“Your specialty is murders, isn’t it? And the town’s making money – no, don’t say anything. I shan’t. Maybe I’ll pick you up something. You hear a lot in a town like this, in a place like mine. Singers and manicurists, they hear everything.”
“How,” Asey had no fear of telling her anything, even if she guessed the whole business, “how’ll you know what to listen to?”
“I shall probably hear enough about you,” she said, “to last a lifetime. Drop me here, will you? Thanks. I got to see Upjohn. Sorry I can’t ask you if there’s any number you want. Upjohn and Brinley planned everything – and you’ll hear me sparring over ‘Chloe’ with that trumpet, clear in the next town. So long!”
Asey left her at the rear of the band stand, and then went to join Aunt Sara and Jeff.
“Jane is pretty sore,” Sara told him. “She’s not accustomed to being left for blondes – Is she as much fun as she looks, by the way? I thought so. Women like that either have a sense of humor, or they don’t. No two ways about it. Anyway, Jane’s a little dazed, and I’m sure it’s doing her a world of good. Jane is just a little too engrossed in Jane, I think.”
“It’s all her fault for not believing what she’s told,” Asey said. “Where’d she go?”
“She’s dancing with the Mitchell boy. Eloise is helping with refreshments. We get’em free. Ah, the graft us politicians’ wives do get!”
“It’s somethin’ fierce,” Asey said. “Canned fruit punch an’ two fig newtons. What about Jane, Sara?”
“Go easy with her. She’s got a heart of gold, but—”
“But gold is metal,” Asey said. “Soft, but still metal.”
“She has that manner, but it’s indigenous to her particular generation, I think. She’d be first to cry at the sight of a runover dog. And right now she’s scared stiff. Go easy with her, Asey. Don’t rush, and don’t bully. You’ll find out in time what you want. She’s awfully scared, and awfully mixed up, and she wants to lie down and cry. I think there’s something more than Mary that’s bothering her, too, even though she adored Mary. And you’ll find – hullo, Jane. The prodigal’s returned.”
“Thinks he’s going to be welcomed back into the bosom of our select group, does he, after gallivanting—”
“I guess I know,” Asey said sadly, “when I’m not wanted. Yessiree, One-Hint Mayo, that’s what they call me. I’m goin’ over to the Town Hall an’ look around, an’ leave you dance-mad things to your fate. See you later.”
He expected to find Weston over at the hall, and the usual number of bystanders remembered seeing him just a few minutes before, so he waited in the exposition rooms, where the local antique collections, and the flower and vegetable and preserve entries, held sway.
J. Arthur Brinley came up to him. “Good evening, viewing our entries? Er – Mayo.”
“Yup.”
“Weston tells me that Slade has left town for the time being. He,” Brinley nodded knowingly, “says Slade was scared out of town, but Bessie and I know that you managed it. I wanted you to know that we appreciate it, sir, we appreciate it deeply!”
“Don’t thank me.”
“Ah, modest, as everyone says. But you know we know.” Asey wondered what sort of reward that was supposed to be. “And – Mayo.”
“What?”
“Er – some of the ladies, they want to make down their quilts for the night. I didn’t want to be rude to our guests, but on the other hand, it’s a chilly night, and the quilts – you know what I mean. Have you any suggestions?”
“There’s General Philbrick over there,” Asey said. “Tell him to take out his watch, and announce in that voice of his that the exposition will close in five minutes, but will open tomorrow at – well, whenever it does. Then close the door, an’ the ladies can rip down the quilts to their hearts’ content, an’ no feelin’s hurt.”
“Wonderful!” Brinley said. “Thank you! I never thought of – oh, thank you!” Ten minutes later the antique quilts of Billingsgate – pine trees, log cabins, rising suns, birds and baskets, ship’s wheel, rose of Sharon, duck’s foot in the mud – and all the hundred and one other kinds, were on the way to their respective homes to warm the tourists and the old settlers.
Asey grinned and strolled upstairs towards the town offices.
A man coming down brushed by him hurriedly, taking the steps down four at a time.
Asey glanced after him curiously, for the man wore the first dark, city-like clothes he had seen in a long while.
Then, at the selectmen’s offices, Asey stopped short.
The glass-topped door was open, but there was no light in the offices beyond.
He could see the marks where the lock and door had been forced.
Chapter 6
Asey stood there and surveyed the situation.
There was no sense to romping downstairs and trying to pursue the man, for the chances of catching him were something less than slim. If the fellow continued his original pace, he was now beyond pursuit, anyway. And in the confusion outside the hall, with dozens of cars starting and turning and departing, it would be next to impossible to Find anyone. Not without creating a lot more confusion.
Weston appeared at the head of the stairs.
“Brinley said you wanted me – is anything the matter? What’s this?”
“A gent,” Asey informed him, “has been pryin’ into that which don’t concern him. Come on an’ let’s see the damage.”
Weston nearly wept.
“Asey, has someone broken in there? Who? Did you see – let’s go after him!”
“He’s not important, rel’tively speakin’,” Asey said, “but what he may have found or got or done or taken away matters a lot. Come see.”
Nervously, Weston went to work in the office.
“He hasn’t touched Jeffs desk, and he hasn’t touched Brinley’s desk, but he has been at my desk – what are you laughing about now, Asey Mayo? This isn’t—”
“You sounded so much,” Asey said, “like Goldilocks an’ the three bears. Go on, Wes. I’m sorry.”
“He didn’t touch the files. They’re all right. He didn’t touch the safe, thank God, because I’ve got a hundred times as much cash there as usual. As far as I can see, Asey, he only went to my desk, and everything seems to be in the right order except my lower big drawer.”
“What d’you keep there, ledgers?”
“Yes. Mostly I’ve got committee lists and plans for this week – I did keep’em in the safe, but lately I’ve just left them out. Everyone knows’em. They weren’t important, because everything in them has been copied and printed and mimeographed. I – oh,” Weston added lamely, “I did used to keep my ledger of vital statistics there. Just jotted things down, and copied them later. We don’t have more’n a couple of dozen births, or deaths or—”
“Did you or did you not hike that ledger over to the bank and put it in the vault?” Asey demanded.
“I did. I was out front this morning when they opened the bank at eight. Well, I don’t understand this much, do you?”
“Only that someone wanted to peek at that ledger. Certainly they didn’t want Old Home Week plans, with the streets knee deep in’em, so to speak. Well, well. An’ I didn’t even get much of a look at that fellow, either. He had on dark clothes an’ a felt hat, but he didn’t limp, or smell of garlic, or have any outstandin’ features. Huh. You was goin’ to have a guard here at night, wasn’t you, in the hall here?”
Weston shook his head. “You know there’s never been a burglary in this town, unless boys broke into summer houses, or something. Why?”
“It’d seem that you had a would-be burglar here among your guests,” Asey said. “Wes, don’t lose sight of the fact that you’re not just copin’ with natives here. You’ve got a good many out- landers, an’ some of em are goin’ to act outlandish. We’ll have a couple of cops left here.”
“People will want to know why.”
“Tell’em, to look after your anti
ques, an’ exposition, an’ all, an’ for the benefit of anyone desirin’ aid or assistance. Billingsgate’s gesture of safety for its guests. Two cops constantly on call. Make a hit, I shouldn’t wonder.”
“Well,” Weston was dubious, “I suppose so. But how can we explain this door?”
“Blame it on me. My car keys got locked up, an’ I broke in. Now grab the phone an’ get a locksmith an’ have him fix things up. Got one in town, ain’t you? Get him, then. Weston, I don’t know as I ever saw a man jitter the way you can when once you get started! What’s the matter with you?”
“Matter? It’s like sitting on a powder keg! You can’t tell what’ll be the last straw that’ll leave you holding the bag—”
“Weston,” Asey said, “get the locksmith, an’ stop this foolishness! I’m goin’ to the fireworks. It’s most time for’em.”
“There!” Weston said. “There’s the next thing! The fireworks! What’ll happen tonight when they have the big display? Who’ll be shot tonight?”
“No one.”
“How do you know? For all you know, someone might shoot at you!”
“That is exactly why,” Asey said, “I’m goin’ right plumb up to the field an’ stand in the middle of the crowd, teeterin’ on my toes. Sara an’ Jeff, an’ Eloise an’ Jane are goin’ to stay there, an’ I’m goin’ to send a cop to stay with you. In fact, you’re going to have a guard yourself, tonight. Does that help your blues?”
“What use is a guard, if someone’s decided to kill me? Suppose I did keep out of the way of windows, and had a guard with me. If anyone wanted to shoot deer ball at me, all they’ve got to do is figure where I’m sitting, or sleeping, and fire – right through the walls. Suppose someone does take to shooting through walls? Up at Aunt Sara’s, for example?”
“Won’t get far there,” Asey said. “That’s an old house, an’ built on the foundations of an older one still. There’s a solid four-inch thickness of brick between the clapboards an’ the wainscoting. Aunt Sara was tellin’ me today, an’ about how it cost’em a young fortune to have the place wired for electricity. If anyone wants to pop at me under the circumstances, they have my permission. Now, call the locksmith, an’ I’ll send up a trooper. Don’t worry, you’ll be taken care of.”
“But who was this man here?” Weston said. “What did he break in for?”
“This is a new one,” Asey told him. “This isn’t the first one.”
“Someone else?” Weston said. “Oh, my God! What makes you think so?”
“The first fellow stole your keys, didn’t he? Or the duplicates, or skeletons? Well, why should he stoop to lock breaking? This is two other fellows. Weston, cheer up, will you? I – oh, goodbye. I’ll see you later.”
General Philbrick, who managed to look as though he had on a full dress uniform even when he wore a white flannel suit, was waiting with Jeff and Sara for the fireworks to begin.
“And I hope,” he said to Asey after greeting him effusively, “that you’ll find time to say a few words to our radio audience before the week is out. We want you. I know you’ll be glad to hear the preliminary reports on our program have been most favorable, and the evening papers gave us fine publicity. Splendid. Now, you have a large following, and people are interested in you and your work, and Mr. Tripp wants to—”
“That’s real nice of you an’ Mr. Tripp,” Asey said. “You – er – think this is going to help your business?”
“No question about it, no question about it at all. The American people have unfortunately outgrown the habit of – perhaps I should say, grown out of the habit – of using fireworks of the ornamental type at their—”
“Oh, but the fire,” Eloise Randall interrupted. “I mean, I do think they’re pretty, and so colorful – but so dangerous, don’t you think? I remember torpedoes – of course you can hardly see the scar on my finger now, but that was a long time ago. Then Cousin Dorothy’s boy – when he was younger, of course. He’s an engineer now, and really doing quite well in spite of the depression – so hard for young people, don’t you think? Like Jane, and – well, Gerald would have firecrackers – of course we tried to dissuade him, but he was a very firm-willed boy, always. I always said, Cousin Dorothy’s family are so strong-willed about everything, I don’t mind their sleeping outdoors in bags but I do feel it’s an imposition for their guests – of course Gerald’s eyesight finally did come back—”
“My dear woman,” the General said, “modern scientific methods in the manufacture of—”
Asey slipped away to Sara’s side.
“Let’s beat it,” he said, “to the edge of this mob. I’d like to hear that conv’sation, but I’m tired. When Eloise gets goin’, she goes, don’t she? Seems like she hung onto your words for the one purpose of b’ginnin’ to talk just a split second before she thinks you’re windin’ up. Lane has had an awful time with her. He says she’s coy.”
Aunt Sara grinned. “Odd, but Jeff and Zeb have noticed that coyness, too. She set her cap for Weston, did he tell you? For a while last winter, the town was pretty much resigned to losing its bachelor selectman. Oh, dear, there goes the noise! It’s beautiful to watch, but I do hate to listen!”
Near the parked cars on the side of the field, they waited and watched the General’s display.
“What about fire hazard?” Asey asked.
“Oh, everything’s been chemically treated within a radius of ten miles, or something,” Sara told him during a lull. “By the way, you should have heard our evening broadcast. We were quite good. Upjohn’s band outdid themselves, and your friend the soprano was fine. I think she cares more for ‘Chloe’ than she does for ‘Billingsgate Beautiful.’ And we had an impromptu amateur contest. At least they claimed it was impromptu, but I am sure it was pre-arranged. And there was a girl, a reporter, who did imitations. She was simply marvelous. Awfully interesting-looking girl. Red hair and freckly. She came over later and we met her. I liked her a lot. You will, too. Er – I—”
“Go on,” Asey said. “Get to the point, Sara. And what happened next?”
“How did you know it happened next? What is this, thought transference?”
“It’s the sensitive Mayo mind,” Asey said. “Just a vast receivin’ set – Sara, I know by the way you’re going at this that you done somethin’ you shouldn’t. What’s the story? What did you say that you shouldn’t?”
“Well,” Sara said, “she told me that the only accommodations she could find were in Provincetown, and so—”
“Sara Leach, did you offer to put her up? Did you? Did you get soft an’ fall for – Sara, how could you?”
“She’s a nice girl.”
“Sara, she’ll be into everything! And, honest, Sara, I could spank you! You should know better – lettin’ a reporter – a reporter! Oh, God A’mighty! Here I worry what Weston’ll tell in his jitters, an’ that blurty Eloise, an’ all the troopers an’ everythin’ else, an’ you – the one person I never wasted a second of worry on, you go an’ invite reporters in!”
“But she isn’t the tabloid type, she’s Sara began defensively.
“Listen, news is news! You give any reporter a scoop an’ he forgets if he’s workin’ for the ‘Daily Pulp,’ or the ‘Brotherhood of Coiled Bed Spring Makers Weekly Gazette and Herald’! He just scoops. An’ furthermore,” Asey was angry, “you’ll leave the key of your room outside, because Jeffs goin’ to lock you in an’ hide the key. Do you understand that?”
Aunt Sara’s face became as white as her hair, and she bit her lip until Asey was afraid that it would bleed.
“Oh, Asey, did I – have I been—”
“You did. Sara, I’m sorry to be so impatient an’ abrupt, an’ I don’t mean to bully, but you have gone an’ done the silliest thing you could do! What’s her name? Can’t I find her another place, an’ head her off? Ain’t there some way out?”
“She charmed Jeff, too,” Sara said. “I don’t see what we can do, she’s already had someone take her lugga
ge – Asey, what did I do? When was – of course it must have been last night. Oh, dear, dear, what shall I do if I’m beginning that again!”
She was more distraught than Asey had ever imagined she could be, and she seemed suddenly to become rather a frail little old lady instead of the erect, brisk person he had always known.
“I’m sorry,” Asey said again. “But you took to walkin’ out by the swamp, an’ our shotgun friend was in the vicinity, pretendin’ to be a loon. When I found it was you, I near went crazy to think of what might have happened to you. Does it – do you – or don’t you want to talk about it?”
“I don’t, but I’ve got to. Let’s leave this din—”
Asey helped her into his car.
“I’ve done it since I was a child,” Sara said. “No one’s been able to do anything about it. It drove mother frantic, and she made me so ashamed of it that it rather preyed on me when I was older. Father took me to doctors, and they figured out that it happened only when I was upset and worried about something, and usually when I was trying to keep a secret. The older I’ve grown, the fewer secrets I’ve had, and well – I thought it was all over. This affair must have started me going again. Asey, what shall we do?”
“Do locks stop you, or do you shinny out of windows?”
“Locks will do it, and I’ll have to tell Jeff. I’ll tell him the whole story, I think he suspects most of it. He knows about me, of course. He thinks it’s funny. He claims he had to tie me, shortly after we were married, and father’d told me about some railroad bill in the Senate that was a tremendous secret. I’ve always kept it hidden – you can see why Billingsgate would love a bit of news like that. The maids know, but mercifully they like me too much to talk. Oh, dear! What can we do about this girl? Her name is Kay Thayer. She’s a good sort, really, but – oh, damn this Old Home Week! Damn it!”
“Why Sara Leach, how you talk!”
“I mean it, I’ve wanted to say it for months. Asey, if we try to shunt the girl, she’ll get suspicious. And on the other hand, how can she help knowing, right there in the house? We’ll have to cope with it somehow. Have you any ideas?”
Figure Away Page 7
