M. V. Carey - The Mystery of the Cranky Collector

Jupe nodded. “Okay. Let’s look at some other files.” He called up the file on Ted Ariago.

The information on Ariago looked routine at first. Ariago was a widower. He had no children, and he lived in a town house in the Larchmont area. Before taking the position of manager of the Santa Monica branch of the A. L. Becket Department Store, Ariago had been director of operations at a non-Pilcher enterprise — South’s Specialty Stores. The dossier on Ariago quickly became more than routine. The man had once been arrested and charged with attempting to defraud an insurance company; there had been a fire in a building Ariago owned, the insurance company suspected arson. The charge was dismissed for lack of evidence.

Then, Ariago had left South’s Stores amid rumors that he had taken payoffs from builders and suppliers who worked on projects for the company. There was also a terse note at the end of the file: “Woman-chaser.”

The file on Chuck Durham, Pilcher’s lawyer, was almost as interesting as the one on Ariago. Durham was a gambler, addicted to horse racing, poker, and also to taking some high risks on the stock market. Pilcher suspected him of using funds that he held in trust for some minors, and had threatened to contact the bar association and ask for an investigation of his accounts. Pilcher felt the threat would “keep him in line.”

The file on the man who managed Pilcher’s bank in Visalia showed he had a less-than-honorable discharge from the Navy. Pilcher knew it and let the man know that he knew it.

Jupe called up file after file. One secret after another flashed on the monitor. Even Mrs. McCarthy had her fatal flaw. She was addicted to the weekly bingo games at St. Athanasius’ Parish.

“I don’t think this is getting us anywhere,” said Marilyn Pilcher at last. “All it shows is that… that we had a houseful of people yesterday who hated Dad’s guts. He doesn’t have any friends. I hate that. And I hate it that he took the trouble to find out all this stuff.”

She was almost in tears. For the moment she was not defending her father.

Jupe had to agree that the secret files weren’t really helpful. Everyone listed had a motive for wanting Pilcher out of the way, but no one person stood out. Everyone was a suspect, and no one was.

“There’s one more file,” Jupe said. “We might as well see it. It’s called ‘Mujer vieja.’ That means ‘old woman’ in Spanish.”

“Big deal!” said Pete. “It’s probably more about Mrs. McCarthy. She’s been conspiring to fix those bingo games!”

“Why would a file on Mrs. McCarthy be in Spanish?” said Jupe reasonably, and he called it up.

It was quite different from the other files. It was a letter, and it was directed to Marilyn.

START SOGAMOSO, said the computer screen. GO TO OLD WOMAN. AT SUNSET ON MIDSUMMER DAY HER SHADOW TOUCHES THE TEARS OF THE GODS. ALL FOR YOU, BUT WATCH OUT FOR NAVARRO. IS HE LEGAL? CHECK INS.

“Well, now,” said Jupe. He ordered the computer to make a print-out of this cryptic message. As the print head flew across the paper, he looked hopefully at Marilyn.

She shook her head.

“It doesn’t mean anything to you?” asked Jupiter.

“Not a thing.”

“You’re supposed to watch out for Navarro,” Jupe persisted. “Do you know somebody named Navarro?”

Marilyn shrugged. “Another of Dad’s charming business associates, I suppose. There was no Navarro at the party. I guess Dad missed a few deadly enemies when he made up the guest list.”

The boys saw that she was crying. The tears ran down her cheeks, and she did not even try to wipe them away.

“Okay,” said Jupe. “Maybe we can find a clue someplace else.”

He turned away from the computer. Bob held up a small notebook that he had just found in a drawer. “An address book,” he said. “Handwritten.”

The boys went through the book, page by page, but there was no one named Navarro listed.

“My mom might know,” said Marilyn. She had recovered somewhat from her silent fit of weeping. “Mom and Dad aren’t on speaking terms now, but she might remember someone from the old days when they were together.”

“Are you going to call her and ask?” Pete wanted to know.

“Ah… it’s awkward. Right now she’s mad at me too. She doesn’t like my coming here to be with Dad and she doesn’t like my fiancé and… well, never mind, I’ll try her.”

Marilyn picked up the telephone and dialed. When the call was answered, a voice said a lot more than hello. “She’s out,” explained Marilyn to the boys. “I’ve got her answering machine.”

There was a beep from the phone.

“Mother, it’s me,” said Marilyn. “Listen, I think Dad may have been kidnapped. Some boys here are trying to find out for sure. Mom, if Jupiter Jones and Pete Crenshaw and Bob Andrews come to see you, would you talk to them? They want to find out about somebody named Navarro. And Sogamoso, too. If you think of anything, tell them, huh? I’ll be home soon, but I can’t leave until I find out about Dad. ’Bye, Mom.”

She hung up. “That should do it. My mom’s an okay person, really. She doesn’t wish anybody bad luck — not even Dad.”

The boys gathered up the print-outs Jupe had made, and Marilyn wrote down her mother’s address for them. After a brief conference they decided that Pete would stay with Marilyn for the rest of the day and also that night, since Mrs. McCarthy had a husband and she planned to go home to him. Bob announced that he had some chores to do at home and volunteered to go to the Rocky Beach Library after dinner. He would search reference books for some mention of Sogamoso.

“There’s no sense even looking for references to Navarro,” he told Jupe. “There must be a zillion Navarros just in the Los Angeles phone book. But Sogamoso isn’t a name you hear every day. It might be a lead.”

“It may not be a person,” Jupe pointed out. “It could be a place or even a company.”

Jupiter was elected to visit Mrs. Pilcher. He said good-bye to Marilyn and his pals, and rode on down the highway to Santa Monica.

Mrs. Pilcher’s home turned out to be a rambling one-story residence on a quiet street. Unlike the unkempt Pilcher mansion in Rocky Beach, it sparkled with fresh paint. The lawn was well-tended and very green. The walk leading to the house had a just-swept look.

Mrs. Pilcher answered the doorbell herself. A pleasant-looking woman with hair the color of taffy and eyes to match, she was too plump to be fashionable, but her skin was smooth and unwrinkled. She was much younger than Jeremy Pilcher.

“I suppose you’re one of the boys Marilyn phoned about,” said Mrs. Pilcher. “I was out when the call came. I can’t give you much time. I’m expecting a… a guest. Come in.” She led Jupe through an entrance hall into a living room with soft-green carpeting, and furniture covered with white linen.

Mrs. Pilcher sat down in a big chair near the fireplace. “Is Marilyn all right?” she said. “Why doesn’t she come home?”

“She wants to be there if the kidnapper calls,” said Jupe.

“I should go over there,” said Mrs. Pilcher, “but I just hate to. I hate that house. Things started going wrong for us the day we moved in there. Marilyn isn’t alone, is she?”

“My friend Pete is with her,” said Jupiter.

“Your friend? A boy, I suppose. Where are the police? She shouldn’t be there with just a boy to protect her.”

“Pete’s an athlete,” said Jupe. “He’s faster and stronger than a lot of adults. Also, it wouldn’t be in the best interests of the kidnapper to harm Marilyn, would it? He wants her to give him the bishop’s book.”

“Bishop’s book?” Mrs. Pilcher was sitting forward, tense and listening. Jupe had the feeling she was barely listening to him. She was tuned in to something else, something that might be happening in some far part of the house.