CHAPTER XVI
THE LAW PREPARES
IT was half past eight that evening. Four men were gathered in a little office that formed a portion of Police Commissioner Weston’s apartment. Weston himself was there. His companions were Joe Cardona, Dale Jurling and Clyde Burke.
The reporter had been the last to arrive. With him he had a copy of the Classic; fresh from the press. It was open to the page of personals. Weston was reading an advertisement that Clyde had pointed out:
S. T. Ready for interview. Meet me G 1472.
Final offer still stands. SIGNET.
The reference to G 1472 was obvious. It could mean only that Signet was at the Hotel Goliath, in Room 1472. Weston commented on that fact.
“Treblaw was ready at G,” remarked the commissioner, referring to the ad that had opened printed negotiations. “Evidently Signet is picking up that same letter to designate the Hotel Goliath. But what about this S. T., as an answer to our message? We only signed it T.”
“S. T. for Stanton Treblaw,” stated Cardona.
“But surely,” declared Weston, “Signet, whoever he is, must know that Treblaw is dead.”
“S. T. could mean Silas Tilton,” said Jurling.
“That’s right,” agreed Weston. “Yes, of course. Signet must think that he has heard from Tilton. He could logically suppose that Tilton has the Cellini manuscript.”
“I’ll call the Hotel Goliath,” put in Joe Cardona. “To find out who has Room 1472.”
“I wouldn’t do that,” objected Jurling. “It might spoil our plans.”
“How?” quizzed Joe.
Jurling turned to Clyde Burke.
“When is this journal of yours on sale?” he questioned. “At what hour?”
“About nine o’clock,” returned Clyde.
“Then,” decided Jurling, “it would be unwise to make any step until after that hour. It must appear that we have observed the advertisement in a normal fashion; that we have seen it in a newspaper regularly on sale.”
“Quite right, Mr. Jurling,” agreed Weston. “Your task will be sufficient when you meet Signet under conditions that he would naturally anticipate. Indeed, I am wondering just how you will broach the matter of your visit, inasmuch as you will not bring the Cellini manuscript.”
“I HAVE a plan for that,” stated Jurling. He ran his right hand through his curly, light-colored hair. “First of all, I shall call at his room in the Hotel Goliath. Detective Cardona will be with me, of course. I shall announce myself as a representative of Stanton Treblaw.”
“A good beginning,” nodded Weston.
“With me,” resumed Jurling, “I shall have the carbon copies of Signet’s correspondence. That will prove my status, when I show it to Signet. It will open the path to talk about the manuscript.”
“You have the correspondence with you?”
“No. It is back at my hotel. We can stop there on the way and pick it up.”
“Which is going to delay us,” objected Joe Cardona. “Look here, Jurling, if we’re going to see Signet—”
“We should not arrive too soon,” interposed Jurling. “The commissioner has agreed upon that. My word, old top” — he spread his hands as he gestured toward Joe — “we can’t jounce in on this chap Signet while the clock is still chiming nine!
“We must give him to half after the hour, at least. Better, I should say, to wait until ten o’clock. Then we must arrive in affable fashion. Signet will sheer away if we break in like louts instead of calling upon him in gentlemanly fashion.”
“All right,” agreed Joe, somewhat surlily. “But if I had charge of the shebang, I’d grab this bird Signet and quiz him. He knows what we want to find out; that is, he knows something. We don’t know what we’re going into. If we had a squad—”
“Preposterous, Cardona!” snapped Weston. “Jurling has shown you the tactful method in which this should be handled. You are running no risk of trouble in a reputable hotel like the Goliath.”
“But what about posting some men down in the lobby?” demanded Cardona. “Or better still, upon the fourteenth floor? The Goliath’s a big place. They won’t be noticed.”
“What do you think, Jurling?” questioned Weston. “That would be a precaution that should not interfere.”
“How many men do you propose to take to Signet’s floor?” asked Jurling. “And where would you intend to place them?”
“A pair of good men by the elevators,” returned Cardona, “wouldn’t be a bad idea, if you leave that to me; let me handle the squad end of the business.”
“It sounds quite all right, commissioner,” interposed Jurling. “Detective Cardona is efficient. He should understand the methods of discreet protection.”
“Very well,” decided Weston. “Post your men, Cardona. Have them there about ten o’clock. The time when you and Jurling arrive.”
Cardona nodded. Jurling smiled.
“It is approaching nine,” he remarked. “Suppose we start out to my hotel. You can call headquarters while I am assembling my copies of the Signet correspondence. After that, we can lounge about until the zero hour.”
“Which will be ten o’clock,” reminded Weston.
“Ten o’clock,” agreed Jurling.
The two men prepared to leave. Clyde Burke looked toward Weston. The commissioner smiled.
“You can stay here, Burke,” he said. “This will be where the first reports will come. I don’t want you going up to the Hotel Goliath.”
“All right,” agreed Clyde. He glanced at his watch. “I’m going out to grab a sandwich and a cup of mocha. After that, I’ll be back, commissioner.”
“You are not to call the Classic office while you are out,” reminded Weston. “This affair is not yet news, Burke.”
“I understand. Don’t worry, commissioner. This is my night off. I’m working on my own on this job.”
CARDONA and Jurling had left. Clyde followed. Outside of the apartment house, he headed for a little restaurant, half a block away. There Clyde got to a telephone. He put in a call to Burbank. His report finished, Clyde ordered a ham sandwich on rye with a cup of black coffee.
It was not far from Weston’s to the Hotel Tolberc, where Jurling was stopping. Jurling and Cardona arrived there within a dozen minutes after their departure. Joe went into a telephone booth while Jurling headed upstairs.
Finished with his call to headquarters, Cardona paced about until Jurling reappeared. The Signet correspondence formed a circular bundle that projected from Jurling’s pocket. Cardona commented upon its bulk.
“I went back after I had started for the elevator,” said Jurling. “Thought it would be a jolly good idea to bring along that other lot of letters.”
“The ones between Treblaw and your firm?”
“Yes. They are in with the batch. I have my credentials also.” Jurling tapped his wallet pocket. “I fancy that this Signet chap may want to be shown, as you express it here in the States. Well, old badger, did you make the arrangements at headquarters?”
“Yeah. I picked some good men for the job. They’ll be on hand. It’ll be safer that way, Jurling.”
“You seem to anticipate trouble from this unknown Signet person.”
“I’m not risking more trouble at the Goliath. Like that night when Treblaw was murdered. We chased all through the hotel looking for a suspect. If we’d had a first-class squad on the job, we’d have nabbed the fellow.”
“These men of yours, Cardona. You are sure they will not make themselves conspicuous?”
“You won’t see them, Jurling. And if you don’t, knowing that they’re on the job, Signet won’t.”
“Righto!” Jurling chuckled as he glanced at his watch. “Quarter past the hour of nine. A while yet, Cardona. Come, let’s have a cup of coffee. We can chat until quarter before ten.”