“I get into the way of repeating the things you say, sir,” explained the Inspector. “But do you mean that just because I told you Plenmeller had gone into the bank you guessed he'd deposited that Colt there?”
“Well, no, not quite,” confessed Hemingway. “When you told me that, it came to me in a flash that he was just coming out of a bank when I happened to run into him here on Monday morning. Putting two and two together, and taking into account the psychology of Mr. Gavin Plenmeller, it seemed fairly safe to trust my instinct.”
“Good lord!” ejaculated the Inspector. “And where would you have been if he hadn't deposited the Colt in the bank?”
“Exactly where I am now. I should have arrested him anyhow. But the instant he set eyes on me I knew I was right. He's a good actor, but seeing me in the bank gave him the nastiest shock he's had—so far.”
“But to rush it like that—!” said Harbottle, his respect for forms and ceremonies considerably shocked. “Pushing into the manager's office without a by your leave, and telling him lies about Plenmeller's wanting to show you the contents of a package you'd no proof was in the bank at all! You ought to have had a warrant!”
“Yes, that's where I think quicker than you do, Horace. You try getting a warrant to search a bank! First, you've got to put up a strong case, then you've got to get authority to make the manager disclose that he has received a package from your suspect, and after that you've got to apply for a special warrant, and lastly, just to round things off, you've got to wait for three days after you've presented it before you can execute the warrant! Thanks, I've had some! Meanwhile, Mr. Gavin Plenmeller gets wind of what you're up to, and thinks up an ingenious stalemate. No, the proper thing to do was to rock him right off his balance.”
“He couldn't have done anything,” argued the Inspector. “We could have had him watched, and the bank too.”
“We could, of course, but there's something you're forgetting, Horace. Two things, in fact.”
“What are they?” asked the Inspector, frowning.
“All that hanging about would have been a bad curtain. If you hadn't got a silly prejudice against the theatre, you'd know that. And on top of that,” said the Chief Inspector comfortably, “I've got a fortnight's leave due to me on Saturday. I had to force the pace!”