The Mother Hunt (Rex Stout Library)

Miss Foltz folded her arms. Mrs. Dowd said, It's a good enough baby.

I suppose so. Apparently whoever left it in the vestibule had the idea that Mrs. Valdon might keep it. Whether she does or not, naturally she wants to know where it came from, so she has hired a detective to find out. His name is Nero Wolfe. You may have heard of him.

Is he on TV? Miss Foltz inquired.

Don't be silly, Mrs. Dowd told her. How could he be? He's real. To me: Certainly I've heard of him, and you too. Your picture was in the paper about a year ago. I forget your first name no, I don't. Archie. Archie Goodwin. I should have remembered when Mrs. Valdon said Goodwin. I have a good memory for names and faces.

You sure have. I sipped milk. Here's why I need help. In a case like this, what would a detective think of first? He would think there must be some reason why the baby was left at this house instead of some other house, and what could the reason be? Well, one good reason could be that someone who lives here wants that baby to live here too. So Mr. Wolfe asked Mrs. Valdon who lives here besides her, and she said Mrs. Vera Dowd and Miss Marie Foltz, and he asked her if one of them could have had a baby about four months ago, and she said. They both interrupted. I raised a hand, palm out. Now you see, I said, not raising my voice. You see why I need help. I merely tell you a detective asked a natural and normal question, and you fly off the handle. Try being detectives yourselves once. Of course Mrs. Valdon said that neither of you could have had a baby four months ago, and the next question was, did either of you have a relative, maybe a sister, who might have had a baby she couldn't keep? That's harder to answer. I'd have to dig. I'd have to find your relatives and friends and ask a lot of questions, and that would take time and cost money, but I'd get the answer, that's sure.

You can get the answer right now, Mrs. Dowd said.