“You can be sure of nothing, Miss Lawton, save the fact that Mr. Hamilton is not dead,” Henry Blaine said earnestly. “You do not realize, perhaps, the one salient fact that criminal experts who deal with cases of disappearance have long since recognized––the most difficult of all things to conceal or do away with in a large city is a dead body.”
Anita shivered and clasped her hands convulsively, but she did not speak, and after a scarcely perceptible pause, the detective went on:
“You must not let your mind dwell on the possibilities; it will only entail useless, needless suffering on your part. My experiences have been many and varied in just such cases as this, and in not one in fifty does serious harm come to the subject of the investigation. In fact, in this instance, I think it quite probable that 118 Mr. Hamilton has left the city of his own accord, and in your interests.”
“In my interests?” Anita repeated, roused from her lethargy of sorrow by his words, as he had intended that she should be. “Left the city? But why?”
“When he called upon me yesterday morning I told him of a commission which I wished him to execute for me in connection with your investigation. I gave him some preliminary instructions and he was to return to me in the afternoon for a letter of introduction and to learn some minor details of the matter involved. He did not appear at the hour of our appointment and I concluded that he had taken the affair into his own hands and had gone immediately upon leaving my office to fulfill his mission.”
“Oh, perhaps he did!” The young girl started from her chair, her dull, tearless eyes suddenly bright with hope. “That would be like Ramon; he is so impulsive, so anxious to help me in every way! Where did you send him, Mr. Blaine? Can’t we telephone, or wire and find out if he really has gone to this place? Please, please do! I cannot endure this agony of uncertainty, of suspense, much longer!”
“Unfortunately, we cannot do that!” Blaine responded, gravely. “To attempt to communicate with him where I have sent him would be to show our hand irretrievably to the men we are fighting and undo much of the work which has been accomplished. He may communicate with you or possibly with me, if he finds that he can contrive to accomplish it safely.”
“Safely? Then if he has gone to this place, wherever it is, he is in danger?” Anita faltered, tremblingly.
“By no means. The only danger is that his identity and purpose may be disclosed and our plans jeopardized,” 119 the detective reassured her smoothly. “I know it is hard to wait for news, but one must school oneself to patience under circumstances such as this. It may be several days before you hear from Mr. Hamilton and you must try not to distress yourself with idle fears in the meantime.”
“But it is not certain––we have no assurance that he really did go upon that mission.” The light of hope died in her eyes as she spoke, and a little sob rose in her throat. “Oh, Mr. Blaine, promise me that you will leave no stone unturned to find him!”