The thirteenth collection of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe novellas, published in 1964; the last novella collection published in Stout's lifetime.
"Kill Now—Pay Later" opens as Wolfe's bootblack Pete Vassos, in a discussion with Wolfe about great men, posing a hypothetical about a murder. That hypothetical is quickly revealed as reality when Dennis Ashby, vice president at Mercer's Bobbins, is hit on the head and thrown out his office window; Vassos blacked boots at Mercer's, and he too goes missing. Vassos' daughter Alma hires Wolfe to prove Pete's innocence; after Pete's body is found at the bottom of a cliff, the police become convinced that Pete killed Ashby and threw himself off the embankment. Archie navigates the office while Wolfe sends Saul on an errand that reveals a clue that points directly at the murderer.
"Murder Is Corny" sees Wolfe thrown by the improper quality of the corn delivered to him, while Inspector Cramer is more interested in Archie's involvement in the murder of Kenneth Faber, struck down while delivering corn to Rusterman's. The police are clearly convinced that Archie killed Faber, and it isn't until an interview with Susan MacLeod, daughter of the farmer who grows Wolfe's corn, that Wolfe and Archie learn why. Faced with the loss of Archie due to incarceration, Wolfe takes the case, finding a temporary replacement for Archie in jail while determining how the men interested romantically in Susan may have sparked the murder.
Lastly, in "Blood Will Tell," Archie is drawn to the apartment complex housing composer James Neville Vance after receiving one of Vance's bloodstained ties in the mail. While at the complex, he comes across the bludgeoned corpse of Bonny Kirk in another apartment. When Bonny's husband Martin comes to the brownstone, Wolfe accepts Martin's innocence and takes him on as a client, dealing with romantic impulses, jealousy, and the grisly trophy of a violent crime.
A Nero Wolfe Mystery adapted "Murder Is Corny" during its second season.
Tropes in this work: (Tropes relating to the series as a whole, or to the characters in general can be found on Nero Wolfe and its subpages.)
- Couldn't Find a Pen / Dying Clue: Pete Vassos wrote the first four letters of John Mercer's surname on a rock in his own blood before succumbing.
- Grievous Bottley Harm: Bonny Kirk is killed with a bottle of vodka.
- Leave Behind a Pistol: After Saul delivers the confronting document to Duncan MacLeod, the farmer blows himself up with a pile of dynamite.
- Pipe Pain: Kenneth Faber is struck down with a piece of iron pipe. This gives Wolfe a hint as to the murderer, as it is far more likely a man from the country would carry a pipe as a weapon than a city man.
- Serious Business: Wolfe is vexed by the state of the corn he receives in "Murder is Corny", which is inferior in quality and unsuitable for his needs. It turns out to be a clue, however, not just one of his fussy obsessions: Wolfe has a precise standing order with Duncan Macleod for corn and pays generously for it. Macleod has previously made sure his orders were filled to the letter, as he would not want to risk losing such a lucrative customer by delivering substandard goods. Unless he was distracted by a particularly compelling problem, such as dealing with the man who was threatening to ruin his daughter's reputation to blackmail her into marrying him...
