“And,” I suggested, “whoever inherits from her is in luck. Had you thought of that?”
Hombert growled. Cramer looked startled. Skinner demanded, “And who is that? Who inherits from her?”
“I haven’t the slightest idea. Not me.”
“You’re pretty fresh, aren’t you, Goodwin?”
“Yes, sir. I resent being corraled up there with the herd for four hours. You could have taken me first as well as last. I know why you did it.” I nodded at the pile of notes on the table. “You wanted to toss my lies right back at me. Go ahead and try.”
But they wasted an hour peering into empty holes before they got to that part. When and where had I first seen Naomi Karn. Ditto Wolfe. Exactly what had happened, and what had been said, when I went to her apartment to get her the day before. Then the previous visitation of the Hawthornes and auxiliaries. What had April said. What had May said. What had June said. Had anyone threatened anyone. Then the talk with Naomi after the others had left. I tried to be obliging, but of course there were certain details that I regarded as inappropriate for the detective to have in his notebook, such as Naomi’s calling Stauffer Ossie and Daisy Hawthorne’s attack on the integrity of our clients, and I excluded those. Another thing I neglected to mention was the Davis-Dawson episode that morning. I merely said that Wolfe got a phone call from Dunn around 9:30 and came to 67th Street, and that I joined him there about an hour later. Then I pulled a sheet of paper from my pocket and handed it across to Skinner.
“I thought a timetable might simplify it,” I told him, “so I typed one on a machine up in the library while I was awaiting your pleasure.”
Hombert and Cramer got up and went to have a look at it, one over each shoulder of the district attorney. While they were digesting it I glanced over the carbon copy I had kept for myself:
10:45 Joined Wolfe, Dunn & wife in library. 11:10 Butler announced Skinner, Cramer & Hombert calling on Dunn. 11:30 Phoned Durkin, Panzer & Keems. Sara Dunn came. 12:10 April, Celia & Stauffer. 12:30 Those three left. Panzer & Keems came, got instructions, and left. 1:10 Lunch. 2:15 Cramer came. 2:35 He left. Daisy H. came. 2:40 Durkin came. 2:42 I went outdoors and spoke to Orrie. Re-entered house and saw Naomi Karn in living room. 2:50 Durkin left. 3:10 I went downstairs and had short talk with Naomi Karn and returned to library. 4:55 Phone call from Panzer. 5:00 Daisy H. left. 5:05 I went to living room. Naomi Karn not there. Eugene Davis was. Took him to library. 5:40 Prescott came. 5:45 Davis & Prescott left. 5:55 Butler came. Dunn wanted Wolfe in living room. Wolfe & I went. 6:05 Bronson, Stauffer, Prescott & Ritchie went upstairs, leaving Dunn, Wolfe & me in living room. 6:11 Found body.
It looked all right. The few little items I had left out, such as Daisy’s first draperies act, Sara’s asking to see Wolfe, the counterfeit Daisy and her disappearance, and Stauffer’s ambush, were all things they couldn’t be expected to get from other sources.