Parker grimaced. “No offense meant to you, Colonel, but that jackass has done every damn thing wrong, in this case, from A to Z. His failure to make a thorough search of the entire community within a wide radius of your estate is frankly, sir, shameful, inexcusable.”
Lindbergh said nothing.
“Ideally, I would like to head up the team of detectives in charge of the case-a mixture of my own boys and state troopers. But I’m available strictly as a consultant, if that’s your pleasure.”
Lindbergh said nothing. His eyes were like stones.
Parker shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
Then Lindbergh spoke. His voice was as expressionless and unemotional as a telephone operator’s. “I have great respect for your achievements, Chief Parker. But I’ve already read and heard some of your opinions about this case, in the papers and on the radio. And I will have no truck with cheap shots, second-guessing and theorizing.”
“Colonel Lindbergh, my only concern is to offer my help in your time of…”
Lindbergh raised a hand in a stop motion. “I won’t have police officers from every which where tripping over themselves, seeking their own glory at the possible expense of my son’s life. Colonel Schwarzkopf and I have the situation in hand. Good day to you, sir.”
“Colonel Lindbergh…”
“Thank you for coming.”
Parker rose; his neck was red with anger, but he merely nodded to Lindbergh and went out.
I stayed behind.
“That guy is one of the most brilliant detectives alive,” I said. “And your boy Schwarzkopf is a goddamn department-store floorwalker!”
“Nate,” Lindbergh said tersely, his hands flat on his desk, “Ellis Parker is accustomed to getting the lion’s share of the limelight-he’s done remarkable work in the past, but he’s dazzled by his own publicity.”
“I’m sure he is jealous of Schwarzkopf,” I said with a shrug. “But a guy like that, who is a great detective by anybody’s yardstick, ought to be turned loose on a major crime like this-particularly when it’s in his own backyard, for Christ’s sake. It only makes sense!”
“No,” Lindbergh said.
I looked at him.
“Okay,” I said.
I went out. Lindy wanted to hear the truth from me, it seemed, but didn’t necessarily want to pay it any heed.
I caught up with Parker outside, just as he was about to climb into a Burlington County police car.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be more help,” I said. “I’d like to have had you involved.”
“Who says I’m not going to be?” he said, one foot on the running board. And he winked at me.
The dust of Parker’s Ford on the dirt lane hadn’t settled when Breckinridge’s familiar Dusenberg pulled in. The lawyer looked grayer than usual as he climbed down from his fancy car and came straight over to me. He took me by the arm, took me aside.
“Heller,” he said. “What did you do last night?”
“It wouldn’t be gentlemanly to say.”
“You spent the night with that medium, didn’t you?”
I shrugged. “Slim said I was the resident spook chaser. Who else are you going to get to lay a ghost?”
He grabbed me by one arm. Almost shook me. The unflappable Breckinridge was definitely flapped. “What did she have to say?”
Actually, she hadn’t said much at all. She’d moaned a good deal and even screamed a couple times. But I wasn’t about to share my memorable evening with Sister Sarah with Breckinridge. I’m just not that kind of guy.
Besides, what would a stuffed shirt like Breckinridge know about a night of wild passion with a woman whose pale flesh glowed in the half-light of a flickering candle, who let me ride her and who rode me, till I was raw and sweating and dead from exhaustion. Sister Sarah could make a ghost out of any man.
But we hadn’t talked. I knew no more about her from spending the night with her than I did after that seance. Including going through her purse and her suitcases and other personal belongings, after she went to sleep.
“Hey, pal,” I said indignantly, “I don’t kiss and tell, okay?”
“She said a letter would come today. To my office.”
“Yeah, so?”
“This came by mail, to my office,” he said grimly, “this morning.”
He took an envelope out of his pocket, hastily opened it and held the letter up for me to see.
Specifically, he showed me the signature: blue and red interlocking circles with three holes.
10
The letter Breckinridge received included a brief note telling the attorney to “handle inclosed letter to Col. Lindbergh.” The letter itself said the following:
Dear Sir: Did you recieve ouer letter from March 4. We sent the mail in one off the letter pox near Burro Hall-Brooklyn. We know Police interfere with your privatmail; how can we come to any arrangements this way. In the future we will send ouer letters to Mr. Breckenbridge at 23 Broadway. We belive Polise captured our letter and dit note forwarded to you. We will note accept any go-between from your seid. We will arrange this latter. There is no worry about the Boy. He is very well and will be feed according to the diet. Best dank for Information about it. We are interested to send your Boy back in gud Health.
Below this, again labeled “singnature,” were the distinctive blue and red circles with a trio of small holes. On the reverse the letter continued:
Is it nessisery to make a world’s affair out off
it, or to get your Boy back as soon as possible.
Why did you ingnore ouer letter which we
left in the room? The baby would be back
long ago. You would note get any result
from Police, becauce this Kidnaping was
planed for a year allredy. But we was afraid,
the boy would not be strong enough.
Ouer ransom was made out for 50.000 $
but now we have to put another lady to it and
propperly have to hold the baby longer as we
expectet so it will be 70.000 $.
20000 in 50 $ bills 25000 in 24 $ bills 15000
in 10 $ bills 10000 in 5 $ bill. We warn you again
not to mark any bills or take them from one serial
No. We will inform you latter how to deliver
the mony, but not befor
the Police is out of this cace and the
pappers are quiet.
Please get a short notice aboud this letter in the
New-York American.
Frank J. Wilson squinted behind his round black-framed glasses as he read the note, and read it again.
We were in Lindbergh’s study, Lindy, Breckinridge, Schwarzkopf, Wilson and myself. Lindbergh had rejected my suggestions to make the New York cops and J. Edgar’s boys aware of this new communique; but he did agree to call in Treasury Agent Wilson.
“I think the letter is encouraging,” Lindbergh said to Wilson, “don’t you?”
“Encouraging?” Wilson asked. He was seated across from Lindbergh. I was seated next to Wilson; Breckinridge and Schwarzkopf were standing on either side of Lindy like mismatched bookends.
“My son is in good health,” Lindbergh said brightly, “and they want to keep him that way. They’re following the diet…”
“You take these people at their word?”
“I have no reason not to,” Lindbergh said. “I’m reluctant to have you involved in this at all, Agent Wilson. They make clear that if I hadn’t called the police in, at the start, I might well have Charlie back in his mother’s arms, this very minute.”
Wilson didn’t bother discussing that. He knew there was no point.
“They apparently think the police intercepted the previous letter,” Schwarzkopf pointed out, needlessly.
Breckinridge nodded. “Maybe we’ve clamped down the lid on the press too tight. If we’d let it be known the second note had been received…”
“You’re trying to second-guess lunatics,” I said. “They warn you not to let anything out to the press, then wonder why you haven’t let ’em know you got their second letter!”
Wilson was still looking at the note. “As before, the easy words are misspelled, and the more difficult words are frequently correctly spelled.”