Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1941-05-09

surprised at all when her doorbell rang,
and she found the inspector outside.
He was a very tired and gray and de-
flated inspector.
He hesitated. IT thought of sending
you flowers. only all the florists are
closed. And l was going to have a
Western Union messenger come up and
sing you something, only they don't
know any songs with the right words y
He smiled wanly. You see, it was the
/ commissioner that gave out that story
/ to the press"
1 Come on in!' she insisted. For
heavens sake, come on in" She stared
anything today?"
He shrugged. Il don't remember =
But he came inside, sank into a chair.
I'm not hungry" he insisted, would
you be hungry If they were going to
| take away your badge tomorrow morn
ing? I'll be back at precinct desk,
see if I'm not"
mo luck at all with the dragnet?"
| None. We picked up three or four
crooks we'd been looking for. but none
of them is up to this sort OF crime.
And no trace anywhere OF that
| emerald.
Its the same crook" he observed
with the same twisted sense of humor.
He made laughing stock out of me
/ ana lIle enllTe lOTCt.
AN ego-maniac," agreed the school
I teacher. Now the red bulb in the back
of her mind was flashing and glowing
like neon sign. "a maniac" She
gulped. Oscar! Suppose-just suppose
that your dragnet didn't fail! Suppose
/ that it didn't catch your crook because
he rode through in an ambulance!'
Piper tensed as she spoke, then re-
Taxed again. Il checked all that. Hide
garde,' he told her. The painter, you
mean. No, he was a real painter, regis
tered and everything. And I called
Bellevue and he was really brought in
there to the emergency ward. booked
for lead poisoning"
"When?" The inspector thought it
was about an hour ago. She rose sud
denly and headed for the bedroom.
where her telephone was Installed.
Oscar Piper puffed unhappily, and she
was back before the long gray ash
had fallen from his cigar. Oscar
man 20 minutes ago, to a nurse from
the Painters union clinic!"
/ We'll? What's wrong with that?'
Nothing at all. Except that l called
information, and there is no Painters
union clinic"
The inspector rocked back on his
heels as if he had run into haymaker.
quit the force and get job as under
study to an idiot"
What about the emerald?" Miss
Withers suggested
He swallowed it, probably. Anyway,
it's gone and so is he. -
She shook her head. "A man as
smart as that wouldn't risk swallowing
the jewel, not when he faced the pros
pect of stomach pumps at the hospital.
No, Oscar"
well. them"
The red light flared again in the
back of her mind, flared into an cleo
trio sign as clear as the messages which
went twinkling around the Times
building.
Oscar! The deadline or dragnet or
whatever it SITS all over?"
He nodded. I'VE had to order the
men back to their regular duty. after
they'd all met In the middle Of the
area and reported blank" Miss With
ers was grabbing her hat. Hey"
Come on!' she cried. Get taxi
The taxicab was not necessary. as it
developed that young Sergeant Mains
and a headquarters car waited below.
They piled in and Miss Withers gave
an address.
They cut south along Central Park
West. red lights blazing, then left at
LIE CuCle. Anu tIltIl llley were OutSlSS
the remodeled brownstone, with its
"Unfurnished Apartments sign. Wait
here" ordered Piper, looking at the
sergeant.
Miss Withers was already rushing
up the steps. and he hurried after her
The front door was half open. and In
the lower hall with its muddle of
equipment one pale light bulb cleaned.
Most particularly did 1t CLEAN down
upon Miss Marcia Lee Smith. who
seemed bit startled.
still looking for the rental agent9'
quizzed the schoolma'am
Marcia Lee gaped. blinked and an
swered. "Oh, it's you'll I-Why-I-'
She was peering toward the door. you