gun there in the drawer. I do not--'
'Shut up!' Wolfe snapped.
'In that case,' I demanded, 'why didn't you leave me in the coop? I'll go back and--'
'Sit down!'
I sat.
'I deny,' he said, 'that you were in the slightest degree imprudent. Even if you were, this has transcended such petty considerations.' He picked up a sheet of paper from his desk. 'This is a letter which came yesterday from a Mrs. E. R. Baumgarten. She wants me to investigate the activities of a nephew who is employed by the business she owns. I wish to reply. Your notebook.'
He was using what I call his conclusive tone, leaving no room for questions, let alone argument. I got my notebook and pen.
'Dear Mrs. Baumgarten.' He went at it as if he had already composed it in his mind. 'Thank you very much for your letter of the thirteenth, requesting me to undertake an investigation for you. Paragraph. I am sorry that I cannot be of service to you. I am compelled to decline because I have been informed by an official of the New York Police Department that my license to operate a private detective agency is about to be taken away from me. Sincerely yours.'
Parker ejaculated something and got ignored^ I stayed
J54
deadpan, but among my emotions was renewed regret that I had missed Wolfe's and Cramer's talk.
Wolfe was saying, 'Type it at once and send Fritz to mail it. If any requests for appointments come by telephone refuse them, giving the reason and keeping a record.'
'The reason given in the letter?'
'Yes.'
I swiveled the typewriter to me, got paper and carbon in, and hit the keys. I had to concentrate. This was Cramer's farthest north. Parker was asking questions, and Wolfe was grunting at him. I finished the letter and envelope, had Wolfe sign it, went to the kitchen and told Fritz to take it to Eighth Avenue immediately, and returned to the office.
'Now,' Wolfe said, 'I want all of it. Go ahead.'
Ordinarily when I start giving Wolfe a full report of an event, no matter how extended and involved, I just glide in and keep going with no effort at all, thanks to my long and hard training. That time, having just got a severe jolt, I wasn't so hot at the beginning, since I was supposed to include every word and movement, but by the time I had got to where I opened the window it was coming smooth and easy. As usual, Wolfe soaked it all in without making any interruptions.
It took all of an hour and a half, and then came questions, but not many. I rate a report by the number of questions he has when I'm through, and by that test this was up toward the top. Wolfe leaned back and closed his eyes.
Parker spoke. 'It could have been any of them, but it must have been Koven. Or why his string of lies, knowing that you and Goodwin would both contradict him?' The lawyer haw-hawed. 'That is, if they're lies--considering your settled policy of telling your counselor only what you think he should know.'
'Pfui.' Wolfe's eyes came open. 'This is extraordinarily intricate, Archie. Have you examined it any?'
'I've started. When I pick at it, it gets worse instead of better.'
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'Yes. I'm afraid you'll have to type it out. By eleven tomorrow morning?'
'I guess so, but I need a bath first. Anyway, what for? What can we do with it without a license? I suppose it's suspended?'
He ignored it. 'What the devil is that smell?' he demanded.
'Disinfectant. It's for the bloodhounds in case you escape.' I arose. 'I'll go scrub.'
'No.' He glanced at the wall clock, which said 3:45? fifteen minutes to go until he was due to join Theodore and the orchids up on the roof. 'An errand first. I believe it's the Gazette that carries the Dazzle Dan comic strip?'
'Yes, sir.'
'Daily and Sunday?' Yes, sir.
'I want all of them for the past three years. Can you get them?'
'I can try.'
'Do so.'
'Now?'
'Yes. Wait a minute?confound it, don't be a cyclone! You should hear my instructions for Mr. Parker, but first one for you. Mail Mr. Koven a bill for recovery of his gun, five hundred dollars. It should go today.'
'Any extras, under the circumstances?'
'No. Five hundred flat.' Wolfe turned to the lawyer. 'Mr. Parker, how long will it take to enter a suit for damages and serve a summons on the defendant?'
'That depends.' Parker sounded like a lawyer. 'If it's rushed all possible and there are no unforeseen obstacles and the defendant is accessible for service, it could be merely a matter of hours.'
