EQMM 1951-05 by Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine

Author:Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine [Magazine, Ellery Queen’s Mystery]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: detective, det_classic
Publisher: Mercury Publications
Published: 1951-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Two days before the hotel dance a meeting was convened at the rooms at the “Chat Noir,” where the Cronk Menace was discussed in detail.

There was now no doubt in the mind of anybody present that Cronk was a very dangerous man. It had been established by the “Countess” that he was in Plage-sur-Mer for a purpose. It was now established, furthermore, that his spies, accomplices, assistants — call them what you will — were the two young English people, apparently so harmless, who were to be seen about the hotel at all hours, though they were not staying in it; and that their headquarters was the empty villa on the outskirts of the town, which belonged to Milord Leconbridge.

Last night Cronk had actually visited the villa, choosing his time carefully so as not to meet his assistants personally. Doubtless his object had been to give them their orders; but the subtlety of his methods was proved by the fact that an immediate and intensive search of the villa had yielded no sign of any message. Probably some clever code of signaling had been devised.

Everything in the villa had been left untouched to avoid suspicion. And now the question was: what next?

A gray-haired American lady, one of a batch of tourists who had come over for the day from a neighboring and cheaper resort, was in the chair. She looked like a schoolmistress from the Middle West, but her voice was the voice of the late Countess’s late maid.

“Have these people,” she asked briskly, looking round the table, “been in touch with any other visitors?”

The meeting shook its heads.

“Good. If they’re working alone the thing’s easy. The two young ones must go to their villa in the evening to dress for the masquerade. We can settle their hash then. As for Cronk, he’d better be — er — removed at about the same time. If he’s in the hotel that’ll be your job, Jacques.” Knives-and-Boots gave a nod. “You’re off duty then. You can hide in the cupboard. But I think he will not go to his room. We know that he has no costume for the masquerade, unless he goes to the villa to change. He will hardly do that, I think.”

“He may,” put in the extra hall-porter. “His method is always to do the thing that seems wrong.”

“Well, let us hope he does,” said the ex-maid with unction. “We can then put him with his friends. After that we all know what to do. I will give the signal, as near 11:30 as can be. Any questions? No? Good — then I will rejoin my party, if you will excuse me.”

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