Richard Duvall arrived in New York at half past one o'clock Thursday
morning. Hodgman, Mr. Stapleton's secretary, had wired ahead the news of
their coming, and the banker's limousine awaited them at the railway
station. Fifteen minutes later they were ascending the steps of Mr.
Stapleton's residence on Fifth Avenue.
Duvall had not been to the house before. His previous interviews with
the banker had taken place at the latter's office, in Broad Street. He
had no time now, however, to observe the luxury of his surroundings. Mr.
Hodgman hurried him at once to the library, and in a few moments Mr.
Stapleton had joined them.
He greeted Duvall with a nervous handshake, and thanked him for his
prompt coming. He was clearly laboring under an intense mental strain.
"Mr. Hodgman has explained my reasons for sending for you, Mr. Duvall?"
he inquired, sinking into a great leather-covered chair.
"Yes." Duvall nodded.
"Then you can appreciate my feelings." He sat in silence for several
moments, looking gloomily at the floor.
"Perfectly."
"The devils! I wouldn't care if they were to steal my property--money,
securities, anything like that. I can fight them--on that basis. But my
child! Don't you see why your coming was of the utmost importance to me?
I don't dare move against these rascals openly. If I do, they will
threaten to retaliate by injuring my boy, and I am powerless. Whatever I
do, must be done secretly. No one must know that you are in my employ.
No one must know your object in going to Paris. You see that?"
"Most certainly. These fellows cannot hold you responsible for any moves
the police authorities of Paris may make; over them you of course have
no control. But if you make any efforts on your own account, any
independent efforts, to recover your boy, they must by all means be made
in secret."
"Exactly. You understand, then, what you are to do?"
"Yes. But first I must ask you, Mr. Stapleton, to give me some account
of the affair. Mr. Hodgman has told me only that your son has been
kidnapped. No doubt you have learned by this time how the thing was
done."
"What I have learned, Mr. Duvall, convinces me of the importance of
being on the ground at once. The affair, as cabled to me by my wife, is
preposterous--absurd!" He again gazed at the floor in gloomy
preoccupation.
"How so?" the detective inquired.
"I will tell you. My boy, who, as you know, is six years old, has been
in the habit of driving, each morning, accompanied by his nurse, from my
house in the Avenue Kleber, to the Bois de Boulogne. On arriving in the
Bois, it has been their habit to leave the automobile in which they
came, and spend an hour or more walking and playing on the grass. I have
insisted on this, because the boy needs exercise, and he cannot get it
driving about in a motor car."
"During this hour what becomes of the car?" asked Duvall.
"Our orders have been, of course, for the chauffeur to wait, within
sight and call. I believe he has done so."
"Thank you. Go ahead."
"On Wednesday the nurse took Jack--the boy's name is Jack--to the Bois
as usual. She played about with him on the grass for probably an hour.
Then she sat down to rest. Jack was standing near her, playing with a
rubber ball. She says--and, gentlemen, my wife cables me that she
solemnly swears to the truth of her statements--that she turned away for
a moment to observe passing vehicles in the road--turned back again to
the child--and found that he was gone."
"Gone--but how?"
"How? That's the question. Here is this woman, sitting on the grass,
with the child, a hundred yards from the road, in the middle of a large
field of grass--a lawn. No one is within sight. The nearest person, it
appears from her testimony, is the chauffeur, three hundred feet away,
in the road. The woman turns her head for a moment, looks about--and the
boy is gone. That is the story she tells, and which my wife has cabled
to me. Do you wonder that I call it preposterous?"
"Hardly," remarked Duvall, with a grim smile. "The boy could not have
vanished into thin air. The woman must be lying."
"That, Mr. Duvall, is what I cannot understand. I cannot believe that
the woman is lying. My wife cannot believe it. She has been in our
employ ever since the boy was born, and is devoted to him. Mrs.
Stapleton cables that she is completely prostrated."
"But, Mr. Stapleton, you can hardly believe such a story! How could the
child have been stolen, if her story is true? It is, as you say,
preposterous."
"I do not say that the story is true, Mr. Duvall. I say that I do not
think that Mary is lying. She is telling what she believes to be the
truth. She turned her head for a moment--the boy was gone. That is what
she says, and I believe her. The question is--how is it possible?"
"It isn't," Hodgman grunted.
"Everything is possible, Hodgman," said the banker, reprovingly. "The
best proof of that, in this case, is that it has happened. What means
were used, I cannot imagine; but the apparently impossible _has_
happened. The boy is gone!"
"Is the nurse a young woman?" the detective inquired.
"About thirty, I should say."
"An American?"
"Yes. Of Irish parentage. Her name is Lanahan--Mary Lanahan."
"A New Yorker?"
"She comes from Paterson, New Jersey. Her people live there."
"Are there any other details--any other points of interest?"
"None, so far as I know. What I have told you, is what has been cabled
to me by Mrs. Stapleton. She is naturally in a more or less hysterical
condition. Nothing can be accomplished here. I want you to leave by
today's steamer. I myself, I regret to say, cannot go until Saturday."
He passed his hand nervously across his forehead. "Only matters of the
most vital importance could keep me here at such a time, Mr. Duvall;
but, unfortunately, such matters confront me now."
"Have you any reason to believe, Mr. Stapleton," Duvall inquired, "that
the kidnapping is the act of persons from this side of the water? Have
any such attempts been made in the past?"
Mr. Stapleton remained silent for sometime, buried in thought. Presently
he spoke. "I am a rich man, Mr. Duvall--a very rich man. Men in my
position are constantly in receipt of letters of a threatening nature. I
have received many such letters, in the past."
"Was the matter of the child mentioned in any of them? Were threats made
involving him?"
"There was one such letter."
"When did you receive it?"
"Last fall--perhaps six months ago."
"Have you the letter now?"
"Yes."
"May I see it?"
The banker rose, went to a heavy rosewood desk at one side of the room,
drew open one of its drawers, and removed a steel despatch box. He
opened it with a slender key and took out a package of letters. From
these, after some hesitation, he selected one and silently handed it to
Duvall.
The detective examined the letter carefully. It was enclosed in a cheap
white envelope, such as are sold at all post offices, having the stamp
printed on it. The letter itself was roughly printed in ink on a sheet
of ruled paper evidently torn from an ordinary five-cent pad. It said:
"We demand fifty thousand dollars, to be placed in thousand-dollar
bills inside a cigar box and expressed to John Smith, c/o Express
Company, Paterson, N. J., next Monday afternoon. The man who will
call for the package on Tuesday will know nothing about the matter,
and if you arrest him, you will find out nothing. Keep this to
yourself and do as we say, if you value the safety of your child."
There was no signature to the letter. Duvall read it through with great
care, then turned to Mr. Stapleton.
"You have observed, I suppose, that the place to which the money was to
be sent, Paterson, New Jersey, is the home of your child's nurse, Mary
Lanahan."
Mr. Stapleton started. "I confess," he said "that, in the agitated state
of mind into which this affair has thrown me, I had completely
overlooked the coincidence. What do you infer from it?"
"Only this, Mr. Stapleton, that Mary Lanahan may know more about this
matter than she is willing to let on. I must keep this letter for the
present."
"Very well." The banker nodded. "It may prove a valuable clue."
"Possibly. And further, Mr. Stapleton, I shall not sail by today's
steamer."
"But--why not?" Stapleton sat up in his chair in surprise. "You will
lose two days."
"I do not think they will be lost. I must make some investigations in
Paterson, before I leave here. Please give me, if you can, the address
of Mary Lanahan's parents."
Mr. Stapleton frowned. "I am not sure that I can do so, Mr. Duvall. My
wife has charge of these matters. But I recollect having heard that her
father, Patrick Lanahan, is a florist in a small way, and no doubt you
can readily locate him. But I fear you will be losing valuable time."
Duvall rose. "I feel, as you do, Mr. Stapleton, that I should be in
Paris at the earliest possible moment; but I think you will agree with
me that some investigations on this side before I go are absolutely
necessary, and may prove of inestimable value afterwards."
Mr. Stapleton was silent for several minutes. Presently he raised his
head. "Under the circumstances, Mr. Duvall, I am forced to admit the
truth of what you say. Conduct your investigations as quickly as
possible, however; for we must positively sail by Saturday's boat."
"I shall be ready then." Duvall took up his hat. "Now I think I had
better get a few hours' sleep, and in the morning I will make an early
start for Paterson." He bowed to the banker and Mr. Hodgman. "Good
night, gentlemen. I shall see you both on Saturday morning. The steamer
sails shortly after noon, I believe. Suppose I come here at ten o'clock,
and let you know what I have learned?"
Mr. Stapleton rose. "If I receive any further news of importance from
Paris, Mr. Duvall, I will advise you at your hotel. Where are you
stopping?"
Duvall gave the name of a Times Square hotel at which he usually
stopped, and with a quick "good night" left the house.
It was shortly after nine o'clock the next morning when he descended
from the train at Paterson, and going to a nearby drug store, consulted
the directory for the address of Patrick Lanahan. He found it without
difficulty, and, by means of an electric car, was soon before the
florist's door.
The place was situated on the outskirts of the town, and consisted of a
small, rather mean-looking cottage, from which spread out on each side,
like the two wings of an aeroplane, the long glass greenhouses.
A little gate opened to a short brick path, leading to the front door of
the house.
Duvall went up the path and rang the door bell. A wholesome-looking
Irish woman, of perhaps fifty, opened the door, and, in response to his
questions, told him that her husband, Patrick, was out in the garden at
the rear of the house, busy with his plants.
She directed the detective along a narrow areaway at the side of the
house, and in a moment reappeared at the back door.
"Pat," she called. "Oh, Pat! Here's a gentleman to see you."
A short, heavy-set man, with gray hair and mustache and a ruddy and
weatherbeaten face, arose from among a litter of flower pots and bulbs.
"What can I do for you, sir?" he asked, coming forward and wiping his
hands upon his overalls.
The detective studied the man before him intently. The honest and
clear-looking eyes told him nothing that was not favorable.
"I came to ask you a few questions, Mr. Lanahan."
"Questions, is it? About what?" The blue eyes showed a sudden flare of
suspicion.
"About yourself, and your family."
"Who may you be, then? Is it the tax man?"
Duvall smiled. "Not the tax man," he said. "I represent a firm of
lawyers in Washington. My name is Johnson."
Lanahan, still suspicious, pointed to a couple of kitchen chairs that
stood on the brick-paved yard beneath a trellis covered with hop vines.
"Sit down, sir. I'll have a smoke, if you don't mind." He began to fill
his short clay pipe. "What would lawyers in Washington be wantin' with
me?"
"That is what I wish to find out, Mr. Lanahan. We--my firm--have been
advised that a certain Michael Lanahan, of Dublin, recently died,
leaving a large estate. We are trying to find his heirs. Tell me
something about yourself and your family."
The look of suspicion and reserve which the old man had up to this time
shown faded from his face, and was replaced by a smile of incredulity.
"Money, is it?" he laughed. "Mary--that's my wife--has been seein'
bubbles in her tay for the week past. What is it you would know?"
"Are you from Dublin?"
"Me father was. I was born right here in Jersey, meself."
"What was his name?"
"Patrick, the same as me own. But he had a brother, Mike."
"Ah. It may be the same." Duvall pretended a sudden interest. "His
business?"
"Mike's? Faith--I never heard he had any, lest it was drinkin' all the
good liquor he could lay his hands on."
Duvall pretended to make a series of entries in his notebook. "Now
about yourself, Mr. Lanahan. Have you any children? Of course, should
there be any money coming to you, they would share in it."
"Children, is it? I have two."
"Boys?"
"One is a boy--a man be now, I should say. He's in the city--workin'.
His name is Barney."
"What does he do?"
Lanahan looked up with a quick frown. "The last I heard tell, he was
tendin' bar, Mr. Johnson--over at Callahan's saloon, on the Bowery. He's
wild--wild--like me uncle Mike, I should say."
"And the other?"
The old man's face took on a contented look. "The other is me daughter
Mary, bless her. She's nurse in the family of old man Stapleton, the
millionaire."
Duvall closed his book. "I see," he remarked, pleasantly. "She's not
married, I suppose?"
"Mary? Divil a bit! For a time, she was sweet on a French chuffer that
worked for Mr. Stapleton; but the fellow's gone, now, and she's clane
forgot him. That was near a year ago."
"Ah, yes. Do you happen to remember his name?"
"Alphonse, it was--Alphonse Valentin, or some such joke of a name. A
comic valentine he was, too, with his dinky little mustache and his
cigarettes." He laughed loudly. "Imagine my Mary, married to a gink like
that!"
Duvall replaced his notebook in his pocket and rose. "I'm mightily
obliged to you, Mr. Lanahan. We will advise you at once, if our
investigations show that you are related to the Michael Lanahan whose
fortune is in our hands. I'm obliged to you for your courtesy."
The florist nodded. "You're welcome, sir. I guess them Lanahan's must be
a different breed. I never heard tell of any of my people makin' any
fortune. Good day, sir." He turned to his work, chuckling.
Duvall rode back to the station, and took the first train for New York.
It was clear that Mary Lanahan's parents had nothing in common with
blackmailers and kidnappers. Their honesty was as evident as the
blueness of their eyes, or the redness of their hair. But the
information about Alphonse Valentin, the chauffeur, and Barney, Mr.
Lanahan's son, seemed more promising.
It was close to one o'clock when Duvall arrived at Callahan's saloon, on
the Bowery, near Canal Street. Here a disappointment awaited him. Barney
Lanahan had thrown up his job and left two months before. Callahan had
no idea where he had gone. He had not been about the place since. A
negro porter volunteered the information that he had seen the man
entering the Broadway saloon of an ex-prizefighter some weeks before;
but, beyond that, Duvall could learn nothing.
After a hasty luncheon he went to his office on Union Square, where his
unexpected appearance caused his assistants unlimited surprise. He
directed them to locate Barney Lanahan at the earliest possible moment.
He then called up Mr. Stapleton's secretary, Mr. Hodgman, and inquired
about the chauffeur.
Mr. Hodgman informed him that the banker had employed Valentin in Paris
some eighteen months previous, and had brought him to this country,
where he had remained in his employ for about six months. He had been
discharged, through some dishonesty in the matter of purchasing
supplies, and nothing further had been seen or heard of him.
Duvall, on receiving this information, proceeded at once to the office
of the French line, and asked permission to inspect their passenger
lists for the past year. He concluded that if Valentin had anything to
do with the kidnapping of Mr. Stapleton's boy, he was, in all
probability, in Paris, and, if so, would almost certainly have crossed
by this line. He was therefore not at all surprised to find the name of
Alphonse Valentin among those sailing during the preceding March.
There was little more that he could accomplish, now, beyond writing a
long letter to Grace, whom he naturally supposed to be patiently
awaiting his return in the country. He had a short interview with Mr.
Hodgman in the evening, and was lucky enough to secure a photograph of
Alphonse Valentin, the chauffeur, taken at the steering wheel of his
machine. The car had, it seemed, been photographed, along with a party
of guests, by a friend of Mr. Stapleton's with a leaning toward amateur
photography. Duvall placed the photograph among his belongings with a
smile of satisfaction. He felt that his delay had been by no means
unprofitable.
One other step he took, before leaving. Accompanied by Mr. Hodgman, he
made a careful inspection of the room which had been occupied by the
nurse, Mary Lanahan, at the Stapleton house. The results were
distressingly meager. All the woman's belongings she had evidently taken
with her, on going abroad. There appeared to be nothing which would
afford the slightest clue to her character or habits.
Mr. Hodgman turned to the door with an impatient frown. "Nothing here,"
he growled, and was about to leave the room.
"Nothing much," said Duvall, glancing carelessly at the wooden edge of
the bureau. "This woman, Mary Lanahan, is evidently an up-to-date sort
of person."
Hodgman paused. "Why do you say that?" he asked.
"Smokes cigarettes, I see."
"That so. How do you know?"
Duvall smiled. "Too simple even to mention, Mr. Hodgman. See those burns
on the varnish?" He pointed to a number of spots along the edge of the
dresser. "Always find them somewhere about, where there's a cigarette
smoker." He gazed out of the window for a moment. "Rooms tell a great
deal about the personality of the people who have occupied them. For
instance, I've never seen this Lanahan girl, but I know that she's not
over five feet four, that she has light hair, that she reads in bed,
that she writes with a stub pen, and that she's a Roman Catholic.
Furthermore, she is left handed, inclined to be vain, wears her hair in
waves, or curls, in front, is fond of the theater, and has a long narrow
scar on the palm of her left hand."
He chuckled quietly, as he saw Mr. Hodgman's look of amazement. "All
very simple--quite elementary, in fact. I won't even bother to tell you
how I know--just little things here and there about the room. Here's one
of them," he said, as he picked up a rusty pen point from the desk.
"That shows she uses a stub, of course; but the way the point is worn
also proves that she's left handed. And here's another." He pointed to
the electric bulb which hung over the head of the bed. "Nobody would use
that light, except to read by in bed. The others in the room are more
than sufficient for purposes of illumination. Yet the lamp has been used
continuously, as its condition shows. See how blackened the glass
is--and notice also how the white enamel of the back of the bed is worn
off, just under the lamp. That's from propping a pillow against it,
night after night." He turned toward the door. "Of course, those things
aren't of any value, probably, in this case; but I can't help noticing
them. Force of habit, I suppose."
When Duvall arrived at the Stapleton house on Saturday morning, he found
the banker somewhat disturbed by a cablegram he had just received. "Mary
claims attempts made to poison her. Will recover. Come at once," it
read.
The detective appeared to be somewhat astonished, on reading the
cablegram. "Looks as though somebody was afraid she might be going to
talk," he remarked. "The sooner we arrive in Paris, now, the better."