“Sergeant,” said Belknap quickly, “will you and Berry go up to Miss Video’s room? John, show them up. You may begin to notice there’s something damn wrong with things around here. There is. And I must have a word with the Judge alone. He’s the one to bring it to a standstill—if there is still time.”
He seized Whittaker by the arm and half led, half pushed him into the dining-room. Berry and Stebbins made the stairs three at a bound. Julian dragged Joel onto the terrace outside the windows.
“Julian—darling,” Joel protested, “please leave me alone. I must go to bed. I’m ill, really I am; and so is poor Uncle Bertrand. Didn’t you see how frightfully he looked?”
“Now don’t poor your Uncle Bertrand in front of me, Joel. If you begin sticking up for him now that he’s in such a pickle you and I part company. He’s downright responsible for the whole mess. And don’t you dare talk about going to bed either. I’ve got to talk to you—to you or someone else—or I’ll simply burst. And I refuse to burst in front of Belknap. You must spare me that, dear. Now listen to me.” His voice fell almost to a whisper. “I’ve got a clue—a clue, do you hear me? A tangible clue! Darling, don’t shut your eyes. Look.”
Julian produced a little square of fool’s cap with letters as unintelligible to Joel as hieroglyphics typed across it. Joel feverishly rubbed out its network of wrinkles and squinted at it as though she were near-sighted.
“Oh, Julian, I don’t want to know about this. Don’t let’s get mixed up in it. Let’s run away, do.”
“Run away! Me? Why it’s the chance of a life-time to make a reputation for myself. You aren’t going to be the kind of wife that asks her husband to sacrifice himself for her on the eve of establishing his career, are you?”
“No-o—only I’m afraid of it, like a bomb. I’d rather somebody else handled it. Let’s take it to that sergeant, or Mr. Belknap, or Lieutenant Berry. Perhaps it’s really important.”
“Perhaps it’s important. I like that. It is important. It’s a code message. A code. And codes are my middle name. Didn’t you know that, darling? Good in arithmetic, fair in geography, poor in deportment, rank in spellin’; but perfect in codes. I know as much about codes as that Philo Vance man knows about all other subjects put together. I have an idea he crams, while I have made codes my life work. Began in grade school behind those old desk tops we used to have, do you remember, when what was learned on top was nothing to what was learned under cover.”
“Oh, Julian, do stop fooling. If you get into one of your fooling moods there’ll be no keeping even these murders serious. For heaven’s sake, if you know so much about codes, don’t keep me in suspense.”