“How,” asked Sidney Zoom, “did you escape?”
“The car got a puncture,” she said. “They had to get tools from out of the back seat. They kept me guarded, but the car slid backwards on the grade, off the jack. It pinned one of the men by the foot. The others forgot about me for a moment and rushed to his help. I sneaked away, quietly at first, then running as fast as I could.
“That’s why they didn’t follow in a car. Their own car is disabled. They had to run. Thank goodness you were there!”
Sidney Zoom bowed.
“Perhaps it was chance,” he said, and his tone indicated that he might have other thoughts. But he kept those thoughts to himself. “If you’ll give me your address, the address of your shop, and tell me the names of those men, I’ll take great pleasure in seeing that no further demands are made upon you, and that you’re not taken for any more rides.”
She shook her head.
“No. They’re dangerous. I can’t let you do that. My name is Muriel Drake, and I live at the Continental Hotel. I have a millinery shop, but I won’t tell you the name. You’d just run into danger, and you’ve done enough for me already. I certainly hope they didn’t get your license number, or they’d make trouble. They’re dangerous men.”
Sidney Zoom swung the wheel.
“You wish to go to the Continental now?”
“Yes. Please.”
“You’ll communicate with the police?”
“Yes.”
“And you won’t tell me who the men are, nor where you have your shop?”
“No.”
Sidney Zoom smiled.
“Very well,” he said. “Naturally, I won’t press the matter. However, I shall take certain steps looking toward your protection.”
“No, no, don’t do that! I’ll telephone the police!”
Zoom bowed, wordlessly.
The electric sign of the Continental Hotel flashed on and off in red brilliance, a few blocks down the street.
Sidney Zoom stepped on the throttle.
“Call the police at once. They may try to follow you.”
“Oh, no,” she said. “They don’t know about the Continental.”
Zoom piloted the car to the curb, alighted, opened the rear door. The young woman gave him her hand, her eyes and a smile.
“It was good of you.”
“Don’t mention it,” said Sidney Zoom.
“Come and see me. Drop in tomorrow afternoon.”
“Thank you,” said Sidney Zoom, and bowed.
She swept into the hotel. Sidney Zoom could see her through the plate glass windows of the lobby. She walked directly to the desk, engaged the night clerk in conversation, smiled sweetly at him, and walked toward the elevators.
Sidney Zoom parked his car, opened the door, nodded to his police dog.
“Out, Rip, and stay by my side.”
Then he rounded the corner, found a shaded doorway where the night shadows clung, and sat down to wait.
He waited ten minutes. Then a figure emerged cautiously, scanned the street, looking up and down it with furtive caution. Reassured at what she saw, the figure of the girl who had given her name as Muriel Drake started walking swiftly along the cement sidewalk.
Sidney Zoom spoke to the dog, held him by the hair on the neck, talking to him.
Not until the figure had been gone for a good ten minutes did Sidney Zoom loose the dog.
If she had taken a cab, Zoom knew the pursuit would be useless. But she had seemed so certain of herself and of the Continental Hotel, that Zoom felt her real residence might be close by.
He turned the dog free.
“Find,” he said, “then come back here.”
The dog barked once, a short, swift bark of excitement, and then started running along the sidewalk, snuffing, nose held dose to the cold cement, tail wagging in a slow circle as he rounded the comer of the block and vanished in the cool night shadows.
Chapter II
Surrounded
Zoom walked back to the car, climbed into the front seat, lit a cigarette, turned to survey the back of the car.
Something that glittered on the floor of the car caught his eye. It was a red glitter, much like the reflection of a frozen drop of pigeon’s blood.
Zoom switched on the dome light, leaned over the back of the front seat, and picked up the object.
Sidney Zoom knew something about stones. That was a very fine ruby. The depth of color, the fire, the flawless perfection of the stone told of its value.
Zoom held it cupped in his hand, examined it closely. Then he crawled into the back of the sedan and began a systematic search.
He found where the rich robe had been folded over and jammed so as to form a pocket of cloth. It had been hastily done. Zoom straightened the cloth.
Instantly a showering cascade of glittering light shot into view, rained to the floor of the sedan, sparkled in brilliant reflections.
Zoom started picking them up.
They were unset stones of rare brilliance, and they included rubies, diamonds, emeralds.
Zoom pocketed them, switched out the light in the dome of the car. He heard running feet, a short, excited bark. The police dog, Rip, had returned, was wagging his tail; his mouth, the lips twisted back in a canine smile, telling of the success of his mission. For the dog had been well trained in police work, and knew the art of trailing, as well as the reason for it. When his quarry took to rubber-tired transportation and eluded the keen nose of the dog, Rip felt the disgrace of failure as keenly as though it had been caused by some lack of skill on his part.
Sidney Zoom left the car, locked the ignition and transmission, accompanied the dog.
The dog paced at the side of his master, tail held erect, waving slightly at the tip, tongue lolling out, panting slightly from his run.
Together they went through the deserted streets of the city, the dog’s feet padding along, rattling claws making more noise than the sound of his cushioned feet.
Sidney Zoom made no effort to muffle the noise of his steps. He strode forward with a vigorous, purposeful gait. It was as though he were going into a battle and was eager to taste the first thrill of conflict.
The dog took the lead from time to time, then, as his master kept on the trail, dropped back to his side. That trail led to an apartment house, some seven blocks from where Zoom had left the car. The apartment house was simple, unpretentious. The name was scrolled in gilt on the glass of the door.
“Bratten Arms Apartments.”
Sidney Zoom tried the door. It was locked. The lobby was dark.
Zoom pursed his lips, looked at the directory. There was no person listed under the name of Drake; nor did the first name of any of the tenants seem to be Muriel.
Sidney Zoom walked across the street, paused in the shadows, looking up at the front of the building, seeking to ascertain if there was a light in any of the front apartments.
While he stared, the front door of the apartment opened. A man emerged. He had on a gray-checked overcoat, a gray, wide-brimmed hat, carried a stick, wore gray gloves, and pounded the steps leading down to the sidewalk with feet that seemed to be very much in a hurry to get somewhere.
Zoom started to call to this man, then thought better of it.
He walked back across the street, tried the door once more, found that it was still locked. There had been, in his mind, the possibility that perhaps the catch hadn’t clicked as the door had swung slowly shut after the exit of the man in the gray overcoat.
Zoom muttered a word to the dog, turned, walked swiftly back toward the place where he had left his car. The man in the gray overcoat, hearing those steps, suddenly whirled, stared at Sidney Zoom.
Zoom caught a glimpse of the face. It was white, drawn. The cheeks were high and bony. The skin was drawn tightly over the forehead. There was a little, close-clipped mustache, and the eyes were dark, bright as with a fever.
For a long moment the light of the street corner shone on the feat
ures. Then the gloved hand jerked the wide brim of the hat down. The right hand dropped into the side pocket of the overcoat.
Sidney Zoom walked past, apparently giving no heed to the man who waited, watchful, poised.
Zoom turned to the right. The man in gray turned to the left, abruptly.
Zoom returned to his car. He made no effort to follow the man who had emerged from the apartment house. Zoom had absolutely nothing to connect him with the girl. Nor did he have any reason to regard the man with suspicion. It is not unusual for the belated wayfarer to scrutinize carefully those who come purposefully from behind. And this is particularly true of those who materialize suddenly from streets that are apparently deserted.
Zoom walked back to his car. He had a nebulous idea of cruising the streets and picking up the man in gray, offering him a ride.
He unlocked the transmission and ignition in his car, stepped on the starter.
The police dog growled.
Sidney Zoom paused, his hand creeping slowly toward the lapel of his coat. A dim shadow lurched from an adjacent doorway. Another man came walking diagonally across the street. A car which had been parked without lights, came drifting silently down the street, shortening the distance between it and Zoom’s car.
Zoom’s lips set in a grim line. The hawklike eyes snapped cold fires. Then a red spotlight flooded the scene. One of the approaching men jerked back his coat and disclosed a police star.
He walked to the running board of the machine.
“Okay, buddy. Don’t make any sudden moves. Nothing’s going to happen to you unless you’ve got it coming.”
The police dog, hearing the antagonistic tone of the man’s voice, stared at his master appealingly, waiting for the command which would enable him to forget restraint and tear into these men. But that command did not come. Zoom sat quiet, calm, scornful.
A man’s voice drifted in through the open window to the left of the driver. The man was examining the back of the car.
“This is the car!” said the voice. “I can tell by the way it’s shaped in back... And here’s a bullet hole. That’s where my shell hit!”
The plainclothes officer nodded his head, called in a low voice to the men who were in the police car with the red spotlight: “This looks like the guy. Watch him!”
Sidney Zoom, his lip twisted in something of a sneer, made no move, said nothing.
“Where were you about twenty minutes ago, buddy?”
Sidney Zoom regarded the questioner with cold eyes.
“I was cruising the streets.”
“What for?”
“Pleasure.”
“Yeah. Well, you seen a broad making a getaway, and you acted as the getaway guy. You had the car planted ready for her to make a break...”
Sidney Zoom interrupted.
“I did nothing of the sort. I was cruising the streets. I saw a young woman, running from a group of men who seemed to be filling her with fear. Those men opened fire upon me without warning.”
The man who stood at Zoom’s side pushed a little closer. The police dog gave a low, throaty growl. Two men from the back of the car moved up.
“Yeah?” said the man at the window. And his tone conveyed utter disbelief.
“Exactly!” snapped Sidney Zoom. “I am telling you exactly what occurred. This woman was running, evidently in fear. I opened the door. She jumped in. Three men showed up and started shooting. The woman told me later that they were gangsters and racketeers who were trying to take her for a ride.”
The plainclothes man grunted.
“Well, buddy, you got yourself in a tough spot. That woman was being taken to Headquarters for questioning in connection with a robbery an’ murder. Then you horned in and gave her a getaway... Where’d you take her?”
“Continental Hotel,” said Zoom unhesitatingly. “She walked in, talked with the night clerk and then went up.”
“What’s your name?” asked the officer.
“Zoom, Sidney Zoom.”
The officer was plainly surprised.
“The hell it is!” he said.
“Exactly,” said Zoom. “And if those men who pursued the girl were police, why the devil didn’t they blow a police whistle or give me some sort of a sign instead of just opening fire? Furthermore, if they were police, taking a lone, unarmed woman to Headquarters, why didn’t they take her there instead of letting her get a seventy-five yard headstart on them?”
The plainclothes man was a little less belligerent.
“They were private dicks, from the company that was engaged by the store that got robbed. They’d pinned something on the woman. On the way to Headquarters they had a blowout. When they jacked the car something happened and it slid off the jack and down on the leg of one of the boys. It broke the leg, and the other three had to lift the car to get him out.
“The broad was giving them a good song. She’s a clever little liar. They didn’t think she was particularly hot. Then she dusted out. When they found her making a getaway they knew she was mixed up in it bad. Pete, go over to the Continental and check that information about her going in there. If she’s there, get the place surrounded. She’s slippery.
“So you’re Zoom, eh? The guy that prowls around at night looking for adventure, eh? Well, buddy, you’ve got plenty of adventure now. You’re an accessory after the fact, an’ you’ll go up on the carpet!”
Sidney Zoom’s level, hawk-like eyes bored in scornful appraisal into those of the officer.
“Since when,” he asked, coldly, “has it become a crime for a citizen to offer a young woman a lift? And since when has it become a crime to drive away from three men who open fire without a word of explanation?”
The plainclothes man’s face darkened.
“None of your brass!” he growled.
“That,” snapped Sidney Zoom, “is not brass. It’s steel!”
The plainclothes man moved away, over to the police car.
“Sidney Zoom,” he growled. “I’ve heard he’s got some sort of a special commission, and he’s in solid with the mayor. Better let Headquarters know and see what they say.”
Chapter III
Murder
The driver of the car nodded. He turned a microphone into action, spoke in a harsh, mechanical voice.
“Police car sixty-two. We’ve located the car in which Muriel Drake made her escape. It’s driven by a man named Sidney Zoom who claims he saw the woman running down the street, gave her a ride, and. didn’t stop when he saw the private dicks, because they just opened fire, and the girl said they were gangsters. There’s a lead that the girl went to the Continental Hotel. We’re checking that lead. Shall we bring Zoom in?”
He switched off the microphone, grinned at the other.
“We’ll pass the buck to somebody higher up.”
There was a period of brief silence. Then a man came running across the street.
“A dodge,” he said. “She went in to the night clerk all right, told him she might like a room for a week, asked him to let her take a look at it. She got a key, and the elevator boy showed her the room. She stalled around for five minutes, gave him back the key and a dollar, let the boy take the key to the desk while she ducked out the side door.”
The plainclothes officer who seemed to be in charge of the investigation, puckered his forehead.
“That checks with this guy’s story. She pulled that to throw him off the trail.”
He turned back to Zoom.
“Just what’d she say to you?” he asked.
“Said she had a millinery store, that some men were organizing a racket and she’d been fighting them, that these men were taking her for a ride when the car had a puncture. That the car slipped off the jack, and that one of the men was caught under it. When the others were lifting the car she beat it.”
The men exchanged glances.
“Pretty slick!” said one of the men.
“It’s a damned lie. He was in on it. He was the getaway car!” s
tormed the man who claimed to have been the one who fired the shot that had taken effect in the side of the car. “I could tell from the way she ran into the car without hesitating or anything, that it was a plant...”
“Shut up, Joe,” said the plainclothes man. “She couldn’t have told when the car you guys was in was going to have a blowout, nor that the jack was going to bust. She got a break, that’s all, and she took it. I’ve heard of this guy. He drives around the streets all the time. He’s helped the department on a case or two.”
He turned to Zoom.
“Now, then, did you see this broad leaving the hotel? She ducked out of the joint to give you the slip and there’s a chance you might have seen her.”
The man paused, stared at Sidney Zoom.
A harsh, metallic voice rasped into raucous sound from the automobile.
“Police car sixty-two! There’s been a murder at the Bratten Arms Apartments. A young woman was killed in the elevator. She answers the description of Muriel Drake. The body was found wedged in the elevator by a man named Hackett who was coming in from a party.
“Better chase around there, look at the corpse, interview Hackett and make sure he’s on the square. The corpse was searched thoroughly by the man who did the job. Clothes were ripped and torn. Looks like Muriel.”
There followed a startled silence which contrasted strangely with the mechanical voice, magnified by a loud speaker, coming in over the police radio; a voice that mentioned murder in so matter-of-fact a manner.
The man who had been standing near Zoom’s car jerked his head at Zoom.
“Get your dog in back and make him behave. I’m coming in.”
Sidney Zoom nodded, made a motion to the dog, a waving motion of the right wrist. “Back and down, Rip.”
The dog cleared the back of the front seat in a graceful leap, stretched out on the back seat. The plainclothes man walked around the car, flung open the door.
“No rough stuff,” he said. “Follow that police car.”
The siren wailed. The exhaust of the police car roared. The two cars shot out into the middle of the street, gathered speed, flashed past intersections.
The Casebook of Sidney Zoom Page 18
