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“What?”
“Some damned fool got confused. Says the daughter died, too. That can’t be. We’ve got records of her at the school. Mr. Bell, let me get back to you on this.”
“Immediately,” said Bell, and hung up.
Archie walked in, still ruddy-faced with Indian war paint. “You look like death, Isaac.”
“Where’s Marion?”
“Upstairs.” Bell had rented a suite for the days she was in New York. “We got rained out again. Are you O.K.? What happened to you?”
“A priest was gunned down in front of my eyes. For talking to me.”
“The spy?”
“Who else? The block was swarming with cops, but he got clean away.”
An apprentice approached the grim-faced detectives warily. “Messenger left this at Reception, Mr. Bell.”
Bell tore it open. On Waldorf-Astoria stationery Erhard Riker had written:
FOUND IT!
PERFECTION FOR THE PERFECT FIANCÉE!!
I’ll be at Solomon Barlowe’s Jewelry Shop around three o’clock with a brilliant emerald, if this finds you in New York.
Best wishes,
Erhard Riker
49
BELL THREW RIKER’S NOTE ON THE DESK.
Archie picked it up and read it. “The ring for fair Marion?”
“It’ll keep.”
“Go.”
“I’m waiting to hear from Baltimore.”
Archie said, “Take an hour. Cool off. I’ll talk to Baltimore if they call before you’re back. Say, why don’t you take Marion with you? All this rain is making her stir-crazy. She’s raving about going to California to shoot movies in the sunshine. Neglecting to explain where she’d find the actors. Go! Let some steam off. You found Collins. You’ve got two hundred men looking for O’Shay. And the Navy and Harbor Squad hunting torpedoes. I’ll cover for you.”
Bell stood up. “Just an hour. Back soon.”
“If she likes it, steal an extra ten minutes to buy her a glass of champagne.”
THEY TOOK THE SUBWAY downtown and walked rain-swept streets to Maiden Lane. Barlowe’s shop cast a warm glow into the dreary afternoon. “Are you sure you want to do this?” Marion asked as they neared the door.
“What do you mean?”
“Once you slip a ring on a girl’s finger, it’s pretty hard to get out of it.”
They were holding hands. Bell pulled her close. Her eyes were bright with laughter. Rain and mist gilded the wisps of hair that escaped her hat. “Houdini couldn’t get out of this one,” he said, and kissed her on the mouth. “Not that he’d want to.”
They entered the shop.
