CHAPTER XVIIIA Confession
NANCY DREW'S face wore such a disappointed look that Mr. Dodd, the realtor, said kindly, "Don't take it so hard, miss. I don't think you'd be particularly interested in Riverview Manor. It's really not in very good condition. Besides, you'd need a pile of money to fix that place up."
Without commenting on his statement, Nancy asked, "Couldn't you possibly arrange for me to see the inside of the mansion?"
Mr. Dodd shook his head. "I'm afraid Mr. Comber wouldn't like that."
Nancy was reluctant to give up. Why, her father might even be a prisoner in that very house! "Of course I can report my suspicion to the police," the young sleuth thought.
She decided to wait until morning. Then, if there was still no news of Mr. Drew, she would pass along the word to Captain Rossland.
Mr. Dodd's telephone rang. As he answered it, Nancy and Helen started to leave his office. But he immediately waved them back.
"The call is from Chief Rossland, Miss Drew," he said. "He phoned Twin Elms and learned you were here. He wants to see you at once."
"Thank you," said Nancy, and the girls left.
They hurried to police headquarters, wondering why the officer wanted to speak to Nancy.
"Oh, if only it's news of Dad," she exclaimed fervently. "But why didn't he get in touch with me himself?"
"I don't want to be a killjoy," Helen spoke up. "But maybe it's not about your father at all. Perhaps they've caught Nathan Comber."
Nancy parked in front of headquarters and the two girls hurried inside the building. Captain Rossland was expecting them and they were immediately ushered into his office. Nancy introduced Helen Corning.
"I won't keep you in suspense," the officer said, watching Nancy's eager face. "We have arrested Samuel Greenman!"
"The crinkly-eared man?" Helen asked.
"That's right," Captain Rossland replied. "Thanks to your tip about the used car, Miss Drew, our men had no trouble at all locating him."
The officer went on to say, however, that the prisoner refused to confess that he had had anything to do with Mr. Drew's disappearance.
"Furthermore, Harry the taxi driver—we have him here—insists that he cannot positively identify Greenman as one of the passengers in his cab. We believe Harry is scared that Greenman's pals will beat him up or attack members of his family."
"Harry did tell me," Nancy put in, "that his passenger had threatened harm to his family unless he forgot all about what he had seen."
"That proves our theory," Captain Rossland stated with conviction. "Miss Drew, we think you can help the police."
"I'll be glad to. How?"
Captain Rossland smiled. "You may not know it, but you're a very persuasive young lady. 1 believe that you might be able to get information out of both Harry and Greenman, where we have failed."
After a moment's thought, Nancy replied modestly, "I'll be happy to try, but on one condition." She grinned at the officer. "I must talk to these men alone."
"Request granted." Captain Rossland smiled. He added that he and Helen would wait outside and he would have Harry brought in.
"Good luck," said Helen as she and the captain left the room.
A few moments later Harry walked in alone. "Oh hello, miss," he said to Nancy, barely raising his eyes from the floor.
"Won't you sit down, Harry," Nancy asked, indicating a chair alongside hers. "It was nice of the captain to let me talk to you."
Harry seated himself, but said nothing. He twisted his driver's tap nervously in his hands and kept his gaze downward.
"Harry," Nancy began, "I guess your children would feel terrible if you were kidnapped."
"It would cut 'em to pieces," the cabman stated emphatically.
"Then you know how I feel," Nancy went on. "Not a word from my father for two whole days. If your children knew somebody who'd seen the person who kidnapped you, wouldn't they feel bad if the man wouldn't talk?"
Harry at last raised his eyes and looked straight at Nancy. "I get you, miss. When somethin' comes home to you, it makes all the difference in the world. You win! I can identify that scoundrel Greenman, and I will. Call the captain in."
Nancy did not wait a second. She opened the door and summoned the officer,
"Harry has something to tell you," Nancy said to Captain Rossland.
"Yeah," said Harry, "I'm not goin' to hold out any longer, I admit Greenman had me scared, but he's the guy who rode in my cab, then ordered me to keep my mouth shut after that other passenger blacked out."
Captain Rossland looked astounded. It was evident he could hardly believe that Nancy in only a few minutes had persuaded the man to talk!
"And now," Nancy asked, "may I talk to your prisoner?"
"I'll have you taken to his cell," the captain responded, and rang for a guard.
Nancy was led down a corridor, past a row of cells until they came to one where the man with the crinkled ear sat on a cot.
"Greenman," said the guard, "step up here. This is Miss Nancy Drew, daughter of the kidnapped man. She wants to talk to you."
The prisoner shuffled forward, but mumbled, "I ain't goin' to answer no questions."
Nancy waited until the guard had moved off, then she smiled at the prisoner. "We all make mistakes at times," she said. "We're often misled by people who urge us to do things we shouldn't. Maybe you're afraid you'll receive the death sentence for helping to kidnap my father. But if you didn't realize the seriousness of the whole thing, the complaint against you may turn out just to be conspiracy."
To Nancy's astonishment, Greenman suddenly burst out, "You've got me exactly right, miss. I had almost nothing to do with takin' your father away. The guy I was with—he's the old-timer. He's got a long prison record. I haven't. Honest, miss, this is my first offense.
"I'll tell you the whole story. I met this guy only Monday night. He sure sold me a bill of goods. But all I did was see that your pop didn't run away. The old-timer's the one that drugged him."
"Where is my father now?" Nancy interrupted.
"I don't know. Honest I don't," Greenman insisted. "Part of the plan was for somebody to follow the taxi. After a while Mr. Drew was to be given a whiff of somethin'. It didn't have no smell. That's why our taxi driver didn't catch on. And it didn't knock the rest of us out, 'cause you have to put the stuff right under a fellow's nose to make it work."
"And the person who was following in a car and took my father away, who is he?"
"I don't know," the prisoner answered, and Nancy felt that he was telling the truth.
"Did you get any money for doing this?" Nancy asked him.
"A little. Not as much as it was worth, especially if I have to go to prison. The guy who paid us for our work was the one in the car who took your father away."
"Will you describe him?" Nancy requested.
"Sure. Hope the police catch him soon. He's in his early fifties—short and heavy-set, pale, and has kind of watery blue eyes."
Nancy asked the prisoner if he would dictate the same confession for the police and the man nodded. "And I'm awful sorry I caused all this worry, miss. I hope you find your father soon and I wish I could help you more. I guess I am a coward. I'm too scared to tell the name of the guy who talked me into this whole thing. He's really a bad actor—no tellin’ what'd happen to me if I gave his name."
The young sleuth felt that she had obtained all the information she possibly could from the man. She went back to Captain Rossland, who for the second time was amazed by the girl's success. He called a stenographer. Then he said good-by to Nancy and Helen and went off toward Greenman's cell.