The Missing Workman
No sooner had Max Lynch banged out of the office than Penny came
hurrying in.
"What happened?" she questioned her father.
"Nothing. Max just decided to leave."
"You must have said something to him," Penny insisted. "When he went
out he looked actually frightened. His face was as white as if he'd
seen a ghost."
"I don't know what made Max change his mind about wanting to talk with
me," the detective said, frowning thoughtfully. "He seemed to be
startled when he saw that statue of yours."
"The Black Imp?" Penny asked in surprise.
"Yes, he took one look at it and started off without a word of
explanation."
Curiously, the detective picked up the figure and carefully examined it.
"I can't see anything wrong with it," he admitted. "You say this
statue came from Hanley Cron's studio?"
"Yes, he was angry when Amy tried to take it away from him. Then the
policeman came in and he seemed afraid to protest."
The detective made no reply. He sat lost in thought for a moment, then
arose.
"Well, I guess I'll amble over to the police station."
"Then I may as well be going home," Penny said. She picked up the
Black Imp from the desk and carefully wrapped it.
"I'll take you in the car if you like."
"No, I'll walk," Penny replied. "I've been gaining weight lately and
need the exercise."
Mr. Nichols smiled, for Penny barely tipped the scales at a hundred
pounds. They left the building together and separated.
"I should be home early for dinner tonight unless something unforeseen
comes up," Mr. Nichols mentioned in parting.
Penny found Mrs. Gallup ironing in the kitchen. She paused to display
the Black Imp, but the housekeeper was not greatly impressed.
"And you call that a work of art!" she scoffed. "It's just an old lump
of clay."
"This is only a copy of Amy Coulter's fine piece, Mrs. Gallup. Not a
very good copy either. But don't you think the design is clever?"
"I can't say I do. That Imp has such a sinister look on his face--as
if he were guarding a wicked secret!"
"Now that's an idea!" Penny laughed. "Maybe he is. At least he
frightened a crook out of Dad's office this afternoon."
"What was that?" Mrs. Gallup demanded quickly.
Penny did not repeat for she had no desire to alarm the housekeeper.
After all she could not be certain that the Black Imp had been the
cause of Max Lynch's sudden leave taking.
"Oh, I was just talking," she murmured, and departed before Mrs. Gallup
could question her further.
Penny took the little statue to her room, and after trying it in
several locations, decided that it looked best on the maple desk. She
then sat down to write a few lines in her diary, but whenever she
glanced up the Black Imp seemed to be staring down at her with an
inquiring scrutiny.
"You are a wicked little beast!" Penny chuckled. "Are you trying to
learn what I'm writing about the jewelry theft?"
She turned the Black Imp so that he faced the wall and finished the
notation in her diary.
It was a few minutes after five when Penny heard the front door bell
ring. Thinking that one of her school chums had come to call, she
darted down the stairs to answer. The visitor was Mrs. Dillon.
"Why, how do you do," Penny stammered. "Won't you come in?"
She wondered what had brought the woman to the house at such a late
hour of the afternoon. A conviction dawned upon her that Mrs. Dillon
had learned of the hoax she and Amy had perpetrated in order to see the
Rembrandt. She steeled herself for an unpleasant interview.
"Is your father here?" Mrs. Dillon inquired.
"No, Mrs. Dillon. He hasn't returned from the office."
"It's very important that I see him--about my stolen necklace, you
know."
A feeling of relief surged over Penny. "Father should be arriving any
moment now. Would you care to wait?"
"Yes, I believe I will."
Mrs. Dillon sank wearily into the chair which the girl offered. "I've
had such a dreadful day. My beautiful necklace was stolen and the
police haven't been able to find a trace of the thief. But then, you
know all about it, for you were there."
"Perhaps the pearls will still be recovered," Penny said politely.
"That's what Mr. Cron tells me. He says it's foolish of me to worry.
The police are certain to find them within a few days."
"Your loss was covered by insurance?" Penny inquired innocently.
"Oh, no! That's the dreadful part."
Penny looked sharply at Mrs. Dillon. The woman seemed so earnest that
it was difficult to believe she was deliberately telling a falsehood.
Yet the incident of the painting already had given the girl a clue as
to Mrs. Dillon's character. If the woman knowingly would purchase a
stolen picture was it not reasonable to suppose that she would feel no
qualms at cheating an insurance company?
In the hope of gaining a little information, Penny casually brought up
the subject of the Rembrandt, but Mrs. Dillon immediately became
secretive. She would not talk of the picture even in a general way.
"I'll never learn anything except by making a direct accusation," Penny
thought. "I don't dare do that--yet."
She was relieved when her father came a few minutes later.
"I'm sorry to bother you at your home," Mrs. Dillon began nervously,
"but I had to see you at once. My pearl necklace was stolen this
afternoon."
"Yes, so I heard," Mr. Nichols replied.
"I want you to take the case. You must help me recover my pearls."
"I am afraid I can't take the case, Mrs. Dillon."
"But why not? You've helped others. Everyone says you are the best
detective in the city. And I'll pay you well."
"It isn't a matter of money, Mrs. Dillon. To tell you the truth, the
Reliance Insurance Company also requested me to work on the case."
"The Reliance Insurance Company? I don't understand. What have they
to do with it?"
"Your necklace was insured with them, I believe," Mr. Nichols said
evenly.
"Oh, no!"
"For fifteen thousand dollars."
"Certainly not," Mrs. Dillon replied indignantly. "Are you suggesting
that I would lie about the matter?"
"I thought you might have forgotten."
"This is too ridiculous!" Mrs. Dillon snapped. "I didn't come here to
be insulted."
"Please don't consider my remarks in that light, Mrs. Dillon. I was
merely explaining why I can't take the case. I expect to serve the
Reliance Company."
"They have absolutely nothing to do with the necklace." Mrs. Dillon
angrily arose. "I am sorry I wasted my time coming here!"
Haughtily, she left the house, and Penny, who watched from the window,
saw her drive away with her chauffeur.
"Do you really intend to take the case for the Reliance people?" she
questioned eagerly.
"Oh, I suppose I shall."
"What do you think of Mrs. Dillon, Dad?"
"She bores me," Mr. Nichols yawned. "Without a background of money and
social position she would be nothing but a noisy phonograph record."
"I meant about her claim regarding the necklace. Were the pearls
actually insured?"
"Oh, of course," Mr. Nichols returned, a trifle impatiently. He
laughed. "I can't imagine the Reliance people turning over a cold
fifteen thousand dollars if they didn't owe it."
"But if Mrs. Dillon expects to collect the money why should she lie?"
The detective shrugged. "Some women are funny."
Mrs. Gallup came to announce dinner and at the table the subject was
not resumed. Penny sighed as she stole a glance at her father's
immobile face. She could never tell what he was thinking and his
reluctance to discuss any case upon which he happened to be working was
at times irritating.
The next morning after helping Mrs. Gallup wash windows, Penny went
down town to have luncheon with her father. She felt rather important
as she entered the office for it was not often that he extended such an
invitation.
The door of the inner room was ajar and Miss Arrow was nowhere in
sight, so Penny entered. To her surprise the private office was in
great confusion. Papers had been tossed over the floor and the filing
cabinet rifled. Mr. Nichols and his secretary were occupied examining
the contents of the safe.
"What's the matter?" Penny questioned. "Are you house cleaning or did
a cyclone strike the place?"
"Someone broke in here last night and went through everything," Mr.
Nichols answered.
"Anything valuable taken?"
"No, not so far as we've discovered. Only a little cash that was in
the safe--nothing of consequence."
"Who do you suppose did it?" Penny asked. She leaned carelessly
against the desk but her father pulled her away.
"Be careful where you park yourself," he ordered. "I haven't finished
taking finger prints yet."
Penny waited while Miss Arrow and her father made a systematic
inventory of the contents of the room. They were both too busy to
talk. At one o'clock Penny grew discouraged.
"How much longer before you'll be ready to go to lunch, Dad?"
"Oh, an hour at least."
"Then I guess I'll go by myself. I'm dreadfully hungry."
"Good idea," the detective approved. "You might have some sandwiches
and coffee sent in for Miss Arrow and myself." He tossed her a bill
and went on with his work.
At a nearby restaurant Penny ordered luncheon for herself and had a
package of cold food and a large thermos bottle of coffee dispatched to
her father's office.
She ate somewhat mechanically as she reflected upon the audacity of the
person who had dared to rifle her father's office. A few years before
she recalled that a thief had broken into the safe, but he had been
captured within forty-eight hours.
As Penny left the restaurant she purchased a newspaper and glanced at
the headlines. The story of the Dillon robbery appeared in column one
but the details were not given very accurately.
Penny folded the paper and walked slowly down the street. Having no
destination in mind she wandered toward the park. Seating herself on a
bench she idly watched the passersby.
Presently her attention was drawn to a man who had paused near a large
tree not far away. He appeared strangely familiar, but at first glance
Penny did not recognize him. She scrutinized him closely. He wore
dark horn-rimmed glasses and kept the brim of his broad hat pulled low.
"Why, it's Mr. Hoges!" Penny thought. "The museum workman!"
She felt certain that the man had not worn dark glasses when she had
seen him at the Gage Galleries. He was well dressed, even expensively,
yet she knew the salary he had received from the museum could not be a
large one.
"Mr. Hoges was supposed to be out of the city on vacation too," she
reflected. "I think I'll go over and talk with him."
Before she could move from the bench she saw the man take out his watch
and stare at it. Then he gazed impatiently up and down the walk as if
he were expecting someone. Penny kept her head bent and he did not
bestow a second glance in her direction.
She thought: "I'll just wait and see for whom he's waiting. I may
learn more that way."
Ten minutes passed. Mr. Hoges grew more impatient. He paced back and
forth in front of the tree. Then abruptly he halted, and his face
lighted up.
From the other side of the park a girl in a blue coat rapidly
approached. As she hurried up to the waiting Mr. Hoges, her face was
slightly averted.
"I'm sorry to be late," she murmured.
The voice was musical and low. Penny recognized it instantly, yet
found it difficult to believe her own ears. If only the girl would
turn her head----
Just then she did, and Penny could no longer hope that she had been
mistaken. The newcomer was Amy Coulter.