“You’ll not!” Dennis sat up suddenly, the ashes from his pipe falling upon the book laid open across his knee. “Don’t mind him, sir! He’s got something up his sleeve, he as good as told me so yesterday afternoon!”
“Denny!” McCarty paused, grimacing horribly at the base informer. “Don’t you listen to him, inspector! I had just a notion with nothing to back it up, and if I sprung it now and it turned out to be wide of the mark there’s no corner of this earth could hide us from what would come!”
“What is it?” the inspector demanded. “For God’s sake, Mac, don’t hold out anything now! It’s more than your record or my career that is at stake; the pride of the whole department is in our hands! What is this notion, as you call it?”
McCarty shook his head.
“It’s no use, sir! If I had one hint of even circumstantial evidence to support it, I wouldn’t be loafing here this minute, but I’ll tell you what I will do. Come noon, I’m thinking I’ll know whether there’s anything in it or no and if there is I’ll be ’phoning to headquarters, with a request that’ll maybe surprise you. Whatever it is you’ll let me have it, for well you know I’d make no move unless I was sure.”
There was an unmistakable note of finality in his tone and Inspector Druet acknowledged it with a shrug. In his troubled eyes a renewed glow of hope had come.
“By noon?” he repeated. “I’ll be there waiting for your message, Mac.”
“Meanwhile,” McCarty carefully avoided Dennis’ gaze, “I’ve a bit of news for you, sir. Denny and me have managed to lay our hands on the papers that have been missing from Parsons’ house.”
“I thought you would!” The shadow of a smile passed across the inspector’s face. “The department doesn’t countenance burglary, of course, but when two such deputies as you take matters into your own hands I wash mine of the responsibility. What did you find out?”
Dennis was endeavoring to hide behind his book but his agonized contortions bore mute testimony to his guilt. McCarty gazed at his old superior with a world of reproach.