“That would be my opinion,” nodded the policeman. “If someone answered, he could hang up. Otherwise, he would be fairly sure the house was empty.”
“One night at the theatre I saw a man who resembled Slippery noting down the license number of the Kohl car. But the house was robbed within a few hours after that. How could he have obtained the name and address?”
“Easily. There are ‘information fences’ who supply such data to fellow members of the underworld. It is also possible that Slippery previously had watched the Kohl house, obtained the car license number, and then watched for it later at the theatre.”
Jerry already had supplied police with the name of the fence whose establishment Slippery had visited earlier in the day. Later, a raid staged there brought to light much loot taken from various Riverview homes.
However, for the moment, police were most interested in gaining complete information which could be used in rounding up all members of the Celestial Temple Society who had not fled the city.
Searching Slippery they found, not only jewelry stolen from the Henley residence, but a booklet containing many names and telephone numbers.
“Sadie Beardsell,” Penny read. “She’s one of the members, I am sure.”
Lest Mr. and Mrs. Hodges might also be arrested, she explained that the old couple had been an innocent dupe of Al Gepper. Turning to the medium she said:
“I think I know how you accomplished most of your tricks. Of course, you were the one who sent Mrs. Hodges a letter with six dollars. Undoubtedly, you had it mailed by an accomplice from New York at exactly the hour you specified. Then at that same hour you slipped up to the Hodges’ cottage, and rapped six times on the bedroom wall.”
“You seem to have everything figured out,” Al Gepper responded sarcastically. “Clever girl!”