Murders
IS* 'U fciWiH?
EX STOUT
Curtains or Three
Introduction by Judith Kelman
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BANTAM BOOKS ifflBW YORK TORONTO LONDON SYDNEY AUCKLAND
A NERO W O L F E ** M Y S T E R Y
CURTAINS FOR THREE
A Bantam Crime Line Book / published by arrangement with Viking Penguin, Inc.
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Viking edition published December 1950
Bantam edition / June 1955 Bantam reissue edition / December 1994
Acknowledgment is made to the american magazine in which these three short
novels originally appeared: Bullet for One, July 1948; The Gun with Wings,
December 1949; and Disguise for Murder, under the title The Twisted Scarf,
'September 1950.
crime une and the portrayal of a boxed 'cl' are trademarks of Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Den Publishing Group, Inc.
An rights reserved.
Copyright ? 1948, 1949, 1950 by Rex Stout Introduction copyright ? 1994 by Judith Kelman.
Cover art copyright ? 1994 by Tom HaBman.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by
any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher.
For information address: Viking Press, Penguin USA, 375 Hudson Street, New York, NY 10014.
If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as 'unsold and destroyed' to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this 'stripped book.'
ISBN 0-55a-24498l Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada
Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Double day Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words 'Bantam Books' and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036.
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
OPM 14 13 12 11 10 9 8
Introduction
Mysteries are a mind game. Lovers of the form are drawn to the puzzle. Who done it and why? Will good triumph over evil and how? In the pulse-pounding race to the solution, will the writer or the reader cross the finish line first?
In this particular sport, the most important muscles are the theoretical ones between the participants' ears. Intellect is everything. A canny detective armed with gobs of gray matter will beat out the Uzi-wielding bad guy every time.
Which partly explains the enduring appeal of Nero Wolfe.
Wolfe is the large lump of calm at the center of the storm's eye in Rex Stout's eponymous mystery series. Evil doesn't move Nero Wolfe. Nothing, short of a good meal or a serious beer shortage, could. This supersleuth is a supersloth, so unfit and lazy he lacks the steam to lean over and retrieve a weighty retainer check from his desk.
For that and other onerous physical chores, he has Archie Goodwin, his fleet-footed, lighthearted, adventurous assistant. While Archie does all necessary legwork and Fritz, Wolfe's household retainer, attends to the master's ravenous appetites, Wolfe's sole responsi
vi Introduction
bility is to sit back and revel in the whirring of his keen, insightful mind.
At the critical moment, the cylinders are guaranteed to dick into perfect alignment, allowing Wolfe to finger the suspect from the comfort of his favorite chair in his office in his elegant brownstone on West Thirty-fifth Street.
Of course, the moment must conform to the detective's unyielding schedule. During set mealtimes and the four hours each day Wolfe spends tending his ten thousand orchids, murder and mayhem simply have to wait.
