The Second Confesion

“Hello, Archie?” “Right. Me.” “This is a friend.” “So you say. Let me guess. The phones here are complicated. I'm in a bedroom with Mr Wolfe. If I pick up the receiver I get an outside line, but on the other hand your incoming call was answered downstairs.” “I see. Well, I'm sitting here looking at an Indian holding down papers. I went out for a walk, but there was too much of a crowd, so I decided to ride and here I am. I'm sorry you can't keep the date.” “So am I. But I might be able to make it later if you'll sit tight. Okay?” “Okay.” I hung up, got to my feet, and told Wolfe, “Saul started to go somewhere, found he had a tail on him, shook it off, and went to the office to report. He's there now. Any suggestions?” Wolfe closed the book on a finger to mark the place. “Who was following him?” “I doubt if he knows, but he didn't say. You heard what I told him about the phone.” Wolfe nodded and considered a moment. “How far will you have to go?” “Oh, I guess I can stand it, even in the dark. Chappaqua is seven minutes and Mount Kisco ten. Any special instructions?” He had none, except that since Saul was in the office he might as well stick there until he heard from us again, so I shoved off.

I left the house by the west terrace because that was the shortest route to the place behind shrubbery where I had parked the car, and found a sign of life.

Paul and Connie Emerson were in the living-room looking at television, and Webster Kane was on the terrace, apparently just walking back and forth. I exchanged greetings with them on the fly and proceeded.

It was a dark night, with no stars on account of the clouds, but the wind was down. As I drove to Chappaqua I let my mind drift into a useless habit, speculating on who Saul's tail had been-state or city employees, or an A, B, C, or D. After I got to a booth in a drugstore and called Saul at the office and had a talk with him, it was still nothing but a guess. All Saul knew was that it had been a stranger and that it hadn't been too easy to shake him. Since it was Saul Panzer, I knew I didn't have to check any on the shaking part, and since he had no news to report except that he had acquired a tail, I told him to make himself comfortable in one of the spare rooms if he got sleepy, treated myself to a lemon coke, and went back to the car and drove back to Stony Acres.