And be a Villian

Cramer started to say something, but Wolfe put up a hand: “Please. As I said, all that is fairly clever, especially the avoidance of real threats about real secrets, but what makes it a masterpiece is the limitation of the tribute. All blackmailers will promise that this time is the last, but I not only make the promise, I keep it. I have an inviolable rule never to ask for a subscription renewal.”

“You can't prove it.”

“No, I can't. But I confidently assume it, because it is the essence, the great beauty, of the plan. A man can put up with a pain-and this was not really a pain, merely a discomfort, for people with good incomes-if he thinks he knows when it will stop, and if it stops when the time comes. But if I make them pay year after year, with no end in sight, I invite sure disaster. I'm too good a businessman for that. It is much cheaper and safer to get four new subscribers a week for each unit; that's all that is needed to keep it at a constant two hundred subscribers.”

Wolfe nodded emphatically. “By all means, then, if I am to stay in business indefinitely, and I intend to, I must make that rule and rigidly adhere to it; and I do so. There will, of course, be many little difficulties, as there are in any enterprise, and I must also be prepared for an unforeseen contingency. For example, Mr Orchard may get killed. If so I must know of it at once, and I must have a man in readiness to remove all papers from his office, even though there is nothing there that could possibly lead to me. I would prefer to have no inkling of the nature and extent of my operations reach unfriendly parties. But I am not panicky; why should I be? Within two weeks one of my associates-the one who makes the phone calls for my units that are managed by females-begins phoning the Track Almanac subscribers to tell them that their remaining payments should be made to another publication called What to Expect. It would have been better to discard my Track Almanac list and take my loss, but I don't know that.

I only find it out when Miss Poole also gets killed. Luckily my surveillance is excellent. Again an office must be cleaned out, and this time under hazardous conditions and with dispatch. Quite likely my man has seen the murderer, and can even name him; but I'm not interested in catching a murderer; what I want is to save my business from these confounded interruptions. I discard both those cursed lists, destroy them, burn them, and start plans for two entirely new units. How about a weekly sheet giving the latest shopping information? Or a course in languages, any language? There are numberless possibilities.”

Wolfe leaned back. “There's your co

“The hell it is,” Cramer mumbled. He was rubbing the side of his nose with his forefinger. He was sorting things out. After a moment he went on: “I thought maybe you were going to end up by killing both of them yourself. That would be a co

“Not a very plausible one. Why would I choose that time and place and method for killing Mr Orchard? Or even Miss Poole-why there in her office? It wouldn't be like me. If they had to be disposed of surely I would have made better arrangements than that.”

“Then you're saying it was a subscriber.”

“I make the suggestion. Not necessarily a subscriber, but one who looked at things from the subscriber's viewpoint.”

“Then the poison was intended for Orchard after all.”

“I suppose so, confound it. I admit that's hard to swallow. It's sticking in my throat.”

“Mine too.” Cramer was sceptical. “One thing you overlooked. You were so interested in pretending it was you, you didn't mention who it really is. This patient ruthless bird that's pulling down over half a million a year. Could I have his name and address?”

“Not from me,” Wolfe said positively. “I strongly doubt if you could finish him, and if you tried he would know who had named him. Then I would have to undertake it, and I don't want to tackle him. I work for money, to make a living, not just to keep myself alive. I don't want to be reduced to that primitive extremity.”

“Nuts. You've been telling me a dream you had. You can't stand it for anyone to think you don't know anything, so you even have the brass to tell me to my face that you know his name. You don't even know he exists, any more than Orchard did.”

“Oh yes I.do. I'm much more intelligent than Mr Orchard.”

“Have it your way,” Cramer conceded generously. “You trade orchids with him. So what? He's not in my department. If he wasn't behind these murders I don't want him. My job is homicide. Say you didn't dream it, say it's just as you said, what comes next? How have I gained an inch or you either? Is that what you got me here for, to tell me about your goddam units in twelve different cities?”

“Partly. I didn't know your precinct servant had been reminded of something. But that wasn't all. Do you feel like telling me why Miss Koppel tried to get on an airplane?”

“Sure I feel like it, but I can't because I don't know. She says to see her sick mother. We've tried to find another reason that we like better, but no luck.

She's under bond not to leave the state.”

Wolfe nodded. “Nothing seems to fructify, does it? What I really wanted was to offer a suggestion. Would you like one?”

“Let me hear it.”

“I hope it will appeal to you. You said that you have had men working in the circles of the Orchard subscribers you know about, and that there have been no results on Professor Savarese or Miss Fraser. You might have expected that, and probably did, since those two have given credible reasons for having subscribed.

Why not shift your aim to another target? How many men are available for that sort of work?”

“As many as I want.”

“Then put a dozen or more on to Miss Vance-or, rather, on to her associates.

Make it thorough. Tell the men that the object is not to learn whether anonymous letters regarding Miss Vance have been received. Tell them that that much has been confidently assumed, and that their job is to find out what the letters said, and who got them and when. It will require pertinacity to the farthest limit of permissible police conduct. The man good enough actually to secure one of the letters will be immediately promoted.”

Cramer sat scowling. Probably he was doing the same as me, straining for a quick but comprehensive flashback of all the things that Elinor Vance had seen or done, either in our presence or to our knowledge. Finally he inquired: “Why her?”

Wolfe shook his head. “If I explained you would say I was telling you another dream. I assure you that in my opinion the reason is good.”

“How many letters to how many people?”

Wolfe's brows went up. “My dear sir! If I knew that would I let you get a finger in it? I would have her here ready for delivery, with evidence. What the deuce is wrong with it? I am merely suggesting a specific line of inquiry on a specific person whom you have already been tormenting for over three weeks.”

“You're letting my finger in now. If it's any good why don't you hire men with your clients' money and sail on through?”

Wolfe snorted. He was disgusted. “Very well,” he said. “I'll do that. Don't bother about it. Doubtless your own contrivances are far superior. Another sergeant may be reminded of something that happened at the turn of the century.”

Cramer stood up. I thought he was going to leave without a word, but he spoke.

“That's pretty damn' cheap, Wolfe. You would never have heard of that sergeant if I hadn't told you about him. Freely.”

He turned and marched out. I made allowances for both of them because their nerves were on edge. After three weeks for Cramer, and more than two for Wolfe, they were no closer to the killer of Cyril Orchard than when they started.