“Yes. You were saying that Mr. Wolfe thought—”
I resumed. “He thought that before I talk with the three women — with your permission, of course — you might be willing to let us have your opinion on a few points. For instance, do you think it likely that your wife made some such arrangement as Mr. Lewent suspects? Can you recall ever hearing her say anything hinting at such a thing? Her accounts for the months before she died — say a year — do they show a withdrawal of any unusual amount, either cash or securities? And most important, Mr. Wolfe thinks, which of those three women would your wife have been most likely to choose for such a purpose?”
Huck may have thought he was looking straight at me, but if so his aim was still low. “My brother-in-law has never mentioned this to me,” he said stiffly.
I nodded. “He says he was afraid of offending you. But now, since a year has passed and it is evident that all you have for him is the request in your wife’s will that his needs be considered, he feels that the matter should be looked into, so far as it can be without any inconvenience or embarrassment to you.”
“How could it embarrass me?”
“I don’t know. You’re a very wealthy man, and Miss Riff and Miss Marcy and Mrs. O’Shea work for you and live in your house, and I suppose Mr. Lewent thought you might not like my asking them an assortment of leading questions.”
“Miss Riff doesn’t live here.”
“The other two do?”
“Yes.”
“Do you regard them all as upright and trustworthy?”