“Did Zellwood ever see them?”
“I suppose so. Many persons saw them. I had them on my desk for several weeks. Some of the directors claimed the old building was unsafe. I wanted to calm their fears by letting them see the engineer’s report.”
“Very well. Now let us come to the contents of the vault itself. I understand that you sustained losses in the neighborhood of three million dollars.”
“Yes. The lower vault contained some cash and securities owned by the bank. But the bulk of its contents belonged to trust funds. All of these were trust funds managed by the bank. In addition, the vault had the records that belonged to those funds.”
“I see. Who administered those trust funds?”
“A board on which Zellwood and I both served. I was the actual administrator, but I submitted reports to the board at intervals.”
“And Zellwood?”
“He kept the records. That was his duty.”
“Then he knew the amounts of the funds?”
“More exactly than did I.”
“What became of his records?”
“They were stolen with the securities. However, I was fortunate. Here in my own vault” — Hildreth indicated the metal door behind him — “I happened to have a duplicate set. This is it, commissioner.”
Hildreth produced a sheaf of typewritten figures. Barth began to go over the list. He noted that certain items had been marked out and others written in their place. These notations were comparatively few.
“That list,” explained Hildreth, “was compiled a few months ago. I do not recall the exact date. Only last week I revised it, but I am not positive about all the changes. I can say safely, how ever, that the list is ninety-five per cent correct.”
“As a former banker,” observed Barth, “I must congratulate you on the soundness of these investments. In fact, my only criticism would be that they are more than necessarily conservative.”
“I consider that a compliment,” responded Hildreth, dryly.
“May I have the list?” questioned Barth. “It may be possible to trace a great many of these securities.”
“I shall send you a copy to-morrow,” declared Hildreth. “I am having several made. One is needed for the records of the insurance company.”
“Ah! Your losses were covered?”
“Just about. There will be enough to protect all the trust funds. Cash and bank securities — well, we may fall short there. We have not yet checked to learn how much of them were in the vault. It may bring the total loss some thousands over the amount of our insurance.”
“How do you intend to check?”
“By examining the funds in the upper vault. There should be five millions, approximately. Whatever is lacking — I do not think it will exceed a quarter million — we will know to have been in the lower vault.”
“Five millions in the upper vault!” exclaimed Barth. “Comparatively speaking, the burglars cracked the wrong till!”
“They did,” nodded Hildreth. “That, commissioner, was our good fortune.”
“Make a note of that, Cardona,” observed Barth. “It indicates that something must have disturbed the burglars in their work. Perhaps they were warned of the attack that came from the subway entrance.”
“Not necessarily,” put in Jodelle. “Investigation of these robberies is a big part of my work, commissioner. It’s a general thing for burglars to pass up a second vault when they find a good haul in the first.”
“Why so?” questioned Barth.
“As a rule, banks with two vaults keep most of the funds in one. They use the other for records and current funds. Finding three millions in this lower vault, they naturally thought the upper must be empty.”
“Mr. Jodelle is a capable investigator,” beamed Hildreth. “He has done work for me in the past. Indeed, he was investigating some smaller banks that the Founders Trust has considered buying out. So I already had a contact with him.
“What is more, he represents the insurance company with whom we do business. I feel highly pleased because he recommended that they accept my list of securities. In fact, the insurance company has been so fair about the matter, that I thought it only just to engage the services of Mr. Jodelle.
“I want to reclaim those stolen securities, in order that the insurance company will have its loss repaid — for that company is the actual loser by this robbery. But more than that” — Hildreth brought his fist thumping to the desk — “I want to see those cowardly rogues brought to justice. They deserve the chair, the murderers!”
“Some of them have already died,” observed Barth. “That gang fray in the subway eliminated nearly ten of them. We do not know which ones were robbers and which were the ones who started the fight with them. That, however, is immaterial. All were criminal types.
“I can assure you, Mr. Hildreth, that Jodelle’s services will be welcome. I should like to have your investigator cooperate with Detective Cardona. The two can compare notes; and to begin with, I should like to have Detective Cardona state his theory concerning the robbery. Go ahead, Cardona.”
“ALL right, commissioner,” agreed Joe. “But remember, this is just a theory to begin with. It seems to me it hooks up though.
“First of all, this thing was planned ahead. The tunnel from the subway proves that. All right. Last night was the night. The crooks showed up. They were followed by Lucas — they must have crossed his beat — so they bumped him when he got too close. I figure Lucas must have followed them clear into the subway, even though it was foolish.
“Then they got into the bank. They went upstairs and plugged Rowley. Then they came down and hit the lower vault. They got the swag and beat it. But we still have the question of how they got into the vault so easy.”
Cardona paused. He looked at Hildreth. He spoke to the banker as he resumed.
“Don’t take to heart what I’m saying next,” said Joe. “I’m only putting this as a theory. I want you to hear me out. There’s one point about this robbery that’s important. Why did the crooks wait until last night? It looks like they were ready for a long time.
“The only answer is that they were working with Zellwood. They got that combination, right enough. They could have got it through Zellwood. Let’s say the poor devil was honest enough. Let’s figure that he was threatened. These fellows were murderers; they could have scared Zellwood.”
“Cardona is right, Mr. Hildreth,” urged Jodelle. “That would account for Zellwood’s nervousness. Mob threats are pretty hard on the man who gets them.”
Hildreth nodded solemnly.
“All right,” resumed Cardona. “They gave Zellwood what he thought was a break. They said they’d wait until he had started on his vacation. That gave him a chance to keep on going for parts unknown. That’s why the robbery took place last night.
“But they didn’t trust Zellwood. So they sent a couple of thugs after him. Those fellows murdered him on the train. That finishes the story.”
“More than a theory,” decided Commissioner Barth. “I call that a reconstruction of the crime.”
“Except for one point,” objected Gorton Jodelle. “One very important point, that Cardona has missed entirely.”
“What is that?”
“The exact reason why the robbery was staged last night. Why should the robbers have waited for Zellwood to get out of town? They could have murdered him here more easily.”
“Then what it your belief?”
“That Zellwood stalled his inquisitors. Up until the last minute. I believe that they informed him he would never come back from that vacation. That was why he became so nervous. He was afraid he would be murdered if he talked to Mr. Hildreth. He couldn’t stall about taking his vacation.
“So he capitulated yesterday afternoon. In sheer desperation, he slipped the word to some one. When he took the Southern Limited, he thought that he was safe at last. But the fiends murdered him anyway.”