CHAPTER XIII
BEHIND LOCKED DOORS
FOR a moment Odell was dumbfounded by the sheer audacity of the man who stood in the lighted doorway on the alley with one hand slipped suggestively in the pocket of his dinner-coat, coolly smiling down at him. Then he shrugged and replied in the same vein.
"Thanks. I confess that at the present moment nothing would give me greater pleasure than to accept this invitation of yours, Mr. Drew."
His unexpected host threw wide the door and stepped back for him to enter.
"I trust that you will have no reason to retract that statement, Sergeant," he said pleasantly. "I have no doubt that we will be able to come to a mutually satisfactory understanding."
As he spoke he swung the door shut and with a single motion turned the key and thrust it into his pocket. The detective gave no sign that he had observed the act, even when Drew walked deliberately across the room to the other door and locked it also. Instead he stood gazing about him with frank interest.
The room was larger than Odell had supposed from his restricted view of it through the aperture in the torn window-shade. The sideboard and bookcase which flanked the cracked, imitation-marble mantel were of cheap, highly-polished light oak, as were the center table and chairs. A wide, comfortable-looking couch stood against the opposite wall, and from behind a half-drawn curtain in the corner the end of a small gas-stove was visible, with pots and pans hanging beneath a shelf upon which china and canned goods were stacked indiscriminately.
Evidently this room was more than a rendezvous; it was a complete apartment in itself in which one could live indefinitely without aid or interference from the outside world.
"Of course this is not the Bellemonde Annex," Drew remarked with an ironically deprecatory air as if reading the other's thoughts. "It has its uses, however. Sit down, Sergeant. Will you smoke?"
Odell shook his head but pulled a chair up to the table and seated himself. Drew had assumed the upper hand in opening the interview, and the detective was well content to leave the situation for the time being in the other's control. He was curious to learn the motive back of his host's attitude. Drew had spoken of a "mutually satisfactory understanding." That could only mean a bargain, a compromise, or attempted bribery. Odell believed the man before him to be too clever to essay the latter; yet what compromise could he hope to effect with the police? The very fact that he sought to establish one told against him in the present situation, as he must realize.
Drew, meanwhile, had taken a box of cigars from a drawer of the sideboard, selected one and lighted it leisurely before he strolled over to the chair across the table from his guest and seated himself.
Odell looked up and waited for him to speak.
"Sergeant," he began at length with a speculative eye on the glowing tip of his cigar, "from what my young friend Gene Chalmers has told me to-night I believe you to be a man of not only common sense but intelligence; if I did not I should not have sought this interview. As I understand it Mr. Lorne sent for you through the mediation of his attorney to look into the coincidence of the deaths and other recent accidents which have taken place in his home. That of course is no concern of mine; but if in the pursuit of your investigation you should encounter evidence of some—er—irregularity which had no possible bearing on your case, what would you do?"
"Irregularity?" Odell repeated.
"Don't let us waste time by splitting hairs," Drew shrugged. "We will say rather that you might unearth a matter which would in no way interest the homicide department of your organization: a strictly family matter, the probing of which would cause only shame and unhappiness to people already burdened with grief and perplexity. Would you consider it your duty without consulting those most immediately concerned to bring it to the attention "of—er—another branch of the police service?"
"If I discovered evidence of another and separate crime unconnected with the matter now under investigation?" The detective paused in seeming reflection. "That is rather a complex question, Mr. Drew. I fancy it would depend largely upon the nature of the crime and who ultimately benefited by it."
Farley Drew's eyes narrowed, but his tone was still that of one propounding an abstruse and impersonal argument.
"If the crime, as you call it, were for gain and happened to be committed by a member of the family it would be reasonable to suppose that the guilty person would be the one to profit ultimately, would it not?"
"Ultimately perhaps but not necessarily directly." A quick flash of memory had recalled the note which Odell himself had laid before his chief an hour before, and with it a sudden inkling of the possible truth had come. "If some member of the family were placed in a compromising position by an outsider and forced into crime for the immediate benefit of that outsider, in order to gain immunity for himself, it would cease to be a purely family matter, and its investigation would very likely bring shame and unhappiness and possibly incarceration to the instigator. Are you entirely disinterested in this theoretical discussion, Mr. Drew?"
He smiled steadily into the dark, smoldering eyes across the table, and Drew forced a sickly grimace in return, but the fingers holding his cigar twitched murderously.
"Quite." His voice was curiously even. "I confess I am disappointed in you, Sergeant: I had taken you to be a man of independent thought and action, not hidebound like the majority of your confrères. I have been speaking from a purely altruistic point of view. I wished to spare a heart-broken and panic-stricken family from further pain, and to save one young person from an unmerited punishment for what the family themselves would be the first to characterize as a mere mistake. I hoped that you could be induced to see the matter from that standpoint."
"And in saving the family from further annoyance incidentally protect the real criminal, who had used the young person you mention as a mere tool, from the consequences of what he himself had instigated?" Odell laughed in the other's lowering face. "Let him go scot-free with the extortion he had practiced upon one member of the family in order to keep from the rest a knowledge of the truth? You are not serious, Mr. Drew. The young person may be in too deep, as it was meant he should be, for him to extricate himself; but if the matter is not exposed he may be in considerably deeper before he is through. Even if the affair did not come within the bounds of the case I am investigating, I think that I should find myself compelled to take a hand."
For a moment there was silence while Drew blew a series of smoke rings thoughtfully in the air.
"So Gene lied," he said at last. "He told me that he had destroyed that note. You have it in your possession, Sergeant?"
"No. I turned it in to my chief to-night to be brought to the attention of the bureau which it would ordinarily concern if I say the word." Odell watched the other's face narrowly. "I may add that no letter, no telephone message, nothing but my request in person would enable me to regain possession of it."
"But you could regain it?" The eagerness in Drew's tones was unrestrained.
"It is highly probable, Mr. Drew."
"Could anything induce you to do so? I mean nothing so crude as bribery, Sergeant. When two men each possess something that the other wants and their need is equally urgent it is sometimes possible to arrange an amicable trade."
The compromise! It had come at last. Odell turned upon the other a gaze of mild inquiry.
"If I am in need of anything, at least to the extent of compounding a felony in order to obtain it, I am unaware of the fact," he said blandly. "Can you be a trifle more explicit, Mr. Drew?"
"You are young and ambitious; I think you have a real love for your work, an immense enthusiasm, and you are impatient to reach the top of the ladder. I've seen your name in the papers in connection with more than one big case in a subordinate capacity; but minor success is sometimes a boomerang. It leads to petty jealousies and persecutions which retard promotion until the injustice of it embitters your soul. One celebrated case brought to a successful conclusion by you alone would make you for life. This case you are working on promises to be the biggest thing that New York has seen for years. Can you deny that for the sake of your career alone it is not vitally necessary that you should discover the one who is guilty? I do not want the note back; I merely wish to see it destroyed in my presence and to receive your assurance that it and the matter to which it pertains shall be officially forgotten. If in return for this I furnish you with the motive for this series of crimes and attempted crimes, and the strongest kind of circumstantial evidence of the identity of their perpetrator, would you not consider it a fair deal? At best you can prove nothing against me and could only cause me embarrassment, while without my help you can never solve the problem you have undertaken."
"I am not so sure," Odell demurred. "I've only been on the case a little over twelve hours, you know; and I still have hopes. As to the note, you may remember I told you a few minutes ago that it would be turned over to the bureau which it would ordinarily concern if I said the word, I have not said the word; for I am not sure yet that it concerns any bureau other than mine."
"But you—you are a member of the homicide squad!" Drew stammered, and the stub of his cigar slipped unnoticed from his fingers.
"Exactly. I am not sure that that note has not a direct bearing on the murders I am investigating."
"You're mad, I tell you, man!" Drew sprang from his chair. "You know less than I thought of what that note refers to, if you imagine such a ridiculously far-fetched thing!"
"Not so far-fetched if you remember the wording of the note and compare it with the events of the past month," Odell remarked quietly. "I quoted a sentence or two from it before, but do you recall the rest?—'Your mother's went through without a hitch, and the next one will if you only keep your nerve. It's got to be done by the sixth or you know where the first one will send you.' I believe that is it word for word, Mr. Drew. When you consider that Mrs. Lorne has already been done to death 'without a hitch' and that the sixth of the month was the date of Julian's death, it appears to lend the note quite another significance; doesn't it?"
"My God!" Drew retreated a step or two. "What a devilish misconstruction. But you don't believe it yourself. Sergeant; you are trying to bluff me. Do you think I would be enough of an ass to write so openly and sign my name to it if I were plotting murder?"
"It isn't so much what I think as what a jury would decide after the District Attorney had got through explaining it to them," responded Odell. "You know Hutchins's reputation, don't you, Mr. Drew? They say he can get a conviction on less evidence than anyone else who has ever been in office. It may be that the note together with a few other little things which we have against you are not sufficient to send you to the chair, but they are strong enough evidence to indict you and put you on trial."
"You can't do that!" Drew cried hoarsely, gripping the back of his chair as he stood behind it until it creaked a warning. "This talk of a conviction is all rot, and you know it; but I might as well go to the chair as through the notoriety and indignity of arrest on such a hideous charge! It would be a frame-up! You can't do it, Odell, you sha'n't! You'll never leave this room alive to put it over on me!"
"Steady there, Drew," the detective advised coolly, for the other's voice had risen and his features were working convulsively. "Don't take your hand off your number; the chief has the note, remember; and if I don't show up he will act on it at once. Moreover, two of my men accompanied me here, and one saw me enter this room. The other is waiting outside for me to rejoin him; if I do not do so within a certain specified time he has his instructions as to how to proceed."
A measure of self-control had returned to Drew and he laughed shortly.
I'm not a murderer nor even a potential one, as you know yourself, Sergeant. I spoke in sheer desperation without thinking what I was saying. I am not likely to place myself in jeopardy by eliminating an obscure member of the police force!" He caught himself up abruptly as if realizing that he had made a false move and added in haste: "I was foolish to permit myself to become excited over a mere bluff; I should have grasped the fact at once that neither you nor your chief would make laughing-stocks of yourselves by attempting to bring me to trial on such a charge and with such evidence! It would be a farce, a patent frame-up and you would be lucky if you were merely dismissed from the force without having further action taken against you!"
Odell could not help but admire the cleverness with which his opponent had turned the tables, and he smiled candidly.
"Granted. Still"—the smile faded and his jaw set sternly—"an arrest on suspicion, with due publicity, including the printing of that note verbatim in every newspaper in the city would achieve practically the same result as far as you are concerned, my dear Mr. Drew. I fancy that Gene's explanation would not only prove interesting reading to your circle of acquaintances but would prevent your making others among the unsophisticated scions of wealthy families."
"Perhaps, but Gene is not in a position to offer explanations," Drew retorted smoothly. "Having called your bluff, Sergeant, it seems to me that we are back at the starting-point of my proposition. Arrest me if you like; I admit it would ruin me as far as New York society goes, but I'll break you for it; and the world is wide for my activities although not for yours, unless you join the army of discredited petty officials who open private detective agencies and starve. Bring me the note, call it square, and I'll make your career."
He was his own debonair, smiling, slightly ironic self again; and Odell studied him reflectively for a moment before replying. In the light of the revelation which had come to him since entering the room his theory, weak and scarcely tenable as he had known it in his heart to be, had been utterly demolished; and the detective realized that he had clung to it only because no other possible explanation of the mystery presented itself.
Could Farley Drew furnish him with the information of which he boasted? Was it within his power to supply the motive for this seemingly purposeless series of crimes? He had spoken, too, of strong circumstantial evidence of the identity of their perpetrator; if he were not bluffing in his turn would it not be well to agree to his terms?
The note in itself would not be a necessary factor in his prosecution on a separate charge with Gene's testimony available; and it appeared extremely unlikely that any charge would be brought. On the other hand, Odell's repugnance rose against entering into any traffic with this social leech; and in a swift revulsion from momentary discouragement his self-confidence returned.
What could Drew know which he might not discover for himself? Why stoop to bargain with this parasite and thereby tacitly admit his inability to solve the case unaided when every opportunity lay before him? His investigation was still only in a preliminary stage, and he resolved that not except as a final resort would he compromise with the man before him.
The silence in the room had remained unbroken, and Odell was so deeply engrossed in his meditation that he had not noted the strained look of suspense which crept gradually over the face of his host. The mournful yowl of a cat in the alley brought him swiftly from his reverie, and he straightened in his chair.
"You have stated the case with admirable conciseness, Mr. Drew. Granted that I was bluffing and starting with the premise that you are not and that you really can supply the information you claim, I see no need for haste in the conclusion of the bargain you propose. I will at least guarantee that no official use will be made of the note until I have decided to reject or accept your proposition."
"An armistice?" Drew threw back his head and laughed aloud, and something in the quality of his tone made Odell eye him sharply. A swift and inexplicable change seemed to have come over the man, and when he spoke again it was with a note of irresistible amusement in his voice. "You fancy that you will not need the information which I can give you? You mean to continue the investigation on your own account until you are assured that you are up against a blank wall? Very well, Sergeant. I've made the offer and it stands open. When you decide as you ultimately must to accept my proposition communicate with my man at the Bellemonde Annex and I will get in touch with you."
He rose and unlocking the door leading into the alley he opened it and stepped aside.
"We have come to an understanding even though it may not be productive of immediate results, and the night is no longer young. I do not wish to appear inhospitable, but I fear that your bodyguard in front of the shop may become concerned for your safety."
Odell laughed.
"An armistice then, Mr. Drew." He nodded in response to the other's half-mocking bow as he passed through the door. "In spite of your convictions I may be able to struggle along without agreeing to your terms, so don't count on hearing from me too soon."
"I don't!" Drew's laughter rang out once more as he closed the door, and the same note of exultance sounded in his tones as before. What could it mean? He had not achieved his ends, he had not regained possession of the note; and yet his manner during the last few minutes of their interview, had been that of one whose purpose had triumphed.
The light had gone out suddenly in the room behind him even before he had passed the window; and as the detective stumbled along in the darkness of the alley he pondered upon this latest problem of all which that day had presented. He did not underrate Drew's cleverness. The latter had become cognizant of his surveillance, and resolved to turn it to good account; but had the possession of the note been the real point at issue, the motive back of that invitation tea conference?
Drew must know as well as he that with Gene's testimony the note would be superfluous or at best merely corroborative evidence if any charge were to be brought against him, and he must also be aware of the remoteness of such a possibility. What then could have been his object in seeking the interview?
At this juncture Odell reached the mouth of the alley, and his musing was abruptly terminated. He was aware of a stir in the shadows; a muttered command, and two dark forms hurled themselves upon him. He struck out wildly, but his arms were caught as in a vise; and a crushing blow descended upon his head. The ground swayed beneath him, theft opened; and he slipped down and down into a bottomless void, while the shadowy figures were lost in the whirling darkness which encompassed him; but his last conscious thought was of the smiling, mocking man he had left in the room with the broken window. Farley Drew's purpose had been achieved.