The Chase Part 15

The tall blond-haired man faced her. "But the second mouse gets the cheese."

"Very astute, Mr. Bell..." said Marion, her voice trailing off.

Their eyes met, and Marion suddenly felt something she had never felt before as she gazed into the blue-violet eyes. She realized now that he was well over six feet tall, with a wiry body clothed by a nicely tailored white linen suit. A large mustache was the exact shade of his flaxen, well-groomed hair. He was not handsome in the pretty-boy sense, but his features were craggy and masculine. There was a look of ruggedness about him, a man who was at home in the wild country of the West as well as the comforts of city life. She openly gazed at him, her usually well-restrained emotions in upheaval. No man had ever moved her this way before, certainly not on the first meeting.

Bell was also moved by the beauty of Marion and her aura of loveliness. The floor trembled beneath his feet as he stared back at her. She looked dainty but strong as a willow. There was a serene confidence about her that suggested she could surmount any complicated problem. She was poised and graceful, and, from the narrow waist to the flared bottom of her lengthy skirt, he could tell that she had long legs. The thick, l.u.s.trous hair was piled atop her head, with one long, narrow strand falling nearly to her waist. He guessed that she was the same age as he, give or take a year.

"Is Mr. Cromwell busy?" he asked, tearing himself back to the purpose of the visit.

"Yes..." she said with a trace of a stammer. "But he is expecting you."

She knocked on Cromwell's door, entered, and announced Bell and Irvine's arrival. Then she stood aside and motioned them in as Cromwell came from behind his desk to greet them. As they pa.s.sed through the door, Bell purposely brushed his hand against Marion's. She felt as if an electric shock had pa.s.sed through her, before closing the door.

"Sit down, gentlemen," said Cromwell. "Horace Bronson tells me you've come about the stolen currency that pa.s.sed through my bank."

Irvine seemed not to notice it, but Bell again found it intriguing that Cromwell wore gloves.

"That is correct," Irvine said as Bell let him handle the conversation. "One of the bills, serial number 214799, was reported as being deposited in your bank."

"That is entirely possible," said Cromwell, toying with an unlit cigar. "I a.s.sume it was a fifty-or hundred-dollar bill, because we never record any currency less than that amount."

Irvine checked his notations in a notebook. "Actually, it came from a merchant on Geary Street, a florist's shop. The manager, whose name is Rinsler, contacted the Van Dorn Detective Agency because he thought the bill might be counterfeit. It proved to be genuine. He stated that he'd obtained it from the Cromwell National Bank when he was transferring cash to a private safe."

"Rinsler's reasons sound a bit shady," added Bell. "But if he's violated the law, that's a problem for the local police department."

"Millions of dollars pa.s.s through this bank during the course of a year," said Cromwell. "I don't see why one bill is so important."

"Because a check of the serial number revealed that it came from a bank robbery in Elkhorn, Montana, where the bandit murdered four bank employees and customers," Bell explained.

Cromwell waited for more, but Bell and Irvine went silent. Irvine was examining his notes, but Bell was watching Cromwell intently. The banker met the unrelenting gaze without shifting his eyes. It stimulated his ego knowing that he was in a game of wits with the best agent Van Dorn had.

"I'm sorry, gentlemen," said Cromwell, moving his gaze from Bell to his unlit cigar. "I fail to see how I can help you. If other bills from the robbery pa.s.sed through the Cromwell Bank, they have long gone into general circulation and there is no way to trace them, no way of knowing who deposited them."

"That is true," Bell replied. "But we have to check out every lead, no matter how remote."

"The bills were new and had consecutive serial numbers," explained Irvine. "Is it possible you recorded them before they were put into circulation?"

"Quite possible, since, as I've said, we record fifty-and hundred-dollar bills."

"Could you have your bookkeeper check your records?" Bell asked.

"Happy to oblige." Cromwell paused to press a buzzer under his desk. Within seconds, Marion Morgan was standing in the doorway. "Miss Morgan, would you please have Mr. Hopkins come up to my office?"

She nodded. "Of course."

When Hopkins showed up, he was not what Bell expected. Instead of a colorless, lackl.u.s.ter little man with gla.s.ses and a pencil behind one ear who spent his working life poring through numbers in ledgers, Hopkins looked like a star athlete, big, robust, and quick of movement. He nodded as Bell and Irvine were introduced.

"Mr. Bell and Mr. Irvine are from the Van Dorn Detective Agency. They are here to check out serial numbers on currency that was stolen during a bank robbery in Elkhorn, Montana. A fifty-dollar bill was deposited in our bank before it was given to a customer cashing a check. These gentlemen think that other stolen bills might have pa.s.sed through the bank. They would like you to check the list of serial numbers that we recorded."

Hopkins looked positively congenial as he smiled. "I'll need the serial numbers."

"Check for consecutive bills above and below 214799," answered Cromwell, relying on his memory.

"Right away, sir," acknowledged Hopkins. He made a slight bow to Bell and Irvine. "I should have the numbers, if they exist, within a few hours."

"I'd be grateful," said Bell.

"Anything else, gentlemen?" said Cromwell, ending the interview.

"No, you've been most helpful. Thank you."

Bell let Irvine move out ahead of him to the elevator, lagging behind. He stopped at Marion's desk and gazed at her. "Miss Morgan?"

She swirled her chair from her typewriter in his direction but shied from looking into his eyes.

"I know this is terribly presumptuous of me, but you look like an adventurous lady, and I was wondering if you might throw caution to the winds and have dinner with me this evening?"

Her first impulse was to reject him, but some forbidden door had opened and she fought a battle of principle against desire. "I'm not allowed to date bank customers. Besides, how do I know I can trust a complete stranger?"

He laughed and leaned toward her. "Number one, I am not a bank customer. And, number two, if you can't trust a bonded detective, who can you trust?" He reached out and took her hand in his.

A terrifying wave of anxiety swept over her as she fought a losing battle. Her last barrier crumpled and, along with it, her final grip on control. All self-restraint had evaporated.

"All right," she heard herself say, as if she was listening to a total stranger. "I get off work at five o'clock."

"Good," he said, a little too enthusiastically, he thought. "I'll meet you at the front entrance."

She watched him walk toward the elevator. "Good Lord," she murmured to herself. "I must be mad to have agreed to have dinner with a perfect stranger."

Yet, as she berated herself, there was a twinkle in her eye.

IRVINE WAITED for Bell in the elevator. "What was all that about?"

"I have a dinner date with Cromwell's personal secretary."

"You work fast," Irvine said admiringly.

Bell grinned. "Things just sort of fell into place."

"Knowing you like I do, I'll bet you have an ulterior motive."

"You might say that I'm mixing business with pleasure."

"You may be playing with fire," said Irvine seriously. "If she catches wise that you're using her to probe into Cromwell's affairs, there could be trouble."

"I'll worry about that when the time comes," Bell said comfortably.

On the ride back to the hotel, Bell's thoughts were not on the business part of the coming evening but rather the pleasure.

20.

MARION COULD NOT EXPLAIN IT. THE SENSATION was one she had not experienced since a boy she dreamed about in school had smiled at her. That was all. He never approached or talked to her. Now, as she sat across an intimate table for two, she felt as giddy as a schoolgirl.

Bell had picked her up outside the Cromwell Bank at exactly five o'clock in a motor cab. The driver drove directly from the street into the seven-story building that contained the city's most famous French restaurant, Delmonico's. They entered an elevator that took them to the top floor, where the maitre d' showed them into an enclosed private dining room with a large picture window that overlooked the city and the bay.

People who could afford it thought nothing of consuming ten-course meals, each accompanied by a different wine. Bell ordered oysters Rockefeller with a tangy curry sauce, followed by a flavorful broth, poached Great Lakes sturgeon, frog's legs a la poulette, pork chops, chicken Kiev, a.s.sorted roasted game birds, boiled potatoes, and creamed peas.

Marion had never dined this sumptuously in her life. True, she had been wined and dined by the city's eligible and moneyed bachelors, but none had treated her this lavishly. She was more than thankful the portions were small but regretted not loosening her corset in advance.

For dessert, Bell ordered crepes suzette, the flaming orange-flavored delicacy. When the waiter stood at their table expertly spooning the flaming mixture over the crepes, Marion forced herself to look directly into Bell's eyes.

"May I ask you a question, Mr. Bell?"

His smile was engaging. "I believe we know each other well enough for you to call me Isaac."

"I'd prefer Mr. Bell, if you don't mind," she said in what she thought was a proper manner.

The smile remained. "Suit yourself."

"How can you afford all this on the pay of a detective?"

He laughed. "Would you believe I saved up all month just to impress you?"

"Not for an instant," she said haughtily.

"Is Cromwell the biggest bank in San Francisco?"

She was taken back by his question to her answer. "No, there are two others that are larger, including Wells Fargo. Why do you ask?"

"My family owns the largest bank in New England."

She tried to digest it but could not. "Would you be upset if I said I didn't believe you?"

"Ask your boss. He'll verify my claim."

She frowned, confused. "Why are you a hired detective when you could be president of a bank?"

"I happen to like criminal investigation more than banking. I felt trapped at a desk. There is also the challenge of matching wits with the criminal mind."

"Are you successful?" she asked, teasing.

"I win more times than I lose," he answered honestly.

"Why me?" she asked him. "Why wine and dine a mere secretary instead of a socialite more your equal?"

Bell did not mince words. "Because you're attractive, intelligent, and I'm captivated."

"But you don't know me."

"I hope to change that," he said, devastating her with his eyes again. "Now, enough talk. Let's enjoy the crepes."

When they finished the savory dessert, Bell asked the waiter for two gla.s.ses of fifty-year-old port. Then he leaned back, fully sated. "Tell me about Jacob Cromwell."

The food and wine had done its work. Marion was too mellow to see the trap she was stepping into. "What would you like to know?"

"Where he came from, how he launched his bank, is he married. After meeting him, I found him most interesting. I heard he and his sister Margaret are the city's leading philanthropists."

"I've worked for Mr. Cromwell for nine years and I can safely say he is a very smart and perceptive man who is a confirmed bachelor. He started the bank in 1892 with very little in a.s.sets and weathered the depression of the nineties. He made money through the worst of it. Most all the banks in the city came close to closing their doors during hard economic times. Not Cromwell National Bank. Through shrewd management and sound banking principles, he built a financial empire with a.s.sets running in the many millions of dollars."

"A resourceful man," said Bell admiringly. "Obviously, a self-made man."

She nodded. "The growth of Cromwell National Bank is nothing short of a financial miracle."

"Where did he find the money to open a bank?"

"That's a bit of a mystery. He's very close-lipped about his business affairs prior to launching a small bank on Market Street. Rumor has it, he started with no more than fifty thousand dollars. When I came to work, the bank's a.s.sets were well over a million."

"What sort of investments does he make with his fortune?"

She held up her hands in a helpless gesture. "I honestly don't know. He's never mentioned his personal finances to me, and I've seen no paperwork or correspondence. I a.s.sume he plunges his profits back into the bank."

"What of his family? Where did he and his sister come from?"

Again, Marion looked lost. "He's never spoken of his past. One time, he mentioned that he and Margaret's father had a farm in North Dakota, in a little town called Buffalo. Other than that, his family ties are buried in the past."

"I'm sure he has his reasons," said Bell. He did not want to push Marion too far, so he turned the conversation to his own childhood growing up in the elitist society of Boston. Going to Yale University, and his father's extreme displeasure when he went to work at the Van Dorn Detective Agency and not the family bank. He took a circuitous route back to Cromwell. "Cromwell stuck me as an educated man. I wonder where he went to school."

"Margaret once said they attended college in Minnesota," said Marion, dabbing a napkin to her lips after finishing her crepes.

"Margaret is a beautiful woman," he said, watching for a reaction.

Marion barely veiled her dislike of Cromwell's sister. "I know she's involved with a number of charities, but she is not someone I'd have as a close friend."

"She can't be trusted?" Bell guessed.

"She doesn't always tell the truth. And there are always rumors of scandal, which Mr. Cromwell manages to cover up. Strangely, he doesn't seem disturbed by her antics. It's almost as if he enjoys them."

"Does he travel much?"

"Oh, yes, he's often away fishing in Oregon, enjoying the Bohemian Club's retreat in the redwoods, or hunting in Alaska. He also attends at least three banking conferences a year in various parts of the country. Once a year, he and Margaret tour Europe together."

"So he doesn't manage the day-to-day business of the bank."