The Case of the Smoking Chimney

Chapter 11

At two-thirty Karper returned to his office and put through a long-distance call to Hugh Sonders at Petrie.

Two minutes later when he had Sonders on the line, he said: “Sonders, this is Karper in Los Angeles... Independent Acres Subdivision Company.”

“All right,” Sonders said. “What is it?”

“How are subscriptions coming along?”

“Okay. Howser’s committee has interviewed about ninety per cent of the property owners.”

“Man by the name of Jack P. Reedley,” Karper said. “Got a little chicken ranch—”

“I know the one you mean,” Sonders interrupted. “I’m delegated to see him. I’m intending to call on him tomorrow or day after... He’s a newcomer, won’t get much out of him, but I want to get him signed up for something even if it’s only fifty dollars, so he’ll be one of us. His place isn’t worth over a couple of thousand.”

Karper said dryly: “You haven’t seen him yet, then?”

“No.”

“Do you know who Reedley really is?”

“What do you mean? Reedley is Reedley, isn’t he?”

“No.”

“Who?”

“Reedley,” Karper said, “is Ralph G. Pressman.”

“What!”

“That’s right.”

“You’re certain?”

“Yes.”

“What’s the idea?”

“He thought you’d call on him and he’d have a chance to find out the low-down.”

Sonders said: “I’ll call on him, all right. I’ll get Everett True of the Petrie Herald. We’ll go down there, and—”

“Wait a minute,” Karper interrupted. “Do something for me, will you?”

“What?”

“Don’t go down there for a couple of hours. Give me that much leeway.”

“Why?”

“I have some things I want to do.”

“He might get away.”

“No. He’s going to stay right there. Here’s something else. The oil well is a dry hole — dry as a bone.”

“How did you get this information?”

“It came to me straight.”

Sonders said: “This is a break. If we catch him putting over something like that, it might even have some bearing on the lawsuit. Might get us a rehearing in the Supreme Court.”

“That wouldn’t affect his legal position,” Karper said.

Sonders laughed. “He has to come to court with clean hands, legally speaking. And don’t the Supreme Court justices read the newspapers?”

“All right,” Karper said, “just be certain of one thing.”

“What?”

“Wait two hours. Don’t ever let on that I knew anything about it. Never tell anyone where you got the tip, not a soul, not even Howser or True.”

Sonders hesitated a moment, then said: “Okay. It’ll probably take a couple of hours for me to get hold of True and get the story lined up.”