If Death Ever Slept

A really fine loser, I was thinking as I headed for the corridor. You don’t often meet that kind of sporting spirit. Beautiful!

The door of the library was standing open. Entering, I closed it. Jarrell, over by the files with one of the drawers open, barked at me, “Be with you in a minute,” and I went to the chair at an end of his desk. A Portanaga with an inch of ash intact was there on a tray, and the smell told me it was still alive, so it couldn’t have been more than ninety seconds since he left his desk to go to the files. That’s the advantage of being a detective with a trained mind; you collect all kinds of useless facts without even trying.

He came and sat, picked up the cigar and tapped the ash off, and took a couple of puffs. He spoke. “Why did you go to see Wolfe?”

“He pays my salary. He likes to know what he’s getting for it. Also I had told him on the phone about your gun disappearing, and he wanted to ask me about it.”

“Did you have to tell him about that?”

“I thought I’d better. You’re his client, and he doesn’t like to have his clients shot, and if somebody used the gun to kill you with and I hadn’t told him about it he would have been annoyed. Besides, I thought he might want to make a suggestion.”

“Did he make one?”

“Not a suggestion exactly. He made a comment. He said you’re an ass. He said you should have corralled everybody and got the cops in to find the gun.”

“Did you tell him I’m convinced that my daughter-in-law took it?”

“Sure. But even if she did, and if she intends to use it on you, that would still be the best way to handle it. It would get the gun back, and it would notify her that you haven’t got a hole in your head and don’t intend to have one.”

He showed no reaction to my mentioning a hole in the head. “It was you who said we’d probably find it in a tub on the terrace.”

“I didn’t say probably, but what if I did? We’d have the gun. You said on the phone you’ve got instructions for me. About looking for it?”

“No, not that.” He took a pull on the cigar, removed it, and let the smoke float out. “I don’t remember just how much I’ve told you about Corey Brigham.”

“Not much. No details. That he’s an old friend of yours-no, you didn’t use the word friend-that he got in ahead of you on a deal, and that you think your daughter-in-law was responsible. I’ve been a little surprised to see him around.”