“Yes, sir,” Conrad said woodenly.
II
Conrad’s staff consisted of his- secretary, Madge Fielding, and his leg-man, Van Roche. Neither of them appeared to have any other interests except the work of the department, and when Conrad came into his office he found them waiting impatiently for him.
“What’s the verdict, Paul?” Van Roche demanded as Conrad crossed the room to his desk.
“We go after Maurer,” Conrad told him, pulling out his chair and sitting down. The D.A. says he isn’t going to pass up the remotest chance, and although he isn’t entirely sold on the evidence, he thinks we should at least do some preliminary work.”
Van Roche grinned and rubbed his hands together. He was tall and thin, darkcomplexioned with a pencil-lined moustache. “That’s terrific!” he exclaimed. “You certainly must have dug it into him! What’s the preliminary work?”
Conrad glanced over at Madge Fielding who sat at her desk, toying with a pencil, her big grey eyes thoughtful. She was around twenty-six or seven, small, compact and durably put together. She had no claim to beauty. Her small features, her snub nose and her strong, firm mouth gave her face interest, but nothing more. Instead of beauty, she had an astonishing stamina for hard work, boundless enthusiasm and energetic efficiency.
“Well, what’s your reaction, Madge?” Conrad asked, smiling at her.
“I was thinking that if you two are going to dig into Maurer’s past you’d better buy yourselves a couple of bullet-proof vests,” she said quietly. “And I’m not kidding.” Van Roche gave an exaggerated shudder. “How right she is. Trust our little Madge to put her finger on the weak spot. Well, I guess I’ll take out an insurance policy to cover my funeral. I’d like to be put away in style.” Conrad shook his head.
“That’s the least of our worries. Maurer’s got beyond shooting cops. Ten years ago he wouldn’t have hesitated, but not now. He’s too much of a business man, and he has too much to lose to take chances. He knows shooting cops is about the one thing no one gets away with. No, I don’t think we have much to worn’ about on that score. We’ll be all right; it’s our witnesses we’ll have to protect, if we ever find any witnesses.”