Death of a Demon

"Death of a Demon" is a Nero Wolfe mystery novella by Rex Stout, first serialized in three issues of The Saturday Evening Post (June 10, 17 and 24, 1961).

Lucy Hazen has a preemptive confession to make to Nero Wolfe – having come to despise her husband Barry, a cruel public relations counsellor, she has recently become plagued by thoughts of shooting him with his own gun.

Although bemused by the meeting, Wolfe humors her and agrees to show her his orchid collection, but while they are upstairs Archie Goodwin hears on the radio that Barry Hazen’s body has been discovered in an alley, shot in the back.

Inspector Cramer arrives at the brownstone in a gloating mood, revealing that the police have discovered the gun that Lucy Hazen apparently used to murder her husband – a pistol that her father used to commit suicide.

He admits that he has no evidence, but argues that Hazen’s hints and the specific gun used strongly imply that Khoury’s secret was that he actually murdered Lucy’s father, his former business partner.