“He’s in his office,” the man informed reluctantly.
“And where is that?”
“Down the hall. The second door from the end.”
Crossing through the deserted repair shop, the girls made their way down the dark hallway. The door which the employee had indicated stood slightly ajar.
As Penny and Susan drew near they heard angry voices.
“You can threaten me all you like, but I tell you I’m through! I’ll never do any more work for you, Brunner!”
“You’ll do exactly as I say or—” The manager abruptly broke off for he had noticed the two girls standing at the open door. “Come in, come in!” he beamed.
Penny’s keen glance traveled beyond George Brunner to the person whom he had addressed in such an abusive tone.
It was Jerry Barrows.
CHAPTER XIV
Brunner’s Explanation
Jerry Barrows had recognized Penny instantly. Before she could recover from her surprise at seeing him, he wheeled and left the office by a side door.
Involuntarily, Penny started to follow, but without appearing to do so intentionally, the manager neatly blocked her path.
“A disgruntled employee of mine,” he announced blandly. “I’ve had a great deal of trouble with him. He’s a fine workman but difficult to manage.”
“What sort of work does he do?” Penny inquired alertly.
The manager was slightly taken aback at the question. He answered evasively:
“Oh, he runs my tow truck and does odd jobs about the garage.”
“I’ve seen him before,” Penny remarked. “But his name has slipped my mind. It’s not Jerry Barrows is it?”
The manager scrutinized her intently for a moment. His eyes held a fleeting expression of annoyance and dislike.
“Now I’m sorry but I can’t tell you his name,” he said apologetically. “I don’t know that I ever heard it, although it must be on our pay rolls. Of course, I remember very few of my employees by their names.”
Penny and Susan exchanged a quick glance which the manager noted. They were both firmly convinced that Brunner knew the name but did not wish to reveal it.
“Since the boy is an employee of yours, probably I could get his name and address from the pay roll,” Penny suggested pointedly.
Brunner hesitated, although only momentarily.
“Why certainly,” he said genially. “I’ll secure it for you myself. Drop in any time next week and I’ll have it for you.”
“Couldn’t I get it today?” Penny persisted.
“I am afraid that is impossible,” Brunner smiled a trifle coldly. “It is nearly time for me to leave the office now. Did you young ladies wish to see me about another matter?”
Susan recounted her many unpleasant experiences in regard to the newly purchased automobile. The manager listened politely but with increasing frigidity.
“You must have misunderstood me, Miss Altman,” he said when she had finished. “We can’t undertake to guarantee every car which leaves our shop. As a courtesy to our customers we do occasionally make a few minor repairs free of charge. We have found it impractical to go further than this.”
“But in my case, the car has run less than five hundred miles!” Susan protested with growing anger. “It seems to me I’m entitled to service.”
“You must see my repair man, Miss Altman. He adjusts all such matters.”
“I have seen him, and I’ve had no satisfaction at all!”
“Then I’m afraid there’s nothing more we can do for you.”
“Your guarantee means nothing?”
“We stand behind our cars, Miss Altman, but you must have misunderstood my promise to service your new automobile free of charge.”
“You said that at the end of five hundred miles my car would receive a complete overhaul!”
“But my dear young lady, you have just received this service.”
“Your workman spent less than twenty minutes going over my car.”
“Have you driven it since?”
“Well, no, I haven’t,” Susan admitted reluctantly.
“Then I know you will find everything satisfactory for our workmen are efficient. Good afternoon, Miss Altman.”
The manager opened the door in pointed suggestion that the girls leave. Outside in the hall they gave vent to their pent up feelings.
“You were right, Penny,” Susan declared angrily. “I should have bought my car at another garage!”
“I never did like that man,” Penny added. “He’s such a smooth talker, and yet down under he’s mean and selfish. I wonder if Jerry Barrows actually does work for him?”
“He was threatening him when we surprised them in the office.”
“I know, and it annoyed Brunner because we saw him talking with the boy at all. I am as sure as anything that he’ll never give me his real name or address.”
“That’s why he suggested that you come back later for it,” Susan agreed. “When you return he’ll have some other excuse.”
“I mean to go back and annoy him just the same. Doesn’t it strike you as odd that Jerry would be working for him?”
“Well, perhaps a trifle,” Susan said thoughtfully. “But it may be that he hired the boy without inquiring too carefully into his past.”
“The fact remains that Brunner was threatening him,” Penny pointed out. “It didn’t appear to me that it was about any casual matter either.”
The girls lowered their voices for they had come within earshot of a garageman who was working in the repair shop. Susan’s car was nearby. After some difficulty she managed to start it, but the engine knocked as badly as before.
“I suppose there’s nothing to do but take the car to another garage,” Susan said irritably. “I’ll never come here again. I know that.”
“Let’s go for a swim and drown our troubles,” Penny suggested. “The Big Dipper will be open.”
Since the day had been sultry, the proposal appealed to Susan. They stopped at their homes only long enough to get their bathing suits, and a few minutes later arrived at the picturesque outdoor pool.
Penny found several of her school friends performing at the diving board and soon they were all rounded up for a vigorous game of water polo. After a fierce battle which left everyone exhausted, Penny’s side conquered the opponents. The girls sat down on the edge of the pool to rest.
“Isn’t that Betty Davis over there under the beach umbrella?” Susan presently inquired, indicating a girl in a black bathing suit who sat alone.
“Why, it is!” Penny agreed. “Shall we go over and speak to her?”
“After the way she treated us this afternoon?”
“We can’t be certain she was in the house when we called.”
“I think she was,” Susan maintained. “She doesn’t care for our company, that’s all.”
“She seemed to like us well enough at first. Betty is the sensitive type, Sue. It may be that she’s embarrassed on account of all her father’s trouble. I believe I’ll swim over and speak to her at any rate.”
Penny arose from the side of the pool. Without having appeared to notice the action, Betty Davis hastily left the reclining chair under the umbrella and disappeared into the dressing room.
“I guess you’re too late!” Susan laughed. “She saw you first.”
Penny sat down again, a trifle nettled.
“You’re right, Sue. She’s deliberately avoiding us.”
“She’s a queer sort anyway,” Susan said indifferently. “Let’s ignore her from now on.”
Penny gazed thoughtfully toward the dressing room door.
“There must be some reason for the way she’s acting, Sue. I have a notion to corner her in the dressing room so that she’ll have to say something to me.”
“You’re inviting a snub if you do. Forget her, Penny! Come on, I’ll race you to the end of the pool!”
She plunged in and Penny reluctantly followed. They swam two length
s and then dived a few times from the high board.
“Oh, let’s go home,” Penny proposed presently. “I’ve had enough.”
They stood for a few minutes under the cold shower, then entered the dressing room. To their surprise they observed a group of excited girls clustered around the matron’s desk.
“I tell you it’s my ring!” one of the bathers insisted angrily. “This girl stole it from my locker!”
“It isn’t true. The ring is my own. Why, it belonged to my mother.”
Penny and Susan pushed their way into the little group. They had recognized Betty Davis’ low pitched voice but were unacquainted with the girl who was accusing her of the theft.
“Let’s get to the bottom of this,” the matron said severely, turning to the first girl. “Did you have your locker fastened securely?”
“No, that’s how she got in. I forgot to lock it. She had the locker next to mine and she must have snatched the ring while I was in the shower.”
Betty’s face was pale, but with an effort she remained calm as she refuted the charge.
“I don’t know anything about this girl’s ring. The one I have is my own.”
“Give it to me,” the matron ordered. Reluctantly, Betty removed the ring from her finger. It was a white gold band with a cluster of three tiny diamonds. In the act of handing it over, she suddenly changed her mind.
“I’ll not give up my own property! This was my mother’s engagement ring. And she’s dead now.”
“Can you prove your story?” the matron questioned.
“You can call my father. Jerome Davis—he is on the police force.”
“Yes, but he won’t be there long!” the first girl said scornfully. “Everyone knows he’s to be let out because of dishonesty. And your brother—”
“Don’t you dare say a word against either my father or Jimmie!” Betty cried.
“Girls! Girls!” the matron chided severely. “We’ll discuss this matter calmly please.”
Penny stepped forward. “I think I may be able to help,” she said quietly. “I happen to know that the ring belongs to Betty Davis, for I have seen her wearing it.”
“You’re a friend of hers,” the other girl accused.
“On the contrary, I scarcely know Miss Davis. But I believe in seeing justice done. If you actually lost a similar ring, you may find it on the floor near your locker.”
“Have you looked carefully?” the matron questioned.
“Of course I have! The ring is gone and this Davis girl stole it!”
“I’ll search your locker myself,” the matron decided. “Show me which one it is.”
Penny and the others followed to witness the inspection. Article by article, the matron removed everything from the locker, but the ring was not found.
“Wait and I’ll sweep the floor,” Penny offered. She ran to find a broom, returning with it a minute later. Carefully she swept the space in the vicinity of the locker.
“You see, it’s gone!” the other girl insisted, eyeing Betty Davis furiously. “You’ll never find it because she is wearing it.”
As Penny’s broom brushed past a dark corner of the room, there was a little metallic click. She stooped down and picked up a ring. Although it was similar in appearance to the one which Betty wore, the resemblance was not close.
“Is this yours?” she inquired, offering it to the owner of the locker.
“Yes, it is,” the girl admitted. “I don’t know how it came to be on the floor.”
“It was there because you dropped it,” the matron said sternly. “Next time be more careful about accusing persons.”
Penny and Susan turned to go to their own lockers, but before they could leave, Betty came toward them timidly.
“Thank you so much,” she said in a low tone. “I owe you a great deal.”
“Not at all,” Penny returned, a trifle stiffly.
“I feel ashamed of the way I have acted lately,” the girl went on hurriedly, avoiding Penny’s penetrating gaze. “I’ve been so upset about everything. I wish I could explain—but I can’t.”
“I think perhaps I understand.”
Betty stared hard at Penny. But she quickly masked the fleeting expression of alarm. After thanking her friends again, she turned and disappeared in the direction of the hair drying room.
“Just what is it that upsets that girl so?” Penny said in an undertone to Susan as they went to their own lockers. “She acts as if she’s afraid we’ll discover something about her.”
“Yes, she does. I can’t figure it out at all.”
The girls quickly dressed but by the time they had dried their hair and were ready for the street, it was long past supper time.
“I had no idea it was so late,” Susan declared as they hurried toward the parked automobile. “Mother will be worried for fear something has happened to us.”
“You might telephone.”
“It would take me ages to find a ‘phone. I’ll be home in a minute or two now anyway.”
It had grown quite dark, but although automobiles had been parked close together near the swimming pool, the girls experienced little difficulty in locating Susan’s car. As they came up to it they observed that a garage service truck had drawn up to an automobile only a short distance away. The uniformed garage man was busy changing a wheel.
“Some poor fellow had a flat,” Susan said sympathetically. “Strange I didn’t pick up the nail instead. My luck must be changing.”
Penny had paused to survey the service car more critically. The garage man, aware that he was under scrutiny, gave her a sharp glance. Then abruptly he threw his tools into a bag, jumped into his truck and drove away, leaving his work unfinished.
“Quick! See if you can get the license number!” Penny cried.
“I can’t. The car is too far away.”
“I got the last three numbers,” Penny informed with satisfaction. “—684. I want to write it down before I forget.”
Susan supplied pencil and paper from her purse. Penny jotted down the number.
“Why did you want it?” Susan asked curiously. “You don’t think that man was trying to steal a wheel?”
“I certainly do. Otherwise why would he have left so hurriedly when we came up? See, the wheel is only half changed.”
They walked over to the nearby automobile to look. The wheel obviously was a new one and apparently had not been damaged.
“That man was a tire thief all right,” Penny announced. “It means that the Molberg gang is starting activities again. I must get in touch with Father immediately.”
“I’ll take you straight home,” Susan offered.
“If I’d been just a little quicker I’d have caught the entire license number,” Penny said regretfully. “Even so, it may be possible to trace the car.”
Returning to their own automobile, they drove rapidly toward the Nichols home.
CHAPTER XV
Incriminating Evidence
Penny found her father occupied at his desk in the study. Recounting her experience at the Big Dipper, she offered him the license number which she had copied.
“I don’t suppose it will be of any use to you since I failed to get the entire number.”
“I may be able to trace the car though I rather doubt it,” Mr. Nichols told her. “At any rate, from what you’ve seen tonight I feel confident that Rap Molberg is shipping another truck load of stolen wheels out of town. I’ll tip off the police to be on the lookout.”
Some months previously the detective had installed a private wire which connected him directly with the police station. He used it now to talk confidentially with the police commissioner.
“I must go downtown at once,” he informed Penny regretfully after making the call. “Don’t wait up for me. I probably won’t return until late.”
At midnight Mr. Nichols had not come home. Penny, after dozing for some hours in the big easy chair, went off to bed. Not until morning at the breakfast table did she
learn of the night’s activities.
“As usual we failed to make a capture,” the detective acknowledged gloomily. “The police bottled up all the main highways leading from the city. All suspicious trucks were searched. We thought certain we’d catch Molberg with the goods, but he was just a little too smart for us again.”
“Were many wheels stolen last night?” Penny inquired curiously.
“A good truck load at least. This case has begun to make me look like an amateur. If I don’t begin to close in on the Molberg gang soon I’ll be the laughing stock of the city.”
“You’ll solve the case,” Penny smiled confidently.
“I’m not so sure of that. You see, while Molberg is a daring crook, the evidence indicates that he is merely a go-between for a far more clever criminal. A master mind plans out every move that the gang makes, yet doubtlessly that person has never been under suspicion. Such a man always takes care to keep within the law himself although he engineers the most daring crimes by means of his henchmen.”
“And of course they take all the risk.”
“Yes, if his gang is broken up, he merely organizes another.”
“Have you no clue as to where this so called ‘master mind’ may be?”
“None whatsoever. He has kept his hand well hidden. We have made a few arrests but the men can’t be made to talk. It may be that they aren’t even aware of his identity.”
“I don’t suppose you’ve ever been able to get any evidence against that place where Susan bought the stolen wheel,” Penny ventured.
“No, nothing of value. The owner has a very bad name. No doubt he is receiving stolen goods, but it is always hard to prove anything.”
Penny relapsed into a thoughtful silence which she presently ended by saying:
“You know, Dad, a peculiar thing happened yesterday. I don’t suppose it could have the slightest connection with the case and yet it set me to thinking.”
“What was that?” Mr. Nichols asked smilingly.
“I saw George Brunner talking with Jerry Barrows in his office.”
“That young protégé of yours?”
“He isn’t any longer,” Penny retorted. “I realize now that I was deceived by his story. But why should he be working for Mr. Brunner?”
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