want to report it?'
'Good God, no.' The fists relaxed. 'How about this'I'll get her in here, and Wyman too, and I'll keep them here while you go up and search their rooms. You know how to search a room.'
One of two things, I thought. Either he is sure it was her, for some reason or no reason, or he took it himself and planted it in her room. 'No good,' I declared. 'If she took it, the last place she would hide it would be in her room. I could find it, of course, in a couple of days, or much quicker if I got help in, but what if it turned up in one of the tubs on the terrace'You'd have the gun back, that's true, if that's what you want.'
'You know damn well what I want.'
'Yes, I ought to, but that's not the point now, or not the whole point. Anyone going to all that trouble and risk to get hold of a gun, he must-I beg your pardon-she must intend to use it for something. I doubt if it's to shoot a squirrel. It might even be to shoot you. I would resent that while I'm employed as your secretary. I advise you to get them in here and let me ask questions. Even better, take them all down to Mr. Wolfe and let him ask questions.'
'No.'
'You won't?'
'No.'
'Then what?'
'I don't know. I'll see. I'll have to think.' He looked at his wrist. 'They're in the lounge.' He stood up. 'I'll see.'
'Okay.' I stood up. 'I'd rather not appear barefooted. I'll go up and put on my shoes and socks.'
As I said before, that added a new element to the situation.
Nero Wolfe 29 - If Death Ever Slept
Chapter 5
WHEN NERO WOLFE CAME down from the plant rooms at six o'clock Thursday afternoon I was at my desk in the office, waiting for him. Growling a greeting, if you can call it that, as he crossed to his chair, he lowered his bulk and got it properly disposed, rested his elbows on the chair arms, and glared at me.
'Well?'
I had swiveled to him. 'To begin with,' I said, 'as I told you on the phone, I'm not asking you to exert yourself if you'd rather not. I can hang on up there if it takes all summer, and with Orrie here you certainly don't need me. Only I didn't want you to have a client shot from under you with no warning from me. By the way, where is Orrie?'
'He stepped out. Who is going to shoot Mr. Jarrell?'
'I don't know. I don't even know he's going to be the target. Do you care to hear about it?'
'Go ahead.'
I did so. Giving him only a sketchy outline of my encounters and experiences up to 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, when Jarrell had opened my door and yelled at me to come on, from there I made it more detailed. I reported verbatim my conversation with Jarrell after Horland's had gone.
Wolfe grunted. 'The man's an ass. Every one of those people would profit by his death. They need a demonstration, or one of them does. He should have corralled them and called in the police to find the gun.'
'Yeah. He's sure his daughter-in-law took it, or pretends he is. As I said on the phone Monday night, he may have an itch he can't reach and is not accountable. He could have pulled the rug act himself, answered the phone call from Horland's there in the library, raced upstairs to get me, and raced down again. He could have taken the gun earlier. I prefer it that way, since in that case there will probably be no bullets flying, but I admit it's not likely. He is not a nitwit.'
'What has been done?'
'Nothing, actually. After dinner we played bridge, two tables-Trella, Lois, Nora, Jarrell, Wyman, Roger Foote, Corey Brigham, me. Incidentally, when I finally got down to the lounge before dinner Brigham was there with them, and I learned from Steck that he had come early, shortly after six o'clock, so I suppose it could have been him that got the gun, provided he had a key to the library. It was around midnight when we quit, and-'
'You didn't include the daughter-in-law.'
'Haven't I mentioned that she doesn't play bridge'She doesn't. And we went to bed. Today I saw four of them at breakfast-Jarrell, Wyman, Lois, and Nora-but not much of anybody since,
'Good God, no.' The fists relaxed. 'How about this'I'll get her in here, and Wyman too, and I'll keep them here while you go up and search their rooms. You know how to search a room.'
One of two things, I thought. Either he is sure it was her, for some reason or no reason, or he took it himself and planted it in her room. 'No good,' I declared. 'If she took it, the last place she would hide it would be in her room. I could find it, of course, in a couple of days, or much quicker if I got help in, but what if it turned up in one of the tubs on the terrace'You'd have the gun back, that's true, if that's what you want.'
'You know damn well what I want.'
'Yes, I ought to, but that's not the point now, or not the whole point. Anyone going to all that trouble and risk to get hold of a gun, he must-I beg your pardon-she must intend to use it for something. I doubt if it's to shoot a squirrel. It might even be to shoot you. I would resent that while I'm employed as your secretary. I advise you to get them in here and let me ask questions. Even better, take them all down to Mr. Wolfe and let him ask questions.'
'No.'
'You won't?'
'No.'
'Then what?'
'I don't know. I'll see. I'll have to think.' He looked at his wrist. 'They're in the lounge.' He stood up. 'I'll see.'
'Okay.' I stood up. 'I'd rather not appear barefooted. I'll go up and put on my shoes and socks.'
As I said before, that added a new element to the situation.
Nero Wolfe 29 - If Death Ever Slept
Chapter 5
WHEN NERO WOLFE CAME down from the plant rooms at six o'clock Thursday afternoon I was at my desk in the office, waiting for him. Growling a greeting, if you can call it that, as he crossed to his chair, he lowered his bulk and got it properly disposed, rested his elbows on the chair arms, and glared at me.
'Well?'
I had swiveled to him. 'To begin with,' I said, 'as I told you on the phone, I'm not asking you to exert yourself if you'd rather not. I can hang on up there if it takes all summer, and with Orrie here you certainly don't need me. Only I didn't want you to have a client shot from under you with no warning from me. By the way, where is Orrie?'
'He stepped out. Who is going to shoot Mr. Jarrell?'
'I don't know. I don't even know he's going to be the target. Do you care to hear about it?'
'Go ahead.'
I did so. Giving him only a sketchy outline of my encounters and experiences up to 6:15 p.m. Wednesday, when Jarrell had opened my door and yelled at me to come on, from there I made it more detailed. I reported verbatim my conversation with Jarrell after Horland's had gone.
Wolfe grunted. 'The man's an ass. Every one of those people would profit by his death. They need a demonstration, or one of them does. He should have corralled them and called in the police to find the gun.'
'Yeah. He's sure his daughter-in-law took it, or pretends he is. As I said on the phone Monday night, he may have an itch he can't reach and is not accountable. He could have pulled the rug act himself, answered the phone call from Horland's there in the library, raced upstairs to get me, and raced down again. He could have taken the gun earlier. I prefer it that way, since in that case there will probably be no bullets flying, but I admit it's not likely. He is not a nitwit.'
'What has been done?'
'Nothing, actually. After dinner we played bridge, two tables-Trella, Lois, Nora, Jarrell, Wyman, Roger Foote, Corey Brigham, me. Incidentally, when I finally got down to the lounge before dinner Brigham was there with them, and I learned from Steck that he had come early, shortly after six o'clock, so I suppose it could have been him that got the gun, provided he had a key to the library. It was around midnight when we quit, and-'
'You didn't include the daughter-in-law.'
'Haven't I mentioned that she doesn't play bridge'She doesn't. And we went to bed. Today I saw four of them at breakfast-Jarrell, Wyman, Lois, and Nora-but not much of anybody since,
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