“There’s one thing that still puzzles me, though,” I said. “You’d be the first one to admit you’re not much for reading fiction; how in hell did you know that all three of those books on Markham’s list had something to do with May-and-September romances?”
The folds in Wolfe’s cheeks deepened. “I was wondering when that would occur to you,” he said, pouring beer and watching the foam settle. “While you are correct that my reading tastes run to nonfiction, you know that I make it a point to read about books. In one source or another, I probably have read reviews of ten thousand novels over the years, including of the three titles to which you refer. And as you also know, I remember what I read.”
Okay, that sounds like bragging—and it is. But as far as I’m concerned, he can brag like that every time he fills our coffers with fifty thousand simoleons.
TWENTY-FOUR
I WAS RIGHT ABOUT LON, of course. He’d been counting on a living, breathing culprit, but nonetheless he made do and whipped together a colorful story, complete with quotes from Wolfe, Hobson, and Potter (“I’m just glad this horror is behind us and that we at Prescott can turn our attention back toward our mission as educators.”). Wolfe’s picture got in, too, although mine didn’t make it. “Space considerations” was how Lon explained it to me later.
The handwriting on the note to Elena checked out as Gretchen Frazier’s, of course, and based on this plus further investigation that included a lengthy phone conversation with Wolfe, the Orange County medical examiner up in Goshen amended the death certificates to read homicide for Markham and death by manner of suicide for Gretchen.
The Gazette and the other New York dailies had another piece on Prescott a few months later. They each covered a press conference on the campus in which plans were unveiled for the hundred million dollar Leander Bach Center for Science and Technology, a “state-of-the-art complex” for which ground would be broken sometime in the spring. They all carried the same photo—Potter and Bach grinning and standing on either side of an easel with an architect’s rendering of the buildings.
And oh, yes—I finally did get my long October weekend with Lily at her hideaway in Dutchess County, where we had three wonderful days doing as much of nothing as possible. On Monday, when I asked if she wanted to ride back to the city with me in the Mercedes, she said thanks anyway, but she wasn’t quite ready to trade the fall colors for the concrete and carbon monoxide just yet.
That meant I was alone driving south, with the option of detouring across the river to Prescott on the chance that a certain auburn-haired receptionist might be free for lunch.
I did, and she was.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
copyright © 1988 by Robert Goldsborough
introduction © 1988 by Bantam Books
cover design by Kelly Parr
978-1-4532-6892-6
This 2012 edition distributed by MysteriousPress.com/Open Road Integrated Media
180 Varick Street
New York, NY 10014
www.mysteriouspress.com
www.openroadmedia.com
THE NERO WOLFE MYSTERIES
FROM MYSTERIOUSPRESS.COM
AND OPEN ROAD MEDIA
Available wherever ebooks are sold
Otto Penzler, owner of the Mysterious Bookshop in Manhattan, founded the Mysterious Press in 1975. Penzler quickly became known for his outstanding selection of mystery, crime, and suspense books, both from his imprint and in his store. The imprint was devoted to printing the best books in these genres, using fine paper and top dust-jacket artists, as well as offering many limited, signed editions.
Now the Mysterious Press has gone digital, publishing ebooks through MysteriousPress.com.
MysteriousPress.com offers readers essential noir and suspense fiction, hard-boiled crime novels, and the latest thrillers from both debut authors and mystery masters. Discover classics and new voices, all from one legendary source.
FIND OUT MORE AT
WWW.MYSTERIOUSPRESS.COM
FOLLOW US:
@emysteries and Facebook.com/MysteriousPressCom
MysteriousPress.com is one of a select group of publishing partners of Open Road Integrated Media, Inc.
The Mysterious Bookshop, founded in 1979, is located in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood. It is the oldest and largest mystery-specialty bookstore in America.
The shop stocks the finest selection of new mystery hardcovers, paperbacks, and periodicals. It also features a superb collection of signed modern first editions, rare and collectable works, and Sherlock Holmes titles. The bookshop issues a free monthly newsletter highlighting its book clubs, new releases, events, and recently acquired books.
58 Warren Street
[email protected]
(212) 587-1011
Monday through Saturday
11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
FIND OUT MORE AT:
www.mysteriousbookshop.com
FOLLOW US:
@TheMysterious and Facebook.com/MysteriousBookshop
Open Road Integrated Media is a digital publisher and multimedia content company. Open Road creates connections between authors and their audiences by marketing its ebooks through a new proprietary online platform, which uses premium video content and social media.
Videos, Archival Documents, and New Releases
Sign up for the Open Road Media newsletter and get news delivered straight to your inbox.
Sign up now at
www.openroadmedia.com/newsletters
FIND OUT MORE AT
WWW.OPENROADMEDIA.COM
FOLLOW US:
@openroadmedia and
Facebook.com/OpenRoadMedia
The Bloodied Ivy (The Nero Wolfe Mysteries Book 3) Page 20
