“By George!” muttered Murray, “it’s that Adolph Schlimmer who tried to get a rebate on his policy, and the fellow with him is Max Mays.”
Just then word came that Murray’s man would see him, and he had to leave. He was careful, however, to keep the column between him and the two he had found in conversation. It was just as well not to let them know of his presence, for he preferred not to have their suspicions aroused.
There was now little doubt in his mind that some scheme was being worked out. But what? What could these two men, neither of whom was versed in the theory and details of life insurance, do that would be in any way hurtful to the company or advantageous to them? Of course, it was only a surmise that their confidential business concerned him in any way, but association with Schlimmer would be sufficient to make Murray uneasy about any of his men, and the strange action of Mays in the Tainter matter added to his uneasiness.
His first move was to investigate Mays thoroughly, and, to his astonishment, he discovered that, far from having a mother to support, Mays was living with a married brother and had no one to look after but himself. He had told the truth about his business record, but he had lied about his personal responsibilities. That lie had been an artistic one, however, for it had helped materially to get him a position with Murray.
Further investigation showed that there was a light-headed, frivolous young girl, to whom he was devoted and with whom he attended Saturday-night dances in various public halls, but it had to be admitted, to his credit, that he never let these interfere with business and was always on hand with a clear head. At the same time, it threw an entirely new light on his character, and showed him to be not at all the sort of fellow his business record had indicated.
Murray was tempted to discharge him at once, but he refrained for two reasons: first, his action would be dictated by his own disappointment in the man rather than by anything he knew that was definitely derogatory, aside from his falsehood about his mother; second, he wanted a chance to investigate further the association with Schlimmer, and the only way to do this was to pretend to be entirely unsuspicious and entirely satisfied. If there was any kind of scheme that could be put up by two such men, he was interested in finding it out, especially if they had already taken any action. Until the thing was clear, he wished to have Mays within reach.
Mays was shadowed for a few days, but nothing was learned except that he unquestionably had business relations with the unscrupulous Schlimmer, and that they occasionally met in the office of a lawyer in that district.
“A lawyer!” mused Murray. “Now, what the devil do they need of a lawyer? I can’t see where he comes in.”
“Tainter was with them once,” replied the “shadow.”
“I certainly never had anything puzzle me like this,” remarked Murray. “The separate incidents are so trifling that it seems absurd to attach any importance to them, and yet, taking them all together, I am convinced there is something wrong. I’d like to hear what they have to say to each other.”