Rex Stout, Three Men Out

Rex Stout, Three Men Out
Viking edition, 1954
Bantam editions 1955, 1991, and 1994
© Rex Stout, 1952, 1953
(Also available as an ebook)

Another collection of novellas.  This time, we have “Invitation to Murder,” “The Zero Clue,” and “This Won’t Kill You.”

“Invitation to Murder” finds Wolfe reluctantly accepting a retainer from Herman Lewent, to investigate…something.  Lewent is the ne’er-do-well son of a self-made multi-millionaire.  His father’s will left everything to his sister, including in the will a request that she consider his needs.  Which she has done to the tune of $1,000 per month (call it around $9,000 at today’s price levels).  Lewent has lived in Europe [and claims to have had, simultaneously, three mistresses, which Archie tends not to believe (“I gave him an eye and decided to believe nothing he said.  He wasn’t built for it.” P. 2)].  He has returned to the States following his sister’s death (for her funeral), discovered that her will had language requesting her husband (Theodore Huck) to consider Herman’s needs.

Now he has returned, having received a warning from Huck’s nephew, the Huck seems to be emotionally involved with one of the three women who work for him.  Herman fears…something…possibly that Huck will use his involvement to cut Herman off.  Or possibly that one of them killed his sister to be able to marry Huck.  Wolfe passes the buck to Archie, and Archie, knowing that Wolfe has no interest, but will be able to use Archie’s refusal to accept this case as a future excuse for sloth, reluctantly takes it on.  And, in short order, Herman Lewent is dead in his father’s house.

Archie uses a subterfuge to get Wolfe to venture forth, and Wolfe is able, of course, to think his way to the colution.

“The Zero Clue” is one of my favorites among the novella.  Leo Heller [1], math professor and expert in probability theory, has abandoned academia for what has become a lucrative job solving mysteries for people—for a fee.  Heller has called to ask for an appointment with Wolfe, because he has reason to believe that one of his clients or potential clients has committed a serious crime, and he wants help.  Archie knows Wolfe will never go for it, but he makes a call on Heller anyway, finding his (extremely well soundproofed) office empty, but his waiting room with clients or potential clients, full.  Shortly thereafter, Inspector Cramer arrives at the old brownstone asking what Wolfe was doing for Heller, displaying an envelope with 5 $100 bills, with Wolfe’s name on it.  Wolfe, somewhat impetuously, claims the money and dares Cramer to connect it, or him, to Heller’s death.  Cramer uses the arrangement of pencils found on Heller’s desk—claiming they were spelling out NW.  Wolfe, in order to keep the money and get Cramer off his back, agrees to look into it.  To begin with, he has Cramer bring all the people who were in Heller’s waiting room, and one more who had left as Archie was arriving, and undertakes to investigate.

For a reason I’ll omit, Wolfe has concluded that the number “6” is involved, and his interrogation of the—let’s call them—suspects focuses on that.  And the number 6 does pop up for every one of them.  Until, as a result of his questioning of Karl Busch (Archie describes him as “a Broadway smoothie, third grade), he realizes he was wrong.  Which we, of course, already knew from the novella’s title, although we don’t know what the clue is or what it means.  What I like so much about this story is Wolfe’s realization of his error, and why he recognized it.  Just a nice piece of detection, and a nice insight into Wolfe.

In “This Won’t Kill You,” Pierre Mondor (whom we all remember from Too Many Cooks) is visiting New York (staying with Wolfe), and has expressed a desire to see a baseball game.  The only baseball game available is game 7 of the World Series, with the Giants playing the Red Sox.  The owner of the Giants, a former client, is happy to come up with the tickets, and Archie, Mondor, and Wolfe are off to the Polo Grounds.  The game is a disaster, with a number of the Giants’ best players playing as if they’d been drugged.  Which we soon learn that have been.  The Giants’ owner requests Wolfe’s assistance (which he’s happy to give, as he is able to find something almost tolerable to sit on.  Not that he’s going to make much progress on an investigation while the game in in progress.

In short order, however, Archie discovers the corpse of Giants’ rookie Nick Ferrone and murder takes over.  Archie is, as it happens, in possession of a key piece of information (which he, of course, shares with Wolfe but not with Inspector Hennessey—we’re in the Bronx, not Manhattan, so no Cramer).  I don’t think it’s giving anything away to reveal that gamblers have, in fact, bribed someone to drug the players and make pots of money.  Archie’s info ties into that, and results in his leaving the Polo Grounds and into a confrontation which has the potential for a fairly horrible outcome.  This is another excellent outing in the annals, and Wolfe’s exposition to the Giants’ players and assorted others [2] of a fact he can’t explain is brilliant.

Overall, this is an excellent set of short mysteries; if it’s not my favorite collection of novellas, it’s right up there.

[1] I have always wondered if Heller were a re-working of Pro. Savarese in And Be a Villain, like Heller a math professor with an interest in statistic, which we wonders could be used to solve crimes.

[2] One of the others is Beaky Durkin, a former player now a scout; Ferrone was his discovery.  Every time I read this, I expect Archie of Wolfe to ask him if he knows Fred.