Trouble at the Brownstone by Robert Goldsborough

Author:Robert Goldsborough [Goldsborough, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781504066617
Publisher: MysteriousPress.com/Open Road
Published: 2021-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

After Jason Knowles left, I went to the kitchen and found Wolfe conferring with Fritz about lunch. “Our visitor has departed and you are free to go back to the office,” I told him. He never likes to dismiss people, preferring to exit the office, leaving the good-byes to me.

“Well, what did you think of Mr. Knowles’s report?” I posed when we were resettled in the office.

“I found him to be trustworthy and moderately helpful.”

“Helpful in what way?”

“First, he in essence confirmed that at least one of the two men he encountered on the street that night is a speaker of German. Second, he saw the two men enter the Elmont, which would suggest one or both of them reside in that building.”

“Which would seem to indicate that the place is a hotbed of something or other,” I said, which was hardly being helpful.

“Get Mr. Cramer,” Wolfe ordered. I dialed a number I had memorized years ago as Wolfe picked up his instrument and I stayed on the line.

“Cramer!” came the bark I had come to expect from the homicide inspector.

“This is Nero Wolfe. I have come into the possession of information you may find of interest.”

“Before I ask what that information is, what is its source?”

“No, sir. My source is not germane to this discussion. Are you interested, or not?”

A drawn-out sigh moved across the wire, followed by a silence that lasted several seconds. “All right, shoot, Wolfe. And you had better not be wasting my time.”

“Have I ever wasted your time, sir? Before I move ahead, a question: Has any hospital in Manhattan reported the admission of an individual with a gunshot wound to the leg or ankle in the last few days?”

“They have not—and yes, we’ve been checking.”

“I suggest the person you seek is in the Elmont apartment building on Tenth Avenue near Fifty-Eighth Street.”

“Is this individual of yours a resident of the Elmont?” Cramer asked.

“That is probable but not definite.”

“And I suppose you got this information from one of the people who answered your ad in the Gazette?”

“It is immaterial where and how I received the information, sir. But I felt it my duty to share it with you.”

“Your duty, hah! When have you seen it a duty to do anything to help the department?”

“I believe I am helping the department with what I have told you.”

“I will be the judge of that,” Cramer said.

“As you wish,” Wolfe replied, but he was speaking to no one, as the inspector had hung up.

“It seems our top homicide cop is looking a gift horse in the mouth,” I said.

Wolfe made a face, as he often does in reaction to comments I come out with. “If you insist upon resorting to clichés, I will reply in kind and suggest that Mr. Cramer would be wise to saddle and ride that horse of which you speak. Are you prepared to give odds on whether he orders a search of the Elmont apartments?”

“Sure, I’ll make it three-to-one that homicide cops will be going door-to-door in that tired old building looking for someone with a Marley .

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