The Mystery of the Secret Band Page 6

  CHAPTER VI _Saturday Afternoon_

  "Do you feel any better now, Mrs. Macgregor?" inquired Mrs. Hilliard, asthe stricken woman sat upright on the bench.

  "Better!" she repeated angrily. "I'll never feel better till I get mymoney back again."

  Mary Louise repressed a smile. Macgregor was a Scotch name.

  "Now, tell us how it happened," urged Mrs. Hilliard. "When did you firstmiss the money?"

  "Just a few minutes ago, when I came out of my bath." She becamehysterical again. "Lock the doors!" she cried. "Search everybody! Callthe police!"

  Mary Louise caught Mrs. Hilliard's eye.

  "Shall I?" she asked.

  Mrs. Hilliard nodded. "And tell the janitor to lock the doors and stationhimself at the front to let the guests in who come home, for the girlswill be coming into lunch from work. Today's a half holiday."

  By the time Mary Louise had returned, she found the crowd somewhatdispersed. The servants had gone back to their work, but several newarrivals had joined Mrs. Hilliard and Mrs. Macgregor. The two Waldergirls, about whom Mary Louise had heard so much, were there, and Mrs.Hilliard introduced them. They were both very attractive, very much thesame type as Mary Louise's own friends in Riverside. Much more real, shethought, than Pauline Brooks, with her vivid make-up and her boastfultalk.

  "That is a great deal of money to keep in your room, Mrs. Macgregor,"Evelyn Walder said. "Especially after all the robberies we've been havingat Stoddard House."

  "That's just it! It was on account of these terrible goings-on that Itook the money and the diamonds from a little safe I have and got themready to put into the bank. Somebody was too quick for me. But I'm prettysure I know who it was: Ida, the chambermaid!"

  "Oh, no!" protested Mrs. Hilliard. "Ida has been with me two years, and Iknow she's honest."

  "Send for her," commanded Mrs. Macgregor.

  While they were waiting for the girl to appear, Mrs. Macgregor explainedmore calmly just what had happened.

  "I had the money and the diamonds in a bag on my bureau," she said. "Iwas running the water in my bathroom when I heard a knock at the door. Iunlocked it, and Ida came in with clean towels and a fresh bureau cover.While she was fixing the bureau cover, I hurried back to the bathroom,put the towels away, and turned off the water. My bath salts fell out ofthe closet when I opened the door to put the towels away, so I wasdelayed two or three minutes gathering them up. I heard Ida go out andclose the door behind her, and I got into my bath. When I came back intothe bedroom, my bag was gone."

  "But you didn't scream immediately," observed Mrs. Hilliard. "You musthave waited to dress."

  "I had dressed in the bathroom, before I knew the bag was stolen."

  "Wasn't anybody else in your room all morning, Mrs. Macgregor?" MaryLouise couldn't help asking.

  "Only Miss Stoddard. She had gone out to buy me some thread--she does mymending for me--and she stopped in on her return from the store and tooksome of my lingerie to her room."

  At this moment the chambermaid, a girl of about twenty-two, approachedthe group. Either she knew nothing about the robbery, or else she was asplendid actress, for she appeared entirely unconcerned.

  "You wanted me, Mrs. Hilliard?" she inquired.

  "Listen to the innocent baby!" mocked Mrs. Macgregor scornfully.

  Ida looked puzzled, and Mrs. Hilliard briefly explained the situation.The girl denied the whole thing immediately.

  "There wasn't any bag on the bureau, Mrs. Macgregor," she said. "I know,because I changed the cover."

  "Maybe it wasn't on the bureau," admitted Mrs. Macgregor. "But it wassomewhere in the room. You're going to be searched!"

  The girl looked imploringly at Mrs. Hilliard, but the latter could notrefuse to grant Mrs. Macgregor's demand.

  "I can prove I didn't take any bag," said Ida. "By Miss Brooks. I wentright into her room next and made her bed. She can tell you I did. Shewas just going out--I'm sure she'll remember."

  "Is Miss Brooks here?"

  "I think she left the hotel about fifteen minutes ago," stated MissHorton, the secretary. "Before Mrs. Macgregor screamed."

  "Well, we can ask her when she comes back," said Mrs. Hilliard. "Wherewere you, Ida, when I sent for you?"

  "Still in Miss Brooks' room," replied the girl tearfully. "I was runningthe vacuum cleaner, so I never heard the disturbance."

  Mrs. Hilliard turned to Mrs. Macgregor. "If Ida did steal your bag," shesaid, "she would have to have it concealed on her person. Mary Louise,you take Ida to my apartment and have her undress and prove that sheisn't hiding anything."

  Without a word the two girls did as they were told and took the elevatorto the fourth floor. Mary Louise felt dreadfully sorry for her companion,who by this time was shaking and sobbing. She put her arm through Ida'sas they entered Mrs. Hilliard's apartment.

  "You know, Ida," she said, "if you did do this it would be lots easierfor you if you'd own up now. The police are bound to find out anyhow,sooner or later."

  "But I didn't, miss!" protested the other girl. "I never stole anythingin my life. I was brought up different. I'm a good girl, and my motherwould die if she knew I was even accused of stealing."

  Instinctively Mary Louise believed her. Nevertheless, she had to do asshe was told, and she carefully made the search. But she found nothing.

  Satisfied, she took the girl back to Mrs. Hilliard. The police hadalready arrived, and more of the hotel guests had returned. Miss Stoddardwas sitting beside Mrs. Macgregor, and Mary Louise longed to suggest thatshe--or rather her room--be searched.

  However, the police attended to that. One officer took each floor, andeverybody's room was systematically gone through. But the valuable bagcould not be found.

  The doors of the hotel were unlocked, and everybody was allowed to go inand out again as she pleased. Mary Louise watched eagerly for PaulineBrooks, hoping that she would prove Ida's alibi, but Miss Brooks did notreturn. Undoubtedly she had a date somewhere--a lively girl like Paulinecould not imagine wasting her Saturday afternoon on "females," as shewould call the guests at Stoddard House.

  The dining-room doors were thrown open, and Mary Louise and Mrs. Hilliardwent in to their lunch together. The older woman seemed dreadfullydepressed.

  "Mrs. Macgregor is leaving this afternoon," she said. "And theWeinbergers go tomorrow. If this keeps up, the hotel will be empty inanother week.... And I'll lose my position."

  "Oh, I hope not," replied Mary Louise. "Everybody can't leave becausethings are stolen, for there are robberies everywhere. The big hotels allemploy private detectives, and yet I've read that an awful lot of thingsare taken just the same. Some people make their living just by robbinghotel guests. So, no matter where people go, they run a risk. Even inhomes of their own."

  "Yes, that's true. But Stoddard House has been particularly unlucky, andyou know things like this get around."

  "I'm going to do my best to find out who is the guilty person," MaryLouise assured her. "And this morning's robbery ought to narrow down mysuspects to those who were at the house at the time. At least, if you canhelp me by telling me who they are."

  "Yes, I think I can. Besides Mrs. Macgregor and myself, there were onlyMiss Stoddard, the two Weinbergers, Mrs. Moyer, and Miss Brooks. All therest of the guests have positions and were away at work."

  Mary Louise took her notebook and checked off the list.

  "That does make it easier, unless one of the help is guilty. They wereall here at the time.... But of course the thief may be that same man whostole my watch."

  "Yes, that's possible, especially if he is an accomplice of one of theguests--of Miss Stoddard, for instance."

  "Yes. I've been thinking about her. She was in Mrs. Macgregor's room, youknow." But Mary Louise did not tell Mrs. Hilliard about seeing MissStoddard sneaking out of the pawnshop.

  "You better go to a movie this afternoon, Mary Louise, and forget allabout it for the time being," advis
ed the manager. "Shan't I ask theWalder girls to take you along? They usually go to a show."

  "No, thanks, Mrs. Hilliard. It's very thoughtful of you, but I want to goback to the department store and make another inquiry about the lost girlI'm trying to trace. I'd like a chance to talk to Miss Stoddard too, andto Pauline Brooks when she comes back. Maybe she saw the thief, if shecame out of her room when Ida said she did."

  "Well, do as you like. Only don't worry too much, dear."

  Mary Louise finished her lunch and went out into the open air again. Nowthat she was becoming a little more familiar with the city, she thoughtshe would like to walk along Chestnut and Walnut streets, to have a lookat the big hotels and the expensive shops. The downtown district wasthronged with people, shopping, going to matinees, hurrying home fortheir weekend holiday; the confusion was overwhelming after the quiet ofRiverside. But Mary Louise enjoyed the excitement: it would be somethingto write home about.

  At Broad and Walnut streets she stopped to admire the Ritz Hotel, a tall,imposing building of white stone, where Pauline Brooks had said that heraunt usually stayed when she was visiting Philadelphia. What fun it wouldbe to have luncheon or tea there some day! If only she had somebody to gowith. Perhaps Pauline would take her, if she asked her. Mary Louisewanted to be able to tell the Riverside girls about it.

  Half a block farther on she saw Pauline herself coming towards her,accompanied by a stout, stylishly dressed woman and a very blond girl ofher own age.

  "That must be Pauline's aunt," Mary Louise thought, noticing what a hard,unpleasant face the woman had, how unattractive she was, in spite of herelegant clothes. "No wonder Pauline doesn't want to live with her!"

  "Hello, Pauline!" she said brightly. It was wonderful to meet somebodyshe knew in this big, strange city.

  Pauline, who had not noticed Mary Louise, looked up in surprise.

  "Oh, hello--uh--Emmy Lou," she replied.

  Mary Louise laughed and stood still. "We've had all sorts of excitementat Stoddard House, Pauline. I want to tell you about it."

  The woman and the blond girl continued to walk on, but Pauline stoppedfor a moment.

  "You mean besides last night?" she asked.

  "Yes. Another robbery. Mrs. Macgregor----"

  "Tell me at supper time, Emmy Lou," interrupted Pauline. "These peopleare in a hurry. I've got to go."

  Mary Louise was disappointed; she did so want to ask Pauline whetherIda's story were true. Now she'd have to wait.

  She continued her walk down Walnut Street until she came to Ninth, thenshe turned up to Market Street and entered the department store where shehad made the inquiries that morning concerning Margaret Detweiler.

  There were not so many people visiting the employment manager thatafternoon as in the morning: perhaps everybody thought Saturday afternoona poor time to look for a job. Mary Louise was thankful for this, andapologized profusely for taking the busy woman's time again.

  "I couldn't find anybody by the name of Ferguson at the Benjamin FranklinHotel now," she said, "or any trace of Margaret Detweiler at all, there.But after I left the hotel it occurred to me that if you would give methe address that Margaret had while she was working here, I might makeinquiries at the boarding house, or wherever it was that she lived. Theymight know something. Do you think that would be too much trouble?"

  "No trouble at all," replied the woman pleasantly. She told the clerk tolook in the files again. The address was a number on Pine Street, andMary Louise asked where that street was located, as she copied it down inher notebook.

  "Not far away," was the reply. "You can easily walk there in a fewminutes." She gave Mary Louise explicit directions.

  It was a shabby red-brick house in a poor but respectable neighborhood. Acolored woman answered Mary Louise's ring.

  "Nothing today!" said the woman instantly, without giving Mary Louise achance to speak first.

  "I'm not selling anything," replied the girl, laughing. "I wanted to askthe landlady here about a girl named Margaret Detweiler who used to livehere. Could you ask her to spare me a minute or two?"

  "All right," agreed the servant. "Come in."

  She ushered Mary Louise into a neat but gloomy parlor, and in a couple ofminutes the landlady appeared.

  "I understand you want to ask me about Miss Detweiler?" she inquired.

  "Yes," answered Mary Louise. "I am trying to find her for hergrandparents. The employment manager of the department store said shelived here. Is that correct?"

  "Yes, it is. Miss Detweiler lived here for about five months. She seemedlike a nice quiet girl, with no bad habits. She paid regular till thelast month she was here, when she took sick and had to spend a lot ofmoney on medicines and doctor's bills. Then, all of a sudden, she slippedaway without payin' her bill, and I never saw her again."

  "She owes you money?" demanded Mary Louise.

  "No, she don't now. A couple of weeks after she left, she sent it to mein a registered letter. So we're square now."

  "Didn't she send her address?"

  "No, she didn't."

  "Where was the letter postmarked?"

  "Center Square. A little town up the state."

  "Do you still have the envelope?"

  "No, I haven't. But I remember the name, because I used to know folks atCenter Square."

  "Didn't Margaret say anything in her letter about how she was getting onor what she was doing?" asked Mary Louise.

  "There wasn't any letter. Just a folded piece of paper."

  "Oh, that's too bad! And what was the date?"

  "Sometime in January. Let's see, it must have been near the start of themonth, for I remember I used some of that money to buy my grandson abirthday present, and his birthday's on the seventh."

  "Well, I thank you very much for what you have told me," concluded MaryLouise. "Maybe it will lead to something. I'll go to Center Square andmake inquiries. You see," she explained, "Margaret Detweiler'sgrandparents are very unhappy because they haven't heard from her, and Iwant to do all in my power to find her. Margaret is all they have, andthey love her dearly."

  The woman's eyes filled with tears.

  "And may you have good luck, my dear child!" she said.