovchen lying on the floor, dead. Stabbed. Miss Tormic and I went there looking for Miss Lovchen, and found him."

The secretary looked impressed. Driscoll's eyes widened and his mouth stood open. I snapped at Carla:

"He was there when you went there. Either alive or dead, or alive and then dead."

"I didn't-I wasn't there-"

"Can it. What do you think this is-hide and seek? They were tailing you. You went in there at eleven-five and came out again at eleven-fifteen. Faber was there."

She shivered again. "I didn't kill him."

"Was he there?"

She shook her head and took a deep, jerky breath. "I'm not… going to say anything. I am going away, away from America." She clasped her hands at me. "Pliz, you must help me! Mr Driscoll would help me! Oh, you must, you must-"

Driscoll demanded in an improved voice, "You say Faber was there in her apartment stabbed to death?"

"Yes."

"And she had just been there?"

"She left there about thirty minutes before the body was found."

"Good God." He stared at her. The secretary was staring at her, too.

I said briskly, "She says she didn't do it. I don't know. The immediate point is that Nero Wolfe wants to see her before the cops get hold of her. What were you going to do-help her get away?"