“They’re scooping up all the clients, that’s all. Broadyke has been collared for receiving stolen goods — the designs he bought from Talbott. Pohl has been pulled in for disturbing the peace, and Talbott for assault and battery. Not to mention that Miss Keyes has just had the daylights scared out of her.”
“What are you talking about? What happened?”
I told him and, since he had nothing to do but sit and let Orrie answer the phone for him, I left nothing out. When I was through I offered the suggestion that it might be a good plan for me to stick around and find out what it was about Mr. Donaldson that made young women tremble and turn pale at sound of his name.
“No, I think not,” Wolfe said, “unless he’s a tailor. Just find out if he’s a tailor, but discreetly. No disclosure. If so, get his address. Then find Miss Rooney — wait, I’ll give you her address—”
“I know her address.”
“Find her. Get her confidence. Get alone with her. Loosen up her tongue.”
“What am I after — no, I know what I’m after. What are you after?”
“I don’t know. Anything you can get. Confound it, you know what a case like this amounts to, there’s nothing for it but trial and error—”
Movement over by the door had caught my eye, and I focused on it. Someone had entered and was approaching me.
“Okay,” I told Wolfe. “There’s no telling where she is, but I’ll find her if it takes all day and all night.” I hung up and grinned at the newcomer and greeted her.