“That’s an old story. Back in 1935. How did you know about it?”
“I have men working for me. But the attachment still exists, doesn’t it?”
“Certainly not.”
“You were with Miss Karn Tuesday. You were with her last evening.”
“We are friends. I’m a lawyer. She was consulting me.”
Wolfe shook his head. “Please don’t waste time like that. There are two pictures of her in your wallet, and Mr. Dawson has eight more scattered around his apartment.”
Davis flushed in sudden anger, and his jaw stiffened. He shot me a glance that he should have been ashamed of, considering the fact that I had just saved his life with a triple Scotch.
“By God,” he declared, “if I wasn’t tied hand and foot—”
“You’d assault Mr. Goodwin. I know. I know too, I think, how reluctant you are to admit your attachment for Miss Karn as an item in a discussion like this. It is a vital necessity for you right now to keep your head clear and working efficiently, and that’s difficult when a subject arises which causes your heart to pump an excess of blood. I’ll go as easy as I can. But here’s the material we have to deal with: You were passionately attached to Miss Karn. Noel Hawthorne saw her and liked her, and wanted her, and took her. Naturally you resented that. How much I don’t know, but surely you resented it. However, either you continued some sort of association with her, or after a time you resumed association. Which?”
Davis didn’t reply. Wolfe went on: