Rex Stout - The Second Confesion

“Perhaps not,” Archer conceded. “Only, since you have been engaged to investigate this other matter-I'll withdraw the question if it's impertinent.” “Not at all,” Sperling declared. “I'm paying the damage, but not because I'm obliged to. There's no evidence that it had any connection with me or my affairs.” “Then it's none of my business,” Archer further conceded. “But the fact remains that something happened yesterday to cause your daughter to decide to summon Rony and tell him she was through with him. She says that it was simply that the trouble her friendship with him was causing was at last too much for her, and she made up her mind to end it. That may well be. I can't even say that I'm sceptical about it. But it is extremely unfortunate, extremely, that she reached that decision the very day that Rony was to die a violent death, under circumstances which no one can explain and for which no one can be held accountable.” Archer leaned forward and spoke from his heart. “Listen, Mr Sperling. You know quite well I don't want to make trouble for you. But I have a duty and a responsibility, and, besides that, I'm not functioning in a vacuum. Far from it!

I can't say how many people know about the situation here regarding your daughter and Rony, but certainly some do. There are three guests here in the house right now, and one of them is a prominent broadcaster. Whatever I do or don't do, people are going to believe that that situation and Rony's death are connected, and therefore if I tried to ignore it, I would be hooted out of the county. I've got to go to the limit on this homicide, and I'm going to. I've got to find out who killed Rony and why. If it was an accident no one will be better pleased than me, but I've got to know who was responsible. It's going to be unpleasant-” Archer stopped because the door had swung open. Our heads turned to see the intruder. It was Ben Dykes, the head of the county detectives, and behind him was the specimen who had been born in the wrong country, Lieutenant Con Noonan of the State Police. I didn't like the look on Noonan's face, but then I never do.

“Yes, Ben?” Archer demanded impatiently. No wonder he was irritated, having been interrupted in the middle of his big speech.

“Something you ought to know,” Dykes said, approaching.

“What is it?” “Maybe you'd rather have it privately.” “Why? We have nothing to conceal from Mr Sperling, and Wolfe's working for him.

What is it?” Dykes shrugged. “They've finished on the cars and got the one that killed him.

It's the one they did last, the one that's parked out back. Nero Wolfe's.” “No question about it!” Noonan crowed.

CHAPTER Eleven

I had a funny mixed feeling. I was surprised, I was even flabbergasted, that is true. But it is also true that the surprise was cancelled out by its exact opposite; that I had been expecting this all along. They say that the conscious mind is the upper tenth and everything else is down below. I don't know how they got their percentages, but if they're correct I suppose nine-tenths of me had been doing the expecting, and it broke through into the upper layer when Ben Dykes put it into words.

Wolfe darted a glance at me. I lifted my brows and shook my head. He nodded and lifted his glass for the last of his beer.

“That makes it different,” said Sperling, not grief-stricken. “That seems to settle it.” “Look, Mr Archer,” Lieutenant Noonan offered. “It's only a hit-and-run now, and you're a busy man and so is Dykes. This Goodwin thinks he's tough. Why don't I just take him down to the barracks?” Archer, skipping him, asked Dykes, “How good is it? Enough to bank on?” “Plenty,” Dykes declared. “It all has to go to the laboratory, but there's blood on theUnder side of the fender, and a button with a piece of his jacket wedged between the axle and the spring, and other things. It's good all right.” Archer looked at me. “Well?” I smiled at him. “I couldn't put it any better than you did, Mr Archer. My contribution is entirely negative. If that car killed Rony I was somewhere else at the time. I wish I could be more help, but that's the best I can do.” “I'll take him to the barracks,” Noonan offered again.

Again he was ignored. Archer turned to Wolfe. “You own the car, don't you? Have you got anything to say?” “Only that I don't know how to drive, and that if Mr Goodwin is taken to a barracks, as this puppy suggests, I shall go with him.” The DA came back to me. “Why don't you come clean with it? We can wind it up in ten minutes and get out of here.” Tm sorry,” I said courteously. “If I tried to fake it at a minute's notice I might bitch it up and you'd catch me in a lie.” “You won't tell us how it happened?” “No, I won't. I can't.” Archer stood up and spoke to Sperling. “Is there another room I can take him to?

I have to be in court at two o'clock and I'd like to finish this if possible.” “You can stay here,” Sperling said, leaving his chair, eager to co-operate. He looked at Wolfe. “I see you've finished your beer. If you'll come-” Wolfe put his hands on the chair arms, got himself erect, took three steps, and was facing Archer. “As you say, I own a car. If Mr Goodwin is taken away without first notifying me, and without a warrant, this affair will be even more regrettable than it is now. I don't blame you for wanting to talk with him; you don't know him as well as I do; but I owe it to you to say that you will be wasting valuable time.” He marched to the door, with Sperling at his heels, and was gone.

Dykes asked, “Will you want me?” “I might,” Archer said. “Sit down/ Dykes moved to the chair Wolfe had vacated, sat, took out a notebook and pencil, inspected the pencil point, and settled back. Meanwhile Noonan walked across and deposited himself in the chair Sperling had used. He hadn't been invited and he hadn't asked if he was wanted. Naturally I was pleased, since if he had acted otherwise I would have had to take the trouble to change my opinion of him.

Archer, his lips puckered, was giving me a good look. He spoke. “I don't understand you, Goodwin. I don't know why you don't see that your position is impossible.” That's easy,” I told him. “For exactly the same reason that you don't.” “That I don't see it's impossible? But I do.” “Like hell you do. If you did you'd be on your way by now, leaving me to Ben Dykes or one of your assistants. You've got a busy schedule ahead of you, but here you still are. May I make a statement?” “By all means. That's just what I want you to do.” “Fine.” I clasped my hands behind my head. “There's no use going over what I did and when. I've already told it three times and it's on the record. But with this news, that it was Mr Wolfe's car that killed him, you don't have to bother any more with what anybody was doing, even me, at eight o'clock or nine or ten. You know exactly when he was killed. It couldn't have been before nine-thirty, because that's when he got out of the cab at the entrance. It couldn't have been after nine-fifty, because that's when I got in the car to drive to Chappaqua.

Actually it's even narrower, say between nine thirty-two and nine forty-six-only fourteen minutes. During that time I was up in the bedroom with Mr Wolfe. Where were the others? Because of course it's all in the family now, since our car was used. Someone here did it, and during that fourteen minutes. You'll want to know where the key to the ignition was. In the car. I don't remove it when I'm parking on the private grounds of a friend or a client. I did remove it, however, when I got back from Chappaqua, since it might be there all night. I didn't know how long it would take Sperling to decide to let go of forty grand.