The Black Star: A Detective Story

by Johnston McCulley

  CHAPTER XVIII--MYSTERIES

  Verbeck turned and told Riley and Muggs, as well as the policemen,what had occurred over the telephone.

  "That man ain't human," the sergeant offered.

  "You bet he is human, and by that token we'll get him!" Rileydeclared. "He thinks he's playin' a funny game, and he is, but there'san end to every game."

  "He sure is human!" Muggs declared. "'Twas a human fist he smashed mewith in back of the ear once--I know! But we'll get him!"

  "The fact of the matter is," said Riley, "that we don't know whetherit was the Black Star talkin'. If he's got a bunch of helpers, maybeone of them's at police headquarters and just naturally tapped thechief's private telephone line."

  "It was the Black Star--I know his voice," Verbeck said. "There is nodoubt about it. He speaks in a peculiar, halting way that I'll defyany one to imitate correctly." He turned to the sergeant. "You maypost your men," he said. "I presume the chief's orders must beobeyed."

  After the sergeant and his men had gone, Verbeck closed the door andturned to face Muggs and the detective.

  "This waiting makes me nervous," he admitted. "I'd like to be doingsomething. But, as you said, Riley, we can do nothing except waituntil the Black Star makes a move, and then attempt to get on histrail. If ever we do get on his trail----"

  "We'll get him!" Muggs announced.

  "So we may as well make ourselves comfortable. You cook a good dinner,Muggs--we've got all sorts of supplies. Riley, take another cigar andget that sour look off your face. All we can do is wait."

  Muggs departed for the kitchen, and Riley stretched his length on adivan and blew clouds of smoke toward the ceiling. Verbeck walked to awindow and observed that the police had been scattered around theblock just inside the fence.

  In the kitchen pots and pans rattled, and they heard Muggs mumbling tohimself because the fire would not blaze to suit him. Riley, after atime, arose and paced the floor like a hound that wanted to be on thescent and had been retained in kennels. Verbeck called up FaustinaWendell and held a conversation of some ten minutes, during which hisfiancee expressed a thousand fears for his welfare, and Verbeck statedhalf a hundred times that she was not to worry. His telephoneconversation at an end, he began pacing the floor also. The monotonyof waiting was tiresome.

  "We've got to start a checker tournament or something lively likethat," Riley declared, "or we'll go insane. Some time during the nextfour days, eh? Ain't that what the Black Star said in his letter? Iwish he'd make it to-night. And I'll bet that the devil, just to beornery, will wait until the last hour of the four days. Where do yousuppose he'll strike?"

  "That's a hard question to answer," Verbeck replied. "He's liable todo almost anything that means profit. You want to remember that he hadan organization that was collecting information for him, as Idiscovered. He knows more than we think. He has combinations of safes,knows the personal habits of people, knows--oh, everything that a crookwould want to know if he pulled off a job! The information I foundtabulated at his headquarters was all concerning jewels to be worn atthe Charity Ball, but Heaven alone knows, besides himself, what he hadgathered in the way of facts before that."

  "But he said he'd commit the greatest crime since he'd got to town,"Riley went on. "What could that be? He's turned some pretty goodtricks, you'll remember."

  "He might get into the vault of the First National," Verbeck offered.

  "No chance! That's the finest----"

  "Pardon me, Riley. Fine vaults and burglar-proof affairs do not seemto bother the Black Star. You remember how he robbed thesafety-deposit boxes of the National Trust, don't you?"

  "Well, what would be something big he could do?" the detective asked.

  "He goes after money, but jewels are his particular delight, if I havejudged the man correctly," Verbeck said. "He has some perfectarrangement for disposing of them at a profit, I suppose. And thereare half a hundred places he could make a rich haul of jewels. He'swhat might be called a jewel fiend, Riley. He---- Ah!"

  "What's the matter?" Riley asked, looking up quickly and stopping hispacing.

  "I have an idea."

  "If it's anything that will help us catch the Black Star or bring himout of his hole so we can chase him, for Heaven's sake let us haveit!" Riley cried.

  "It is something that may bring him out of his hole--a trap! Why didn'tI think of it before? And it can be arranged easily."

  "Let's have it, then."

  "As you know, I am to be married soon. My gift to my bride will be thesame my father gave my mother--the famous Verbeck diamond necklace.That necklace is in a certain safe-deposit vault now, and I'll noteven tell you where it is."

  "But where's the trap, Roger?"

  "A moment, Riley--don't be so impatient. That necklace is the same asthe day my father clasped it on his bride's throat. That was a goodmany years ago, and fashions in jewel settings change. So naturally,before I present it to my bride, I'll have to have the stones reset."

  "Sure."

  "The stones alone are worth a quarter of a million dollars--enough totempt any jewel thief, and especially a jewel fiend, since some of thestones have histories. Now--suppose it gets noised abroad that I amhaving the necklace reset for my fiancee. The newspapers, we'll say,print the history of the necklace and tell of my intentions. It isannounced that the jewelry firm of So & So is to do the work, and thatthe necklace has been taken from the safe deposit and now is in thevault of that firm."

  "I begin to get you, Roger."

  "I thought you would. If you were the Black Star, and read that in thepapers, what would you do? If you were the Black Star and held enmityfor me, and wanted to turn a big trick to show your contempt for thepolice, what would you do?"

  "Ha! I'd pinch that necklace, thereby getting a quarter of a millionin stones, and some other truck as well--and at the same time getsquare with Mr. Roger Verbeck."

  "Exactly, Riley! Even the Black Star would fall for that trap. If hecould get those stones, he'd not only have a handsome profit, he'dmake a laughingstock of me--what he has sworn to do. See?"

  "And you'd be takin' a mighty big chance to do it."

  "Ah! As it happens, there is a paste duplicate of the necklace. Thatwill be sent to the firm of So & So--the real firm to be decidedbetween us later. And there we can fix a trap, have the place watchednight and day, be on the job ourselves. Either the Black Star will nothave the courage to go after it--or he'll go after it, and we'll catchhim. And we'll get him when he has the paste jewels in his hands, andgive him the laugh, along with a term in prison."

  "Great--great!" Riley exclaimed. "But can you do it?"

  "I'll make the arrangements to-morrow. It'll be like throwing out baitto catch a big fish."

  "A sucker!" Riley gurgled.

  "If he doesn't make some sort of move to-night we'll make thearrangements to-morrow. We'll bring him out of his hole where we canget on his trail."

  Mr. Muggs walked slowly into the room from the kitchen, his faceinscrutable.

  "Boss, you bought that bread at the delicatessen, didn't you?" heasked.

  "Yes, Muggs."

  "Just picked a loaf off the counter and had it wrapped up?"

  "Why, yes!"

  "Didn't notice anything unusual about it?"

  "No. What do you mean, Muggs? Isn't the bread good?"

  "And we got right into the car with it and came here and put it withthe other stuff on the table in the kitchen----"

  "Yes--yes! What's the trouble?"

  "Did you notice the top of the loaf carefully when you picked it up?"

  "Yes, confound you! What----"

  "And the old Dutchman wrapped it up right under your eyes, didn't he?And we brought it here, as I said, and I unwrapped it and put it onthe table when I unwrapped the other things. I looked at it when I didthat--I know I looked at the top of it, and there wasn't anything thematter with it then--and that was less than two hours ago, wasn't it?"

  "Muggs, if you don't tell us----"
Verbeck began.

  "Oh, I'll tell you, all right, boss. On the top of that loaf now,right down the middle of the top, is a row of little black stars."

  "What!" Verbeck and Riley cried in a breath.

  They rushed into the kitchen. Muggs pointed at the bread dramatically.As he had said, there was a row of the little black stars down themiddle of the top of the loaf.

  "This beats the deuce!" Riley exclaimed. "How did they get there?"

  "I'll swear they were not there when that loaf was wrapped," Verbecksaid.

  "And I'll swear they wasn't there when I unwrapped it," Muggsdeclared. "And now they are there! So they must have been put therewhile we were talking in the living room!"

  "Great Scott!" Riley cried. "Do you mean to say the Black Star or oneof his men has been here and did that?"

  "No little bird did it!" Muggs exclaimed.

  "Stand back!" Riley said. "Here is where experience takes the lead.I'll just look into this."

  He investigated the kitchen first. None of the windows had beenunfastened since they had come to the house, and dust on the sillsshowed that nobody had touched them. The back door had not beenunlocked, for there was an abundance of fuel in the kitchen, and Muggshad not been obliged to go out for water. Riley opened the door,however, and his eyes met a drift of snow unmarred by footprints.Nobody had entered there.

  There was but one other door, and that opened into a pass pantry,which, in turn, opened into the dining room. Riley went into thedining room, which had not been touched, since they had decided to eatin the living room, and found no traces of an intruder there. Even thedust on the floor had not been disturbed. There were no traces in thepass pantry, and it would have been impossible, of course, for any oneto have entered through the living room, since they had been in itconstantly since reaching the house, and would have seen any unwelcomevisitor.

  "Humph!" Riley said, and looked at Muggs suspiciously.

  "Boss, he thinks I done it!" Muggs exclaimed.

  "Nonsense!" Verbeck replied.

  "I don't think you're a member of the Black Star's gang, if that'swhat you mean," Riley stated, "but I do think it wouldn't be a bitpast you to try out a little joke."

  "I didn't! Boss, I swear I didn't!"

  "I believe you," Verbeck said.

  "Then it's mighty puzzlin'," Riley declared. "Rows of black starsdon't go stickin' themselves to bread of their own accord."

  He stepped back and looked at the interior of the kitchen again. Noone had entered or left by the rear door or any of the windows--thatmuch was certain. No one could have entered from the living roomthrough the pass pantry. Then----

  The table stood beside the range. Over the range was a big hood thatopened into a wide chimney. Riley went forward and peered into thehood--struck a match and held it beside his head and peered into thechimney's wide mouth. There was some dust and soot sprinkled over theback of the range, but Riley could not tell whether it had beensprinkled there recently, because the house had been uninhabited forso long that dust and soot and cobwebs were everywhere.

  "Where does that chimney go?" he asked.

  "It is one of those old-fashioned, wide chimneys that run straight upthrough a house, with stove-hole openings, in every room," Verbeckanswered.

  "We'll just take a look upstairs. You can remain here, Muggs, and keepyour eyes open."

  Riley led the way up the broad stairs and he had his automaticclutched in his hand. Dust--everywhere was dust! They searched all therooms of the second floor, though long search was not needed, for thedeep dust on the floors showed no trace of footprints.

  "Anything above?" Riley asked.

  "Garret--two rooms half finished," Verbeck announced.

  "They made their way up the narrow stairs and raised the trapdoor. Thetwo half-finished rooms were deep with dust also, and cobwebs hung inclusters before stove holes.

  "False alarm, I reckon," Riley said. "But it beats me. You don'tsuppose Muggs----"

  "I do not," said Verbeck. "I know Muggs well--he'd not try a trick likethat."

  "Humph! Something mighty funny about this! Whoever put those stars onthe bread didn't enter by kitchen door or window, and didn't go downthe chimney from one of these upper floors. Those stars must have beenput there by the delicatessen man when you bought the bread. Muggsjust didn't notice them when he unwrapped the loaf--that's all. It'sthe only way they could have got there!"

  They started back down the narrow stairs. As they reached the secondfloor they heard Muggs' voice, coming to them weakly, as if from agreat distance, and with a note of pain in it.

  "Boss! Boss!"

  Four steps at a time Verbeck took that last flight, with Riley twojumps behind him. They rushed through the living room and into thekitchen. They saw Muggs reeling toward them from the door, staggeringtoward the table, trying to hold one hand to his head.

  "Muggs! Muggs! What is it?" Verbeck cried, grasping him by the arm."You're hurt, man! Your head's bloody! You----"

  "Look! His forehead!" Riley cried.

  On Muggs' forehead was a tiny black star!