Rex Stout - The Second Confesion

Is he a ninny?” “If I thought so,” I said emphatically, “I don't now. Not if he's raking in profits on a Boston restaurant and a Manhattan ballet. I misjudged him. Three to one I know where the photostat of Jimmy's cheque is. In a safe at the office of Murphy, Kearfot and Rony.” “I suppose so. Anything else, Saul?” I wouldn't have been surprised if the next item had been that Jimmy had cleaned up a million playing the ponies or running a chicken farm, but evidently he hadn't tried them yet. Saul and Orrie stayed a while, long enough to have a drink and discuss ways and means of laying hands on the Republican or Democratic spy, and then left. When I returned to the office after letting them out I considered whether to get rid of the comments I had prepared regarding the importance of evidence in criminal cases, and decided to skip it.

I would just as soon have gone up to bed to give my bruises a rest, but it was only half-past nine and my middle drawer was stuffed with memos and invoices connected with the repairs on the roof. I piled them on the desk and tackled them. It had begun to look as if Wolfe's estimate of the amount of the damage wasn't far off, and maybe too low if you included replacement of some of the rarer hybrids that had got rough treatment. Wolfe, seeing what I was at, offered to help, and I moved the papers over to his desk. But, as I had often discovered before, a man shouldn't try to run a detective business and an orchid factory at the same time. They're always tripping over each other. We hadn't been at the papers five minutes when the doorbell rang. I usually go when it's after nine o'clock, the hour when Fritz changes to his old slippers, so I went.

I switched on the stoop light, looked through the one-way glass panel, opened the door, said, “Hello, come in,” and Gwenn Sperling crossed the threshold.

I closed the door and turned to her. “Want to see the worm?” I gestured. “That way.” “You don't seem surprised!” she blurted.

“It's my training. I hide it to impiess you. Actually I'm overcome. That way?” She moved and I followed. She entered the office, advanced three steps, and stopped, and I detoured around her.

“Good evening, Miss Sperling,” Wolfe said pointedly. He indicated the red leather chair. That's the best chair.” “Did I phone you I was coming?” she demanded.

“I don't think so. Did she, Archie?” “No, sir. She's just surprised that we're not surprised.” “I see. Won't you sit down?” For a second I thought she was going to turn and march out, as she had that afternoon in the library, but if the motion had been made she voted it down. Her eyes left Wolfe for a look at me, and I saw them stop at my scratched cheek, but she wasn't enough interested to ask who did it. She dropped her fur neckpiece on to a yellow chair, went to the red leather one and sat, and spoke.

“I came because I couldn't persuade myself not to. I want to confess something.”

My God, I thought, I hope she hasn't already signed a statement. She looked harassed but not haggard, and her freckles showed hardly at all in that light “Confessions often help,” Wolfe said, “but it's important to make them to the right person. Am I the one?” “You're just being nice because I called you a worm!” That would be a strange reason for being nice. Anyhow, I'm not. I'm only trying to help you get started.” “You don't need to.” Gwenn's hands were clasped tight. Tve decided. I'm a conceited nosy little fool!” “You use too many adjectives,” Wolfe said dryly. “For me it was cheap filthy little worm. Now, for you, it is conceited nosy little fooL Let's just say fool.

Why? What about?” “About everything. About Louis Rony. I knew darned well I wasn't really in love with him, but I thought I'd teach my father something. If he hadn't had him there he wouldn't have thought he could pique me by playing with Connie Emerson, and she wouldn't have played with him, and he wouldn't have got killed. Even if everything you said about him is true, it's my fault he got killed, and what am I going to do?” Wolfe grunted. “I'm afraid I don't follow you. How was it your fault that Mr Kane went to mail some letters and accidentally ran over Mr Rony?” She stared. “But you know that's not true!” “Yes, but you don't-or do you?” “Of course I do!” Her hands came unclasped. “I may be a fool, I guess I can't go back on that, but I've known Webster a long time and I know he couldn't possibly do such a thing!” “Anyone can have an accident' “I know they can; I don't mean that. But if he had run a car over Louis and saw he was dead, he would have gone back to the house, straight to a phone, and called a doctor and the police. You've met him. Couldn't you see he was like that?” This was a new development, a Sperling trying to persuade Wolfe that Kane's statement was a phony.

“Yes,” Wolfe said mildly, “I thought I saw he was like that Does your father know you're here?” “No. I-I didn't want to quarrel with him.” “It won't be easy to avoid it when he finds out. What made you decide to come?” “I wanted to yesterday, and I didn't. I'm a coward.” “A fool and a coward.” Wolfe shook his head. “Don't rub it in. And today?” “I heard someone say something. Now I'm an eavesdropper too. I used to be when I was a child, but I thought I was completely over it. Today I heard Connie saying something to Paul, and I stayed outside the door and listened.” “What did she say?” Gwenn's face drew together. I thought she was going to cry, and so she did. That would have been bad, because Wolfe's wits leave him when a woman cries.

I snapped at her. “What did you drive down here for?” She pulled out of it and appealed to Wolfe. “Do I have to tell you?” “No,” he said curtly.

Naturally that settled it. She proceeded to tell. She looked as if she would rather eat soap, but she didn't stammer any.

They were in their room and I was going by. But I didn't just happen to overhear it; I stopped and listened deliberately. She hit him or he hit her, I don't know which-with them you don't know who is doing the hitting unless you see it. But she was doing the talking. She told him that she saw Goodwin-” Gwenn looked at me. “That was you.” “My name's Goodwin,” I admitted.

“She said she saw Goodwin finding a stone by the brook and she tried to get it and throw it in the water, but Goodwin knocked her down. She said Goodwin had the stone and would take it to Nero Wolfe, and she wanted to know what Paul was going to do, and he said he wasn't going to do anything. She said she didn't care what happened to him but she wasn't going to have her reputation ruined if she could help it, and then he hit her, or maybe she hit him. I thought one of them was coming to the door and I ran down the hall.” “When did this happen?” Wolfe growled.

“Just before dinner. Dad had just come home, and I was going to tell him about it, but I decided not to because I knew he must have got Webster to sign that statement, and he's so stubborn-I knew what he would say. But I couldn't just not do anything. I knew it was my fault Louis got killed, and after what you told us about him it didn't matter about him but it did about me. I guess that sounds selfish, but I've decided that from now on I'm going to be perfectly honest. I'm going to be honest to everyone about everything. I'm going to quit being a fake. Take the way I acted the day you came. I should have just phoned Louis and told him I didn't want to see him any more, that would have been the honest thing and that was what I really wanted to do; but no, I didn't do that, I had to phone him to come and meet me so I could tell him face to face-and what happened? I honestly believe I was hoping that someone would listen in on one of the extensions so they would know how fine and noble I was! I knew Connie did that all the time, and maybe others did too. Anyhow someone did, and you know what happened. It was just as if I had phoned him to come and get killed!” She stopped for breath. Wolfe suggested, “You may be taking too much credit, Miss Sperling.” That's a nasty crack.” She wasn't through. “I couldn't say all this to my father or mother, not even to my sister, because-well, I couldn't. But I wasn't going to start being honest by hiding the worst thing I ever did. I thought it over very carefully, and I decided you were the one person who would know exactly what I meant. You knew I was afraid of you that afternoon, and you told me so. I think it was the first time anyone really understood me.” I had to keep back a snort. A fine freckled girl saying that to Wolfe with me present was approaching the limit. If there was anything oh earth he didn't understand and I did, it was young women.