The Roman Hat Mystery (9 page)

Some natures, through peculiar weakness, cannot endure the sight of a whining man. Of all the silent, threatening group ringed about the abject figure called
“
Parson,
”
Ellery alone experienced a sick feeling of disgust at the spectacle the prisoner was making of himself.

At the hidden lash in Queen
’
s words, the Parson drew himself up stiffly, glared into the Inspector
’
s eyes for a split second, then with a resumption of his former tactics began to fight against the sturdy arms which encircled him. He writhed and spat and cursed, finally becoming silent again. He was conserving his breath. The fury of his threshing body communicated itself to his captors; another policeman joined the melee and helped pin the prisoner to the floor. And suddenly he wilted and shrank like a pricked balloon. A policeman hauled him roughly to his feet, where he stood, eyes downcast, body still, hat clutched in his hand.

Ellery turned his head.

“
Come now, Parson,
”
went on the Inspector, just as if the man had been a balky child at rest after a fit of temper,
“
you know that sort of business doesn
’
t go with me. What happened when you tried it last time at the Old Slip on the riverfront?
”

“
Answer when you
’
re spoken to!
”
growled a bluecoat, prodding him in the ribs.

“
I don
’
t know nothin
’
and besides I got nothin
’
to say,
”
muttered the Parson, shifting from one foot to the other.

“
I
’
m surprised at you, Parson,
”
said Queen gently.
“
I haven
’
t asked you what you know.
”

“
You got no right to hold an innocent man!
”
shouted the Parson indignantly.
“
Ain
’
t I as good as anybody else here? I bought a ticket and I paid for it with real dough, too! Where do you get that stuff
―
try in
’
to keep me from goin
’
home!
”

“
So you bought a ticket, did you?
”
asked the Inspector, rocking on his heels.
“
Well, well! Suppose you snap out the old stub and let Papa Queen look it over.
”

The Parson
’
s hand mechanically went to his lower vest pocket, his fingers dipping into it with a quite surprising deftness. His face went blank as he slowly withdrew his hand, empty. He began a search of his other pockets with an appearance of fierce annoyance that made the Inspector smile.

“
Hell!
”
grunted the Parson.
“
If that ain
’
t the toughest luck. I always hangs onto my ticket stubs, an
’
just tonight I have to go and throw it away. Sorry, Inspector!
”

“
Oh, that
’
s quite all right,
”
said Queen. His face went bleak and hard.
“
Quit stalling, Cazzanelli! What were you doing in this theatre tonight? What made you decide to duck out so suddenly? Answer me!
”

The Parson looked about him. His arms were held very securely by two bluecoats. A number of hard-looking men surrounded him. The prospect of escape did not seem particularly bright. His face underwent another change. It assumed a priestly, outraged innocence. A mist filmed his little eyes, as if he were truly the Christian martyr and these tyrants his pagan inquisitors. The Parson had often employed this trick of personality to good purpose.

“
Inspector,
”
he said,
“
you know you ain
’
t got no right to grill me this way, don
’
t you, Inspector? A man
’
s got a right to his lawyer, ain
’
t he? Sure he
’
s got a right!
”
And he stopped as if there were nothing more to be said.

The Inspector eyed him curiously.
“
When did you see Field last?
”
he asked.

“
Field? You don
’
t mean to say
―
Monte Field? Never heard of him, Inspector,
”
muttered the Parson, rather shakily.
“
What are you try in
’
to put over on me?
”

“
Not a thing, Parson, not a thing. But as long as you don
’
t care to answer now, suppose we let you cool your heels for a while. Perhaps you
’
ll have something to say later . . . . Don
’
t forget, Parson, there
’
s still that little matter of the Bonomo Silk robbery to go into.
”
He turned to one of the policemen.
“
Escort our friend to that anteroom off the manager
’
s office, and keep him company for a while, officer.
”

Ellery, reflectively watching the Parson being dragged toward the rear of the theatre, was startled to hear his father say,
“
The Parson isn
’
t too bright, is he? To make a slip like that
―
!
”

“
Be thankful for small favors,
”
smiled Ellery.
“
One error breeds twenty more.
”

The Inspector turned with a grin to confront Velie, who had just arrived with a sheaf of papers in his hand.

“
Ah, Thomas is back,
”
chuckled the Inspector, who seemed in good spirits.
“
And what have you found, Thomas?
”

“
Well, Inspector,
”
replied the detective, ruffling the edges of his papers,
“
it
’
s hard to say. This is half of the list
―
the other half isn
’
t ready yet. But I think you
’
ll find something interesting here.
”

He handed Queen a batch of hastily written names and addresses. They were the names which the Inspector had ordered Velie to secure by interrogation of the audience.

Queen, with Ellery at his shoulder, examined the list, studying each name carefully. He was halfway through the sheaf when he stiffened. He squinted at the name which had halted him and looked up at Velie with a puzzled air.

“
Morgan,
”
he said thoughtfully.
“
Benjamin Morgan. Sounds mighty familiar, Thomas. What does it suggest to you?
”

Velie smiled frostily.
“
I thought you
’
d ask me that, Inspector. Benjamin Morgan was Monte Field
’
s law partner until two years ago.
”

Queen nodded. The three men stared into each other
’
s eyes. Then the old man shrugged his shoulders and said briefly,
“
Have to see some more of Mr. Morgan, I
’
m afraid.
”

He turned back to the list with a sigh. Again he studied each name, looking up at intervals reflectively, shaking his head, and going on. Velie, who knew Queen
’
s reputation for memory even more thoroughly than Ellery, watched his superior with respectful eyes.

Finally the Inspector handed the papers back to the detective.
“
Nothing else, there, Thomas,
”
he said.
“
Unless you caught something that escaped me. Did you?
”
His tone was grave.

Velie stared at the old man wordlessly, shook his head and started to walk away.

“
Just a minute, Thomas,
”
called Queen.
“
Before you get that second list completed, ask Mr. Morgan to step into Panzer
’
s office will you? Don
’
t scare him. And by the way, see that he has his ticket stub before he goes to the office.
”
Velie departed.

The Inspector motioned to Panzer, who was watching a group of policemen being marshaled by detectives for Queen
’
s work. The stout little manager hurried up.

“
Mr. Panzer,
”
inquired the Inspector,
“
at what time do your scrubwomen generally start cleaning up?
”

“
Why, they
’
ve been here for quite a while now, Inspector, waiting to get to work. Most theatres are tidied early in the morning, but I
’
ve always had my employees come immediately after the evening performance. Just what is on your mind?
”

Ellery, who had frowned slightly when the Inspector spoke, brightened at the manager
’
s reply. He began to polish his pince-nez with satisfaction.

“
Here
’
s what I want you to do, Mr. Panzer,
”
continued Queen evenly.
“
Arrange to have your cleaning women make a particularly thorough search tonight, after everybody is gone. They must pick up and save everything
―
everything, no matter how seemingly trivial
―
and they
’
re to watch especially for ticket stubs. Can you trust these people?
”

“
Oh, absolutely, Inspector. They
’
ve been with the theatre ever since it was built. You may be sure that nothing will be overlooked. What shall I do with the sweepings?
”

“
Wrap them carefully, address them to me and send them by a trustworthy messenger to headquarters tomorrow morning.
”
The Inspector paused.
“
I want to impress upon you, Mr. Panzer, the importance of this task. It
’
s much more important than it seems. Do you understand?
”

“
Certainly, certainly!
”
Panzer hastened away.

A detective with grizzled hair walked briskly across the carpet, turned down the left aisle and touched his hat to Queen. In his hand was a sheaf of papers resembling the one which Velie had presented.

“
Sergeant Velie had asked me to give you this list of names. He says that it
’
s the rest of the names and addresses of the people in the audience, Inspector.
”

Queen took the papers from the detective
’
s hand with a sudden show of eagerness. Ellery leaned forward. The old man
’
s eyes traveled slowly from name to name as his thin finger moved down each sheet. Near the bottom of the last one he smiled, looked at Ellery triumphantly, and finished the page. He turned and whispered into his son
’
s ear. A light came over Ellery
’
s face as he nodded.

The Inspector turned back to the waiting detective.
“
Come here, Johnson,
”
he said. Queen spread out the page he had been studying for the man
’
s scrutiny.
“
I want you to find Velie and have him report to me at once. After you
’
ve done that, get hold of this woman
”―
his finger pointed to a name and a row and seat number next to it
―”
ask her to step into the manager
’
s office with you. You
’
ll find a man by the name of Morgan there. Stay with both of them until you hear from me. Incidentally, if there
’
s any conversation between them keep your ears open
―
I want to know what is said. Treat the woman courteously.
”

“
Yes, sir. Velie also asked me to tell you,
”
continued Johnson,
“
that he has a group of people separated from the rest of the audience
―
they
’
re the ones who have no ticket stubs. He
’
d like to know what you want done with them.
”