The Second Confesion

Wolfe riodded. “I won't try to introduce suspense. Mr Goodwin and I were in my office talking, between two and three o'clock this morning, when we heard an outlandish noise. Men hired by X had mounted to the roof of a building across the street, armed with sub-machine-guns, and fired hundreds of rounds at my plant rooms, with what effect you can guess. I shall not describe it. Thirty men are there now, salvaging and repairing. That my gardener was not killed was fortuitous. The cost of repairs and replacements will be around forty thousand dollars, and some of the damaged or destroyed plants are irreplaceable. The gunmen have not been found and probably never will be, and what if they are? It was incorrect to say they were hired by X. They were hired by D or C or B-most likely a C. Assuredly X is not on speaking terms with anyone as close to crime as a gunman, and I doubt if a D is. In any-” “You say,” Sperling put it, “this just happened? Last night?” “Yes, sir. I mentioned the approximate amount of the damage because you'll have to pay it. It will be on my bill.” Sperling made a noise. “It may be on your bill, but I won't have to pay it. Why should I?” “Because you'll owe it. It is an expense occurred on the job you gave me. My plant rooms were destroyed because I ignored X's ultimatum, and his demand was that I recall Mr Goodwin from here and stop my inquiry into the activities and character of Louis Rony. You wanted me to prove that Mr Rony is a Communist. I can't do that, but I can prove that he is one of X's men, either a C or a D, and is therefore a dangerous professional criminal.” The quickest reaction was from Madeline. Before Wolfe had finished she said, “My God!” and got up, crossed impolitely in front of people to Gwenn, and put her hand on her sister's shoulder. Then Mrs Sperling was up too, but she just stood a second and sat down again. Jimmy, who had been frowning at Wolfe, shifted the frown to his father.