Rex Stout - And be a Villian

“And I'll call for the replies. It saves time.”

“Then do so.”

I put paper in the typewriter. The phone rang. It was Sergeant Purley Stebbins, to give me the names and addresses of the two Orchard subscribers they had dug up.

Chapter Fifteen So beginning Monday morning we were again a going concern, instead of a sitting-and-waiting one, but I was not in my element, I like a case you can make a diagram of. I don't object to complications, that's all right, but if you're out for bear it seems silly to concentrate on hunting for moose tracks. Our fee depended on our finding out how and why Orchard got cyanided by drinking Madeline Fraser's sugared coffee, and here we were spending our time and energy on the shooting of a female named Beula Poole. Even granting it was one and the same guy who pinched the lead pencils and spilled ink on the rug, if you've been hired to nail him for pencil-stealing that's what you should work at.

I admit that isn't exactly fair, because most of our Monday activities had to do with Orchard. Wolfe seemed to think it was important for him to have a talk with those two subscribers, so instead of usin? the phone I went out after them. I had one of them in the office waiting for him at 11 a.m.-an assistant office manager for a big tile company. Wolfe spent less than a quarter of an hour on him, knowing, of course, that the cops had spent more and had checked him. He had bet on the races for years. In February a year ago he had learned that a Hialeah daily double featured in a sheet called Track Almanac had come through for a killing, and he had subscribed, though the ten bucks a week was a sixth of his salary. He had stayed with it for nine weeks and then quit. So much for him.

The other one was a little different. Her name was Marie Leconne, and she owned a snooty beauty parlour on Madison Avenue. She wouldn't have accepted my invitation if she hadn't been under the illusion that Wolfe was connected with the police, though I didn't precisely tell her so. That Monday evening she was with us a good two hours, but left nothing of any value behind. She had subscribed to Track Almanac in August, seven months ago, and had remained a subscriber up to the time of Orchard's death. Prior to subscribing she had done little or no betting on the races; she was hazy about whether it was little, or no. Since subscribing she had bet frequently, but she firmly refused to tell where, through whom, or in what amounts. Wolfe, knowing that I occasionally risk a five, passed me a hint to have some conversation with her about pertinent matters like horses and jockeys, but she declined to co-operate. All in all she kept herself nicely under control, and flew off the handle only once, when Wolfe pressed her hard for a plausible reason why she had subscribed to a tip sheet at such a price. That aggravated her terribly, and since the one thing that scares Wolfe out of his senses is a woman in a tantrum, he backed away fast.

He did keep on trying, from other angles, but when she finally left, all we knew for sure was that she had not subscribed to Track Almanac in order to get guesses on the ponies. She was slippery, and nobody's fool, and Wolfe had got no further than the cops in opening her up.

I suggested to Wolfe: “We might start Saul asking around in her circle.”

He snorted. “Mr Cramer is presumably attending to that, and, anyway, it would have to be dragged out of her inch by inch. The advertisement should be quicker.”

It was quicker, all right, in getting results, but not the results we were after. There had not been time to make the Monday papers, so the ad.’s first appearance was Tuesday morning. Appraising it, I thought it caught the eye effectively for so small a space. After breakfast, which I always eat in the kitchen with Fritz while Wolfe has his in his room on a tray, and after dealing with the morning mail and other chores in the office, I went out to. stretch my legs and thought I might as well head in the direction of the Herald-Tribune Building. Expecting nothing so soon but thinking it wouldn't hurt to drop in, I did so. There was a telegram. I tore it open and read:

I went to a phone booth and put a nickel in the slot, with the idea of calling Cramer's office to ask who Midland 5-3784 belonged to, but changed my mind. If it happened that this led to a hot trail we didn't want to be hampered by city interference, at least I didn't. However, I thought I might as well get something for my nickel and dialled another number. Fritz answered, and I asked him to switch it to the plant rooms.

“Yes, Archie?” Wolfe's voice came, peevish. He was at the bench, reporting, as I knew from his schedule, and he hates to be interrupted at that job. I told him about the telegram.

“Very well, call the number. Make an appointment for eleven o'clock or later.”

I walked back home, went to my desk, dialled the Midland number, and asked for Mr Duncan. Of course it could have been Mrs or Miss, but I preferred to deal with a man after our experience with Marie Leconne. A gruff voice with an accent said that Mr Duncan wasn't there and was there a message.

“Will he be back soon?”

“I don't know. All I know is that I can take a message.”

I thereupon delivered one, that Mr Duncan would be expected at Nero Wolfe's office at eleven o'clock, or as soon thereafter as possible.

He didn't come. Wolfe descended in his elevator sharp at eleven as usual, got himself enthroned, rang for beer, and began sorting plant cards he had brought down with him. I had him sign a couple of checks and then started to help with the cards. At half-past eleven I asked if I should ring the Midland number to see if Duncan had got the message, and he said no, we would wait until noon.

The phone rang. I went to my desk and told it: “Nero Wolfe's office, Goodwin speaking.”

“I got your message for Duncan. Let me speak to Mr Wolfe, please.”

I covered the transmitter and told Wolfe: “He says Duncan, but it's a voice I've heard. It's not a familiar voice, but by God I've heard it. See if you have.”

Wolfe lifted his instrument.

“Yes, Mr Duncan? This is Nero Wolfe.”

“How are you?” the voice asked.

“I’m well, thank you. Do I know you, sir?”

“I really don't know. I mean I don't know if you would recognize me, seeing me, because I don't know how foolishly inquisitive you may have been. But we have talked before, on the phone.”

“We have?”

“Yes. Twice. On June ninth, nineteen forty-three, I called to give you some advice regarding a job you were doing for General Carpenter. On January sixteenth, nineteen forty-six, I called to speak about the advisability of limiting your efforts on behalf of a Mrs Tremont.”

“Yes. I remember.”

I remembered too. I chalked it against me that I hadn't recognized the voice with the first six words, though it had been over two years since I had heard it-hard, slow, precise and cold as last week's corpse. It was continuing: “I was pleased to see that you did limit your efforts as I suggested. That showed-”

“I limited them because no extension of them was required to finish the job I was hired for. I did not limit them because you suggested it, Mr Zeck.” Wolfe was being fairly icy himself.

“So you know my name.” The voice never changed.

“Certainly. I went to some trouble and expense to ascertain it. I don't pay much attention to threats, I get too many of them, but at least I like to know who the threatener is. Yes, I know your name, sir. Is that temerarious? Many people know Mr Arnold Zeck.”

“You have had no occasion to. This, Mr Wolfe, does not please me.”

“I didn't expect it to.”

“No. But I am much easier to get along with when I am pleased. That's why I sent you that telegram and am talking with you now. I have strong admiration for you, as I've said before. I wouldn't want to lose it. It would please me better to keep it. Your advertisement in the papers has given me some concern. I realize that you didn't know that, you couldn't have known it, so I'm telling you. The advertisement disturbs me. It can't be recalled; it has appeared. But it is extremely important that you should not permit it to lead you into difficulties that will be too much for you. The wisest course for you will be to drop the matter. You understand me, don't you, Mr Wolfe?”

“Oh, yes, I understand you. You put things quite clearly, Mr Zeck, and so do I.

I have engaged to do something, and I intend to do it. I haven't the slightest desire either to please you or to displease you, and unless one or the other is inherent in my job you have no reason to be concerned. You understand me, don't you?”

“Yes. I do. But now you know.”

The line went dead.

Wolfe cradled the phone and leaned back in his chair, with his eyes closed to a slit. I pushed my phone away, swivelled, and gazed at him through a minute's silence.

“So,” I said. “That sonof abitch. Shall I find out about the Mid- land number?”

Wolfe shook his head. “Useless. It would be some little store that merely took a message. Anyway, he has a number of his own.”

“Yeah. He didn't know you knew his name. Neither did I. How did that happen?”

“Two years ago I engaged some of Mr Bascom's men without telling you. He had sounded as if he were a man of resource and resolution, and I didn't want to get you involved.”

“It's the Zeck with the place in Westchester, of course?”

“Yes. I should have signalled you off as soon as I recognized his voice. I tell you nothing because it is better for you to know nothing. You are to forget that you know his name.”

“Like that.” I snapped my fingers, and grinned at him. “What the hell? Does he eat human flesh, preferably handsome young men?”

“No. He does worse.” Wolfe's eyes came half-open. “I'll tell you this. If ever, in the course of my business, I find that I am committed against him and must destroy him, I shall leave this house, find a place where I can work-and sleep and eat if there is time for it-and stay there until I have finished. I don't want to do that, and therefore I hope I'll never have to.”

“I see. I'd like to meet this bozo. I think I'll make his acquaintance.”

“You will not. You'll stay away from him.” He made a face. “If this job leads me to that extremity-well, it will or it won't.” He glanced at the clock. “It's nearly noon. You'd better go and see if any more answers have arrived. Can't you telephone?”

Chapter Sixteen There were no more answers. That goes not only for Tuesday noon, but for the rest of the day and evening, and Wednesday morning, and Wednesday after lunch.

Nothing doing.

It didn't surprise me. The nature of the phone call from the man whose name I had been ordered to forget made it seem likely that there was something peculiar about the subscribers to Track Almanac and What to Expect, which was the name of the political and economic dope sheet published by the late Beula Poole. But even granting that there wasn't, that as far as they were concerned it was all clean and straight, the two publishers had just been murdered, and who would be good enough to answer such an ad. just to get asked a lot of impertinent questions? In the office after lunch Wednesday I made a remark to that effect to Wolfe, and got only a growl for reply.

“We might at least,” I insisted, “have hinted that they would get their money back or something.”

No reply.