I had finally got around to the magazines I had brought upstairs the previous evening. There was a knock at the door and I said come in.
It was the Chairman of the Board. He closed the door and approached. I said hello. Wolfe let his book down to rest on his belly but otherwise stayed put.
“You look comfortable,” Sperling said like a host.
Wolfe grunted. I said something gracious.
Sperling moved a chair around to a different angle and sat.
“So you talked yourself out of it?” he asked.
“I doubt if I rate a credit line,” I said modestly. “The picture was out of focus, that’s all. It would have needed too much retouching, and all I did was point that out.”
He nodded. “I understand from Dykes that the District Attorney offered to guarantee immunity if you would sign a statement.”
“Not quite. He didn’t offer to put it in writing. Not that I think he would have crossed me, but I liked the immunity I already had. As I heard a guy say once, virtue is never left to stand alone.”
“Where did you get that?” Wolfe demanded from his pillows. “That’s Confucius.”