Clue of the Silken Ladder Part 11

"No," said Penny shortly.

The policeman began to herd the tenants into the hall. For a moment he paid no attention to Penny and Jerry, who with the maid were permitted to remain.

"Never try to show up a policeman, even if he is a stuffed s.h.i.+rt,"

remarked the reporter softly. "It gets you nowhere."

The door closed and the officer faced the pair.

"Now young lady," he said, quite pleasantly. "What do you know about this burglary? I'll be very glad to listen."

"I don't really know a thing," admitted Penny. "But here's a little clue which you may be able to interpret. I can't."

Leading the policeman to the window, she started to raise the sash. The officer stopped her, performing the act himself, his hand protected by a handkerchief.

"There is your clue," said Penny.

She indicated two freshly made gashes on the window ledge. Separated by possibly a foot of s.p.a.ce, they clearly had been made by a hook or sharp instrument which had dug deeply into the wood.

CHAPTER 7 _MARK OF THE IRON HOOK_

"What do you think of it?" Penny asked as the officer studied the marks in silence.

"I'd say they were made by something which hooked over the ledge," the policeman replied. "Possibly a ladder with curving irons."

Jerry gazed down over the window ledge into the dark alley.

"No ordinary ladder could reach this high," he commented. "Raising an extension would be quite a problem, too."

The Kohl maid timidly approached the window, gazing at the two deep gashes with interest. Asked by the policeman if she ever had noticed them before, she shook her head.

"Oh, no, sir. They must have been made tonight. I know they weren't there this afternoon when I dusted the window sills."

"Incredible as it seems, the thief came through this window," decided the policeman. "How he did it is for the detectives at Central Station to figure out."

Explaining that the rooms must not be disturbed until Identification Bureau men had made complete fingerprint records, the officer locked Penny, Jerry and the maid outside the suite. He then went to a nearby apartment to telephone his report.

"Maybe this is an ordinary burglary, but it doesn't look that way to me,"

remarked Jerry as he and Penny went down the stairway.

"In any case, the story should be front page copy. Anything the Kohls do is news in Riverview."

"How high would you estimate the loss?"

"Oh, I couldn't guess, Jerry. Thousands of dollars."

Pa.s.sing groups of tenants who cluttered the hallway excitedly discussing the burglary, they evaded questioners and reached the street.

"Jerry," said Penny suddenly, "I didn't mention this to the policeman because he seemed to resent my opinions. But it occurred to me that I may have seen the man who robbed the Kohls--or at least had something to do with it."

"How could you have seen him, Penny? We were together when the Kohl maid yelled for help."

"Earlier than that. It was while I was at the theatre."

Half expecting that Jerry would laugh, Penny told how she had observed the man in gray note down the license number of the Kohl limousine.

"It came to me like a flas.h.!.+ That fellow may have telephoned the Kohl apartment after seeing the car at the theatre. Making sure no one was at home, he then looted the place at his leisure."

"Wait a minute," interrupted Jerry. "The Motor Vehicle Department closes at six o'clock. How could your man have obtained Kohl's name and address from the license number?"

"I never thought about the department being closed," confessed Penny.

"How you do love to shoot shrapnel into my little ideas!"

"At least you have original theories, which is more than I do," comforted Jerry. "Before we leave, shall we take a look at the alley?"

Penny brightened instantly and accompanied the reporter to the rear of the building. The alley was deserted. Without a light they were unable to examine the ground beneath the Kohl's apartment window.

Suddenly, both straightened as they heard a sound behind them. The brilliant beam of a flashlight focused on their faces, blinding them.

"Oh, it's you again," said a gruff voice.

The beam was lowered, and behind it they saw the policeman.

"You young cubs are a pest," he said irritably.

Ignoring them, he moved his light over the ground. There were no footprints or other marks visible beneath the window.

"If a ladder had stood here it would show," remarked Jerry. "The thief must have used some other means of getting into the building."

While the policeman was inspecting the ground, the janitor stepped from a rear bas.e.m.e.nt door, joining the group.

"Officer, I have some more information for you," he volunteered.

"What is it?"

"I was talking with my wife. She says that about two hours ago she noticed a man walking through the alley. He carried a suitcase, and kept looking at the upstairs windows."

"No ladder?"

"Only a suitcase."

"I'll have the detectives talk with your wife," the policeman promised.

"They'll be here any minute now."

Penny and Jerry lingered until the two men arrived, bringing a photographer with them. No new evidence being made available, it seemed a waste of time to remain longer.