Miss Shumway Waves A Wand

“Don’t you understand? She’s got half of Myra’s willpower and strength. Get them together and they can both make a real fight for it. Peppi will know where she is. I’ll see him first.”

“You’re taking a chance with Peppi, aren’t you?”

“I have to take a chance. If he doesn’t know where she is, I’m sunk.”

“He won’t talk without those photos,” Whisky said. “Why not get ‘em and trade with him?” I glanced at my watch. It was seven fifty. Maddox would have gone home by now.

“It’s an idea,” I said, waving down a passing cab. “If we can get into Maddox’s office, I think I can bust his safe?”

As we drove off Whisky said, “I don’t think I want to be mixed up in this. I was merely giving advice.”

“You’ll come with me and like it,” I said shortly. “It all depends whether we can reach Maddox’s office without being seen. If we can, then the rest’s easy.”

Whisky clicked his teeth uneasily. “They wouldn’t put a dog in jail, would they?” he asked.

“No, they’d take you some place and shoot you.”

“I was afraid of that,” Whisky returned mournfully.

“Why worry? They can’t do that more than once to you,” I said, trying to cheer him up. Maddox’s office was on the top floor of the Recorder building. I stopped the cab at the corner of the street and we walked the short distance to the entrance. There was no doorman on duty at that time of night, but I had to get pest the man at the information desk just inside the hall to reach the elevator.

We paused at the entrance and I took a quick gander through the glass doors.

“We’re in luck,” I said to Whisky, “I don’t know the guy. Come on in.”

The man at the desk just glanced at us without interest.

“I want to talk to the night editor,” I said. “I’m a friend of his. Can I go up?”

“Sure,” he said. “Know your way?”

I nodded and we went over to the automatic elevator. “Well, that was easy,” I said, as the elevator shot up.

Whisky heaved a sigh. “You can get five years for this,” he returned. “Even Summers couldn’t do anything for you.”

“Quiet!” I said and stepped out onto the eighth floor. At the end f the passage was the door that led to Maddox’s offices. As we approached, Whisky cocked his head on one side.

“Wait a minute,” he said sharply.

“What’s up?”

“Someone’s in there,” he said, “I can hear ‘em.”

I listened, but I couldn’t hear a thing. “Sure?”

“You bet I’m sure,” Whisky said, lowering his tail.

I crept to the door and listened. A man’s voice sounded faintly through the thick door.

“Hell!” I said, stepping back. “What do we do now?”

“We go some place and wait,” Whisky returned.

I put my hand on the doorknob and turned it softly. The door gave a few inches and I looked into the outer office. There was no one there, but voices came from Maddox’s office across the room. His door stood open.

“Wait here,” I whispered, and entered the outer office silently.

I crossed the room and edged up to the open door. One quick glance brought me up short. Peppi was standing by Maddox’s safe. With him was his muscleman, Lew, and two other men I hadn’t seen before.

Peppi was smoking a cigar, his hands in his pockets and his hat pushed to the back of his head. He watched Lew, who was trying to open the safe.

I backed away, crossed the office once more and started to join Whisky. Then I paused. Standing on one of the desks was a press camera complete with a flash-gun. I picked it up as I passed and then joined Whisky in the passage.

“What’s up?” Whisky asked, eyeing the camera nervously.

“Peppi and his gang are cracking the safe,” I said. “Now look, I’m going back in there and I’m going to get a picture of them. If we can get away with this we’ve got Peppi just where we want him.”

“You don’t think he’ll let you take a picture of him and then walk out, do you?” Whisky demanded. “He’ll probably be a very mad man.”

“That’s where you come in,” I said.

“They’ve tried to brain me before,” Whisky returned uneasily. “I’d prefer to remain neutral, if it’s all the same to you.”

“Pipe down,” I said. “As soon as I’ve taken the picture, I’ll give the plate to you and you beat it. I’ll bold them off until you get away. They won’t do anything to me so long as we have the picture.”

“That’s what you hope,” Whisky said. “They may have different ideas.”

I thought that was likely, but I had to take the chance.

“When you get outside, go to Miss Halliday’s apartment and wait for me,” I said. “I’ve told her about you and she’s expecting us. If I don’t come out within an hour, turn the picture over to Summers.”

Whisky looked worried. “Aren’t you being unnecessarily heroic?” he asked. “Can’t we work out something better than that?”

I shook my head. “I’ve got to put the screws to Peppi and this is the only way to do it. Get in the elevator and wait for me.”

“Well, I’d rather it was you than me,” Whisky said, enter in the elevator.

I adjusted the shutter of the camera and set the lens-stop. Then I went back into the room. Peppi was cursing Lew when I arrived at the door.

“If you can’t get that can open,” he snarled, “why don’t you say so? We’ve been here twenty minutes.”