Jane Carter Investigates: Episode Seventy-Eight
I repeated the conversation that
I had overheard.
“They’re tough-looking customers
all right,” Jack admitted. “Likely as not mixed up in some dirty business. But
to say they’re involved in the Furstenberg affair—”
“Oh, Jack,” I broke in
impatiently, “we’ll never learn anything if we take that attitude. We must run
down every possible clue. Please, let’s see if they go down to the river.”
“I ought to be getting back to
the office,” Jack reminded me. “If I miss the last edition, Dewitt will have my
head on a platter.”
“It will only take a minute,” I
stubbornly insisted. “If you won’t come with me, then I’m going alone!”
I started away, and Jack had no
choice but to follow. A narrow, well-trodden path led down a steep slope toward
the river. Long before we came within sight of the Grassy, we could hear the
croak of bullfrogs and feel the damp night mists enveloping us like a cloak.
Drawing closer to the two men, we
slackened our pace and moved with greater care. We could hear them clearly now,
but their conversation was a disappointment. They talked only of the weather.
When they reached the banks of
the river, the two men boarded a sturdy cabin cruiser which had been moored to
a sagging dock.
“It’s the very same boat,” I
whispered to Jack. “I knew I wasn’t mistaken.”
“Even so, what does that prove?
It’s no crime to run a motorboat near the Furstenberg estate. The river is
free.”
“But you must admit there is
other evidence. Why can’t we follow them? We might learn something
important.”
“We’re not going off on any wild
goose chase tonight,” Jack said. “Come on, it’s home for us before your father
sends a police squad to search for his missing daughter.”
“You’re losing a golden
opportunity, Jack Bancroft.”
“Listen, by the time we located a
boat, those men would be ten miles from here. They’re leaving now. Use your
head.”
“Oh, all right,” I gave in.
“We’ll go home, but I’ll bet you’ll be sorry, later on.”
I waited until the cruiser was
lost to view in the darkness, and then allowed Jack to drag me back up the
steep path.
“At least let’s try to find out
who the men are,” I said as we came near the cafe. “The restaurant owner might
know.”
More to please me than for any
other reason, Jack said that he would inquire. He re-entered the cafe,
returning in a few minutes to report that the proprietor had never seen either
of the men before.
“And now let’s be traveling,” he
urged. “We’ve killed enough time here.”
During the remainder of the ride
back to Greenville, I had little to say.
When we arrived home, I said to
Jack, “Won’t you come in? Dad may wish to talk with you about the case.”
“I might stop a minute. I have a
question or two to ask him.”
The door of the house swung open
as we crossed the front porch. My father stood framed in the bright electric
light, a tall, imposing figure.
“That you, Jane?”
“Yes, Dad.”
“I’m glad you’re home safe,” he
said, not trying to hide his relief. “Mrs. Timms and I have both been worried.
It’s going on nine o’clock.”
“So late? Didn’t Florence
telephone you?”
“Yes, she said you had gone on to
the Furstenberg estate. Knowing you, I worried all the more. What mischief did
you get into this time, Jane?”
“None. Jack took care of that!”
Dad held the door open for us to
pass through.
“Have you had your dinners?” he
asked.
“We stopped at a roadside cafe,
Dad. But the food was horrible. We didn’t even try to eat it.”
“Mrs. Timms can find something
for you, I’m sure. She’s upstairs.”
“Don’t call her just yet,” I
said. “First we want to tell you what we’ve learned.”
My father listened attentively as
I gave a detailed account of my visit to the estate, of finding the silk hat,
and finally of our encounter with the two boatmen at the river cafe.
“I might have learned a lot more
if only Jack hadn’t played grandmother,” I said. “He refused to follow the boat
down the river—said it would only be a wild goose chase.”
“Jack, I’m glad you had willpower
enough to overrule her,” Dad said. “The possibility of those men having any
connection with the Atwood case seems very unlikely to me.”
“Dad, you should have heard what
they were saying! The one man drew a design on the tablecloth and asked his
companion what he thought of the route. They talked about a quick getaway to
the sea.”
“The men may have been
fugitives,” my father said. “But even that isn’t very likely.”
“They spoke of being uneasy about
a certain job they had agreed to do,” I went on. “They mentioned a girl and
said that a fellow named Dietz would bear watching.”
My father leaned forward in his
chair.
“Dietz?” he questioned. “Are you
certain that was the name?”
“Yes, I heard it clearly.”
“I don’t see how there could be
any connection,” Dad said. “And yet—”
“Where did you hear the name
before, Dad?”
“Well, DeWitt has been digging up
all the facts he can about James Furstenberg. As it happens, the man once had a
business associate named Aaron Dietz who was dismissed because of alleged
dishonesty.”
“Then there must be a
relationship!” I said. I whirled around to face Jack. “You see, Mr. Jack
Bancroft, my theory wasn’t so crazy after all!”
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