The Garaucan Swindle

CHAPTER XII. THE CONFERENCE

FOUR men were gathered in Tobias Hildreth’s study. From behind his desk, the president of the Founders Trust Company was speaking to Police Commissioner Wainwright Barth. With the official was Detective Joe Cardona.

The fourth member of the group was a chunky, keen-faced man whose eyes showed a sharp glitter. He was seated beside Hildreth’s desk, going over a stack of papers and nodding whenever the banker spoke to him. This was Gorton Jodelle, private investigator who had made a specialty of tackling crimes that concerned banking institutions.

“Heinous crime!” exclaimed Tobias Hildreth. Horror was registered on the banker’s portly face.

“Robbery was crime enough; but outright murder — wanton murder — is terrible. Rowley was a faithful watchman. Poor Lucas used to greet me when I came out of the bank.

“But the greatest tragedy is that of Zellwood. I was stunned, this afternoon, when that report came in from the South. Zellwood’s death was apart from the robbery; yet I cannot help but believe that the same set of dastardly ruffians were responsible for his murder also.

“You must do something about it, Jodelle.” Hildreth turned to the investigator. “Don’t you understand that Zellwood’s death occurred outside of Commissioner Barth’s jurisdiction? Murderers must be brought to justice.”

“I have told you what I think of Zellwood,” put in Jodelle, firmly. “My reports here—”

“Preposterous!” exclaimed Hildreth, with a shake of his heavy head. “Zellwood was a trusted employee. Poor fellow — he was troubled when he left yesterday. Overwork had worn him.”

“Overwork?” questioned Jodelle. Then, to Barth: “Listen, commissioner, Mr. Hildreth can’t get my viewpoint. He himself feels that Zellwood’s death had something to do with the bank robbery; yet he cannot tolerate the thought that Zellwood might be crooked.”

“Zellwood was murdered,” objected Hildreth.

“Of course,” agreed Jodelle. “But why? He was not on the ground, to interfere with the robbery, like Rowley and the cop.”

“But he may have known something about the robbery.”

“That’s just it,” nodded Jodelle. “He knew about the robbery. That’s why he was bumped.”

“Then he is innocent.”

“He is guilty!” exclaimed Jodelle, angrily. “If he had been in New York — in the bank — we could say that he was innocent. But he was miles away, traveling South when the crime occurred.”

“One moment,” interposed Barth. “This news of Zellwood’s murder is one reason why I have come here with Detective Cardona. We want to know something about the man. Why do you suspect him of implication in the robbery, Jodelle?”

“I shall tell you,” returned the private investigator, “by asking a question of Detective Cardona. Tell me” — he turned to Joe — “how, in your opinion, was that bank vault opened?”

“IT was either unlocked to begin with,” returned Cardona, “or else the burglars knew the combination and unlocked it.”

“Very well.” Jodelle turned to Hildreth. “How many persons beside yourself had the combination to the vault?”

“Only Zellwood,” admitted the bank president, slowly. “He had the combinations to both vaults.”

“Who locked the vaults yesterday afternoon?”

“Zellwood.”

“He could have fixed the time lock, couldn’t he?”

“Yes. But I don’t believe he did.”

“Why not?”

“Because he was trustworthy. What is more, the time lock was correctly set on the upper vault.”

“It’s hopeless,” decided Jodelle, looking at Hildreth. “You say that the man was honest. Every man is honest until he turns crooked.”

“I can’t believe it of Zellwood,” insisted Hildreth. “The poor fellow is dead. He was very nervous yesterday. It is possible that he forgot to set the time lock properly, or to close the vault door tightly.”

“Wouldn’t the watchman have reported that fact when he made his first inspection?”

“He should have. Unfortunately, poor Rowley is dead also. No, gentlemen, I cannot tolerate the thought that Rudolph Zellwood was guilty of aiding criminals in their work.”

“Suppose we put it this way,” remarked Barth, in a conciliatory tone. “Let us presume that Rudolph Zellwood was innocent. But to properly clear his name, we must study the case as Jodelle suggests — from the standpoint that Zellwood might be implicated. Would that be satisfactory?”

“I suppose so,” agreed Hildreth. “Yes, commissioner, if you approach it with that attitude, I shall not object. Zellwood was in my opinion a faithful worker. I do not want his name to be trampled. That is all.”

“We shall bear that thought in mind,” promised Barth. “Therefore, Mr. Hildreth, I should like to have your complete statement regarding the actions of Rudolph Zellwood yesterday afternoon. Also all your comments concerning the robbery.”

“Very well,” began Hildreth. “I came into the bank shortly after three o’clock. Rudolph Zellwood was at that time in his office. Wally Wilking — my niece’s fiance — was waiting to see me. He was in the bank to make payment in reduction of a loan. Since I was absent, he had taken the matter up with Zellwood, who had told him to wait for my return.

“After Wilking left, I called Zellwood. He mentioned that Wilking had spoken to him about reducing the loan. Then Zellwood said that he was very tired. He attributed it to overwork. He was glad that he was going on his vacation. He was leaving on the seven o’clock train, so I said that I would take him to the station.

“I did not see Zellwood from then until after six o’clock. Kerry arrived — Kerry is my chauffeur — and came to my office. I went into Zellwood’s office and told him I was ready to leave. I asked him if he had closed the vaults. He said yes. So he went with me to my car.”

“Did he have any bags with him?” questioned Barth.

“No,” replied Hildreth. “He said that his luggage was at the station. So Kerry drove to the Pennsylvania Station and we dropped Zellwood there.”

Joe Cardona was taking down the statements. Commissioner Barth waited for him to complete the task; then again addressed Hildreth.

“What about the contents of the vault?” questioned the commissioner. “What about the robbery itself? Give me your opinions in the matter.”

“The robbery,” declared Hildreth, “was something entirely unforeseen. I never dreamed that there would be danger from that new subway that they had excavated in front of the bank.”

“Did the excavation work cause any trouble with the foundations of the bank building?”

“None. In fact, I had an examination made to be sure on that point. Engineers prepared diagrams, showing the exact location of the subway and the amount of space between it and the bank walls.”

“Where did you keep those diagrams?”

“At the bank.”

“Did Zellwood ever see them?”

“I suppose so. Many persons saw them. I had them on my desk for several weeks. Some of the directors claimed the old building was unsafe. I wanted to calm their fears by letting them see the engineer’s report.”

“Very well. Now let us come to the contents of the vault itself. I understand that you sustained losses in the neighborhood of three million dollars.”

“Yes. The lower vault contained some cash and securities owned by the bank. But the bulk of its contents belonged to trust funds. All of these were trust funds managed by the bank. In addition, the vault had the records that belonged to those funds.”

“I see. Who administered those trust funds?”

“A board on which Zellwood and I both served. I was the actual administrator, but I submitted reports to the board at intervals.”

“And Zellwood?”

“He kept the records. That was his duty.”

“Then he knew the amounts of the funds?”

“More exactly than did I.”

“What became of his records?”

“They were stolen with the securities. However, I was fortunate. Here in my own vault” — Hildreth indicated the metal door behind him — “I happened to have a duplicate set. This is it, commissioner.”

Hildreth produced a sheaf of typewritten figures. Barth began to go over the list. He noted that certain items had been marked out and others written in their place. These notations were comparatively few.

“That list,” explained Hildreth, “was compiled a few months ago. I do not recall the exact date. Only last week I revised it, but I am not positive about all the changes. I can say safely, how ever, that the list is ninety-five per cent correct.”

“As a former banker,” observed Barth, “I must congratulate you on the soundness of these investments. In fact, my only criticism would be that they are more than necessarily conservative.”

“I consider that a compliment,” responded Hildreth, dryly.

“May I have the list?” questioned Barth. “It may be possible to trace a great many of these securities.”

“I shall send you a copy to-morrow,” declared Hildreth. “I am having several made. One is needed for the records of the insurance company.”

“Ah! Your losses were covered?”

“Just about. There will be enough to protect all the trust funds. Cash and bank securities — well, we may fall short there. We have not yet checked to learn how much of them were in the vault. It may bring the total loss some thousands over the amount of our insurance.”

“How do you intend to check?”

“By examining the funds in the upper vault. There should be five millions, approximately. Whatever is lacking — I do not think it will exceed a quarter million — we will know to have been in the lower vault.”

“Five millions in the upper vault!” exclaimed Barth. “Comparatively speaking, the burglars cracked the wrong till!”

“They did,” nodded Hildreth. “That, commissioner, was our good fortune.”

“Make a note of that, Cardona,” observed Barth. “It indicates that something must have disturbed the burglars in their work. Perhaps they were warned of the attack that came from the subway entrance.”

“Not necessarily,” put in Jodelle. “Investigation of these robberies is a big part of my work, commissioner. It’s a general thing for burglars to pass up a second vault when they find a good haul in the first.”

“Why so?” questioned Barth.

“As a rule, banks with two vaults keep most of the funds in one. They use the other for records and current funds. Finding three millions in this lower vault, they naturally thought the upper must be empty.”

“Mr. Jodelle is a capable investigator,” beamed Hildreth. “He has done work for me in the past. Indeed, he was investigating some smaller banks that the Founders Trust has considered buying out. So I already had a contact with him.

“What is more, he represents the insurance company with whom we do business. I feel highly pleased because he recommended that they accept my list of securities. In fact, the insurance company has been so fair about the matter, that I thought it only just to engage the services of Mr. Jodelle.

“I want to reclaim those stolen securities, in order that the insurance company will have its loss repaid — for that company is the actual loser by this robbery. But more than that” — Hildreth brought his fist thumping to the desk — “I want to see those cowardly rogues brought to justice. They deserve the chair, the murderers!”

“Some of them have already died,” observed Barth. “That gang fray in the subway eliminated nearly ten of them. We do not know which ones were robbers and which were the ones who started the fight with them. That, however, is immaterial. All were criminal types.

“I can assure you, Mr. Hildreth, that Jodelle’s services will be welcome. I should like to have your investigator cooperate with Detective Cardona. The two can compare notes; and to begin with, I should like to have Detective Cardona state his theory concerning the robbery. Go ahead, Cardona.”

“ALL right, commissioner,” agreed Joe. “But remember, this is just a theory to begin with. It seems to me it hooks up though.

“First of all, this thing was planned ahead. The tunnel from the subway proves that. All right. Last night was the night. The crooks showed up. They were followed by Lucas — they must have crossed his beat — so they bumped him when he got too close. I figure Lucas must have followed them clear into the subway, even though it was foolish.

“Then they got into the bank. They went upstairs and plugged Rowley. Then they came down and hit the lower vault. They got the swag and beat it. But we still have the question of how they got into the vault so easy.”

Cardona paused. He looked at Hildreth. He spoke to the banker as he resumed.

“Don’t take to heart what I’m saying next,” said Joe. “I’m only putting this as a theory. I want you to hear me out. There’s one point about this robbery that’s important. Why did the crooks wait until last night? It looks like they were ready for a long time.

“The only answer is that they were working with Zellwood. They got that combination, right enough. They could have got it through Zellwood. Let’s say the poor devil was honest enough. Let’s figure that he was threatened. These fellows were murderers; they could have scared Zellwood.”

“Cardona is right, Mr. Hildreth,” urged Jodelle. “That would account for Zellwood’s nervousness. Mob threats are pretty hard on the man who gets them.”

Hildreth nodded solemnly.

“All right,” resumed Cardona. “They gave Zellwood what he thought was a break. They said they’d wait until he had started on his vacation. That gave him a chance to keep on going for parts unknown. That’s why the robbery took place last night.

“But they didn’t trust Zellwood. So they sent a couple of thugs after him. Those fellows murdered him on the train. That finishes the story.”

“More than a theory,” decided Commissioner Barth. “I call that a reconstruction of the crime.”

“Except for one point,” objected Gorton Jodelle. “One very important point, that Cardona has missed entirely.”

“What is that?”

“The exact reason why the robbery was staged last night. Why should the robbers have waited for Zellwood to get out of town? They could have murdered him here more easily.”

“Then what it your belief?”

“That Zellwood stalled his inquisitors. Up until the last minute. I believe that they informed him he would never come back from that vacation. That was why he became so nervous. He was afraid he would be murdered if he talked to Mr. Hildreth. He couldn’t stall about taking his vacation.

“So he capitulated yesterday afternoon. In sheer desperation, he slipped the word to some one. When he took the Southern Limited, he thought that he was safe at last. But the fiends murdered him anyway.”

“That is right, Cardona,” declared Barth, approvingly. “Mr. Jodelle has found an important point.”

“So important,” insisted Jodelle, “that I intend to concentrate my investigation upon tracing the final actions of Rudolph Zellwood. I am going to learn the identity of the man to whom he talked.”

“Go ahead,” declared Cardona, a trifle angered. “That’s a good job for you, Jodelle. I’m going after another man — the big shot who led that crew.

“I’m not saying who he is. But I’ve got a hunch. It’s going to be my business to find him. I could lay my finger on him to-night, but he’s too foxy a guy to grab in a hurry. You get the mouthpiece, Jodelle. I’ll go after the head man of the muscle outfit.”

THERE was a momentary pause. Challenge seemed to exist between investigator and detective. Barth seemed pleased, rather than annoyed. This sort of competition was to his liking. Not to be outdone, he capped the situation.

“You are both right,” he said, approvingly. “Remember, I insist that you cooperate. But remember: if each of you finds his man, you will still have a trail ahead. There are brains behind this robbery. Some master mind has reaped the profit that his lieutenants gained. Some one bigger than the man who bumped Zellwood; some one bigger than the head of the burglar crew.”

“Quite right,” added Tobias Hildreth. “You have spoken well, commissioner. When we think of the schemers who have gone untouched — such, for instance, as the perpetrator of the Garaucan bond swindle — it is plain to see that this robbery must depend upon some master rogue.”

“Rest assured,” responded Barth, pompously, as he arose and adjusted his pince-nez. “I promise you, Hildreth, that I shall bring this super-criminal to justice.”

With this positive statement, delivered in a tone of finality, the new police commissioner made his departure, accompanied by his ace detective.