Had she lit the fire herself?
I left that in unfinished business.
I got home just at six o’clock and, knowing that Wolfe wouldn’t be down for a few minutes yet, I went to the office to see if the Wyoming wonder had thought of any new suspicions and if his colleagues had shown up.
The office was empty.
I went through to the front room to see if he had moved his base there, but it was empty too.
I beat it to the kitchen.
Fritz was there, sitting with his slippers off, reading that newspaper in French.
I asked him,
“What did you do with him?”
“Qui?
Aui, Ie monsieur—” Fritz giggled. “Excuse me, Archie.
You mean the gentleman who was waiting.”
“Yeah, him.”
“He received a telephone call.”
Fritz leaned over and began pulling on his slippers.
“Time already for Mr. Wolfe!”
“He got a phone call here?”
Fritz nodded.
“About half an hour after you left.
More maybe.
Wait till I look.”
He went to the stand where the kitchen phone extension was kept, and glanced at his memo pad.
“That’s right.
Five-twenty-six. Twenty-six minutes past five.”
“Who was it?”
Fritz’s brows went up.
“Should I know, Archie.” He thought he was using slang. “A gentleman said he wished to speak to Mr. Scovil in case he was here, and I went to the office and asked if it was Mr. Scovil, and he talked from your desk, and then he got up and put on his hat and went out.”
“Leave any message?”
“No.
I had come back to the kitchen, closing the office door for his privacy but leaving this one open as you said, and he came out and went in a hurry. He said nothing at all.”
I lifted the shoulders and let them drop.
“He’ll be back.
He wants to see a kind of a man named Nero Wolfe.
What’s on the menu?”
Fritz told me, and let me take a sniff at the sauce steaming on the simmer plate; then I heard the elevator and went back to the office.
Wolfe entered, crossed to his chair and got himself lowered, rang for beer and took the opener out of the drawer, and then vouchsafed me a glance.
“Pleasant afternoon, Archie?”
“No, sir.
Putrid.
I went around to Perry’s office.”
“Indeed.
A man of action must expect such vexations.
Tell me about it.”
“Well, Perry left here just after I came down, but about eight minutes after that he phoned and instructed me to come galloping.
Having the best interests of my employer in mind I went.”
“Notwithstanding the physical law that the contents can be no larger than the container.”
Fritz arrived with two botdes of beer; Wolfe opened and poured one, and drank.
“Go on.”
“Yes, sir.
I disregard your wit, because I’d like to show you this picture before the company arrives, and they’re already ten minutes late.