“Cramer? What the hell would he be doing at Wolfe’s place? What kind of a racket are you guys pulling?”
“No racket at all, Mr. Hirsch. Nero Wolfe is a licensed private investigator in the state of New York.”
That got a scornful laugh from Hirsch. “Hell, those clowns up in Albany will give a license to anybody as long as it brings dough into the state’s coffers.”
“You sound rather cynical,” I remarked.
“Damn right. I’ve got reason to be with all that I’ve seen through the years.”
“Interesting. I heard a similar reaction from a policeman recently,” I told him. “It seems like a shame for you to miss out on this meeting,” I remarked. “You may know several other people who will be present.”
“Yeah, like who?”
“I am not at liberty to say at the moment.”
“What a crock. Tell you what, Goodwin, I’m going to call Wolfe’s bluff and show up tomorrow, and whether you guys like it or not, I’m going to bring Harley Everts along to watch my back.”
“That’s an excellent idea, Mr. Hirsch. I was going to suggest it myself, but you beat me to it.”
My comment seemed to give the gambler pause, at least for a few seconds. He recovered and muttered something about seeing us tomorrow before hanging up. Next, I called one of my favorite numbers, and Lily answered.
“Is all well with Maureen?” I asked.
“Yes, she is still in recovery mode after all her adventures.”
“I’m not surprised. Two items: One, has she talked to Mason since her... reemergence? And two, I need to speak to her.”
“No, she hasn’t called Mason; and she’s resting, but she’s not asleep. I’ll get her.”
“Hi, Archie,” Maureen said after stifling a yawn. “Lily said that you needed to talk to me.”
“First, I hope you’re getting plenty of rest.”
“Don’t worry about that. Lily has been spoiling me.”
“Glad to hear it. Mr. Wolfe has an assignment for you.”
“Uh-oh, should I be worried?”
“I hardly think so. He is having a meeting tomorrow night at nine p.m. at his home, and we’re in the process of gathering the attendees. He has asked that you invite Sofia and Stan Jurek.”
“What’s the meeting about, Archie?”
“Mr. Wolfe wants to learn more about how your brother happened to be shot. And after all, you are his client.”
“I’m not sure what I should tell Sofia and Stan. I do know how upset they are — especially Sofia — for what I’ve been through and for what happened to Everett.”
“Understood. Just tell them you have hired Mr. Wolfe to help you, and that one or the other of them may have some thoughts about anyone they knew or have seen who could help in his investigation.”
“All right, I will telephone them. Should I get back to you with what they say?”
“Absolutely, and as quickly as possible. Mr. Wolfe really does feel they might be of some help. It is important you stress that to each of them.”
“Aye, aye, sir.”
“Two more things, Maureen: Bring Lily with you tomorrow night. And I know you haven’t talked to Eric Mason, but we will want to invite him as well, being that he was a client. Do you have a problem with us asking that he come?”
“No... no, but won’t he be surprised to see me, and get angry that I haven’t called him?”
“That’s possible, of course, but you can always say that you’ve been so traumatized that you’ve been in seclusion.”
“Sounds pretty dramatic,” Maureen said.
“Well, there has been plenty of drama lately. I hope to hear from you soon regarding the Jureks. By the way, do you have Mason’s home number? We have been calling him at the ad agency.”
She gave it to me, and after we signed off, I turned to Wolfe, who still had his nose in that orchid catalog. “You probably got the drift from hearing my end of those calls that Hirsch and his henchman are coming tomorrow night and Maureen will try to get the Jurek couple to show up.”
“Do you doubt her success?”
“No, but if she does happen to strike out, I will exert my persuasive powers with them. I assume you want me to call Eric Mason.”
“Your assumption is correct. Before you speak to him, I need to talk to Inspector Cramer.”
Which translates to, You call him, right now. Like so many other numbers, I know the inspector’s by heart. I dialed and after two rings got “Cramer!” shouted at me. He and Wolfe must have attended the same school of telephone etiquette. I nodded to my boss, who picked up his receiver.
“Good day, Inspector,” he said.
“I haven’t seen anything good about it yet,” Cramer snapped. “And now with you on the line, it’s only bound to get worse.”
“You have not heard me out, sir. It’s possible I have good news.”
“I will be the judge of that.”
“Very well. I have invited several people to the brownstone tomorrow night at nine. I plan to identify Everett Carr’s murderer, who will be among those present, and I felt you might want to be on hand.”
There was a long pause, which could have meant Cramer was gnawing on a stogie either in anger or in frustration. Finally, he found his voice, and it had an edge. “I was right; the day has gotten worse. Who are you going to finger?”
“You know better than to ask that, Mr. Cramer. There must be a full explanation before there can be a revelation.”
“You sure can spit out the long words, Wolfe,” he snarled. “So, it’s to be another one of your goddamn spectacles. You should have gone on the stage. Broadway lost one of the great dramatic actors when you became a detective.”
“Sarcasm does not become you, sir. Do you plan to be in attendance tomorrow night?”
“Yes, along with Sergeant Stebbins, whether you like it or not.”
“I have no objection to his presence. In fact, I believe it to be a prudent move.”
“Well, I am sure glad that I have your approval,” Cramer said, hanging up.
“So that much is settled,” I told Wolfe. “Now I’ll call Eric Mason.” That got a nod, nothing more.
“I wasn’t sure I’d find you in,” I told the ad man when he answered.
“And why not?” he said sharply. “I was beginning to wonder if I would ever hear from you or Nero Wolfe again. What’s going on with the search for Maureen?”
“We have some news, but I can’t tell you about it right now. There is going to be a gathering at Mr. Wolfe’s brownstone tomorrow night, and you’re invited.”
“Why all the mystery? What the hell is going on?”
“You will find out at that time. Sorry, but Nero Wolfe does things his way. And he gets results.”
Mason continued to grumble about how he’s been in the dark for so long. I listened for a while to show I was sympathetic, but then told him I had other people to call and curtly ended the conversation.
No sooner had I hung up than the phone jangled. It was Maureen. “Archie, both of the Jureks will be at your place tomorrow night, although persuading them to come was not easy.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Sofia answered my call, and after I explained about the meeting, she seemed uneasy, saying she didn’t understand why they should have to be at your place tomorrow. Then Stan came on the line and started barking at me. He said he was tired of being accused of things. I told him nobody was accusing him of anything, and that Mr. Wolfe just needed to learn more about my brother.
“Stan finally calmed down — he has quite a temper — and then he persuaded Sofia that it would be all right if they went to the meeting. She finally agreed, but not until they had talked for several minutes. I could hear the conversation through the receiver, and there was some whining on Sofia’s part. She does not like confrontation of any kind, as I learned when she worked for me. It’s a shyness that she’s never gotten over.”