The Penny Parker Megapack: 15 Complete Novels (44 page)

“I doubt if there’s a story connected with it. The Japanese make any number of curious articles of silk, you know.”

“But a ladder, Jerry! What purpose could it serve?”

“For one thing it would be more convenient to carry than the ordinary type.”

“One couldn’t stand it against a wall or use it in the ordinary way, Jerry. I asked the Japanese about it but he refused to answer.”

“He may not have understood you.”

“Oh, he understood, all right. Do you know what I think? He was afraid I might discover something which would involve him with the police!”

“Better forget the Kano Curio Shop,” Jerry said tolerantly. “I repeat, Dorr Street is no place for you.”

“And I’m supposed to forget the Celestial Temple, too,” grumbled Penny. “Oh, I see you grinned behind your hand! Well, Mr. Livingston, let me tell you—”

She paused, and Jerry’s hand tightened on her own. Unmistakably, both had heard a muffled scream. The cry seemed to have come from one of several large brick and stone buildings only a short distance ahead.

“What was that?” Penny asked in a low tone. “Someone calling for help?”

“It sure sounded like it!” exclaimed Jerry. “Come on, Penny! Let’s find out what’s going on here!”

CHAPTER 6

AN APARTMENT BURGLARY

Together Penny and Jerry ran down the street, their eyes raised to the unevenly lighted windows of the separate apartment houses. They were uncertain as to the building from which the cry had come.

Suddenly the front door of the corner dwelling swung open, and a young woman in a maid’s uniform ran toward them.

Jerry, ever alert for a story of interest to the
Star
, neatly blocked the sidewalk. Of necessity the girl halted.

“Get a policeman, quick!” she gasped. “Mr. Kohl’s apartment has been robbed!”

“Mr. Kohl—the banker?” demanded Penny, scarcely believing her ears.

“Yes, yes,” the maid said in agitation. “Jewels, silverware, everything has been taken! The telephone wire was cut, too! Oh, tell me where I’ll find a policeman!”

“I’ll get one for you,” offered Jerry.

The information that it was Mr. Kohl’s house which had been burglarized dumbfounded Penny. As the reporter darted away to summon help, she showered questions upon the distraught maid.

“I don’t know yet how much has been taken,” the girl told her excitedly. “The rooms look as if a cyclone had swept through them! Oh, what will the Kohls say when they learn about it?”

“Mr. and Mrs. Kohl aren’t home yet?”

“No, they went to the theatre. They must have stopped at a restaurant afterwards. When they hear of this, I’ll lose my job.”

“Perhaps not,” said Penny kindly. “Surely you weren’t to blame for the burglary.”

“They’ll think so,” the maid responded gloomily.

“I am acquainted with Mr. and Mrs. Kohl. Perhaps, if I speak a good word for you it may help.”

“I doubt it,” the girl responded. “I was supposed to have stayed at the apartment the entire evening.”

“And you didn’t?”

“No, I went to a picture show.”

“That does throw a different light on the matter,” commented Penny.

“I didn’t think it would make any difference. I intended to get here ahead of the Kohls.”

“The robbery occurred while you were away?”

“Yes. As soon as I opened the door I knew what had happened! Oh, I’ll lose my job all right unless I can think up a good story.”

“I wouldn’t lie if I were you,” advised Penny. “The police are certain to break down your story. In any case, you owe it to yourself and your employers to tell the truth.”

A misty rain had started to fall. The maid, who was without a wrap, shivered, yet made no move to re-enter the building. Overhead, all along the dark expanse of apartment wall, lights were being turned on.

“I am afraid your scream aroused nearly everyone in the building,” said Penny. “If I were in your place I would return to the Kohl apartment and not answer many questions until the police arrive.”

“Will you stay with me?”

“Gladly.”

The apartment door had slammed shut and locked with the night latch. Fortunately the maid had a key with her so it was not necessary to ring for the janitor. Ignoring the persons who had gathered in the hall, they took an automatic lift to the third floor, letting themselves into the Kohl suite.

“This is the way I found it,” said the maid.

She switched on a light, revealing a living room entirely bare of rugs. Where three small Oriental rugs had been placed, only rectangular rims of dirt remained to mark their outlines.

Beyond, in the dining room with its massive carved furniture, the contents of a buffet had been emptied on the floor. Several pieces of china lay in fragments. A corner cupboard had been stripped, save for a vase and an ebony elephant with a broken tusk.

“The wall cabinet was filled with rare antiques,” disclosed the maid. “Mrs. Kohl has collected Early American silver for many years. Some of the pieces she considered priceless.”

The bedrooms were in less disorder. However, bureau drawers had been overturned, and jewel cases looted of everything save the most trivial articles.

“Mrs. Kohl’s pearls are gone, and her diamond bracelet,” the maid informed, picking up the empty jewel box. “I am pretty sure she didn’t wear them to the theatre.”

“I wouldn’t touch anything if I were you,” advised Penny. “Fingerprints.”

The maid dropped the case. “Oh!” she gasped. “I never thought of that! Do you think the police will blame me for the robbery?”

“Not if you tell them the truth. It surely will be unwise to try to hide anything.”

“I won’t hold anything back,” the maid promised. “It happened just like I said. After Mr. and Mrs. Kohl left I went to a picture show.”

“Alone?”

“With my girl friend. After the show we had a soda together, and then she went home.”

“What time did you get here?”

“Only a minute or two before I called for help. I tried the telephone first.”

“Why didn’t you summon the janitor?”

“I never thought of that. I was so excited I ran outside hoping to find a policeman.”

Penny nodded and, returning to the living room, satisfied herself that the telephone wires actually had been cut.

“You didn’t notice anyone in the halls as you went downstairs.”

“No one. Old Mr. Veely was on the lower floor when I came from the show, but he’s lived here for seven years. I don’t see how the burglar got into the apartment.”

“I was wondering about that myself. You’re quite sure you locked the suite door?”

“Oh, yes, I know I did,” the maid said emphatically. “And it isn’t possible to get into the building without a key. Otherwise, the janitor must be called.”

Penny walked thoughtfully to the living room window. The apartment stood fully thirty-five feet from a neighboring building, with the space between much too wide to be spanned. Below, the alley was deserted, and no fire escape ascended from it.

“The burglar couldn’t have entered that way,” declared the maid. “He must have had his own key.”

Before Penny could respond, a sharp knock sounded on the door. The servant girl turned to open it. However, instead of the anticipated police, the apartment janitor, George Bailey, peered into the disordered room.

“I heard someone scream a minute or so ago,” he said. “Some of the tenants thought it came from this apartment. Maybe they were mistaken.”

“There’s no mistake,” spoke Penny from across the room. “The Kohls have been robbed. Will you please come inside and close the door?”

“Robbed! You don’t say!” The janitor stared with alarmed interest. “When did it happen?”

Penny allowed the maid to tell what had occurred, adding no information of her own. When there came a lull in the excited flow of words, she said quietly:

“Mr. Bailey, do you mind answering a few questions?”

“Why should I?” the janitor countered. “I’ll tell you right now I know nothing about this. I’ve attended strictly to my duties. It’s not my lookout if tenants leave their suite doors unlocked.”

“No one is blaming you,” Penny assured him. “I merely thought you might contribute to a solution of the burglary.”

“I don’t know a thing about it.”

“You didn’t let anyone into the apartment building tonight?”

“Not a soul. I locked the service door at six o’clock, too. Now let me ask this: Who are you, and how did you get in here?”

“That’s fair enough,” smiled Penny. She told her name, explained that she was an acquaintance of the Kohls, and had been summoned by the maid.

“Please don’t think that I am trying to play detective,” she added. “I ask these questions in the hope of gaining information for my father’s paper, the
Star
.”

“Well, it looks to me as if it was an inside job,” the janitor replied, mollified. “Come to think of it though, I’ve seen a suspicious-acting fellow hanging around the building.”

“You mean tonight?”

“No, several days ago. He stayed on the other side of the street and kept watching the doorway.”

“What did he look like, Mr. Bailey?”

“Oh, I don’t remember. He was just an average young man in a gray overcoat and hat.”

“Gray?” repeated Penny alertly.

“It may have been light blue. I didn’t pay much attention. At the time I sized up the fellow as a detective.”

Penny had no opportunity to ask additional questions for just then voices were heard in the hallway. As she opened the door, Jerry Livingston, followed by a policeman, came toward her.

“Learn anything?” the reporter asked softly in her ear.

“A little,” answered Penny. “Let’s see how much the officer turns up before I go into my song and dance.”

Making a routine inspection of the rooms, the police questioned both the maid and the janitor. From an elderly lady who occupied the adjoining suite he gleaned information that the Kohls’ telephone had rung steadily for fifteen minutes during the early evening hours.

“What time was that?” interposed Penny.

The policeman gazed at her with sharp disapproval. “Please,” he requested with exaggerated politeness.

“Sorry,” apologized Penny, fading into the background.

“It rang about eight o’clock,” the old lady revealed.

“The information is not significant,” said the officer, glancing again at Penny.

She started to speak, then bit her lip, remaining silent.

“Well, sister, what’s on your mind?” he demanded abruptly.

“Excuse me, officer, but I think the information does have importance. Couldn’t it mean that the crooks, whoever they were, telephoned the apartment to make certain it was deserted before breaking in?”

“Possibly,” conceded the policeman. His frown discouraged her. “Any other theories?”

“No,” said Penny shortly.

The policeman began to herd the tenants into the hall. For a moment he paid no attention to Penny and Jerry, who with the maid were permitted to remain.

“Never try to show up a policeman, even if he is a stuffed shirt,” remarked the reporter softly. “It gets you nowhere.”

The door closed and the officer faced the pair.

“Now young lady,” he said, quite pleasantly. “What do you know about this burglary? I’ll be very glad to listen.”

“I don’t really know a thing,” admitted Penny. “But here’s a little clue which you may be able to interpret. I can’t.”

Leading the policeman to the window, she started to raise the sash. The officer stopped her, performing the act himself, his hand protected by a handkerchief.

“There is your clue,” said Penny.

She indicated two freshly made gashes on the window ledge. Separated by possibly a foot of space, they clearly had been made by a hook or sharp instrument which had dug deeply into the wood.

CHAPTER 7

MARK OF THE IRON HOOK

“What do you think of it?” Penny asked as the officer studied the marks in silence.

“I’d say they were made by something which hooked over the ledge,” the policeman replied. “Possibly a ladder with curving irons.”

Jerry gazed down over the window ledge into the dark alley.

“No ordinary ladder could reach this high,” he commented. “Raising an extension would be quite a problem, too.”

The Kohl maid timidly approached the window, gazing at the two deep gashes with interest. Asked by the policeman if she ever had noticed them before, she shook her head.

“Oh, no, sir. They must have been made tonight. I know they weren’t there this afternoon when I dusted the window sills.”

“Incredible as it seems, the thief came through this window,” decided the policeman. “How he did it is for the detectives at Central Station to figure out.”