William Arden - The Secret of the Crooked Cat

Andy cried out, “I’ve got my Dad!”

They all stopped to listen as the carnival boy spoke eagerly into the telephone, and they waited impatiently as Andy’s Dad checked who was at the carnival. Chief Reynolds left the room again when one of his men called him. Moments later, Andy was nodding into the telephone.

“Yes, Dad. Jiminy, I’m sorry! But is anyone missing? No, all right Yes, Dad. Right away!”

Andy hung up. “Everyone’s there, Jupiter. At least they are now — all except me! The show’s already open. I’ve got to get there right away. I won’t even have time for dinner.”

Bob and Pete both jumped as if shot, their faces pictures of dismay. “Oh my gosh,” Pete moaned, “we’ve missed our dinners!”

“We're in real trouble, Jupe,” Bob echoed. Jupiter, too, paled a little. Konrad chuckled at the thought of what Aunt Matilda would say to Jupe. The boys knew that nothing annoyed their parents and guardians more than missing dinner, no matter what tight spots their investigating work got them into. But Jupiter hated to leave before Chief Reynolds could tell them something more. So the boys stood there nervously until the Chief returned. He nodded grimly to them.

“We don’t have to go to the carnival, boys,” the Chief announced. “We just found the car only four blocks from here in the highway. The crooked cat was in the car. It had been cut open, there was nothing in it. Tyre marks on the grass show he was either picked up by another car, or had a second car ready and waiting. Anyway, we’ll have to alert the whole state now. I’m afraid he got what he wanted and left Rocky Beach in a hurry, boys. I guess you’d better go home. We’ll get him, but it will take time now.”

The boys nodded dejectedly. They hurried down to the truck with Konrad, more worried now about being late than about losing the cat-thief.

Or, rather, Bob, Pete and Andy were worried. Jupiter was thinking about something else, something interesting. His eyes were speculative, but no one noticed.

For missing their dinners, both Bob and Pete spent all next day performing chores around their houses. They had to admit that they’d asked for it, and worked without too much grumbling, but their minds were on the failure of the case. They couldn’t help wondering if the tattooed man had been caught. Each tried to call Jupiter more than once, but the First Investigator wasn’t at Headquarters or at his house.

At dinner, Bob gulped his food. His father smiled at him.

“Chief Reynolds reports that you and your friends almost caught a bank robber last night,” Mr. Andrews said.

“We didn’t know he was a bank robber, Dad,” Bob explained. “We were just helping a carnival boy in trouble.”

“It’s good to help people, Bob, and I know that you boys are careful. Chief Reynolds says you did nothing foolish or dangerous. Still, you worry me sometimes. Be sure you keep alert and use your head, son.”

“Jupiter says being prepared is half the fight.”

“As usual, Jupiter is right,” Mr. Andrews said dryly.

“Too bad your man escaped. Chief Reynolds says he’s been reported all over the state, but they haven’t caught him.”

This news did nothing to cheer Bob. As he rode to the salvage yard after dinner, he realized that this could turn out to be the first unsolved case The Three Investigators had ever had. He was still brooding over it when he clambered up into Headquarters. Jupiter was there, bent intently over a pile of newspapers and studying some scrawled notes.

“What are you doing, First?” Bob asked.

The First Investigator shook his head curtly to indicate that he didn’t want to talk. Miffed, Bob began to study some specimens of sea life the boys had gathered while skin diving. Then he wandered to the See-All and began to survey the salvage yard in the fading light of the sunny day.

“Looks like Uncle Titus has bought another load no one knows what to do with,” he announced.

Jupiter grunted. He had stopped his reading and was sitting deep in thought, his eyes closed. Bob looked back through the See-All.

“Here comes Pete!”

This time Jupiter didn’t even grunt. Soon Pete came up through the trapdoor and stared at the silent Jupiter.

“What’s Jupe doing?” he wanted to know.

“Don’t ask me,” Bob replied. “The Great Brain is at work,”

“Why all the newspapers? Is he going to find the tattooed man by putting another ad in the paper?”

Jupiter looked up, his eyes bright. “That won’t be needed, Second. I think I know where the tattooed man is.”

“You do, Jupe?” Bob cried. “Where?”

“Where he’s been all the time — here in Rocky Beach, at the carnival.”

Pete groaned. “Gosh, Jupe, like Chief Reynolds said, we don’t know that. Why, he’s been seen in six different places!”

“Seven, to be precise,” Jupiter agreed.

“That proves he’s sure not here,” Bob said.

“On the contrary, Records,” Jupiter pronounced. “I’ve been studying the reports on him in the papers. The seven people saw him in seven different places as much as two hundred miles apart! I would venture to say that no one has seen him!”

Bob nodded. “I see that, Jupe. But what makes you so sure he’s still in Rocky Beach, and at the carnival?”

Jupiter jumped up and began to pace the tiny room. “I’ve read everything I could find about the bank robbery. There are three items — two in the San Mateo paper and one in a Los Angeles paper. I also took a trip to San Mateo today while you two were paying for missing dinner.”

“Why didn’t you have to work?” Pete demanded hotly. “You missed dinner, too!”

“I did have to work,” Jupiter said, and grinned. “But it just happened that I knew of some very interesting junk that could be purchased in San Mateo. When I told Uncle Titus about the junk there, he sent me to get it with Hans and Konrad.”

Pete sighed. “Some people are just lucky, I guess. Nothing ever gets me out of working around the house.”

“What did you learn about the robbery, First?” Bob asked.

“Well,” Jupiter said, his face eager now, “it happened on the Friday night of the carnival fire, all right. On Fridays, the San Mateo bank is open until six o’clock, the weekend deposits are large, and the carnival opens earlier than usual! Also, fellows, that Friday was the carnival’s last day in San Mateo! They were due to leave San Mateo late than night, travel here, and open on Saturday night!”

“Gosh,” Pete said. “Just right if a member of the carnival wanted to rob the bank and get away fast!”

“Exactly, Second,” Jupiter said. “The robber of the bank was dressed all in black, with a close-fitting black hood and black tennis shoes.”

“Gabbo’s costume!” Bob exclaimed.

Jupiter nodded. “Only the robber’s arms were bare. All the witnesses agreed on that. The robber had rolled up his sleeves.”

“That’s how everyone noticed the tattoo,” Bob realized.

“Yes, Records,” Jupiter said. “The robber entered the bank at five minutes before six. He captured a guard and went into the open vault where the money was. He held the guard hostage until he was outside. Then he stunned the guard and ran into an alley beside the bank. The alarm had been turned on the moment he left the bank, and a police car arrived within minutes.”

“But he got away, didn’t he, Jupe?” Pete asked impatiently.

“He got away, but they don’t know how!” Jupiter said. “The police ran into that alley within minutes after the robber. They didn’t find him — and yet it was a totally blind alley! There was no way out of that alley at all. Only three building walls with high, locked windows. Yet the robber was gone!”