Wulf, conservative in his habits, has a steady shoeshine man, Peter Wassaus, who has been coming three times a week for several years to polish his shoes. But then Peter becomes a witness to a murder—and later becomes a victim himself. His daughter Elma Wassaus turns to Wulf for help, and he takes her under his protection. And it’s not a matter of the fee at all—because it turns out that the deceased Wassaus considered Nero Wolfe a great man…