Penny Turns Sleuth
Mr. Nichols did not have a great deal to say regarding the note which
Penny read to him later that evening at the dinner table.
"Don't let it worry you," he advised. "Just put it away for future
reference and forget about it."
"Future reference?"
"Yes, it's always wise to keep such communications. One never knows
when a sample of handwriting might prove useful."
"I'm sure Jerry Barrows must have some good qualities or he'd never
have sent the message. Don't you think so, Dad?"
"Perhaps. It's obvious the boy was afraid to talk with me."
"But why should he warn you that your life is in danger? Do you think
he could know anything concerning the Molberg gang?"
"It isn't likely, but he may have some underworld connection."
"I'm getting more nervous every day," Penny declared. "I'll never feel
very easy until all the members of that gang are captured."
"It may be a more difficult task than I at first believed," her father
remarked, frowning. "I know that Rap Molberg is hiding somewhere in
the city but so far none of my investigators have been able to trace
him."
"Perhaps he's through causing trouble," Penny said hopefully.
"He'll make enough when the time comes."
"I've not heard of any automobile thefts or anything of the sort for
several days."
"That's just it. Things have been altogether too quiet. It's like a
lull before the storm. A bad sign."
Mr. Nichols abruptly left the table. He walked to the door, then came
back.
"I must go downtown again this evening, Penny," he said regretfully.
"I'll leave the telephone number of my new office in the event you
should need to reach me. It isn't listed in the 'phone book,' of
course."
"Your new office?" Penny demanded. "What became of your old one, may I
ask?"
"It's still there," Mr. Nichols smiled. "Miss Arrow has assumed
charge, and I've taken up temporary quarters on the tenth floor of the
Atler building."
"Isn't that almost directly across from the Brunner garage?"
"Yes, it's located in the downtown theater district. The bulk of the
auto accessory thefts have taken place in this relatively small area.
From the window of my new office I secure a bird's eye view of all that
goes on in nearby streets."
"Surely you don't expect to catch the thieves in the act of stealing
automobile wheels!" Penny marveled.
"It will be the surest way of gaining a conviction. If a professional
crook isn't captured at the scene of his crime, he usually is clever
enough to cover his tracks completely. An amateur is seldom so
skillful in obliterating clues."
"May I visit this new office of yours?" Penny asked.
"Yes, if you use discretion and don't come too often. I have taken the
office under an assumed name--John Bradford. I shouldn't care to have
my real name known for awhile."
"I'll be very discreet if I come," Penny promised.
Her father turned to leave.
"It must be dull for you here alone at night," he said apologetically.
"Why don't you take Susan to a picture show?"
"I think I'll do that," Penny agreed.
After Mr. Nichols had left the house, she telephoned Susan. Mrs.
Altman answered the call, informing her that her daughter was spending
the evening at the home of an aunt.
"I may as well go to the show alone," Penny decided.
One of her favorite movie stars was showing at a neighborhood theater
only a few blocks from the Nichols home. Penny walked the short
distance. She thoroughly enjoyed the picture, remaining to see part of
it twice. It was a little after nine o'clock when she left the theater.
Recalling that Mrs. Gallup had requested her to bring home a pint of
ice cream, she crossed the street to the nearest drug store.
While she was waiting to be served, a man in grimy workman's clothes
slouched into the store. He pretended to interest himself in a
cigarette slot machine, but Penny noticed that he darted furtive
glances at the waiting customers.
Something about the man's appearance struck Penny as peculiar. She
conceded that he looked like a day laborer yet his actions and
mannerisms were not in keeping.
"I've seen him before," she thought.
Suddenly the picture of Rap Molberg flashed into her mind. Yet as she
scrutinized the man a second time she could see only a slight
resemblance to the photo her father had shown her.
However, as the man moved swiftly to the nearest telephone booth,
suspicion began to take root. In identifying underworld characters,
photographs were never a certain guide, that Penny knew. Too often a
criminal disguised his appearance. Not by false wigs and beards which
even a novice detective might note at a glance. Rather by altering his
features or by adopting costumes commonly seen upon the street.
Impulsively, Penny stepped into a telephone booth adjoining the one
which the workman had entered. By leaning close to the wooden panel,
she could hear part of the conversation.
"That you, Jake?" he asked gruffly. "Everything's set for the big
haul. We're all ready to go ahead whenever the boss gives the word."
By this time Penny was almost certain that she was listening to the
voice of Rap Molberg. Although in general the man did not resemble the
photo which she had seen, the color of his eyes and the expression of
his mouth were identical. His build seemed to correspond to the
figures of the Bertillon record.
A minute later the man slammed down the telephone receiver and left the
booth. Penny waited until he was out of the store, then dropped a
nickle in the slot. She called the number which her father had given
her. There was no response at the other end of the line.
"I suppose he's left the office," she thought frantically. "Oh, I
can't let that man get away."
She rushed from the drug store and reached the street just in time to
see the workman disappear around a corner.
"I wonder if I dare attempt to shadow him?" Penny debated.
She was a little afraid, yet the streets in the immediate vicinity of
the theater were well lighted, and it did not seem too dangerous.
Turning the corner, she caught sight of the man far ahead. He was
walking rapidly. She too quickened her step, but took care not to
approach close enough to arouse his suspicion.
Presently the man paused beside a fine looking automobile which had
been parked at the curbing. As he glanced sharply up and down the
street, Penny pretended to be looking into the window of a jewelry
store. Actually, she was watching the man's reflection in the glass.
She saw him step into the car, take a key from his pocket and turn on
the ignition. As he drove away, Penny quickly noted down the license
number.
She glanced hopefully up the street but there was no policeman within
sight. A taxi cab driver noticing her agitated expression, cruised
close to the curb. Penny hailed him.
"Follow that green car ahead," she directed tersely, climbing in.
"Don't let it get out of your sight."
At the first corner they were held up by a light which was changing
from caution yellow to red. Risking arrest, the taxi driver crashed it.
The green car ahead had picked up speed. It weaved in and out of
traffic in a dangerous manner, driven by a man who was both skillful
and reckless.
The pursuit led into the hilly, crooked streets upon which the older
section of Belton City had been built. As they raced down first one
narrow street and then another, turning corners at a breathless speed,
Penny suspected that the man had become aware that he was being
followed. Her driver had increasing difficulty in keeping him in sight.
"The right hand turn!" Penny cried as the taxi-man hesitated at an
intersection.
They tore down a dark, twisting street at a break-neck speed. Suddenly
the driver slammed on his brakes. The thoroughfare had come to an
abrupt end.
"It's a dead-end," the taximan said in disgust, turning the cab around.
"He couldn't have come this way."
"I'm sure he did," Penny insisted.
The street was short and she could see its entire length. The green
car had vanished.
There were no houses or garages into which the automobile might have
turned. On either side of the street stood factory and manufacturing
buildings.
"Shall I try another road?" the driver questioned.
"It's no use now. I guess we've lost him. But I was positive that man
came this way. I don't see how I lost him."
She gave her home address to the driver, and sank back against the
cushions, completely disgusted with the turn of events.
As Penny alighted at her own door, she cast a speculative glance toward
the lighted window. If her father had not returned, Mrs. Gallup was
almost certain to ask embarrassing questions concerning her arrival in
a taxicab.
"And I forgot the ice cream too!" she thought. "I'll have a nice time
explaining."
However, it was not necessary to give an account of her activities.
Mrs. Gallup met her at the door.
"You came just in time, Penny. You're wanted on the telephone."
"It isn't Father?"
"No," the housekeeper assured her, "I think it's your chum."
"Susan?"
"Yes." Mrs. Gallup pushed her gently toward the telephone. "The girl
seems to be greatly excited over something. Do hurry and answer for
she's been waiting several minutes now."