- Case
- The Golden Spiders
- Year Published
- 1953
- Case Introduction
- Begins Tuesday May 19, 1953, ends Friday May 29. One of the neighborhood kids, Pete Drossos, comes to Wolfe after a woman in a car at an intersection pleads for help, apparently at gunpoint. His only clues to her identity are the license plate number, and that she wore golden spider earrings. Within a week, three people have been murdered by being run over, including the woman who gave Wolfe a $10,000 retainer, and the only way to keep up self-esteem in the brownstone is to earn the money by catching the killer.
- Notes
- Resolution
-
Jean Estey killed all three victims. She was in cahoots with Matthew Birch, Denis Horan, and Lips Eagan in an illegal immigrant extortion scheme. Matthew Birch was a passenger in the car with Jean when Pete saw them. She was able to get the upper hand on Birch and knocked him out and then ran the car over him. She wanted to make sure that Pete did not talk, so she dressed as a man and came back to the scene where Pete had seen them and then she ran him down. When her boss, Laura Fromm, came back from seeing Nero Wolfe, she was worried that their scheme would be uncovered. She waited in Laura's car at the Horan house, and then knocked her out and brought her to a deserted area and ran over her body.
Characters in the case:
Character descriptionPartner in Althaus and Greif, makers of the Peggy Pilgrim line of dresses and suits. Husband of Ivana, father of Morris.
Reserved notes for this case
Killed by a hit-and-run driver (1st murder victim). According to Lon, "dressed beyond his station, wasn't any too popular in his circle, and bet on the races through Danny Pincus."
Character descriptionSpecial agent of the Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS), 20 years service, married, 3 children.
Reserved notes for this caseRingleader of the illegal immigrant extortion scheme. Found out that Jean Estey was shorting him on the loot and was a passenger in the car with her when the Pete Drossos saw them.
Archie steals his lunch
Character descriptionDistrict Attorney of New York City.
Reserved notes for this case
Fritz prepared Anchovy Omelet, Lamb Cutlets, Fig and Cherry Tart, Starlings, Polenta, Danish Pork Pancakes and Sunday-Morning Crecsents during this case.
Character descriptionMaster chef in Wolfe's kitchen, has a small apartment in the basement. (In "Fer-De-Lance," his apartment is across from the plant room, not in the basement.) Swiss; native French speaker, served in WWI. Uninterested in murder, except whether a client is in the offing; gets anxious about household finance when Wolfe isn't working. Doesn't like to talk while cooking. Changes to his old slippers at 9 pm because of "things left on his feet by the war to remember it by". Implied he was a member of the Swiss Alpine Patrol during WWI.
Reserved notes for this case
Archie exchanges information with him about the murder of Laura Fromm. At this point, Lon has his own office at the Gazette. Archie isn't sure what his exact position is (and says Lon probably doesn't either). The receptionist on Lon's floor (the 3rd) is (and has been for 3 - 4 years) one of those who receive a box of orchids from the plant rooms twice a year.
Character descriptionReporter at the Gazette. Dark skin, dark brown eyes. Neat little face, slick black hair. Neatest (card) shuffler Archie knows.
Reserved notes for this case
Had a noisy scene with Wolfe while Archie was out consulting Lon Cohen.
Character descriptionInspector with NYPD, Homicide. Has tolerate / hate relationship with Wolfe. He respects Wolfe, but is greatly irritated by his eccentricities. Habitually chews (but rarely lights) cigars. Notably, Cramer lights a cigar in Wolfe's office during "Instead of Evidence" in which the murder weapon is an exploding cigar! First name is given as Fergus one time, but generally accepted as Lionel. Had a son in the Army Air Corps during WWII. Archie has called Mrs. Cramer on the phone more than once to reach the Inspector at home. Archie's favorite alias for him is "the man about the chair" or "any name with a double "d", e.g., Mr. Judd".
At no time is Inspector Cramer ever referred to in the books as "Lionel T." Cramer; his first name is given as "Fergus" in "Where There's a Will." There is a lone later reference to him as L.T.C. (The Silent Speaker), but never Lionel. Stout's biographer, John McAleer, asked Stout to explain the "Fergus"/"L.T.C" discrepancy; Stout replied: "No significance. Laziness. I didn't bother to check on whether he already had a first name. Of course, all discrepancies in the Nero Wolfe stories are Archie Goodwin's fault." (from "Royal Decree; Conversations with Rex Stout)
He is featured in a book by Stout called Red Threads, first published 1939, tracking down a killer with a young fashion designer. There is no reference to Nero Wolfe.
Reserved notes for this case
Complying with her son's dying request, comes to Wolfe with his savings to hire him to find her son's murderer.
Character descriptionMother of Peter Drossos.
Reserved notes for this case
Wolfe's client, admitted by Archie so that Wolfe would have another child to play with.
Character description"Wiry, little specimen...sharp, black eyes." One of the kids living in the neighbourhood of the brownstone.
Reserved notes for this caseMurder victim.
Made contact with Fred Durkin after Fred began making inquiries about Matthew Birch at Danny's.
Character descriptionStreet thug.
Reserved notes for this caseWas the muscle in the illegal immigrant extortion scheme. Received his leads from Denis Horan or a woman on the phone (Jean Estey). Tried to extort $10,000 from Saul, who was posing as an illegal immigrant. Eventually spilled everything to Cramer in Wolfe's office.
Lon objected to her because she wouldn't talk to reporters.
Character descriptionPersonal secretary to Laura Fromm.
Reserved notes for this caseMurdered all three. She was in the car with Matthew Birch wearing the golden spider earrings when Pete Drossos saw her. She managed to overcome Birch and knocked him out and then ran over him. She dressed like a man and came back to locate Pete and then ran him over too. When she realized that Laura Fromm was suspicious, she waited in her car after the dinner party and then knocked her out and then brought her to a deserted area and ran over her body.
President of the Association for the Aid of Displaced Persons. Responds to Wolfe's ad about the woman in the spider earrings. Presents herself at Wolfe's office to hire him, wearing golden spider earrings.
Character descriptionWealthy widow of philanthropist and chemical tycoon Damen Fromm.
Reserved notes for this caseLaura purchase the golden spider earrings, perhaps because she overheard her personal assistant, Jean Estey, using the secret password, "said the spider to the fly," and was suspiscious. She was murdered after the dinner party at Denis Horan's house.
Maintains friendly detente with neighbourhood kids. Let Pete Drossos into the brownstone on the theory that it would be good for Wolfe to have another child to play with (tactic backfired spectacularly).
Character descriptionNero Wolfe's tough and witty assistant.
Reserved notes for this case
Wife of Denis Horan and host of the dinner party.
Character descriptionShe is blonde, and young, looking for some company. Interested?
Reserved notes for this caseIgnorant of the extortion scheme.
Host of the dinner party attended by Laura Fromm on the night she died. Phoned Wolfe immediately after her death to try to stop him from depositing Mrs. Fromm's $10,000 retainer check.
Character descriptionAttorney for the Association for Displaced Persons. Married, lives in Gramercy Park.
Reserved notes for this caseIn the racket up to the neck. As counsel to the Association for the Aid of Displaced Persons, displaced people are referred to him for advice. He then sends extortion prospects to Lips Egan. Weasel.
In bloom: warm room, Miltonia resley, Phalenopsis aphrodite. In the medium room, only a few of the Cattleyas and Laelias had flowers. (transcribed from audio recording)
Character descriptionOlder man. Wolfe's orchid nurse. Lives in small cubbyhole on the roof with the plants. First mentioned in ch. 3 of "Fer-de-lance" - Archie sometimes hears him shouting at Wolfe in the mornings.
Reserved notes for this case
Attended the Horans' dinner party on the night of Mrs. Fromm's death.
Character descriptionPublic relations expert.
Reserved notes for this case
He and his brother own a men's clothing store in New Jersey.
Character descriptionRound shoulders, glasses. Runs a clothing store with his brother.
Reserved notes for this caseHe identifies Jean Estey as the woman who purchased the men's suit and hat that she wore to run down Pete Drossos.
Attended the Horans' dinner party on the night of Mrs. Fromm's death.
Character descriptionMagazine publisher.
Reserved notes for this case
NYC Assistant D.A.
Character descriptionAssistant district attorney in New York City.
Reserved notes for this case
Matthew Birch's bookie.
Character descriptionOwner Danny's Bar & Grill.
Reserved notes for this case
"If there were 20 of us, including Rowcliff, starving on a desert island, and we were balloting to elect which one we would carve up for a barbecue, I wouldn't vote for Rowcliff because I know I couldn't keep him down. And compared to his opinion of me, mine of him is sympathetic."
Character descriptionLieutenant in NYPD. Has antagonistic relationship with Archie and Wolfe.
Reserved notes for this case
Appears at the brownstone after the second murder to question Wolfe and Archie.
Character descriptionInitially an employee in N.Y. D.A.'s office. Later Cramer's man.
Detective (sergeant). Unfriendly.
Reserved notes for this case
Throws a tantrum because Fritz changed the seasoning for one of his favorite dishes (starlings) without prior arrangement.
Character descriptionMaster detective. Genius. Estimated weight: 1/7 ton. Carries a large platinum watch in his vest pocket. Sends a check every month to his mother in Budapest ("Fer-de-lance, ch. 13)..
Reserved notes for this case
On the day of her murder, had lunch with Mrs. Fromm at the Churchill, presumably after leaving Wolfe's office. Also attended the Horans' dinner party that evening.
Character descriptionExecutive Secretary of the Association for the Aid of Displaced Persons, a favourite charity of Damen Fromm.
Reserved notes for this caseInvolved in the racket; sends prospects to Dennis Horan.
Meals in the case:
(no meals are currently in the NWD for this story)
Orchids in the case:
(no orchids are currently in the NWD for this story)
Quotations in the case:
(no quotations are currently in the NWD for this story)