“Hop in,” Fox invited him. “We’re going to stop in at Grove Street for Miss Duncan’s umbrella. She’s going to give it to me to add to my collection of souvenirs. Go around to the other side and squeeze in with us. Then we’re going to Rusterman’s for lunch.”
“I—I’ll get in the back.”
“There’s plenty of room,” said Amy, who up to that point had taken no part in the conversation.
Cliff hesitated, looked like a man who feared he was looking like a fool, and then moved. He went around the front of the car and was at the other door, which Amy had swung open. She moved over against Fox, but even so it was fairly close quarters. When Cliff got the door closed he was touching her all along the frontier. There was no help for it.
The car rolled east. As it turned into Eighth Avenue Cliff said, “Of course you didn’t invite me for lunch, but it would be very—I mean if you would both accept an invitation from me—at Rusterman’s if you like it there—”
“Nothing doing,” Fox said firmly. “You’ve been neglecting your business all week and you’d better start catching up. Besides, Miss Duncan and I met romantically and we’re going to part romantically. I’ll drop you off wherever you say. Your office?”
So Mr. Cliff worked that afternoon—at least, he was at his desk. The evening was another matter.
The End.
The World of
Rex Stout
Now, for the first time ever, enjoy a peek into the life of Nero Wolfe’s creator, Rex Stout, courtesy of the Stout Estate. Pulled from Rex Stout’s own archives, here are rarely seen, some never-before-published memorabilia. Each title in “The Rex Stout Library” will offer an exclusive look into the life of the man who gave Nero Wolfe life.
Bad for Business
One of Rex Stout’s great passions (besides the events of a certain brownstone on West 35th Street) was his work with the Author’s League of America. Following is a newspaper clipping from 1951 which describes Stout being elected to head that organization.
This book is fiction. No resemblance is intended between any character herein and any person, living or dead; any such resemblance is purely coincidental.
BAD FOR BUSINESS
A Bantam Crime Line Book / published by arrangement with the estate of the author
CRIME LINE and the portrayal of a boxed “cl” are trademarks of Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1940 by Rex Stout.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
For information address: Bantam Books.
eISBN: 978-0-307-75570-4
Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words “Bantam Books” and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036.
v3.0
Table of Contents
Cover
About the Author
Other Books by this Author
Title Page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Copyright
Rex Stout_Tecumseh Fox 02 Page 20