“Enough.” Wolfe was grim. “Paolo Telesio has our papers and belongings. We left them in his care. A man in Philadelphia gave me his name, as one trustworthy and capable, who would arrange for getting us across the Adriatic. And he serves the Spirit of the Black— No, wait! After all, you have that telegram.” He shook his head. “No, it is just as well we’re going back. Here it’s impossible to tell who you’re dealing with. My brain is not equipped for it.”
“Not many brains are,” Stritar declared. “Don’t make any assumptions about Telesio. I didn’t say he sent me the telegram. You are not to tell him I have seen it. You understand that?”
“Certainly. We’re not a pair of fools, though yesterday you called us that. Do you still think so?”
“I think it is possible I was wrong. I agree with you that you can do more good in America than you can here. It is in your favor that you are inclined to be skeptical, as for instance about Nero Wolfe. You asked for evidence that he intends to send major assistance to our subversive underground, and I furnished it. I regard it as conclusive. Do you?”
Wolfe hesitated. “Conclusive is a strong word. But I — yes. I will say yes.”
“Then he must be dealt with. Will you help?”
“That depends. If you mean will I or my son engage to kill him, no. Killing a man in America is not the same as killing a man here. Circumstances might develop that would lead us to undertake it, but I won’t commit myself, and neither will he.”
“I didn’t ask you to. I asked if you’ll help. Peter Zov will need it. The preparations and arrangements will have to be made for him, and provision for his safety afterward. You say Philadelphia is ninety miles from New York — that’s a hundred and fifty kilometers — and that is well, for New York would be dangerous for him. That’s the kind of help he’ll need. Will you give it?”
Wolfe considered. “There’s a difficulty. No matter how well it is arranged, it’s conceivable that Zov will be caught. If he is, under pressure he might betray us.”
“You saw him under pressure today. Will the American police use greater pressure than that?”