Chapter V: Penny Turns Sleuth

Mr. Nichols did not have a great deal to say regarding the note which Penny read to him later that evening at the dinner table.

"Don't let it worry you," he advised. "Just put it away for future reference and forget about it."

"Future reference?"

"Yes, it's always wise to keep such communications. One never knows when a sample of handwriting might prove useful."

"I'm sure Jerry Barrows must have some good qualities or he'd never have sent the message. Don't you think so, Dad?"

"Perhaps. It's obvious the boy was afraid to talk with me."

"But why should he warn you that your life is in danger? Do you think he could know anything concerning the Molberg gang?"

"It isn't likely, but he may have some underworld connection."

"I'm getting more nervous every day," Penny declared. "I'll never feel very easy until all the members of that gang are captured."

"It may be a more difficult task than I at first believed," her father remarked, frowning. "I know that Rap Molberg is hiding somewhere in the city but so far none of my investigators have been able to trace him."

"Perhaps he's through causing trouble," Penny said hopefully.

"He'll make enough when the time comes."

"I've not heard of any automobile thefts or anything of the sort for several days."

"That's just it. Things have been altogether too quiet. It's like a lull before the storm. A bad sign."

Mr. Nichols abruptly left the table. He walked to the door, then came back.

"I must go downtown again this evening, Penny," he said regretfully. "I'll leave the telephone number of my new office in the event you should need to reach me. It isn't listed in the 'phone book,' of course."

"Your new office?" Penny demanded. "What became of your old one, may I ask?"

"It's still there," Mr. Nichols smiled. "Miss Arrow has assumed charge, and I've taken up temporary quarters on the tenth floor of the Atler building."

"Isn't that almost directly across from the Brunner garage?"

"Yes, it's located in the downtown theater district. The bulk of the auto accessory thefts have taken place in this relatively small area. From the window of my new office I secure a bird's eye view of all that goes on in nearby streets."

"Surely you don't expect to catch the thieves in the act of stealing automobile wheels!" Penny marveled.

"It will be the surest way of gaining a conviction. If a professional crook isn't captured at the scene of his crime, he usually is clever enough to cover his tracks completely. An amateur is seldom so skillful in obliterating clues."

"May I visit this new office of yours?" Penny asked.

"Yes, if you use discretion and don't come too often. I have taken the office under an assumed name--John Bradford. I shouldn't care to have my real name known for awhile."

"I'll be very discreet if I come," Penny promised.

Her father turned to leave.

"It must be dull for you here alone at night," he said apologetically. "Why don't you take Susan to a picture show?"

"I think I'll do that," Penny agreed.

After Mr. Nichols had left the house, she telephoned Susan. Mrs. Altman answered the call, informing her that her daughter was spending the evening at the home of an aunt.

"I may as well go to the show alone," Penny decided.

One of her favorite movie stars was showing at a neighborhood theater only a few blocks from the Nichols home. Penny walked the short distance. She thoroughly enjoyed the picture, remaining to see part of it twice. It was a little after nine o'clock when she left the theater.

Recalling that Mrs. Gallup had requested her to bring home a pint of ice cream, she crossed the street to the nearest drug store.

While she was waiting to be served, a man in grimy workman's clothes slouched into the store. He pretended to interest himself in a cigarette slot machine, but Penny noticed that he darted furtive glances at the waiting customers.

Something about the man's appearance struck Penny as peculiar. She conceded that he looked like a day laborer yet his actions and mannerisms were not in keeping.

"I've seen him before," she thought.

Suddenly the picture of Rap Molberg flashed into her mind. Yet as she scrutinized the man a second time she could see only a slight resemblance to the photo her father had shown her.

However, as the man moved swiftly to the nearest telephone booth, suspicion began to take root. In identifying underworld characters, photographs were never a certain guide, that Penny knew. Too often a criminal disguised his appearance. Not by false wigs and beards which even a novice detective might note at a glance. Rather by altering his features or by adopting costumes commonly seen upon the street.

Impulsively, Penny stepped into a telephone booth adjoining the one which the workman had entered. By leaning close to the wooden panel, she could hear part of the conversation.

"That you, Jake?" he asked gruffly. "Everything's set for the big haul. We're all ready to go ahead whenever the boss gives the word."

By this time Penny was almost certain that she was listening to the voice of Rap Molberg. Although in general the man did not resemble the photo which she had seen, the color of his eyes and the expression of his mouth were identical. His build seemed to correspond to the figures of the Bertillon record.

A minute later the man slammed down the telephone receiver and left the booth. Penny waited until he was out of the store, then dropped a nickle in the slot. She called the number which her father had given her. There was no response at the other end of the line.

"I suppose he's left the office," she thought frantically. "Oh, I can't let that man get away."

She rushed from the drug store and reached the street just in time to see the workman disappear around a corner.

"I wonder if I dare attempt to shadow him?" Penny debated.

She was a little afraid, yet the streets in the immediate vicinity of the theater were well lighted, and it did not seem too dangerous.

Turning the corner, she caught sight of the man far ahead. He was walking rapidly. She too quickened her step, but took care not to approach close enough to arouse his suspicion.

Presently the man paused beside a fine looking automobile which had been parked at the curbing. As he glanced sharply up and down the street, Penny pretended to be looking into the window of a jewelry store. Actually, she was watching the man's reflection in the glass.

She saw him step into the car, take a key from his pocket and turn on the ignition. As he drove away, Penny quickly noted down the license number.

She glanced hopefully up the street but there was no policeman within sight. A taxi cab driver noticing her agitated expression, cruised close to the curb. Penny hailed him.

"Follow that green car ahead," she directed tersely, climbing in. "Don't let it get out of your sight."

At the first corner they were held up by a light which was changing from caution yellow to red. Risking arrest, the taxi driver crashed it.

The green car ahead had picked up speed. It weaved in and out of traffic in a dangerous manner, driven by a man who was both skillful and reckless.

The pursuit led into the hilly, crooked streets upon which the older section of Belton City had been built. As they raced down first one narrow street and then another, turning corners at a breathless speed, Penny suspected that the man had become aware that he was being followed. Her driver had increasing difficulty in keeping him in sight.

"The right hand turn!" Penny cried as the taxi-man hesitated at an intersection.

They tore down a dark, twisting street at a break-neck speed. Suddenly the driver slammed on his brakes. The thoroughfare had come to an abrupt end.

"It's a dead-end," the taximan said in disgust, turning the cab around. "He couldn't have come this way."

"I'm sure he did," Penny insisted.

The street was short and she could see its entire length. The green car had vanished.

There were no houses or garages into which the automobile might have turned. On either side of the street stood factory and manufacturing buildings.

"Shall I try another road?" the driver questioned.

"It's no use now. I guess we've lost him. But I was positive that man came this way. I don't see how I lost him."

She gave her home address to the driver, and sank back against the cushions, completely disgusted with the turn of events.

As Penny alighted at her own door, she cast a speculative glance toward the lighted window. If her father had not returned, Mrs. Gallup was almost certain to ask embarrassing questions concerning her arrival in a taxicab.

"And I forgot the ice cream too!" she thought. "I'll have a nice time explaining."

However, it was not necessary to give an account of her activities. Mrs. Gallup met her at the door.

"You came just in time, Penny. You're wanted on the telephone."

"It isn't Father?"

"No," the housekeeper assured her, "I think it's your chum."

"Susan?"

"Yes." Mrs. Gallup pushed her gently toward the telephone. "The girl seems to be greatly excited over something. Do hurry and answer for she's been waiting several minutes now."