The Second Confesion

Time will tell.” The three of us were making a little triangle. “You won't need me, and if he comes you won't want me. I'm going in to Mr Wolfe. His nerves are on edge with the suspense, and I want to ease his mind. I won't go around the house shouting it, but I want to tell him he'll be going home soon.” They didn't care for that much but had to admit it was reasonable, and I got away. I took the short-cut as they directed, got lost in the woods twice but finally made it to the open, skirted the rose garden and crossed the lawn, and entered the house by the front door. In the room upstairs Wolfe was still reading the book. As I closed the door behind me he started to scorch me with an indignant look for being gone so long, but when he saw my face, which he knows better than I do, he abandoned it, “Well?” he asked mildly.

“Not well at all,” I declared. “Somebody has killed Louis Rony, I think by driving a car over him, but that will take more looking. It's behind a bush about twenty yards from the driveway, at a point about two-thirds of the distance from the house to the public road. It's a rotten break in every way, because Gwenn had decided to toss him out.” Wolfe was growling. “Who found it?” “I did.” “Who knows about it?” “No one. Now you.” Wolfe got up, fast. “Where's my hat?” He looked around. “Oh, downstairs. Where are Mr and Mrs Sperling? We'll tell them there is nothing more for us to do here and we're going home-but not in a flurry-merely that it's late and we can go now-come on!” “Flurry hell. You know damn well we're stuck.” He stood and glared at me. When that didn't seem to be improving the situation any he let himself go back on to the chair, felt the book under him, got up and grabbed it-and for a second I thought he was going to throw it at something, maybe even me. For him to throw a book, loving them as he did, would have been a real novelty. He controlled himself in time, tossed the book on to a handy table, got seated again, and rasped at me, “Confound it, sit down! Must I stretch my neck off?” I didn't blame him a particle. I would have been having a tantrum myself if I hadn't been too busy.

CHAPTER Nine