We walked steadily down the path, our ears pricked, and our hearts thumping. There was no sound in the burial-ground but the crunching of gravel under our feet and the steady beat of rain on the leaves and foliage.
The attendant’s white lodge loomed out of the darkness and we knew we were nearly there.
“I want that book,” I whispered to Reg. “You two wait by the window.”
Audrey clutched me. “No... we’ll come with you. We’re not separating for a moment.”
“Okay,” I said and paused to push up the window.
Five minutes later we were all in Audrey’s car, speeding down the road towards our hotel. I had the attendant’s register on my knee. Reg sat behind us, mopping himself with a sodden handkerchief and muttering under his breath.
“Tomorrow finishes it,” I told them, “and it depends on you, honey, how it finishes.”
“You tell me what to do,” Audrey said quietly, “and I’ll do it... only no more graveyards, please.”
I patted her hand. “It won’t be graveyards,” I said, “but it won’t be much better.”
While I was speaking I spotted an all-night drugstore and I pulled up outside.
“I’ll have a word with Beyfield,” I went on. “I want that vault guarded.”
I was lucky to catch Beyfield as he was leaving. He didn’t sound very enthusiastic when he knew who was calling.
“By tomorrow night,” I told him, “I’ll have this case sewn up. If you want to be in on the ground floor you can help me now. If you don’t want to help me, I’ll take all the credit and you’ll get a hell of a ribbing in the press.”
“What’s the idea?” he demanded. “If you know anything you come over to headquarters or I’ll pinch you as accessary.”
“Don’t talk like a dope. I’ll spill everything tomorrow night, but not till then,” I snapped hack. “I want you to detail a couple of men to watch Crypt Twelve in the Cranville Cemetery. Get ’em there right away. All they have to do is to stick around and sec no one tries to get in. I’ve got the key, but maybe there’s a duplicate. I’ve enough evidence in that vault to split the case wide open.”
He got excited. “The girls are in there, huh?” he demanded.
“Yeah, but hold everything until tomorrow night. I haven’t got the killer yet. If you blow the lid off now you’ll scare the killer into hiding. Even now he may be too scared to go ahead with the next murder. Will you give me until then?”
He finally agreed. “Okay, Spewack,” he said. “I’ll fix it, but we take over tomorrow night.”
“Sure,” I said, grinning at the telephone, “you’ll take over all right.”
I hung up and went out into the rain again.
I was up early the next morning, and leaving Reg and Audrey still in bed I went out to send off a long telegram to Colonel Forsberg. Then I went to a hospital equipment store and placed an urgent order with them.
By the time I returned to the hotel it was just after eleven o’clock. I tapped on Audrey’s door.
“Come in,” she called.
I found her sitting up in bed, a breakfast tray on the table beside her. She laid the morning paper down and smiled at me.
“Where have you been?” she asked, stretching out her hand.
I sat down on the bed and took her hand in mine. I thought she looked pretty good.
“I’ve been getting organized,” I said. “Among other things I’ve bought the licence.”
She laughed. “You haven’t?”
I nodded. “I sure have,” I said. “You don’t think I’d let a chance like this slip through my fingers, do you? You said you’d marry me if we got out of that vault: Well, that’s what you’re going to do.”
“I suppose it’s all right,” she said, pulling me to her. “It won’t be all fun being married to a detective, but at least I’ll know most of the answers.”
We had a nice intimate session together for the next five minutes and then she pushed me away.
“Now let’s concentrate on business,” she said. “What’s going to happen?”
I lit a cigarette, smoothed down my hair and grinned at her.
“Plenty,” I said. “For one thing you’re having your last bachelor date. After tonight you’ll never go out with any other man but me. That’s something to look forward to.”
“You mean — Ted?”
I nodded. “Yeah. We’re going through with this. Maybe we’ve scared Ted. Maybe he won’t try anything, but if he does — then we’ve got him.”
“Do you really think he’s the killer?” she asked. “I still can’t believe it.”
“He must be. It clicks. I think we’ll find he’s a sexual lunatic. Hench’s covering up his crimes by hiding up the bodies,” I said, seriously. “I hate asking you to do this, but unless we catch him red-handed he might beat the rap.”
“What have I got to do?”
“You’ve arranged to go out with him tonight, haven’t you? Well, all I want you to do is to keep the date. The rest — unless I’m mistaken — he’ll do. You have nothing to worry about. Both Reg and I’ll be right behind you.”
“That sounds simple enough,” Audrey said, “but you will watch out, won’t you?”
“I’ll watch out,” I said, and kissed her. “Take it easy and don’t be in a hurry to get up. There’s nothing for you to do until tonight. I’ll see you later.”
I found Reg pacing up and down in our room. He looked up eagerly when I came in.
“What’s cooking?” he asked. “Where have you been?”
“Fixing things,” I told him. “We can’t do much now until tonight. It all depends on Ted. If he doesn’t show up, then we’ll have to do it the hard way. If he does and starts anything — we’ve got him.”
“Audrey’s the bait, huh?”
I nodded. “She’s got guts,” I said. “I wish I didn’t have to ask her to do it.”
Just then the telephone rang. The desk clerk told me Beyfield wanted to see me.
I made a face at Reg. “Show him up,” I said into the telephone, and hung up. “Beyfield’s on his way up,” I told Reg. “I hope he isn’t going to be difficult.”
A few minutes later Beyfield came in. He was wearing the same black and white striped suit and his big fleshy face wore a sour, suspicious look.
I waved him to the only armchair.
Reg sat on the window-ledge and I stood by the empty fireplace.
Beyfield sat down heavily. He didn’t take off his hat. He looked at Reg and then at me.
“I suppose you guys know what you’re doing,” he said, unpeeling paper from a package of chewing gum. “I haven’t told the chief what’s going on, and it’s worrying me.” He fed the strip of gum into his mouth and began to chew.
I eyed him thoughtfully. “I’m nearly ready to crack this case,” I said, “but right now the situation is tricky.”
“You’d better crack it,” he said sourly. “Macey’ll play hell if you foozle it.”
“Did you get those guards on the vault?”
He nodded. “A swell assignment. They loved it. They stopped there all night in the pouring rain listening to the stiffs turning in their graves. I hope you weren’t fooling when you said the girls were in that tomb.”
“I wasn’t,” I said grimly. “I saw ’em myself.”
“So it’s Esslinger?” He looked at me sharply.
I shook my head. “Not Max,” I said.
He waited, but I didn’t say anything more. We all stared at each other while the clock ticked off the minutes.
“The boy, huh?” he asked at last.
“Maybe. I’ll know tonight.”
He chewed some more and then said: “You’re smart. McArthur’s a friend of mine — that’s why I’m giving you a break.”
I thanked him.
“Macey wouldn’t give you a break. He’d bust open the vault,” Beyfield went on. “I’m sticking my neck out. You’d better crack this case.”