“That, too, is another facet of the quirk. He didn’t have to knock him out — once he escaped from the house he was free to do as he pleased, unobserved. But something in him drove him to conking the shadow first — maybe retribution for spying on him, I’m not sure. The man was out between two and three hours. It was a hefty conking, expertly delivered. There are no serious injuries, but it guaranteed him to be out of circulation for a few hours.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “That I won’t believe.”
The sergeant stubbed out the cigarette and dropped it in an ash tray. “I’m not insisting that you do.”
“You searched the house?”
“Not then; not at three in the morning. I realized he had skipped when the man reported what had happened; there was little sense in rousing you out at that hour just to search an empty room. I went out there the first thing this morning. You had already left—”
Elizabeth Saari chuckled, “Twins. Both boys.”
“Make mine a girl next time. I looked the house over closely and I searched that punk’s room. I still don’t know how he got out. A while ago I mentioned finding his keys on the floor: he didn’t need them any longer for he wasn’t coming back to the office. He has a post-office box, too, but if you forget your keys the man at the general delivery window will hand you your mail, providing he knows you. There were some other things on the floor: his wallet, a pen and pencil, some silver money, and a few papers.”
“But sergeant — that doesn’t make sense.”
“Oh yes it does! He leaves behind everything he won’t really need, in an attempt to plant a false trail. The pile of stuff on the floor was supposed to say to me: ‘Look here, I wouldn’t leave these things here under my own free will. These are the things I always carry in my pockets.’ And it’s phony! Don’t you see why?”
“Frankly, no.” She was frowning again, and becoming alarmed.
“Because in the first place he wouldn’t be allowed to leave his personal possessions in a little pile like that, where they’d be noticed. Might as well write a note telling what was happening. This is assuming someone else abducted him, you understand. And in the second place, he left behind only the things he can do without.
“He didn’t leave those few things he felt he couldn’t do without: a handkerchief and a pocket comb. And those very ordinary but necessary items give his plan away. Consider his wallet: he left that, but he didn’t leave the money that was in it. Phony — see?”
“No, I don’t see, and I’m beginning to think there is something wrong. Sergeant, Chuck didn’t have any money in his wallet. He took me to lunch yesterday and spent his last dollar paying the check. He said there wouldn’t be any more until payday — whenever the insurance company paid him.”
Sergeant Wiedenbeck shrugged. “If he had no money, then there was little sense taking his wallet.”
“But his badge was in it; identification cards...”
“If he’s hiding out, he needs none of them. If he’s working up something out of town, he can get along without them if necessary.”
She slid off the examining table and stamped her foot.
“You refuse to believe there is anything wrong, don’t you?”
“Quirk,” he said by way of reminder.
“Quirk my eye!” She whirled on him. “Did you know his telephone line was tapped? Did you know he received a threatening letter? Did you know—”
He jumped up and grabbed her shoulders roughly.
“Slow down! Repeat that, slowly. Telephone tapped?”
“Yes, it’s tapped. I heard it. I called him on this phone and he took it in his office. We both heard it. Like a click. I recognized it from the movies.”
“And this threatening letter?”
“Someone sent Charles a letter which contained only his phone number. That was all, just his own phone number typed in the middle of the page. Chuck was upset about it.”
Wiedenbeck stood there, hanging onto her shoulders. He was staring past her, staring at the last year’s paint on the office wall. Then he turned to study the telephone.
“That wasn’t a threatening letter,” he said half to himself. “It might have been a warning, or just a friendly tip. Someone was telling him to either stay by his phone for a message, or to beware the phone. If the line is tapped, it was a message to that effect.”
He picked up the doctor’s phone and dialed the number in the detective’s office across the hall. Short seconds after the phone began to ring they both heard the clear and distinct sound of another listener cutting in.
“There it is!” Elizabeth cried, “That’s the sound I heard—”
Quickly the sergeant slapped his hand across the mouthpiece. He was too late. The click came again. He hung up, glowering at her.
“Why can’t you keep your mouth shut?”
“I’m awfully sorry. I didn’t realize—”
“Sometimes women disgust me, and today is one of those times!” Wiedenbeck stalked to the door and yanked it open. “They’ve been warned now; it’s not likely we’ll catch them. Where does the janitor spend his time? I want to get into those offices across the hall.”
“I can let you in. I have the key.”
“You have the key?”
“Yes. One key unlocks every door in that corridor. I have a special lock for this door, but all those outer doors have the same kind of lock.” She handed him a key.
The sergeant unlocked the door to the detective’s office and pushed in, Elizabeth Saari at his heels. She picked up his phone and dialed her own number, but other than the ringing of her phone there was nothing.
The sergeant ignored her. He pulled open each desk drawer in turn.
“There it is,” Elizabeth pointed. “That’s the letter.”
Wiedenbeck studied it.
She pointed out the numerals in the center of the sheet. “That’s the original message. These have been added later. Oh look, he found it! Look at these numbers — they match the original.”
“I see them. And guess which typewriter made them all.”
“H— His?”
“His. He spent some time pecking out all these other things.”
“But you surely don’t believe he mailed the letter to himself?”
“No, not that. Somebody got in here, somebody smart enough to discover the tapped wire, somebody who thought fast and used shortcuts. That’s why the somebody didn’t say ‘your telephone is tapped, be careful.’ That’s the long way around. It’s quicker, easier to type down the number and let it go at that. Whoever the somebody was, he’d understand such a message concerning his own phone and he expected Horne to do likewise.”
“But why mail it to him? Why not leave it propped up on the desk?”
“Supposing the party who tapped his wire wandered in? He might be in the habit of hanging around the office. If he were sufficiently nosy to tap his wire, he wouldn’t hesitate to read a note on his desk.
“But a letter coming in the morning’s mail is different. There are likely to be other letters, and it wouldn’t be noticeable. Too, the nosy party isn’t so likely to be around when the mail arrives, whereas he could come in sometime during the night. It works out right.”
“You make it sound so simple, sergeant. Why couldn’t Chuck see through it?”
“Charles Horne doesn’t think fast until he’s thrown for a loop, then he shines. This letter puzzled him but didn’t scare him. He probably has tumbled to it, by now.” “He must have attempted to do something about it.”