Odor of Violets by Baynard Kendrick (books for 6 year olds to read themselves .TXT) 📕

rounder than before. “My superiors have accused me of childish naïveté. I’ve—”

“Undoubtedly,” Maclain broke in, “that’s why they put you where you are. What were you about to say?”

“Paul Gerente’s dead, but the country is very much alive. Someone must take up his work, Captain Maclain. I want you to go to Hartford today—right now. I’ve made arrangements for you to stay at The Crags—the Tredwill home. People who don’t know you are more than apt to underrate you, if you don’t mind my saying so. That’s beyond price in what I want you to do.”

“Yes,” said Maclain.

“I want to find out who’s getting information about the International Aircraft, and Tredwill’s plans—and how. That means painstakingly accumulating everything possible about the Tredwill family, and everyone in the vicinity. Mr. Carter, president of International, lives close by. He’ll co-operate with you.” The Colonel was still long enough to put his pipe away. “I want to know if, before he was killed, Paul Gerente saw the Tredwill girl. I—”

“Just a minute, Colonel Gray. Tell me this: What am I supposed to be doing in Thaddeus Tredwill’s home?”

“You’ve been retained by Thaddeus Tredwill to solve the disappearance of his only daughter,” the Colonel stated briefly. “Barbara vanished from the Ritter’s apartment last night and took all her clothes with her.”

“I’ll go,” said Duncan Maclain, “but my dogs must go with me.”

“Arrangements have been made for them, too.” The Colonel stood up.

Spud helped the Colonel into his overcoat, and asked, “How much does Thaddeus Tredwill know?”

“He’s expecting Captain Maclain,” said Colonel Gray. “I talked to him this morning as well as his son. I wanted to question his daughter privately. He got in touch with his younger son, Stacy, and learned that Barbara was gone. He called me back. It was then I arranged for Captain Maclain.”

“You still haven’t said what he knows about Gerente,” the Captain reminded him.

“Not much, I hope,” said Colonel Gray. “He knows that Gerente was friendly with Barbara—but he doesn’t know the real reason why. He knows from his son that Barbara had a date last night with—” The Colonel broke off abruptly and stood holding his hat in his hand.

“Yes,” said Maclain, “that’s quite a possibility. Other fathers have done it before.”

“What’s a possibility?” the Colonel demanded a shade impatiently.

“What you were thinking,” Maclain told him unruffled. “That Thaddeus Tredwill killed Gerente for fooling around with his daughter.”

“Damn it, sir,” said Colonel Gray, “I’ll thank you to quit reading my mind.” He started toward the door and turned back to Maclain. “It’s only fair to warn you, Captain. I’ll give you all the protection I can—but that may not be enough. The last war blinded you. The one going on now may end your career. The disappearance of that Tredwill girl wasn’t on the cards at all!”

CHAPTER XI

INSPECTOR LARRY DAVIS adjusted a window shade so that the slanting rays of the morning sun would keep out of his eyes. Under cover of the operation he winked at Sergeant Archer.

The Sergeant received the wink impassively and began to drum his heavy fingers on the wooden arm of his chair.

For a time the Inspector’s office at Police Headquarters was silent.

Spud Savage broke the quiet with the scratch of a match. “They’ve now reached the stage of signaling each other with their eyelids, Dunc,” he remarked to Captain Maclain beside him.

Maclain’s lips crinkled at the corners. “I heard it click. Davis always makes a noise when he winks.”

“It’s an affliction,” announced Davis. “A tic.” He tried to look pleased with himself and succeeded in donning a Machiavellian expression. “It’s brought on by worry at the thought of you going away.”

“Not bad.” The Captain looked like a school-teacher pleased with a boy. “Although the spelling is dissimilar—and the French pronunciation is tēk. Usually—”

“Quit spoiling his fun, Captain,” Archer put in. “Who ever heard of an Irishman speaking French? We’re all upset because you have to rush off today.”

“I have plenty of time,” said Maclain. “At least enough to wait until I can talk with the Lestrade girl.”

“Okay,” said Davis. “It can’t do anything more than waste time—and you’re worse than a cockle-bur. She won’t admit anything, but talk to her—talk to her all day. We have proof she was there.”

“In Gerente’s apartment?” asked Spud.

Davis nodded and said for the Captain’s benefit, “Certainly. Where else do you think she was?”

“That’s your little police wagon,” Spud declared innocently. “I wouldn’t know.”

The Inspector pushed a button. “Bring up the Lestrade girl,” he ordered the man who looked in the door.

The man saluted and disappeared quietly.

“It was time you gave him a promotion.” Maclain shifted uncomfortably on the hardness of his chair. “Shaugnessy’s always been a good man.”

The Inspector picked up a sheaf of papers from his desk and irritably thrust them into a drawer. “There are thousands upon thousands of cops in this city,” he declared, shaking his head. “Do you spend your spare moments having a list of promotions transcribed into Braille just to annoy me?”

“Yes,” said Sergeant Archer ponderously. “I’ll bite, too. I hate guessing games. How did you know Shaugnessy was promoted? How did you know that was him just now at the door? He’s been out of the building for an hour or more.”

“I’m sorry, Sergeant. I didn’t realize that my unfortunate habit of thinking out loud might upset you.”

“You and F. D. R.,” said Davis. “Both of you think out loud when it’s something you want the public to know.”

The Captain saluted him gravely, military fashion. “At least you’ve compared me with a remarkably able man, Inspector. There’s nothing mysterious about Shaugnessy, I assure you. You saw him and I heard him, that’s all.”

“I thought maybe you smelled him,” Archer suggested. “You kept us long enough last night while you were chasing down a smell of perfume.”

“Which I’ll thank you not to mention,” Maclain retorted in a tone both officers knew.

“You mean that, Captain Maclain?” Davis’s heavy eyebrows were set in a straight line.

“Yes, I most certainly