The Doorbell Rang (The Rex Stout Library)

I had a martini to keep her company, without the onion. I took a sip and said, "Nothing big. Mr Wolfe has broken two rules today. He skipped his morning session in the plant rooms, and he left the house on business-your business. He is out on Long Island seeing a man. That could develop into something, but don't hold your breath. As for me, I just made a trip to the Bronx to see a man named Frank Odell. He used to work for you-Bruner Realty. Didn't he?"

"Odell?"

"Yes."

She frowned. "I don't- Oh, of course. Odell, that's the little man who had all that trouble. But he-isn't he in prison?"

"He was. He was paroled out a few months ago.

She was still frowning. "But why on earth were you seeing him?"

"It's a long story, Mrs Bruner." I took a sip. "Mr Wolfe decided to try getting a start by checking a little on FBI activities in and around New York. Among other things, we learned that last fall a man named Morris Althaus had been gathering material for a piece on the FBI for a magazine, and seven weeks ago he was murdered. That was worth looking into, and we did some checking on him. We learned that he did a piece called 'The Realty Racket' a couple of years ago, and as a result a man named Frank Odell had got a jail sentence for fraud. Mr Wolfe had me look him up, and I located him and went to see him and learned that he had worked for your firm. So I thought I ought to ask you about it."

She had put the glass on the table. "But what is there to ask me?"

"Just questions. For instance, about Morris Althaus. How well did you know him?"

"I didn't know him at all."

"He came at least once to your house-your office. According to Odell."

She nodded. "That's right, he did. I remembered that when I read about him-the murder." Her chin was up. "I don't like your tone, Mr Goodwin. Are you intimating that I have concealed something?"

"Yes, Mrs Bruner, I am. That you may have. We might as well clear it up before lunch instead of after. You have hired Mr Wolfe to do a job that's as close to impossible as a job can get. The least you can do is tell us everything that could conceivably have a bearing on it. The fact that you had known Morris Althaus, at least you had met him, naturally suggests questions. Did you know he was working at a piece on the FBI? Let me finish. Did you know or suspect that the FBI was involved in his murder? Was that why you sent those books? Was that why you came to Nero Wolfe? Just stay in the buggy. We simply have to know everything you know, that's all."