The Case of the Stepdaughter’s Secret

Chapter Nine

At nine-thirty that night the unlisted telephone in Mason’s apartment rang, and Mason, knowing that only Della Street and Paul Drake had that telephone number, promptly picked up the instrument and said, “Yes?”

Paul Drake’s voice came over the line. “I took some responsibility on my own initiative, Perry. I don’t know whether I did the right thing or not.”

“What happened?”

“I had a man on Eve Amory, as you suggested. A fellow who was keeping in the background but was a good rough, two-fisted guy, a little on the elderly side, but still able to give a good account of himself in a roughhouse.

“The point is, he’d been on the police force for twelve years, attached to the bunco squad, and had done some work on the blackmailing end of things. I felt he’d be a good man to—”

“All right, never mind the buildup,” Mason said. “What happened?”

“Well, about seven-forty a fellow parked in front of Eve Amory’s apartment house and from the way he was acting my man started giving him the once-over.

“This fellow went to a phone booth and put through a call, probably to Eve Amory, but of course my man had no way of knowing it at the time. But in about ten minutes Eve came walking out of the apartment house and this fellow drew up in his automobile, flashed her a signal, and she got in the car.

“My man tagged along behind, thinking it might be some sort of a snatch, but apparently it was just a conference because the fellow drove her around four or five blocks, then parked at the kerb, talked with her for half an hour and then took her back to her apartment house and let her out.”

“Any idea of what it was all about?” Mason asked.

“He was trying to get her to sign a paper, or at least that’s the way it looked to my man. This fellow had a paper that he kept pushing in front of her. She’d hesitate for a while, act as though she was on the point of signing, then push the paper back. Then they’d talk for a while and then he’d push the paper over toward her again.”

“Where was your man that he could see all this?”

“That’s the worst of it,” Drake said. “He couldn’t see it all. There was no place where he could park behind them without making them suspicious so he had to drive past two or three times and once pretended that he was trying to get into a parking place. Actually there wasn’t any parking place there. It was too small, but he manipulated his car around back and forth. They were so engrossed in what they were doing that they paid no attention to him.

“Anyway, what I’m coming to, Perry, is that when this man pulled out after leaving Eve Amory at her apartment house, my man played a hunch and started following this guy.”

“He left Eve Amory unprotected?” Mason asked.

“No, he has a two-way radio in his car so he can keep in constant touch with me. He told me what was happening and told me to send another man down to cover Eve, that he felt he should tail this fellow. He thought there was something familiar about him in just the glimpses he’d had of him.”

“Go ahead,” Mason said.

“Well, anyway, my man tailed this fellow down to the Ajax-Delsey apartment house. Now, that’s down toward the beach and it’s a cheap apartment house. Actually it’s nothing much more than a rooming house, but the point of it is that when this fellow got out of the car my man placed him.”

“What do you mean, he placed him? Does he have a record?”

“That’s right. He’s Stilson L Kelsey, known as Con-King Kelsey. He went in the rooming house and my man found out he had a room there. He radio-phoned in asking for instructions and I told him to sit on the rooming house for a while and see what happens. If Kelsey goes out I want him tagged.”

“He found out that Kelsey has a room there?”

“That’s right. He has a room there, and my man is sitting on the apartment house and keeping an eye on Kelsey’s car, but if Kelsey does come out my man may not be able to keep him in sight.”

“Why not?”

“A pea-soup fog which has settled in over the beach. It’s clear toward town but if Kelsey should start the other way it’s thicker than gravy.”

“Have you heard anything from Eve Amory?” Mason asked.

“No, whatever the deal was, this guy put enough pressure on her so she hasn’t reported. My man said it looked like she was almost ready to sign the paper. She was hesitating.”

“But she didn’t sign?”

“My man thinks she didn’t.”

“All right,” Mason said. “Keep your tail on Kelsey.”

“For how long?”

“Hell, all night, if necessary,” Mason said.

“He’ll have to have relief. He goes off duty at midnight.”

“Then send a relief down to take over at midnight,” Mason said. “Let’s see what Kelsey does. I want to find out who’s in on this.

“Also keep a good man on Eve Amory and see if she goes anywhere. I want to keep an eye on her. If this Kelsey fellow comes back and tries to put any more pressure on her, phone me no matter what hour it is. I want to get in on the act personally.”

“Okay,” Drake said. “You foot the bills, I’ll run ’em up, Perry.”