The Golden Room

'Chet, this is Minna Everleigh at the Club.'

'I'm glad you called. I was planning to come by one day to have a drink with you.'

Minna put on her most gracious tone. 'You're always welcome, except this week and next. We're renovating the place. I'm really calling to ask you a question. If someone close to you disappeared, and you wanted to find them, what would you do?'

Foley answered immediately. 'I'd hire a private detective agency to trace them.'

'That makes sense,' Minna said. 'A detective agency. Why not? What would you say is the biggest one in Chicago?'

'The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, by far.'

'Do you know anything about them, Chet?'

'Not personally. We must have something on file here at the paper.'

'All right,' Minna said, 'I've just changed my mind about your dropping by. You may drop by if you bring me something on the Pinkerton Agency. Can you?'

'Certainly. Do you want to see me soon?'

'Right away. Soon as you have the information, come right over with it.'

Half an hour later, Foley was seated with Minna in her office.

He handed her a folder. 'All we have on the Pinkertons. Some clippings from the Tribune. One from the Observer. An official brochure from their firm. The clippings are repetitious. The brochure should tell you most of what you want to know.'

Minna sat in silence as she thumbed through the material.

The brochure was indeed impressive. It was headed, PINKERTON'S NATIONAL DETECTIVE AGENCY. It had a staring eye as its trademark, and the motto 'We Never Sleep'. The superintendent of the Chicago office was William A. Pinkerton.

Studying the Observer story, Minna saw that it had only praise for William Pinkerton. 'He is America's leading detective, the man through whose medium you may know the exact wealth of Li Hung Chang, how much your clerk bet on the election, or what African jungle hides the clerk who ruined the Bank of Timbuktu. His methods, though effective, are painfully matter-of-fact.'

Minna looked up from the file. 'Their business seems mostly railroads,' she said.

'Their business is crime,' Foley assured her, 'any kind.'

'I suppose you're right,' said Minna, handing back the file. 'I should retain them to look into several disappearances of my girls. If someone's trying to ruin us, I better find out about it. Look, Chet, just hold on while I phone Pinkerton for an appointment. Then we'll have a glass of champagne together.'

After speaking to William Pinkerton and securing an immediate appointment, Minna had Edmund drive her down-

town to Pinkerton's National Agency, at 193 Fifth Avenue in Chicago 's downtown.

Once inside the building, she was escorted to William Pinkerton's cluttered office. He was a great bear of a man, with his hair slicked down flat and a full moustache. He directed Minna to a leather chair beside the desk.

'I'm Minna Everleigh,' she began. 'I don't know if you've heard of me.'

Pinkerton gave a short laugh. 'Who hasn't?' he replied.

'I've run into something that's disturbing me. I think I can use some of your detectives.'

'We don't have detectives,' said Pinkerton. 'We have trained investigators we call operatives.'

'No matter what you call them, they're detectives, aren't they?'

Pinkerton appeared pained. 'All right, if you insist.' He brought what resembled a ledger in front of him, opened it, and dipped his pen in ink. 'Give me the facts first, omitting nothing. On the phone you spoke of a problem concerning the disappearances of some of your employees. Do you want to expand on that?'

'We retain thirty young girls at the Everleigh Club to entertain our guests. In a normal year, I might lose one of them, at the most two, to marriage, homesickness, a desire to change jobs. Just now I have lost three of my best girls in a row, all within a period of two weeks. Each one simply upped and left, vanished into thin air. It gives me the uneasy feeling that someone took Fanny, Avis, and Greta away from me to destroy our Club.'

'Can you give me the girls' full names?'

Minna recited the full names: Fanny Spenser, Avis Kaufman, Greta Ryan. 'All under twenty-two, and pretty.'

'Please describe each one in detail,' Pinkerton said, as he entered the names in his ledger.

Minna described Fanny, Avis, and Greta as best she could.

Pinkerton continued to write. He glanced up. 'Would anyone you know have had contact with these three, someone who might have an idea of their plans or what they had on their minds?'

'The other girls, of course. I have my valet, Edmund, questioning them right now. I'm afraid that won't lead to anything fruitful. The girls are usually close-mouthed about what they know of each other. They'd be especially close-mouthed in a matter like this, about three of them who walked out on us.'

'I see,' said Pinkerton. 'Can you think of anyone else who had contact with these girls who might be more forthcoming?'

'Not really, except – well, there's our physician, who visits all the girls once a week and speaks to them intimately and regularly. He might have some clues.'

'His name?'

'Dr Herman H. Holmes. He knew them all. He could possibly be helpful.'

'How would I locate him?'

Minna gave Holmes's address to Pinkerton. 'Do you want his telephone number?'

'No. I think I'll just look in on him without an appointment. Let's find out if he knows what Fanny, Avis, and Greta had in mind.'

'When are you going to see Dr Holmes?'

'Immediately. Today. I'll do it personally. This is a fascinating mystery. I'll look into it right after you leave, Miss Ever-leigh, and then I'll report to you. Perhaps we'll get to the bottom of this or perhaps we won't. But we'll try.'

Dr Herman Holmes lusted for this girl. No longer sexually, but in anticipation of carving up her ample body.

Greta had moved in a few hours ago. He had taken her on a tour of his three-storey offices and home. She had been dazzled by its comfort and size.

As he left her at her bedroom, she said with awe, 'This is going to be my home too?'

'Yours and mine from this day on,' promised Holmes.

'Did you mean what you said about maybe marrying me?'

Holmes smiled. 'I'm a bachelor. I've studiously avoided marriage until I was sure I'd found the right woman.' He met her eyes. 'I think I've found her at last.'

'I'm so happy!' Greta exclaimed, melting into his arms.

He held her briefly, whispering, 'I'll try to see that you're always happy.' Parting from her, he added, 'I can't wait to make love to you again. You go into your room and undress. Have a leisurely bath. Then put on the silk robe you'll find inside and join me downstairs. I'll be waiting for you.'

A half-hour later, when he heard her descending the staircase, Holmes left his office to meet her.

She giggled when she saw him in his underwear.

Tightening the belt of her purple silk robe, she said, 'Looks like you have something special in mind, Herman.'

'I do, my pet.'

'Where do we go?'

'To a place where we can have complete privacy.' He took her arm. 'Come along.'

He brought her to the closed entrance to his airtight room. He pressed a button. The door slid open.

'How clever!' she exclaimed. 'I've never seen anything like that.'

He nodded. 'As I told you, I want to ensure our complete privacy. Actually, this is my examination room.'

She was in the room, surveying it. 'Cosy enough, but not a window.'

'Nobody to pry,' said Holmes. 'Take off your robe and hoist yourself on the examination table.'

She did as directed. He watched her, hypnotized by the lushness of her alabaster body.

'What are we going to do?' she asked. 'Are we going to do what we did this morning?'

'If you don't mind.'

'Don't mind? I love it.'