"No. It was written by Gabriel Leonard. Just what I might have expected."
"What is his little game? I confess I am puzzled."
"It is a waiting game, chief. There is more in this case than has appeared on the surface. By the way, have you heard from Mrs. Dashwood to-day?"
"No."
"Call up the house and ask her if she has heard either from her father or her husband. It is not likely that she has heard from her husband, but her father may have written."
Mrs. Dashwood responded to the call, and, in answer to questions, said that her father had written from Madison, and had stated that Mr. Dashwood would return home in a few days. Leonard himself might not be able, on account of pressing business, to return before his son-in-law arrived.
The chief passed his hand slowly over his forehead. "What are we up against?" he said, with a puzzled look at Nick. "I have it," he continued, as a thought struck him. "Leonard is keeping his daughter in the dark out of regard for her feelings. She will stay fooled until her father has either been arrested or has left the country."
Nick was toying with the note purporting to have come from Madame Ree, and did not reply.
When he did speak, it was not in relation to anything the chief had said. "Who among the business men of St. Louis would be likely to know the names and addresses of Leonard's closest friends?"