Free The Second Confession by Rex Stout Page B

he had had me take him home as soon as the library party was over, but neither was I surprised that he was staying. The show that he had put on for them hadn’t been a show at all. He had meant every word of it, and I had meant it along with him. That being so, it was no wonder that he wanted the answer as soon as it was available, and besides, he would be needed if Gwenn had questions to ask or conditions to offer. Not only that, if Gwenn said nothing doing I don’t think he would have gone home at all. There would have been a lot of arranging to do with Sperling, and when we finally got away from Stony Acres we wouldn’t have been headed for Thirty-fifth Street but for a foxhole.
    At nine o’clock, after admiring Wolfe’s yawn, I looked around for an excuse to loosen up my muscles, saw the coffee tray, which had been left behind when the rest of the dinner remains had been called for, and decided that would do. I got it and took it downstairs. When I delivered it to the kitchen there was no one around and, feeling in need of a little social contact, I did a casual reconnoitre. I tried the library first. The door to it was open and Sperling was there, at his desk, looking over some papers. When I entered he honoured me with a glance but no words.
    After I had stood a moment I informed him, 'We’re upstairs hanging on.' 'I know it,' he said without looking up.
    He seemed to think that completed the conversation, so I retired. The living-room was uninhabited, and when I stepped out to the west terrace no one was to be seen or heard. The gamesroom, which was down a flight, was dark, and the lights I turned on disclosed no fellow beings. So I went back upstairs and reported to Wolfe.
    'The joint is deserted, except for Sperling, and I think he’s going over his will. You scared ‘em so that they all scrammed.' 'What time is it?' 'Nine twenty-two.' 'She said before bedtime. Call Fritz.' We had talked with Fritz only an hour ago, but what the hell, it was on the house, so I went to the instrument on the table between the beds and got him.
    There was nothing new. Andy Krasicki was up on the roof with five men, still working, and had reported that enough glass and slats were in place for the morning’s weather, whatever it might be. Theodore was still far from cheerful, but had had a good appetite for dinner, and so on.
    I hung up and relayed the report to Wolfe, and added, 'It strikes me that all that fixing up may be a waste of our client’s money. If Gwenn decides we’ve got to prove it and we make a dive for a foxhole, what do glass and slats matter'
    It’ll be years before you see the place again, if you ever do. Incidentally, I noticed you gave yourself a chance to call it off, and also Sperling, but not me. You merely said that your base of operations will be known only to Mr Goodwin, taking Mr Goodwin for granted. What if he decides he’s not as vain as you are?' Wolfe, who had put down a book by Laura Hobson to listen to my end of the talk with Fritz, and had picked it up again, scowled at me.
    'You’re twice as vain as I am,' he said gruffly.
    'Yeah, but it may work different. I may be so vain I won’t want me to take such a risk. I may not want to deprive others of what I’ve got to be vain about.' Tfui. Do I know you?' 'Yes, sir. As well as I know you.' 'Then don’t try shaking a bogey at me. How the devil could I contemplate such a plan without you?' He returned to the book.
    I knew he thought he was handing me a compliment which should make me beam with pleasure, so I went and flopped on the bed to beam. I didn’t like any part of it, and I knew Wolfe didn’t either. I had a silly damn feeling that my whole future depended on the verdict of a fine freckled girl, and while I had nothing against fine girls, freckled or unfreckled, that was going too far. But I wasn’t blaming Wolfe, for I didn’t see how he could have done any better. I had brought a couple of fresh magazines up from the living-room,