Might as Well Be Dead

It’s hard to believe anyone could go along those aisles without seeing the array of color at all, but my mind was on Murphy. I don’t know where Herold’s was. Wolfe wasn’t in the first room, the cool one, nor in the second, the medium, nor in the third, the tropical, and I went on through to the potting room. He was with Theodore at the bench, and turned to glare at us with a pot in one hand and a bunch of sphagnum in the other. With no greeting for the man who, in his ignorance, he thought was still his client, he barked at me, “Why this intrusion?”

“To report,” I said. “Mr. Herold just came, and I told him you were engaged and took him to the office, and this is what he said. Quote.” I recited Herold’s little speech verbatim, and ended, “Unquote.”

He had several choices. The rule that nobody came to the roof except to look at orchids had already been broken, by me. He could break the other one by going down to the office with us, or he could tell Herold that he would join him in the office at six o’clock, or he could throw the pot at me. He chose none of them. He turned his back on us, put the pot on the bench, tossed the sphagnum aside, got a trowelful of the charcoal and osmundine mixture from the tub, and dumped it into the pot. He reached for another pot and repeated the operation. And another. When six pots had been prepared he turned around and spoke.

“You have a record of the expenses, Archie.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Invoice them, including the commitments for today, and add the fee. The fee is fifty thousand dollars.”

He turned to the bench and picked up a pot. I said, “Yes, sir,” turned to go, and told Herold, “Okay, he’s the boss.”

“He’s not my boss.” He was staring at Wolfe’s back, which is an eyeful. “You don’t mean that. That’s ridiculous!” No reaction. He took a step and raised his voice. “You haven’t earned any fee at all! Lieutenant Murphy phoned me last night, and I took a plane, and he arranged for me to see my son. Do you even know where he is? If you do, why didn’t you tell me?”

Wolfe turned and said quietly, “Yes, I know where he is. I suspect you, Mr. Herold.”

“You suspect me? Of what?”

“Of chicanery. Mr. Murphy has his own credit and glory to consider, and so couldn’t be expected to toot my horn, but I do not believe he made no mention of the part I’ve played. He’s not an utter fool. I think you came here aware that I have earned a fee and conceived a shoddy stratagem to minimize it. The fee is fifty thousand dollars.”

“I won’t pay it!”