“And,” Penny added, “he knew exactly when the boys left on their camping trip. Remember? Ann Mary told him he had to bring back their clean shirts before they left. I imagine it was simple for him to find out from her where they were going.”
“Uh huh,” Phil said. “Very simple. Ann Mary had no reason to suspect him. He followed them to Uncle John’s fishing camp only to find that they had moved deeper into the woods. He saw the Bronc’s tire tracks and followed them to the lake. Early in the morning before Brook’s adventure, he rigged up the coat with the other half of the note in the pocket. He could count on the fact that one of the boys, while out canoeing, would be sure to notice what looked like the torso of a human body.” Phil smiled. “Taggart also knew that Jimmy, like Marjorie, was sure treasure was buried around here and was looking for clues.”
“And,” Peter added, “the man knew that no boy could resist going through the pockets of an old coat he found.”
Jimmy’s tanned cheeks were very red. “Well,” he said, “that clears up all the mysterious clues and letters. And we certainly all played right into his hands when we issued invitations to the masquerade.”
“And,” Penny added, “when I dropped hints all over the village that we were going to show our guests the secret room that night.” She sighed. “What I don’t understand is how Taggart knew there was a secret drawer in the safe.”
“Because,” Philip explained, staring at Marjorie, “one day when he was out here he caught a glimpse of the safe. Not only is he a notorious forger, but, in between sessions in jail, he’s made an exhaustive study of safes. He knew that the particular style and make of the one in the secret room had a hidden drawer in the top. Since we obviously hadn’t found the certificates while we were cleaning up the Lodge, he guessed that they might be in the secret compartment of the safe.”
“But,” Jimmy interrupted. “When on earth did he get a glimpse of the safe? Up until tonight—I mean last night—nobody but you and Pat ever went into the secret room. And I’m sure neither of you was careless enough to open the door unless you were sure no one was lurking around.”
It was now Marjorie’s turn to cover her red cheeks with both hands. “I can answer that one,” she confessed miserably. “One day when Mr. Taggart was here, I showed Judy how the door opened. He must have been hiding in the alcove when the bookshelves moved back. I heard someone moving down the hall just before we left, and thought it was Ann Mary with a bundle of soiled laundry. But I guess there’s no doubt that it was Mr. Taggart.” She raised her face, on the verge of tears. “Thinking back, I remember now that he was in the kitchen, and Judy and I had just left there when she begged me to show her how the secret door worked. Oh,” she finished, “how can I be so dumb?”
“’Tain’t easy,” Jimmy said, grinning. “You’ve got to have a lot of practice before you can be as hopeless as you are!”
“Never mind, honey,” Penny said to Marjorie in a comforting voice. “After all, in a way you helped to set the trap that caught Mr. X.” She turned to Philip. “We’re all trying to tell your story for you, and I, for one, am getting confused. Once Taggart got a glimpse of the safe and knew how to get into the secret room, why did he wait until the masquerade to go in there?”