The Silent Death by Maxwell Grant & Walter Gibson

Author:Maxwell Grant & Walter Gibson [Grant, Maxwell & Gibson, Walter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Espionage, Fiction, Thrillers
ISBN: 9780515042818
Amazon: 0515042811
Publisher: Street & Smith
Published: 1933-04-15T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER XII. THE QUIZ

"COME on, Slips. Open up."

Cardona's challenging voice brought a feeble grin from Slips Harbeck. The captured gangster was standing the ordeal of a constant grilling by Cardona and other detectives.

"What do you know?"

Slips shrugged his shoulders.

"Nothing," he drawled.

Cardona paced the little room where the quiz was taking place. He studied Slips Harbeck's strained face. The gangster was slouched in a chair, in a state of exhaustion. He had managed to hold out for hours.

"Look here, Slips"–Cardona's milder tones denoted a change of tactics– "we've got the goods on you. You were hooked up with Duster Brooks. We know you were with those gorillas at Sartain's penthouse."

"Never heard of the place," protested Slips.

"You were in on the job at Barnsworth's," continued Cardona. "That's why we put the clamps on you. But we didn't do it until we got the goods. My man heard that phone call you got at Red Mike's. That's how we queered the job at Joyce's office. You can't get out of it, Slips. Understand?"

"You've got nothing on me," drawled the gangster.

"We don't want anything on you," announced Cardona quietly. "We want to give you a break. You were at Sartain's. All right. You beat it. We've got no proof that you even fired a shot.

"Somebody planted a death trap at Barnsworth's place. We aren't laying that on you. Last of all, you were to go to Joyce's office, to get a phone call. That's correct, isn't it?"

"I don't know."

"You'll know when I tell you what happened," asserted Cardona grimly. "That phone call came through. I took it. I'll show you what I nearly got."

He motioned to one of the detectives. The man produced the fake telephone. Cardona exhibited the parts to Slips Harbeck.

"See?" quizzed the detective. "Right up against my ear like that. It would have got me, if I hadn't turned wise all of a sudden. Say, Slips"–Cardona spoke as though he had a sudden idea–"I think you're all right, after all. Lucky, I call it. You were going to that office. You were going to answer the telephone. Maybe this was meant for you."

Slips grinned derisively. Cardona snapped at the opportunity. It was exactly what the detective had wanted.

"So you don't think it was meant for me, eh?" questioned Cardona. "Then I guess you knew about it. Knew it was a plant, eh? All set to bump somebody off. That looks bad for you, Slips!"

A WORRIED expression registered itself upon the gangster's face. Slips realized that he had put himself in a predicament. He saw the flash in Cardona's eyes and feared the consequences. Slips knew that Cardona had the facts regarding that last call which the gangster had received from Larry Ricordo.

"Lay off me," pleaded Slips. "You've got me all mixed. I didn't know nothing about that phony phone. Maybe you were right, Joe. It might have been meant for me."

"Somebody double-crossing you, eh?" quizzed Cardona derisively. "Fine guy for you to stick up for. Come on–it's your only chance. If you were double-crossed, you've got a right to squeal.

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