“Why,” she said, “I suppose... if you want...”
“I do want. I presume it would be possible to have Mr. Gebert there?”
She nodded. “He’s there now. Or he was when I phoned mother. Of course... you know... mother doesn’t approve...”
“I’m aware of that. She thinks you’re poking a stick in a hornet’s nest. But the fact is the police are the hornets; you’ve avoided them, and she hasn’t. Mr. Goodwin is a discreet and wholesome man and not without acuity. I want him to talk with Mr. Gebert, and with your mother too if she will permit it. You will soon be of age, Miss Frost; you have chosen to attempt a difficult and possibly dangerous project; surely you can prevail on your family and close friends for some consideration. If they are ignorant of any circumstance regarding Mr. McNair’s death, all the more should they be ready to establish that point and help us to stumble on a path that will lead us away from ignorance. So if you would invite Mr. Goodwin for a cup of tea...”
Llewellyn said sourly, “I think Dad’s there, too, he was going to stay till we got back. It’ll just be a big stew — if it’s Gebert you want, why can’t we send him down here? He’ll do anything Helen tells him to.”
“Because for two hours I shall be engaged with my plants.” Wolfe looked at the clock again, and got up from his chair.
Our client was biting her lip. She quit that, and looked at me. “Will you have tea with us, Mr. Goodwin?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Much obliged.”
Wolfe, moving toward the door, said to her, “It is a pleasure to earn a fee from a client like you. You can come to a yes or no without first encircling the globe. I hope and believe that when we are finished you will have nothing to regret.” He moved on, and turned at the threshold. “By the way, Archie, if you will just get that package from your room before you leave. Put it on my bed.”
He went to the elevator. I rose and told my prospective hostess I would be back in a minute, left the office and hopped up the stairs. I didn’t stop at the second floor, where my room was, but kept going to the top, and got there almost as soon as the elevator did with the load it had. At the door to the plant rooms Wolfe stood, awaiting me.