“No, sir. But there’re enough suspects. For one thing, there’s Killer Kyle. He’s still loose somewhere. Then there’s your friends, Hanscom and Thane; and a rat named Fleer, and his pal, Jurgen. The last two must be in somebody’s pay — I don’t know whose. And then there’s this mysterious Princess Ar-Lassi, whom I’ve never seen, but who’s also around some place. I don’t know where so many people can hide in a place like this.”
Farrell tapped him on the shoulder. “You’ll get them, major. I have every confidence in you. And now,” he turned back to Betty, “I think I’ll do a good turn. I’ll give this young lady an interview. You can go ahead, major, if you wish, leave a couple of troopers here with us for protection, in case there’s anything you need to attend to at the house.”
Denvers looked doubtful. “If you feel it’s safe, judge. I’d hate to have anything happen—”
Farrell gave him a little push. “Don’t worry. Go along. I’ll be there shortly. Maybe I can identify this Fleer or Jurgen that you mention, as the men who kidnaped me.”
Denvers assigned a couple of men to guard the governor-elect, and went ahead. Farrell took Betty’s arm, and walked along with her, the two troopers keeping a respectful distance.
“And now, young lady, suppose you ask your questions. You’re good at that.”
BETTY smiled. She admired him — admired his thoughtfulness in giving her the interview now, right after his harrowing experience. She took advantage of the opportunity. Her keen little newspaper mind was working smoothly. “I hope you’ll pardon this question, judge — but just now, when Major Denvers mentioned the Princess Ar-Lassi as a suspect, and also as being missing, you didn’t seem to show much concern. Has your attitude toward the princess changed since our last interview with you?”
Farrell stopped short. The two troopers stopped behind them, still keeping their distance.
The governor-elect looked at her long and keenly. “You are really a clever girl,” he said. “Denvers didn’t notice that; I didn’t notice it; you did. Thanks for calling my attention to it. I’ll have to rectify the blunder when we get to the house.”
She gazed at him, puzzled. “What do you mean, judge?”
He didn’t answer for a moment. He took her arm and resumed the walk. “So,” he said softly, with a peculiar inflection of the voice, “the swan has failed once more to spot her hawk!”
It was her turn to be amazed. Her face went pale, she faltered in her stride, but immediately recovered, and walked on. Her arm trembled under his hand. “You!” she exclaimed, aghast.
Secret Agent “X” chuckled. “It was the only disguise that would get me out of that mausoleum. Luckily, I had prepared the material for the disguise from the governor-elect’s picture, before leaving the city. I came here with Fleer and Jurgen, posing as Kyle.” His eyes took on a serious expression. “You mentioned the Princess Ar-Lassi; she’s dead — in the mausoleum — the same way that Crome died, that Rice died. I hope you never witness it.”
She said in a low voice, “I have. Gates is dead in the house — like that.” A cold shiver ran through her body. “What is it? What sort of fiend is inflicting this miserable death on these people?”
He answered soberly, “I intend to find out — before dawn. I also intend to find out where Governor-elect Farrell is, if he has not already met the same fate.”
“Why should the princess have been killed?”
“She knew too much. She wanted to work with both sides. She wanted to sell out to Rice and Hanscom and Thane, double-cross whoever it is that’s fighting them.”
“Do you think Thane or Hanscom can be behind Farrell’s disappearance?”
“It’s possible. That’s another reason why I am appearing as Farrell. If they are responsible for his disappearance, they will not be able to conceal their fear of me when I come on the scene. I purposely sent Denvers on ahead, so he could make the announcement that Farrell had been found. If either or both of them tries to get away now, we will know it is because they are afraid to face Farrell.”
They were close to the house. Betty said, “I got some information about Slawson. On the way out here I stopped in at the Herald office. I had looked in the morgue once before, but hadn’t found anything. This time I stopped at Morgan’s desk to get some expense money, and there was the whole file on Slawson, on his desk. He had had it out for a Sunday feature story on the escape from Riker. So I took the whole thing while he wasn’t looking. I didn’t have time to examine it.”
She took a tightly folded sheaf of papers from her handbag, and gave it to him.
He stuffed the papers in his pocket. “I’ll read them the first chance I get. Good work, Betty.” He wanted very badly to go over those papers at once. But there was no chance to, with the troopers right behind.
They reached the house, walked around it to the front entrance, and went in. A trooper in the hall saluted, grinned. “Glad you’re safe, judge. Go right down the hall. They’re all in there.”
THE Secret Agent and Betty found everybody assembled in the room at the rear — the one in which Rice and Gates had been killed. The medical examiner had left after seeing Rice’s body. They had phoned for him again, but he had not yet reached home. Gates still lay on the floor, covered with an old-rose bedspread that one of the troopers had found upstairs.
Jurgen was back on the couch, lying quiet. Fleer crouched against the wall, sulky. He was handcuffed.
Thane and Hanscom stood in the center of the room, facing Denvers, who was hurling questions at them. Sergeant Plimpton was in the room, as well as three troopers. The place was crowded, stuffy, and although the window was open there was the reek of tobacco smoke.
Betty shuddered involuntarily. A sense of foreboding assailed her, a feeling of impending doom. It was as though the people in this room were just talking, moving, quarreling, uselessly, for she seemed to feel that death was going to visit there again.
They all turned when “X” entered the room. The Secret Agent kept his eyes on Thane and Hanscom. What would be their reactions?
Thane’s poker face betrayed nothing. Hanscom grunted, shifted the cigar in his mouth, said, “Hello, Guy. Glad to see you’re safe.”
Denvers said, “We’ve had some news, judge, and it’s somewhat disturbing. I’ve had a telephone call from John Burks, chief inspector down at the city. He tells me that he raided a flat in a house on Green Street. It was the house that this hearse in the garage drove away from. They found Killer Kyle unconscious in the apartment — haven’t been able to revive him yet. But the important thing is, Inspector Burks suspects that the apartment was one of the hideouts of that criminal known as Secret Agent ‘X’! There were a lot of gadgets found there, and material for all kinds of disguises!”
Betty cast a look of apprehension at the Secret Agent but “X’s” face showed nothing. “You don’t say so!” he exclaimed. “I’ve heard of Secret Agent ‘X.’ How is he connected with this business?”
“We don’t know, judge. But Inspector Burks is certain it was this ‘X’ that impersonated him in helping Kyle to escape, and he also feels that perhaps the Secret Agent has come up here in some disguise, perhaps that of Kyle. So it seems we have to do, not with an ordinary killer, but with a super criminal. That explains a lot of things that have been happening around here.”
“X” looked around the room, then back at the major. “You think, then, that it was Secret Agent ‘X’ who kidnaped me?”
Denvers shrugged. “I don’t know. Suppose you look closely at the men in this room. Can you identify any of them as the kidnapers?”