Plot It Yourself

“I was saying that she told me about what she had put in an envelope and left with somebody to be opened if she died. I don’t see how you can say I didn’t make any mistakes. I hadn’t realized how dangerous it was for her to have the typewriter I used to write that story for her to use, ‘There Is Only Love.’ We thought it would be a good idea for her to have it because she was supposed to have written the story, but I hadn’t realized that it could be traced to me because I had bought it. I had bought it secondhand, but typewriters have numbers on them somewhere. You can’t say I didn’t make any mistakes. You ought to say I didn’t do anything right. Did I?”

“If by ‘right’ you mean ‘well,’ you did indeed.”

“What? What did I do well? Tell me.”

“It would take an hour, Miss Wynn. You did a thousand things well. Your conception and execution of the swindles were impeccable, providing for all details and avoiding all pitfalls. Your choice of accomplices was admirable. Your handling of the situation these past two weeks has been superb. I have had some experience with people under stress wearing masks, both men and women, and I have never seen finer performances than yours-the first time you called on me with your fellow committee members, two weeks ago today, when I questioned you at some length; the second time, when Mr Oshin made his suggestion about Simon Jacobs and asked you to contribute ten thousand dollars; later that day at Mr Imhofs office when Mr Goodwin was told of the discovery of the manuscript which you had yourself put in the file; the third time you came with the committee, when the question whether to dismiss me was debated; the meeting of that council yesterday, when that question was again discussed in my presence-your performance on all of those occasions was extraordinary.”

Wolfe turned a palm up. “On one occasion you showed ready and notable wit-on Friday, four days ago, when Miss Porter drove to New York to see you at your apartment. By then, of course, she was confronting you with a direr menace than exposure of your swindles; she was threatening to reveal you as a murderer. That is true?”

“Yes. That’s why she came to see me. How did I show any wit?”