wrist. 'You're early anyway. He told us the conference would be at twelve-thirty.'
'I was to come at twelve.'
'Oh.' She was taking me in--nothing offensive, but she sure was rating me. 'To talk with him first?'
I shrugged. 'I guess so.'
She nodded, frowning a little. 'This is a new one on me. I've been his agent and manager for three years now, handling all his business, everything from endorsements of cough drops to putting Dazzle Dan on scooters, and this is the first time a thing like this has happened, him getting someone in for a conference without consulting me--and Nero Wolfe, no less! I understand it's about a tie-up of Nero Wolfe and Dazzle Dan, having Dan start a detective agency?'
I put that question mark there, though her inflection left it to me whether to call it a question or merely a statement. I was caught off guard, so it probably showed on my face--my glee at the prospect of telling Wolfe about a tie-up between him and Dazzle Dan, with full details. I tried to erase it.
'We'd better wait,' I said discreetly, 'and let Mr. Koven tell it. As I understand it, I'm only here as a technical adviser, representing Mr. Wolfe because he never goes out on business. Of course you would handle the business end, and if that means you and I will have to have a lot of talks--'
I stopped because I had lost her. Her eyes were aimed past my left shoulder toward the archway, and their expression had suddenly and completely changed. They weren't exactly more alive or alert, but more concentrated. I turned, and there was Harry Koven crossing to us. His mop of black hair hadn't been combed, and he hadn't shaved. His big frame was enclosed in a red silk robe embroidered with yellow Dazzle Dans. A little guy in a dark blue suit was with him, at his elbow.
'Good morning, my little dazzlers!' Koven boomed.
'It seems cool in here,' the little guy said in a gentle worried voice.
In some mysterious way the gentle little voice seemed to make more noise than the big boom. Certainly it was the
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gentle little voice that chopped off the return greetings from the dazzlers, but it could have been the combination of the two, the big man and the small one, that had so abruptly changed the atmosphere of the room. Before they had all been screwy perhaps, but all free and easy; now they were all tightened up. They even seemed to be tongue-tied, so I spoke.
'I opened a window,' I said.
'Good heavens,' the little guy mildly reproached me and trotted over to the monkey's cage. Mrs. Koven and Pete Jordan were in his path, and they hastily moved out of it, as if afraid of getting trampled, though he didn't look up to trampling anything bigger than a cricket. Not only was he too little and too old, but also he was vaguely deformed and trotted with a jerk.
Koven boomed at me, 'So you got here! Don't mind the Squirt and his damn monkey. He loves that damn monkey. I call this the steam room.' He let out a laugh. 'How is it, Squirt, okay?'
'I think so, Harry. I hope so.' The low gentle voice filled the room again.
'I hope so too, or God help Goodwin.' Koven turned on Byram Hildebrand. 'Has seven-twenty-eight come, By?'
'No,' Hildebrand squeaked. 'I phoned Furnari, and he said it would be right over.'
'Late again. We may have to change. When it comes, do a revise on the third frame. Where Dan says, 'Not tonight, my dear,' make it, 'Not today, my dear.' Got it?'
'But we discussed that--'
'I know, but change it. We'll change seven-twenty-nine to fit. Have you finished seventhirtythree?'
'No. It's only-'
'Then what are you doing up here?'
'Why, Goodwin came, and you said you wanted us at twelvethirty--'
'I'll let you know when we're ready--sometime after lunch. Show me the revise on seven-twenty-eight.' Koven glanced around masterfully. 'How is everybody? Blooming? See you 128
all later. Come along, Goodwin, sorry you had to wait. Come with me.'
He headed for the archway, and I followed, across the hall and up the next flight of stairs. There the arrangement was different; instead of a big square hall there was a narrow corridor with four doors, all closed. He turned left, to the door at that end, opened it, held it for me to pass through, and shut it again. This room was an improvement in several ways: it was ten degrees cooler, it had no monkey, and the furniture left more room to move around. The most prominent item was a big old scarred desk over by a window. After inviting me to sit, Koven went and sat at the desk and removed covers from dishes that were there on a tray.
'Breakfast,' he said. 'You had yours.'
It wasn't a question, but I said yes to be sociable. He needed all the sociability he could get, from the looks of the tray. There was one dejected poached egg, one wavy thin piece of toast, three undersized prunes with about a teaspoonful of juice, a split of tonic water, and a glass. It was an awful sight. He waded into the prunes. When they were gone he poured the tonic water into the glass, took a sip, and demanded, 'Did you bring it?'
'The gun? Sure.'
'Let me see it.'
'It's the one we showed you at the office.' I moved to another chair, closer to him. 'I'm supposed to check with you before we proceed. Is that the desk you kept your gun in?'
