“Wouldn’t it be interesting to see how much he’s swindled you, and what he plans for the future?” asked Jupe. “Why not play along with him? Pretend to be asleep when he comes home today, then watch him. I’ll give you a telephone number where we can be reached–a couple of numbers, in fact.”
“Oh, Madeline, let’s do it!” said Clara Adams. “I’ve always wanted to play a joke on Marvin. He’s so grumpy and serious all the time.”
“It will be a marvellous joke,” said Madeline Bainbridge. “I can’t think of a single reason why I should trust you boys, and yet I do. I have to see exactly what Marvin is up to.”
“It could be almost anything,” said Bob. He held up a bright orange matchbook. “I found this in a jar with a lot of other matches when I lit the stove to make coffee. It’s from the Java Isles, that restaurant where Harold Thomas ate.”
“So Gray and Thomas probably were in touch,” said Jupe. “Gray could have been involved in some way with the theft of the films, with the theft of the manuscript, and even with the fire at Amigos Press.”
“Isn’t this fun?” said Clara Adams. “Like those nice old-fashioned movies where the heroine helps the detectives. We’re going to nail him!”
18
The Search
IT WAS ALMOST four when The Three Investigators rode up in the elevator to Beefy’s apartment. They found the young publisher pacing and brooding.
“How was your lunch?” Bob inquired brightly.
“As lunches go, it wasn’t bad,” said Beefy. “But it was a lousy business conference. I bought Marvin Gray the most expensive lunch on the menu, and I also ordered a couple of martinis for him. He ate and drank everything, and when he began to glow like a neon sign I decided he was ready. I told him the bad news about the Bainbridge manuscript.
“Well, it didn’t get to him right away. He’d been talking about Jefferson Long, and how tickled he was that Long was the one assigned by the television station to interview Madeline Bainbridge after her films were stolen. Then Bainbridge couldn’t see him. Gray really enjoyed that. Gray doesn’t like Long a bit. I guess Long was uppity to him in the old days, when Gray was just a chauffeur.
“How interesting,” said Jupiter.
“It gets more interesting,” said Beefy. “When Gray finally got the message that the Bainbridge memoirs were missing, he sat and blinked like a stuffed owl for a couple of seconds. Then he decided that it was all a terrible shame, but maybe not quite as terrible as I might think. He decided that maybe Madeline Bainbridge wouldn’t mind writing her memoirs all over again–provided I paid her double the amount of the advance we’d agreed on when she signed the contract.”
Beefy put his head in his hands and shuddered. “What a mess!” he said. “I’ve got to get going again on Amigos Press. I’ve got to rent an office and get the staff together and go to work. But it’s all going to take money, and I don’t have any money without Uncle Will. Maybe I don’t have any money even with Uncle Will, because if he shows up here he may be charged with arson. And the insurance company sure isn’t going to pay him for burning down his own property. And then Gray tells me I should double the advance I pay Madeline Bainbridge!”
Beefy look up at the boys. “I hope that very expensive lunch wasn’t a total waste of time,” he said. “Did you manage to talk with Madeline Bainbridge?”
“We sure did. Bob wrote up a report while we were coming here on the bus.”
Bob grinned and took his notebook out of his pocket. He then summarized briefly the events of the day. As Beefy listened, his woebegone expression gradually disappeared. By the time Bob finished, Beefy was grinning broadly.
“I’m off the hook!” he cried. “I don’t owe any advance!”
“You do not,” said Jupiter. “Also, we found evidence that Gray–as well as Thomas–dined at the Java Isles restaurant. Gray could have tipped Thomas off about the films. He could have been involved in that crime.”
“He could have planted the incendiary device at Amigos Press, too,” said Beefy. “He had the opportunity, as did Thomas. What a relief! Of course, we’ll have to prove it. Nobody will take our word for it. Is there some way we can tie the fire to Gray, so we can clear Uncle Will? Wouldn’t the arsonist have to buy magnesium for his incendiary device, for example?”
“He would certainly have to get it somewhere,” said Jupe cheerfully. “Suddenly a number of things have become clear to me. Beefy, may we search your apartment?”
“Search?” Beefy sat up straight. “What for?”
“For the magnesium,” said Jupiter.
“Jupe, you’ve got to be kidding! You can’t really believe that Uncle Will set that fire. Look, I know he’s not the most lovable guy in the world, but he isn’t a criminal. Can you picture him hiding in a corner someplace, putting together a gadget that will go off at six o’clock and destroy my office? It isn’t in character.”
“I know it isn’t,” said Jupiter. He stood still, his head to one side as if he were listening to voices that the others couldn’t hear. “There’s been something that’s been bothering me about this case all along–something I’ve been missing. I know what it is now. It’s something I saw, but I didn’t see. Not at the time. As a matter of fact, there were a couple of things that I missed. We can verify them when we need to. The evidence will be there. I know it will.”
“Jupe’s having one of his brainstorms,” said Pete, who was amused by the look on Beefy’s face.
“It’ll be okay,” Bob assured the young publisher. “Jupe has a photographic memory, and if he’s just recalling something he heard or saw, you can bet he’s recalling it exactly!”
“Now I’d like to search the apartment,” said Jupe. “I’d like to start with your uncle’s room.”
“Well . . . well, I guess it’s all right,” said Beefy. “If it will help.”
Beefy led the way to the big bedroom that had windows facing to the south. The boys followed him.
Jupe went directly to the closet, which had sliding doors that took up almost an entire wall of the room. He pulled back the doors. The boys saw dozens of neatly tailored jackets and racks of gleaming shoes.
Jupiter started to go through the pockets of the jackets. He worked quickly. After only a few minutes he said, “Aha!” and pulled a strip of metal from the pocket of a tan flannel jacket.
“Don’t tell me that’s magnesium!” said Beefy.
“I’m sure that any laboratory test would confirm it,” said Jupe. “And now I am quite positive that your uncle didn’t set the fire. He just panicked and ran. If he were guilty, he’d have taken the magnesium with him.”
The telephone on the table beside the bed began to ring.
“Want to answer that?” said Jupiter to Beefy. Jupe looked almost joyful. “I gave this number to Madeline Bainbridge and asked her to call here or at Headquarters in Rocky Beach if Gray did anything unusual. Perhaps that’s her now.”
Beefy picked up the telephone and said, “Hello.” He listened for a moment, then handed the telephone to Jupe. “It is Madeline Bainbridge,” he said, “and she wants to talk with you.”
19
Setting the Trap
JUPITER STOOD with the telephone to his ear, and as he listened to Madeline Bainbridge, he grinned.
“That’s fine, Miss Bainbridge,” he said at last. “I was hoping for something like this. Now if Gray offers you something to eat or drink tonight, just pretend to take it. And warn Miss Adams. Both of you want to be alert when Gray has his visitor. Of course, you’ll pretend to be asleep.
“I think we’ll be able to solve the entire series of crimes, and get proof that will satisfy the police. But there is one other person who should be there–Jefferson Long.”
The telephone made muted noises which the others in the room with Jupe couldn’t understand. Jupe nodded. “It won’t be difficult at all,” he said. “You can reach Long through Video Enterprises. He does his television series for them. Tell him that there are some things about him in your memoirs, and that you’re having doubts about some of them. Say you want to go over the incidents with him because you’d hate to embarrass him in public. That will surely bring him running. Tell him to be at the house about nine.”
Jupe waited, then nodded and smiled. “Fine. We’ll be there, so see that the dog isn’t loose.”
He hung up. “Madeline Bainbridge overheard Gray making a telephone call to someone named Charlie. He told Charlie to come tonight, and he’d have the money ready for him.”