Captain Rock pounded his desk. “Right, and by the time you birds get out you’ll have whiskers down to your knees!”
The prisoners looked at each other apprehensively, then back at Tom and Captain Rock.
“Okay, you win,” growled Bank. “What do you want to know?”
“Who hired you?” asked Tom.
“The guy you were just talkin’ about. The one who swiped your truck.”
“Where can we find him?”
The man shrugged. “Search me. He wouldn’t even tell us his name.”
Bank paused and shifted his weight uncomfortably. Dutt stared at the floor.
46 TOM SWIFT AND HIS ATOMIC BLASTER
“Come on, speak up!” snapped Captain Rock. “We haven’t got all day!”
“Well, there is one thing I can tell you,” Bank said. “I heard him gabbin’ on the phone once. He said he figured on stickin’ around till he got the blueprints and specifications.”
“Whom was he talking to?” asked Ames.
“Don’t ask me. Most of the time he was jabberin’ away in some foreign lingo I couldn’t understand.”
“That’s all you can tell us?” pressed Captain Rock.
“That’s all we know.”
“Okay, take them back to their cells,” the police chief said to the guard.
Just before they were escorted out, Dutt turned to Tom. “Go to 95 Western Drive,” he said tersely.
“What’s there?”
“You’ll find out,” Dutt said. “That’s all I can tell you.”
As soon as the prisoners were led away, Captain Rock ordered two of his men to Western Drive.
“Wait a minute, Captain,” Tom said. “Two uniformed police in a squad car might tip off the man we want. Let me take Barclay and Ames to scout the place.
We’ll report back to you.”