“That’s strange,” agreed Burke, turning to Kennedy. “I don’t understand that. Do you? Do you suppose the fellow has been double crossing Irene Maddox all the time? These divorce sleuths are an unprincipled lot, usually.”
Kennedy shook his head non-commitally. “I think it will be worth looking into,” he considered. “Has anything else happened?”
“Plenty,” replied Riley cheerfully. “Since you went away Shelby Maddox has given up living out on the Sybarite, I understand. He is to live at the Harbor House all the time, and has brought his stuff ashore, although he hasn’t been about much. He is another one who has a speedster that can do some traveling.”
“What do you make of that move?” encouraged Hastings.
Riley shrugged. “Sometimes,” he remarked, slowly, “I think he is watching the others. I don’t know yet whether he does it because he suspects something of them, or because he thinks they suspect something of him. Anyhow, he has brought that Jap, Mito, ashore, too. Is he afraid of him? Has Mito something that gives him a leverage on Shelby Maddox? I don’t know. Only, it’s mighty strange.”
“Has Mito done anything suspicious?” asked Kennedy.
“His whole conduct is suspicious,” asserted Riley, positively. “Why was he in town so late last night? Besides, the fellow is well educated—too well educated to be a servant. No, sir, you can’t make me believe that he is here for any good. He’s clever, too. They tell me he can run a motor-boat or a car as well as the best. And he’s quiet. There’s something deep about him. Why, you can see that he knows that he is being watched.”
“But what has he done?” emphasized Kennedy.
“N-nothing. Only, he acts as though he was covering up something. I know the symptoms.”
I tried to analyze our feelings toward Mito. Was it merely that Riley and the rest of us did not understand the subtle Oriental, and that hence we suspected everything we did not understand? There was no denying that Mito’s actions out on the Sybarite, for instance, had been open to question. Yet, as far as I knew, there was nothing on which one could place his finger and accuse the little man, except his alleged presence in town so late the night before.