Rex Stout - Nero Wolfe 02 by The League of Frightened Men Read Free Book Online Page A

Illinois
Sidney Lang, real estate
Roland Erskine, actor
Leopold Elkus, surgeon
F. L. Ingalls, travel bureau
Archibald Mollison, professor
Richard M. Tuttle, boys’ school
T. R. Donovan
Phillip Leonard
Allan W. Gardner
Hans Weber
    For the last four there were no addresses, and I couldn’t find them in the New York or suburban phone books, so I couldn’t ask the bank for a report. Offhand, I thought, reading the names and considering that they were all Harvard men, which meant starting better than scratch on the average, offhand it lookedpretty juicy; but the bank reports would settle that. It was fun stalling them on the phone.
    But the real fun Sunday came in the middle of the afternoon. Someone had leaked on Hibbard’s disappearance and the Sunday papers had it, though they didn’t give it a heavy play. When the doorbell rang around three o’clock and I answered it because I happened to be handy and Fritz was busy out back, and I saw two huskies standing there shoulder to shoulder, I surmised at first glance it was a couple of bureau dicks and someone had got curious about me up at Hibbard’s the night before. Then I recognized one of them and threw the door wide with a grin.
    “Hello, hello. You late from church?”
    The one on the right spoke, the one with a scar on his cheek I had recognized. “Nero Wolfe in?”
    I nodded. “You want to see him? Leap the doorsill, gentlemen.”
    While I was closing the door and putting the chain on they were taking off their hats and coats and hanging them on the rack. Then they were running their hands over their hair and pulling their vests down and clearing their throats. They were as nervous as greenhorns on their first tail. I was impressed. I was so used to Wolfe myself and so familiar with his prowess that I was apt to forget the dents some of his strokes had made on some tough professional skulls. I asked them to wait in the hall and went to the office and told Wolfe that Del Bascom of the Bascom Detective Agency was there with one of his men and wanted to see him.
    “Did you ask them what they wanted?”
    “No.”
    Wolfe nodded, and I went out and brought them in. Bascom went across to the desk to shake hands; theother gentleman got his big rumpus onto a chair I shoved up, but nearly missed it on the way down on account of staring at Wolfe. I suspected he wasn’t overwhelmed by prestige as much as he was by avoirdupois, having never seen Wolfe before.
    Bascom was saying, “It’s been nearly two years since I’ve seen you, Mr. Wolfe. Remember? The hay fever case. That’s what I called it. Remember the clerk that didn’t see the guy lifting the emeralds because he was sneezing?”
    “I do indeed, Mr. Bascom. That young man had invention, to employ so common an affliction for so unusual a purpose.”
    “Yeah. Lots of ’em are smart, but very few of them is quite smart enough. That was quite a case. I’d have been left scratching my ear for a bite if it hadn’t been for you. I’ll never forget that. Is business pretty good with you, Mr. Wolfe?”
    “No. Abominable.”
    “I suppose so. We’ve got to expect it. Some of the agencies are doing pretty well on industrial work, but I never got into that. I used to be a workingman myself. Hell, I still am.” Bascom crossed his legs and cleared his throat. “You taken on anything new lately?”
    “No.”
    “You haven’t?”
    “No.”
    I nearly jumped at the squeak, it was so unexpected. It came from the other dick, his chair between Bascom and me. He squeaked all of a sudden:
    “I heard different.”
    “Well, who opened your valve?” Bascom glared at him, disgusted. “Did I request you to clamp your trap when we came in here?” He turned to Wolfe. “Do youknow what’s eating him? You’ll enjoy this, Mr. Wolfe. He’s heard a lot of talk about the great Nero Wolfe, and he wanted to show you haven’t got him buffaloed.” He shifted and turned on the glare again. “You sap.”
    Wolfe nodded. “Yes, I