“If it’s not too much bother.”
“I’ll be as brief as possible. Let us make a complex supposition — that I got Mr. and Mrs. Rackell’s permission for an extraordinary disbursement for a stated purpose; that I sent Mr. Goodwin to see Miss Devlin; that he told her I had concluded that Miss Goheen had murdered Arthur Rackell and she had seen the act; that I suggested that she should inform the police of the fact; and that, as compensation for her embarrassment and distress, I engaged to pay her a large sum of money which would be provided by Mr. and Mrs. Rackell.”
Wolfe upturned a palm. “Supposing I did that, it was not an attempt to suborn perjury, since it cannot be shown that I intended her to swear falsely, but certainly I was exposing myself to a claim for damages from Miss Goheen. That was a calculated risk I had to take, and whether the calculation was sound depended on the event. There was also a risk of being charged with obstruction of justice, and that too depended on the event. Should it prove to serve justice instead of obstructing it, and should Miss Goheen suffer no unmerited damage, I would be fully justified. I hope to be. I expect to be.”
“Then you can—”
“If you please. But suppose, having done all that, I now admit it to you and tell you my calculations and intentions. Then you’ll either have to try to head me off or be in it with me. It would be jackassery for you to head me off — take my word for it; it would be unthinkable. But it would also be unthinkable for you to be in it, either actively or passively. Whatever the outcome may be, you cannot afford to be associated with an offer to pay a large sum of money to a person involved in a murder case for disclosing a fact, even an authentic one. Your positions forbid it. I’m a private citizen and can stand it; you can’t. What the devil did you come here for? If I’m headed for defeat, opprobrium, and punishment, then I am. Why dash up here only to get yourselves confronted with unthinkable alternatives?”
Wolfe fluttered a hand. “Luckily, this is just talk. I was merely discussing a complex supposition. To return to reality, I will be glad to give you gentlemen any information that you may properly require — and Mr. Goodwin too, of course. So?”
They looked at each other. Cramer let out a snort. Wengert pulled at his ear and gazed at me, and I returned the gaze, open-faced and perfectly innocent. He found that not helpful and transferred to Wolfe.
“You called the turn,” he said, “when you told Goodwin to phone Miss Devlin. I should have foreseen that. That was dumb.”
The phone rang, and I swiveled and got it. “Nero Wolfe’s office, Archie Goodwin speaking.”
“This is Rattner.”