The Rubber Band

"All right, we're crazy. Open the door."

I shook my head, and got out a cigarette, and lit up. I said, "Listen, sergeant. There's no use wasting the night in repartee. You know damn well you've got no more right to go through that door than a cockroach unless you've got a search warrant. Ordinarily Mr. Wolfe is more than willing to cooperate with you guys; if you don't know that, ask Inspector Cramer. So am I. Hell, some of my best friends are cops. I'm not even sore because you tried to rush me and I got excited and thought you were mugs and pushed you. But it just happens that we don't want company of any kind at present."

He grunted and glared. "Is Clara Fox in there?"

"Now that's a swell question." I grinned at him. "Either she isn't, in which case I would say no, or she is and I don't want you to know it, in which case would I say yes? I might at that, if she was somewhere else and I didn't want you to go there to look for her."

"Is she in there?"

I just shook my head at him.

"You're harboring a fugitive from justice."

"I wouldn't dream of such a thing."

The short dick, the one I had swept the hall with, piped up in a tenor, "Take him down for resisting an officer."

I reproved him. "The sergeant knows better than that. He knows they wouldn't book me, or if they did I read about a man once that collected enough to retire on for false arrest."

The big one stood and stared into my frank eyes for half a minute, then turned and descended the stoop and looked up and down the street. I didn't know whether he expected to see the Russian Army or a place to buy a drink. He called up to his brother in arms, "Stay here, Steve. Cover that door. I'll go and phone a report and probably send someone to cover the rear. When that bird turns his back to go in the house give him a kick in the ass."

I waved at him, "Good night, sergeant," pushed the button three shorts, took my key from my pocket, unlocked the door, and went in. If that tenor had tickled me I'd have pulled his nose. I slid the bolt in place. Fritz was standing in the middle of the hall with my automatic in his hand. I said, "Watch out, that thing's loaded."

He was serious. "I know it is, Archie. I thought possibly you might need it."

"No, thanks. I bit their jugulars. It's a trick."