Then I saw a shiver in his left shoulder, a quick little spasm, and the fingers of his left hand, on the arm of his chair, began twitching.
He looked down at them, and reached over with his other hand and gripped and twisted them, and the shoulder had another spasm, and I saw the muscles jerking in the side of his neck.
His nerves were certainly shot.
His eyes moved around and fell on the empty glass standing on the edge of Wolfe's desk, and he turned to me and asked as if it were a big favor: “Could I have a little more water?” I took the glass and went and filled it and brought it back, and when he didn't lift his hand to take it I put it down on the desk again. He paid no attention to it.
He muttered aloud, but to no one in particular,
“I've got to make up my own mind.
I thought I had, but I didn't expect this.”
Wolfe said,
“If you were a clever man you'd have done that before the unexpected forced you.”
McNair took out his handkerchief and this time wiped off the sweat.
He said quietly,
“Good God, I'm not clever.
I'm the most complete fool that was ever born.
I've ruined my whole life.” His shoulder twitched again.
“It wouldn't do any good to tell the police what you know, Mr. Wolfe.
I didn't poison that candy.”
Wolfe said, “Go on.”
McNair nodded. “I'll go on.
I don't blame Helen for telling you about it, after the way you trapped her yesterday morning.
I can imagine what she was up against here today, but I don't hold that against you either.
I've got beyond all the ordinary resentments, they don't mean anything.
You notice I'm not even trying to find out what Helen told you.
I know if she told you anything she told you the truth.”
He lifted his head to get Wolfe straighter in the eye.
“I didn't poison the candy.
When I went upstairs to my office about twelve o'clock that day, to get away from the crowd for a few minutes, the box was there on my desk.
I opened it and looked in it, but didn't take any because I had a devil of a headache.
When Helen came in a little later I offered her some, but thank God she didn't take any either, because there were no caramels in it.
When I went back downstairs I left it on my desk, and Molly must have seen it there later, and took it.
She…liked to play pranks.”
He stopped and wiped his brow again.
Wolfe asked:
“What did you do with the paper and twine the box was wrapped with?”
“There wasn't any.
It wasn't wrapped.”
“Who put it on your desk?”
“I don't know.
Twenty-five or thirty people had been in and out of there before 11:30, looking at some Crenuit models I didn't want to show publicly.”
“Who do you think put it there?”
“I haven't any idea about it.”
“Who do you think might want to kill you?”
“No one would want to kill me.
That's why I'm sure it was meant for someone else and was left there by mistake.
Anyway, there's no more reason to suppose-”
“I'm not supposing.” Wolfe sounded disgusted. “You are certainly on solid ground when you say you're not clever. But surely you're not halfwitted.
Consider what you're telling me: you found the box on your desk, you have no suspicion as to who put it there, you are convinced it was not intended for you and have no idea who it was meant for, and yet you have carefully concealed from the police the fact that you saw it there.
I have never heard such nonsense; a babe in arms would laugh at you.”
Wolfe sighed deeply.
“I shall have to have beer.
I imagine this will require all my patience.