The Doorbell Rang (The Rex Stout Library)

"We may use him only once. Leave that to us. Actually, Mrs Bruner, you're more or less out of it now, the operation. We'll be working for you, but not on you or about you. We probably won't need to make contact with you at all. All this is just a precaution in case. But there's something we ought to know now. You said you came to Mr Wolfe and gave him that six-figure check merely because you're being annoyed. Of course you're a very wealthy woman, but that's hard to believe. It's a good guess that there's something buried somewhere-about you or yours-that you don't want dug up, and you're afraid they will. If that's so we ought to know it-not what it is, but how urgent it is. Are they getting close?"

A gust of wind slapped her and she bent her head and hunched a shoulder. "No," she said, but the wind swept it away and she said it louder. "No."

"But of course they might."

Her eyes were focused on me, but the wind made it a squint. "We won't discuss that, Mr Goodwin," she said. "I suppose every family has its… something. Perhaps I didn't consider that risk enough when I sent those books, but I did it, and I don't regret it. They're not 'getting close' to anything, as far as I know. Not yet."

"That's all you want to say about it?"

"Yes."

"Okay. If and when you want to say more you know what to do. What is sour?"

"The pizza."

"Who is sick?"

"Fido."

"What's his name?"

"William Coffey. At the Churchill."

"Good enough. You'd better get back in, your ears are red. I'll probably see you again some day, but God knows when."

She touched my arm. "What are you going to do?"

"Look around. Buzz. Pry."

She was going to say something, decided not to, and turned and went. I stood until she reached her door and went in, then headed west. There was no point in casing areaways or windows, but I gave the parked cars a glance as I passed, and a little this side of Madison Avenue there was one with two men in the front seat. I stopped. They weren't looking at me, the way they are trained not to look in Washington. I backed up a couple of steps, got my notebook out, and jotted down the license number. If they wanted it open, why not? They still not-looked, and I went on.