The Wealth Seeker

CHAPTER XVIII. SATRUFF PREPARES

THE door of Folsom Satruff’s upstairs living room was closed. Within the room itself, one man was seated facing a crisply burning fire. This man was Detective Joe Cardona.

The living room had been chosen as Cardona’s post. Here the detective had installed himself in Satruff’s home; here he was in readiness should he be required. Satruff, himself, had taken up new quarters in the library downstairs.

The arrangement had merits. It enabled Satruff to be near the strong-room, with Harry Vincent in attendance. It also made it unnecessary for either Okum or Riggs to visit the upstairs living room, for Satruff had delegated Harry to that duty. Hence Joe Cardona was comfortably out of sight, yet available.

On the other hand, Cardona was highly annoyed by the enforced circumstances. He wanted to be nearer the scene where action might strike, should fiends of the underworld still have designs upon Folsom Satruff’s vaulted wealth.

While Cardona was glowering at the sparks in the fire, the door of the living room opened and closed.

The detective looked up to see Harry Vincent. There was something in the young man’s expression that informed Cardona he was the bearer of important tidings. Harry did not speak until he had reached a chair beside the one which Cardona occupied.

“Mr. Satruff will be upstairs in a few minutes,” declared Harry, in a low tone. “I think something is about to break.”

Cardona’s expression was quizzical. The detective wanted to hear more.

“Doctor Harlow phoned,” explained Harry. “I answered the call. He wanted to talk with Mr. Satruff. Harlow made an appointment for to-night. He is to see Mr. Satruff, here — alone.”

“What did Satruff have to say about it?” asked Cardona.

“Nothing, as yet,” returned Harry. “He told me to come up here and wait for him. He stated that he intended to dictate some letters. Okum was there — near the telephone — and Riggs was somewhere around.”

“I see. Satruff is probably giving them something to do so they won’t wonder why he’s staying up here a while.”

Harry Vincent made no reply to Joe Cardona’s comment. Ever since the detective’s arrival at Satruff’s, The Shadow’s agent had played a passive part. Cardona had held a conference with Satruff; after that the pair had taken Harry into their confidence, so that he could serve as a go-between. Harry had done his part so well that neither Okum nor Riggs had actually seen Joe Cardona since his installation here.

YET Harry had discerned that Okum, at least, suspected there was a visitor in the house. Riggs had admitted Cardona on the day when the detective had arrived; Okum had witnessed Cardona’s appearance. Both had been led to believe that Cardona had gone after a short talk with Folsom Satruff.

But it was highly possible that the deception had not been entirely effective.

In fact, Okum, although he had been instructed to remain downstairs, had on several occasions found reason to go to the second floor. Harry had spotted the secretary in such actions and had casually followed him to make sure that he did not enter the living room, which Satruff had stated was closed for the present.

Okum had made no attempt to go into the closed room; nevertheless, Harry held the opinion that the secretary knew quite well that some one had taken the place as a temporary abode.

While Harry and Cardona sat looking at the fire, the door again opened and Folsom Satruff appeared.

The millionaire’s face was grim and slightly troubled. Harry and Joe noticed the expression immediately.

Closing the door, Satruff approached the fire and sat down. He remained a moment in thought; then began to talk in a slow and methodical tone.

“Doctor Harlow is coming here to-night,” stated Satruff. “He is very anxious to see me — on an important matter which he did not choose to explain over the telephone.

“As usual, he has chosen a late hour. I told him that I would be glad to see him; and he is due to arrive some time after eleven. It will be necessary for me to confer with him, and I should like to have witnesses. Under the circumstances, they will have to be concealed.”

The speaker paused to point to a door at the opposite side of the living room. Both Harry and Cardona nodded. The place would make an excellent listening post.

“I shall talk with Harlow here,” announced Satruff. “He does not know that this room has been closed. Furthermore, the library, below, offers no possibility for one to overhear a conversation. At the same time, it is unwise for all three of us to be up here for any length of time. It leaves too much dependent upon Okum, who has already demonstrated his incompetence—”

“That’s just it, Mr. Satruff,” broke in Cardona. “I’ve been mulling over this whole arrangement and I don’t like it. I’ve come here to handle this case from the inside, to get a slant on what may be wrong. The police commissioner told me to cooperate with you in whatever way seemed best.”

“You are doing it, Cardona.”

“Yeah?” The detective’s question was a growl. “Maybe — so long as there’s no trouble. But suppose something does break. I might just as well be handcuffed. I’m up here, away from the strong-room—”

“I appreciate that, Cardona,” Satruff nodded thoughtfully as he made the interruption. “At the same time, you yourself imposed the conditions. You stated that Commissioner Ralph Weston wanted you to be present in case of emergency; yet you added that only Vincent could be taken into confidence. I have done the best that I could under the circumstances. Okum and Riggs have been in my employ a long while. I had to be careful in the way I handled them in order not to excite their suspicions.”

“That’s all right,” agreed Cardona, in a mollified voice. “Just the same, I’m going to be in for it if something goes haywire. The commissioner put me on this job instead of a squad. I’ve got a tough assignment to start — and to make it tougher is bad business.”

“Cardona,” declared Satruff, in a reflective tone, “your theory that tip-offs were responsible for the last raids is a good one. As I recall the situations that existed, I remember that there was a certain tenseness preceding each attempt by gangsters. I think there will be certain times — let us call them strategic moments — when we can assume that trouble may be in the offing.”

“You mean times when—”

“When some event, though trifling at its beginning, will serve as a danger signal.”

CARDONA stared steadily as he heard the words. A firm grin appeared upon his squared features.

“Like to-night,” he said. “Doctor Harlow coming here at eleven. He was here both times before; and I’ve told you, Mr. Satruff, that I think the guy is mixed in this mess.”

“Precisely,” returned Satruff. “Harlow is a friend of mine; he is also a physician of high repute. I should hesitate to make any disparaging statement concerning him.

“At the same time, Cardona, I know you to be a capable detective. You are able to view the situation with unbiased judgment. You hold to the idea that Harlow was implicated in the previous attacks upon my strong-room. Therefore—”

“He may be set to start another.”

“Exactly, if your reasoning is correct. That is why, Cardona, that I intend to follow your advice at present. I have paved the way so that the situation here will be exactly as it was before. Harlow and myself, here in this room, for a beginning.”

“And after that?”

“What do you suggest?”

“When Pug blew in,” considered Cardona, “it was after Harlow had gone out. The same thing happened when Rabbit took his brodie. It looks to me like everything ought to be O.K. so long as you have Harlow upstairs here. After that, though—”

“I shall go downstairs with Harlow,” remarked Satruff. “After that, you and Vincent will be free to follow. You, are both armed. It would be wise, however, to use discretion.”

“On account of Okum?”

“Yes; and on account of Riggs. If Vincent precedes you to the lower hall, he can take a look for them. If the way is clear, he can signal to you.

“The strong-room, of course, will be your logical objective. If you can get there unobserved, while I am showing Harlow out, you will be at the strategic point in case of emergency. At the same time, you must use discretion.

“If villains intend to show their hands again to-night, there is no reason to give them a warning that will cause them to stay away. Personally, I still have great confidence in Doctor Harlow. I can hardly imagine him being implicated in crime.

“Nevertheless, I feel that the test should be made — if only to clear Harlow of culpability. That is why I want you and Vincent to behave with caution, so that the test may be a sure one. Although you seem highly suspicious of Harlow, you have not fully given up thoughts of others who might possibly be implicated.”

Cardona nodded as Satruff concluded his careful discourse. Through the detective’s brain ran recollections of his discussion with Commissioner Weston. With the names of Harlow, Okum, and Riggs, the sleuth thought of another.

“By the way,” he remarked. “What’s become of that lawyer of yours?”

“Tobias McEwen?” asked Satruff. “I haven’t heard from him since the night of the second raid. He is rather annoyed by all the trouble that has come of my philanthropies. He doesn’t like the business of Dorand at all.”

“Doesn’t he telephone you?”

“Very seldom. When I have business for him to transact, I get in touch with him. He has all the data concerning the Dorand gifts in his safe. A large job” — Satruff smiled in kindly fashion — “this matter of giving away half a million dollars. McEwen has made his profits from it, in attorney’s fees. He has more to look forward to when I resume my benefactions.”

CARDONA was nodding mechanically at this train of conversation. The detective was not concerned with Satruff’s big-hearted efforts to benefit those who were in need. He was thinking of the possibilities of another gangland thrust. He was contemplating the practicability of the proposed plan of action.

“I think you’ve got the right idea, Mr. Satruff,” the detective decided. “You stay downstairs until Doctor Harlow arrives. Bring him up here; Vincent and I will be behind the door. Then we’ll follow when you go down with him.

“But remember this: don’t make it too long. Play along with anything he has to say. Let him talk. Maybe he’ll blab something that can be used against him.”

“The case rests in your hands, Cardona,” remarked Satruff, in a mild tone. “It reminds me also that I have stayed here longer than I contemplated. I am going down to the library. I want you to remain alert until Harlow arrives.”

With this admonition, the gray-haired philanthropist strode to the door of the living room. He left it ajar when he departed. Harry Vincent and Joe Cardona were alone, awaiting the arrival of Doctor Wesley Harlow.