I whirled it out of the machine, laid it on a corner of Wolfe's desk, and handed Llewellyn my pen.
He bent over the paper to read it.
His father jumped up and pulled at him.
“Don't sign that!
What is it? Let me see it! Don't sign anything at all-”
Llewellyn surrendered it to him, and he read it through twice, with a frown.
Mrs. Frost stretched out a hand for it, and ran over it at a glance.
She looked at me.
“I don't believe my nephew will have to sign anything…”
“I believe he will.”
I was about as fed up as Wolfe had been.
“One thing you people don't seem to realize, if Mr. Wolfe should feel himself relieved of his obligation to his client and tells Inspector Cramer his angle on that break of
Miss Frost's, there won't be any argument about it.
When Cramer has been working on a popular murder case for a week without getting anywhere, he gets so tough he swallows cigars whole.
Of course he won't use a piece of hose on Miss Frost, but he'll have her brought to headquarters and snarl at her all night.
You wouldn't want-”
“All right.” Dudley Frost had his frown on me. My son is wiling for Wolfe to continue.
I've thought all along that's the best way to handle it.
But he won't sign this.
He won't sign anything-” “Yes he will.” I took the paper from Calida Frost and put it on the desk again. “What do you think?” I threw up my hands “Holy heaven! You're three and I'm one. Thats no good in case of bad memories. What is there to it, anyhow? It says
‘until further notice.’
Mr. Wolfe said you could tell me your decision.
Well, I've got to have a record of it or so help me, I'll have a talk with Inspector Cramer myself.
Lew Frost looked at his aunt and his father, and then at me.
“It certainly is one sweet mess.” He grimaced in disgust “If I had ten thousand dollars this minute, I swear to God…” I said,
“Look out, that pen drips sometimes.
Go ahead and sign it.”
While the other two frowned at him, he bent over tne paper and scrawled his name.
Chapter Five
“I had a notion to call in a notary and make Stebbins swear to an affidavit.” Inspector Cramer chewed on his cigar some more.
“Nero Wolfe a mile away from home in broad daylight and in his right mind?
Then it must be a raid on the United States Treasury and we'll have to call out the army and declare martial law.”
It was a quarter past six. Wolfe was back in the office again, fairly placid after two hours with Horstmann among the plants, and was on his second bottle of beer.
I was comfortable, with my feet up on the edge of the bottom drawer pulled out, and my notebook on my knees.
Wolfe, leaning back in his chair with his fingers twined at the peak of his middle, nodded grimly.
“I don't wonder, sir. Some day I'll explain it to you.
Just now the memory of it is too vivid; I'd rather not discuss it.”
“Okay. What I thought, maybe you're not eccentric any more.”
“Certainly I'm eccentric. Who isn't?”
“God knows I'm not.”
Cramer took his cigar from his mouth and looked at it and put it back again.
“I'm too damn dumb to be eccentric.
Take this Molly Lauck business, for instance.
In eight days of intense effort, what do you think I've found out? Ask me.” He leaned forward.
“I've found out Molly Lauck's dead!
No doubt about it!
I screwed that out of the Medical Examiner.”
He leaned back again and made a face of disgust at both of us.
“By God, I'm a whirlwind.
Now that I've emptied the bag for you, how about you doing the same for me?