User:Modus Vivendi/The Golden Spiders

The Golden Spiders is a Nero Wolfe mystery novel by popular American mystery writer Rex Stout, first published in October 1953 by Viking Press and later in assorted paperback editions by Bantam Books.

Plot introduction
The time and place of the plot are 1953 Manhattan, with the War, particularly resettlement of war refugees, an important subtext.

Genesis of the novel's title
Early in the book, before Wolfe takes an interest in the matter, Pete Drossos, neighborhood squeejie kid, has noticed the female driver of a car, stopped like many others for a red light, and to get its windshield cleaned by Pete with his rag. apparently being threatened at gunpoint by a man. The woman is wearing extremely distinctive earrings. The earrings are provocatively worn to Wolfe's office on a subsequent occasion, but it doesn't take Wolfe long to determine that the wearer is different on this later occasion.

Plot summary
~Plot outline description~

Characters in "The Golden Spiders"

 * Fritz Brenner — As gourmand in the heart of a great metropolis, Wolfe unable to readily comply with that most basic of gourment requirements: secure your food supply. Therefore, it not suprising that in this story, Wolfe was secured a supply of 18 to 20 freshly-killed starlings from Brewster, New York, an expensive meal if only for its food supply. Friz has had the (presumed) affrontary to introduce the spices tarragon (agreed) and saffron (Fritz's own initiative). Wolfe declares "It may possibly be edible, but I am in no humor to risk it.  Please dispose of it and bring me four coddled eggs and piece of toast." This sets the stage for tension between the two as the novel opens.
 * Pete Drossos — youngster in the neighbourhood -- squeejie kid — rings the doorbell during Wolfe's unseemly argument with Fritz.
 * Archie Goodwin — Legally Wolfe's employee, Archie tells these stories, including holdhold frictions contributing to the situation. Normally Fritz answers the door for neighorhood kids, but in view of the situation, Archie does this, and in the present situation, since Pete announce he "has a case", decides to rattle Wolfe's cage about it, with built-in risk that Wolfe may decide to turn the tables, as happens here.
 * Nero Wolfe — If you haven't made Wolfe's general acquaintance, follow one of the links above. Briefly, you can assume that Wolfe is brilliant, agoraphobic, and gets what he calls romantic notions, in this case to help Pete Drossos, who has seen a serious crime (woman held up at gunpoint in a car wearing spider-shaped earrings [ugly but distinctive]), had the presence of mind to write down the car model and license tag number. The brilliant Wolfe doesn't quite know that a "Caddy" is a "Cadillac" but Archie is hear to help.
 * Sargeant Stebbins — Pays a visit the next day wondering what Wolfe cared about the floater tag since it turns out a car with that floater tag has just killed a Pete Drossos. Just as the conference with Stebbens is getting underway, Althea Drossos arrives unexexpectedly
 * Althea Dossos — After apparently paying respects to Mrs Drossos, Stebbens "leaves" Wolfe's office, but turns left, instead of fight, and heads to a eavesdropping vantage point. Wolfe and Archie are well aware of this. Althea Dossos, Peter's mother, hires Wolfe, on the basis of the meagre $4.35 that Pete has collected for his little windshield-cleaning enterprise.  Archie suggests spending the money, plus a little of his own if necessary, on an ad in the Times looking for the woman whom Pete saw at gunpoint yesterday.
 * Inspector Cramer — Stebbins' superior, soon arrives to question Wolfe because the car that killed Pete Drossos also killed Matthew Birch
 * Mrs Damon Fromme — In the middle of Wolfe's chat with Cramer, Archie gets a call who claims to have been the woman threated at gunpoint yesterday. Archie disguises the nature of this conversation until Wolfe has left. Although Mrs Fromme is wearing the distinctice earrings and has a scratch on her cheek similar to that described in Pete's account, it's too recent to be same scratch, and therefore, Mrs. Fromme is lying about something. She does do something very important however: she raises the retainer to $10,000. It isn't immediately clear what there is to investigate, but that is clarified the next day when she herself turns up dead (after, it will be noted, her cheque had been certified).

At this point, the motives for the crimes becomes clear: Every mentioned so far, except Pete, was connected in some way with the Association for the Aid of Displaced Persons (ASSADIP, fictional, invented for this story).
 * Dennis Horan — General counsel for ASSADIP — also not averse to making money on the side for helping illegal immigrants


 * Lips Egan — Organized crime hachetman who helps Matthew Birch (INS until his recent death) and others put the squeeze on various INS "clients" in a wide-ranging blackmail scheme.

Murder vs. Immigration violations.
Wolfe is assiduous as always in making sure murderers get punished.

However, events of the story also bring the master list of DP's (displaced persons) being blackmailed into Wolfe's hands, and he does not allow that to do any more harm than Lips Egan has already caused it to have.