The Garaucan Swindle

CHAPTER XV. SUSPICIONS ARE STATED

ONE hour after Wainwright Barth and Joe Cardona had departed from the Hildreth mansion, there was a rap at the door of the little study where Tobias Hildreth and Gorton Jodelle sat in conference. It was Lowdy, the butler.

“Miss Claire has arrived home,” the man announced, when he had entered at Hildreth’s bidding.

“Tell her to come in,” ordered Hildreth.

The girl appeared a few minutes later. As soon as she was in the room, Jodelle arose and closed the door. Hildreth motioned his niece to a chair.

“What is the matter, Uncle?” questioned Claire, in an anxious tone.

“Where is Wally Wilking?” demanded Hildreth, in return.

“I expect him in an hour,” replied Claire. “It is only half past nine. I just came back from an early picture. Wally and I are going to a night club later.”

“Too much for one evening,” reproved Hildreth. “However, Claire, that is not why I called you. There is something more important to discuss.”

“About Wally Wilking?”

“Yes.”

“Something serious?” Claire’s tone was anxious.

“Yes,” admitted Hildreth. “Why do you ask?”

“Because Wally has been — well — acting strangely. He — he didn’t take anything from here, did he?”

“Not to my knowledge. Why?”

“Well” — the girl bit her lips, sorry that she had spoken — “I shouldn’t really say anything about it. I promised Wally I wouldn’t. I–I happened to find him in here the other night, looking in the desk drawers.”

“Why didn’t you tell me, Claire?”

“Wally explained his actions. He said — well, he feels terribly upset over the bank robbery, particularly because Mr. Zellwood was murdered. He liked Mr. Zellwood a lot.”

Hildreth shot a glance at Jodelle. The investigator gave a nod. The banker quizzed his niece.

“What did Wally say?” he asked. “How did he explain his unwarranted actions?”

“Wally has theories,” said Claire, seriously. “He is really a remarkable young man, Uncle. He knows a great many stock brokers who deal in secret sales of securities. He thought that if he had a list of those that were stolen from your bank, he might be able to trace them.”

“Mr. Jodelle is attending to that,” announced Hildreth, dryly. “So I suppose Wally was looking in my desk for the list. Is that it?”

“Yes.”

“The lists are at the bank,” declared Hildreth. “But one of the copies was missing when I took them down there. I suppose Wilking must have found it.”

“You see?” questioned Claire. “That proves Wally is all right, Uncle.”

“Because he stole a list from my desk?”

Claire became thoughtful. This was putting the matter from another viewpoint. Slowly, the girl shook her head.

“Wally was wrong,” she admitted. “I wonder—”

“You wonder if a thief would tell the truth,” interposed Hildreth.

“A thief!” cried Claire. “Wally is not a thief! You must not say that!”

“You must be calm, Claire,” admonished Hildreth. “Be calm; then listen. I believe in telling the whole truth. It is better that you should experience the shock now than later.”

THE banker paused to take a stack of papers that Jodelle handed him. He sorted them; then took up one small bundle. He used these for reference as he spoke to Claire.

“To-night,” began Hildreth, “the police commissioner was here, with a detective. They discussed the progress that is being made toward apprehending the bank robbers. We learned that a man named Dobey Blitz was the head of the burglars.”

“Dobey Blitz?” Claire repeated the name.

“A racketeer who goes in for big business. His name was discussed previously; but at that time, the police were not so positive as they are now. They are sure that Dobey Blitz engineered the robbery; but it is probable that he worked for some more important person — one whom Commissioner Barth calls the brain.”

“What has Dobey Blitz to do with Wally?”

“We shall come to that point later. In the meantime, Mr. Jodelle has established another point. The only person who could have given the vault combination to the crooks was Rudolph Zellwood. I fought against that theory for a long while. I was forced to admit that it must be correct.

“I admired Zellwood. You are in love with Wilking. So you see we must both accept the blows of fate, Claire. Convinced that Zellwood was at fault, I authorized Jodelle to investigate all his recent actions. Jodelle learned the names of all persons who seemed over-friendly with Zellwood. Among them was Wally Wilking.”

“I knew they were friends,” admitted Claire. “But only because Zellwood worked at the bank.”

“That is the most damaging point, Miss Hildreth,” put in Jodelle. “Can’t you see that?”

“Let me explain it,” said Hildreth. “Wilking had no business talking with Zellwood. I said so at the bank. Both gave a weak pretext. Wilking was supposed to have been talking to Zellwood regarding the matter of a loan. That was business that he should have transacted with me.”

“I see,” nodded Claire.

“Mr. Jodelle has learned,” resumed Hildreth, “that some of the tellers saw Wilking engaged in discussion with Zellwood. Furthermore, he has established proof that Wilking visited Zellwood at the latter’s lodging.

“Our inference is that Zellwood gave the combination of the vault to Wally Wilking. Thus when the burglars arrived, they had only to unlock the vault and—”

“Wally would never have done that!” broke in Claire. “Never! He has no friends among crooks—”

“One moment.” Hildreth interrupted his niece by a wave of his hand. “Among Wilking’s friends is a banker of questionable repute — a man named Dunwood Marrick. It is known that Marrick suffered a heavy financial loss; it is also doubted that the loss was genuine. In either case, Marrick would be capable of any step.

“Wilking came into the bank the day that Zellwood left. He reduced a loan by two thousand dollars. I have the note to prove it. That, in itself, is suspicious. It appears that Wilking may be in Marrick’s employ.”

“But Marrick is a banker—”

“One of doubtful standing. He has financed questionable enterprises. Among those to whom he has loaned money, so Jodelle reports, is Dobey Blitz. Do you see the steps now, Claire? Zellwood gave the combination to Wilking, who passed it to Marrick. He is the brain. Marrick. He gave the combination to Dobey Blitz. Thus Wilking is deeply implicated.”

“You cannot believe this! Wally must be innocent—”

“Let us hope so,” interrupted Hildreth in a sincere tone. “Let us trust that this evidence is at fault. These papers” — he raised the little bundle — “tell their story. They contain statements that cannot be duplicated.

They include the note that Wilking reduced. Among them is another note that passed between Marrick and Blitz. Jodelle obtained it only with the greatest difficulty. Moreover — most damaging of all — we have a letter written by Rudolph Zellwood to a friend. It mentions the name of Wally Wilking.”

“But Uncle — if you would give Wally a chance to explain! Just one chance to—”

“I shall do that for your sake, Claire. I have always warned you that Wilking was a ne’er-do-well; but it is not right that he should be accounted a rogue until he has said some word in his own behalf. I shall be charitable with Wilking—”

“Just a minute, Mr. Hildreth,” broke in Jodelle. “I don’t think that you should promise too much. We are cooperating with the police. If we had gone over this Wilking data earlier in the evening, we would have given it to Commissioner Barth while he was here.”

“Quite right, Jodelle,” agreed the portly banker. “Nevertheless, I cannot see my way clear to treat Wilking as an ordinary criminal. My niece is right: he is not a rogue by profession. I hold to the opinion that he is a wayward young man who has withdrawn from the path of righteousness.”

“Which makes him a crook.”

“Technically, yes. But for Claire’s sake, I want him to explain himself. I believe that I can urge him to confess his part in crime. Then I can present his statements to Commissioner Barth under the head of a voluntary confession.

“By disclosing the name of Dunwood Marrick, Wilking will be performing a service to the law. He will be regarded as a weakling who yielded to cajolery. His part in bringing the real criminals to justice will save him from a harsh sentence.”

“You’re giving him a break, Mr. Hildreth,” Jodelle spoke.

“I feel that I must be lenient. Claire, I do not want to disturb your plans to-night. To-morrow evening is the time when I shall talk with Wilking.”

“Very well, Uncle.”

“You are going out to dinner, are you not?”

“Yes. To the Smithworth’s. I am coming back by nine o’clock.”

“I am also going out. Tell Wilking that you would like to have him come here at nine. I shall leave word with Lowdy to usher him in here when he calls; that is, if he arrives before my return. Wilking will think nothing of the fact that I may wish to speak with him. He will think it is in reference to his loan.”

“But if I am here—”

“Do not return until half past nine. I shall be back before you. Whether Wilking arrives before or after me, Lowdy will tell him that I wish to speak to him.”

“Very well, Uncle.”

“This evidence” — Hildreth picked up the packet of papers — “will make Wilking understand that he must be frank with me. It is testimony that cannot be disputed. Here, Jodelle — place it in the vault.”

Jodelle arose and went to the steel door. He stopped as he found that the vault was locked. He turned to Hildreth.

“The combination, sir?”

“Here.” Hildreth drew a card from his vest pocket. “Open the vault, Jodelle. Place the papers in the little drawer marked W. It is in a pigeonhole on the right.”

WHILE Jodelle was following instructions, Hildreth stepped forward to talk to his niece. He was kindly in tone as he urged the girl not to worry. Tears showed in Claire’s eyes.

“The real rogues are Marrick and Blitz,” assured Hildreth. “I promise you, I shall do everything I can in Wilking’s behalf. Yet I must admit that I am positive of his guilt.”

“But you have only those papers as proof against him—”

“They are sufficient. So long as they remain in my possession, Wilking’s complicity can be established.”

Jodelle was returning with the card. Hildreth pointed to the desk.

“You may have to open the vault later,” the banker remarked. “If so, you will need the combination, Jodelle. Place it in the top drawer of the desk. Hide it underneath the cigars that you will find there in a box.”

“The top drawer on which side, sir?”

“The one on the right. Slide the card down under the cigars. No one would ever find it there.”

Claire Hildreth stood watching Jodelle place the card as her uncle had ordered him. She was nodding slowly as Tobias Hildreth uttered new words of reassurance. Then came a rap at the door. It was Lowdy, to announce that Mr. Wilking had arrived.

“You may go, Claire,” said Hildreth. “Be calm, my girl. Say nothing to Wilking that will betray your present emotion. Rest assured that I shall receive him kindly to-morrow night. Mr. Jodelle and I are going over other evidence that he has accumulated. Perhaps we may find facts to implicate some one instead of Wilking.”

The banker went back to his desk. Jodelle began to sort out other papers. Claire steadied, dried her eyes with a handkerchief; then powdered her nose and colored her lips. She smiled bravely when she said good-night to her uncle.

Wally Wilking was waiting in the front hall. He helped Claire put on her wrap; then escorted the girl from the house. He looked along the street for a cab.

“Thought I saw a taxi near the corner,” he remarked. “Here when I arrived. That’s why I dismissed the one I came in. Yes — I was right. There’s the cab. The driver has seen us.”

A taxi pulled up. A hand thrust outward from the darkness of the front seat and opened the door. Wally ushered Claire into the cab. He ordered the hunched, muffled driver to take them to the Club Samoset.

“What’s the trouble, Claire?” questioned Wally, as the cab started. “What delayed you after I arrived?”

“I–I was talking to Uncle.”

“I thought so. About me?”

“Well — yes and no.”

“You didn’t mention that you had seen me in his study?”

“Yes, Wally, I did. But I explained it, though. Wally — something— something very serious has happened. You — you must come to see Uncle to-morrow night — at nine o’clock.”

“About what?”

“About the bank.”

“Come now, Claire. You can’t keep secrets from me, you know. Just what did your uncle have to say?”

“I–I shouldn’t tell you, Wally—”

“But you’re going to tell.”

UNDER Wally’s prompting, the girl began to blurt her story. Wally listened intently. He put questions at intervals; at other times, he cautioned his fiancee to talk lower, so that the driver would not hear. When the cab pulled up at the Club Samoset, Wally Wilking had learned all that Claire Hildreth had been told by her uncle.

As soon as the passengers had left, the cab driver drove swiftly away. He passed people who waved for his cab. Apparently, he was not interested in gaining further fares to-night. He parked the cab at an isolated spot near Tenth Avenue. There, he removed his cap and turned down the collar of his coat.

Long-fingered hands removed a pair of earphones. They ran along a wire and detached a microphone from the interior of the cab. The driver stepped from his vehicle and pocketed the equipment that he had removed.

This strange cab driver had heard every word that Claire Hildreth had uttered while riding in his taxi.

Abandoning the cab, the driver seemed to grow from a hunched form to a tall figure as he stalked along the street. He reached a parked coupe and entered it.

A hollow, whispered laugh was sibilant in the darkness as the coupe drove away. The mirth seemed the echo of triumphant mockery. It was a chilling laugh — a reminder of a taunt that had sounded doom to men of crime. It was the laugh of The Shadow.

The Shadow had sensed that facts would pass between Claire Hildreth and Wally Wilking. Disguised as the driver of a borrowed cab, he had waited outside Tobias Hildreth’s home, seeking an opportunity to hear Wally talk to Claire.

Joe Cardona’s emphatic statements regarding Dobey Blitz had caused Tobias Hildreth and Gorton Jodelle to ponder heavily. In their discussion of Wally Wilking, the banker and the private investigator had delved deeply into the possibilities of making a direct link between Wally and Dobey — through Dunwood Marrick.

Though Tobias Hildreth had cautioned his niece, Claire had talked to Wally Wilking. The names of Dunwood Marrick and Dobey Blitz had been mentioned by the girl. Moreover, Claire had told, to the last detail, all that had been said by her uncle, in his study.

There was reason for The Shadow’s laugh. The master who trailed crime had been waiting for the chance to drive a wedge. He was ready to deliver a vital stroke when the psychological moment might arrive.

The Shadow knew that the time was close at hand. He was prepared to bring disaster to the supercrook whom Wainwright Barth had termed the brain. Again, The Shadow’s laugh sounded from within the traveling coupe. There was grim foreboding in The Shadow’s mirth.