Might as Well Be Dead

Wolfe cocked his head. “I appeal to you, Mr. Degan. You had a problem and I relieved you of it. Now I have one. I want to know where that money came from. Surely, in your long association with Mr. Molloy, both business and social, he must have said or done something that would furnish a hint of activities which netted him a third of a million dollars. Surely he did, and if it meant nothing to you at the time, it might now if you recall it. I ask you to make the effort. If, as you said, you wish me success in my efforts on behalf of Mrs. Molloy, I think my request is justified. Don’t you agree?”

“Yes, I do.” Degan looked at his watch and arose. “I’m late for an appointment. I’ll put my mind on it and let you know if I remember anything.” He turned, and turned back. “I know a few people who had dealings with Molloy. Do you want me to ask them?”

“Yes indeed. I would appreciate it.”

“I suppose you’ll ask Mrs. Molloy yourself.”

Wolfe said he would, and Degan went. Returning to the office after seeing him out, I stopped at the sill because Parker was on his feet, set to go. He told me not to bother, but I like to be there when the gate of Wolfe’s castle opens to the world, so I got his coat from the rack and held it for him.

In the office, Wolfe was having a burst of energy. He had left his chair to get the ashtray Degan had used and was on his way to the door of the bathroom in the corner, to dump it. When he reappeared I asked him, “Nothing from Saul or Fred or Orrie?”

He returned the tray to its place, sat, rang for beer, two short and one long, and roared at me, “No!”

When a hippopotamus is peevish it’s a lot of peeve. I should have brought a bundle of Cs for him to play with, and told him so.

Chapter 14

HOW MUCH WOLFE LIKES to show the orchids to people depends on who it is. Gushers he can stand, and even jostlers. The only ones he can’t bear are those who pretend they can tell a P. stuartiana from a P. schilleriana but can’t. And there is an ironclad rule that except for Fritz and me, and of course Theodore, who is there all the time, no one goes to the plant rooms for any other purpose than to look at orchids.