The Last Express Read online

  The Last Express

  A Duncan Maclain Mystery

  Baynard Kendrick

  Chapter One: THE SEEING DETECTIVE

  Evelyn Zarinka nervously rolled her small handkerchief into a ball and wadded it tightly up against the soft moist palm of her hand. When she pushed the button of the automatic elevator, which would carry her from the 24th floor to the penthouse, her gesture was marked with a finality indicating despair.

  In spite of the earnest assurance of Charles Hartshorn, her fiancé, that Captain Duncan Maclain was not only brilliant but kindly and sympathetic as well, she found herself dreading the interview. Only an ingrained dislike of appointment breakers had prevented her from turning back in the lobby of the apartment house downstairs.

  For an instant, after the door slid silently closed in answer to her pressure on the button, she shut her eyes tightly, trying to imagine she was blind. She wondered what sort of a world it would be where all that you saw were dancing red points and strange tiny lines of shimmering yellow. Or did the blind have that much to comfort them? Perhaps, with that vital thing called “sight” once gone, even the dancing dots and lines disappeared—leaving a world without form and void, painted with the blackness of infinity.

  On the drive into town from Long Island, through the enervating mugginess of the July evening, she had been unable to rid herself of the feeling that it was incredibly silly to ask a blind man for help. Yet help she must have from someone, for the past three months had seen a startling change in her brother Paul. Their small house at Forest Hills, for her at least, had become a place of terror. Paul, laughing moodily at her anxious questions, had made things worse instead of better. She had reached a point where she eagerly accepted Chick’s suggestion that she consult his blind friend.

  The slow-moving elevator stopped with a click. The door slid silently open. She stepped out into a small reception room, delightfully cool and quiet, for Duncan Maclain’s penthouse was air-conditioned throughout, doubly soundproofed against the roar of the traffic at 72nd Street and Riverside Drive, 26 stories below.

  An attractive girl, older than Evelyn, came from a door to the right and said in a pleasant voice, “I’m Rena Savage, Captain Maclain’s secretary. You can go right on in, Miss Zarinka. He’s expecting you.”

  She opened a door straight ahead, and Evelyn stepped through into the presence of the man whom the newspapers had made famous.

  He rose as she entered and came around from behind the large mahogany desk, advancing toward her smiling and with outstretched hand. She had entered the room filled with unconscious pity. At the sight of the erect, handsome man in full evening dress crossing the room to greet her with utter self-assurance she was seized with consternation.

  It was so contrary to what she expected that she exclaimed almost in a whisper,

  “My Lord, he’s attractive!”

  Not until he stopped in the center of the room, waiting, did she remember he was blind and could not see where she was standing.

  She advanced and took his hand. For a second both of his strong ones enclosed hers in a cordial clasp. Then she suddenly reddened in embarrassment as he laughed and said, “I’ll bet you’re attractive, too! But I’m glad you like my dinner togs. I’m due to make a speech in a couple of hours—so I thought I’d let you get the benefit of them so long as I had to put them on. Sit down, won’t you?”

  He took a few steps beside her, holding her arm, then left her and walked confidently around the end of the desk to resume his place in the swivel chair.

  “I didn’t intend to be rude,” Evelyn apologized. “In fact, I didn’t know that I’d spoken aloud.”

  “Rude?” Maclain laughed again, and Evelyn thought quickly she had never seen a face so expressive. Pleasure showed in the quick lift of the corners of his mouth, the flash of his even teeth, and the delighted wriggle of eyebrows. The use of facial muscles, seldom apparent in the normal person, compensated for the blankness of his eyes. His strong face was mobile and alive, fascinating to watch as it portrayed and enhanced his speech. “I’m as flattered as a schoolgirl over your remark. And I’m the one who’s rude. You spoke hardly above a whisper—but I’ve trained my ears to hear whispers—and even more. They have to do double duty, you know—like my hands and nose. Schnucke does the rest!”

  At the sound of her name, Schnucke, a German shepherd, stood up at the left of Maclain’s chair. She had been lying so quietly that Evelyn had failed to notice her. Her large low-placed ears erect, her broad jaws slightly open to display white strong teeth, she regarded Evelyn with interest and gave a friendly wag of her tail. Her almond-shaped eyes were slightly lighter than her well-kept coat, and her gaze, while kindly, was firm and independent.

  “So that’s Schnucke!” Evelyn exclaimed. “I’ve read a lot about her in the papers, too.”

  “She’s a stuck-up prig.” Maclain laid a hand affectionately on Schnucke’s head. “Lie down! You’re always trying to get in the spotlight!”

  Schnucke settled herself on the floor again. Maclain hitched his chair closer to the desk, removed a gold cigarette case from his vest pocket, and tendered it to his visitor.

  She accepted and lighted the cigarette herself, wondering for an awkward moment whether or not she should offer him a light.

  There was no necessity to do so. With no sign of hesitation he took a package of matches from his pocket, struck one, and with a swift skillful gesture, almost indiscernible, guided it to the tip of the cigarette in his mouth by running his fingers along the tube of paper. He applied the flame and inhaled deeply.

  His surety and self-confidence were slowly putting Evelyn at her ease. Like so many people who entered Maclain’s study for the first time, she was beginning to realize that Duncan Maclain, through inflexible will and perseverance, had turned blindness to his own ends.

  The paneled room, comfortably and tastefully furnished, was indirectly lighted. Along the wall beside her were bookshelves, containing an orderly array of Braille books. She picked up one, looked curiously at the raised marks of the Braille, and laid it back on the shelf, then started guiltily as Maclain said, “That’s a very motley collection, isn’t it? But my profession demands that I keep my reading diversified.” He pointed across the room to a big Capehart in the corner. “I have some interesting Talking Books there. They’re issued by the Library of Congress in records. I just finished listening to Gina Kaus’s Catherine; the Portrait of an Empress—and Woollcott’s book, While Rome Burns. I’m afraid I prefer Woollcott to Kaus. You must pardon me. I’m taking up your time with trivial talk—and you’re in trouble.”

  “I’d hardly call it trivial,” she said with a smile. “It’s fascinating—and rather startling. How did you know I was looking at that book ?”

  “I heard you put it down. I hoped you’d ask. It makes things easier for me. You see, before I can get anyone’s confidence I have to assure them of the fact that I’m not really blind.”

  “Not blind?”

  “No.” Maclain exhaled slowly. She watched the smoke curl upward around his crisp curly hair. “I just can’t use my eyes. I lost them in the war. But after nearly twenty years it’s a normal condition to me. I know now that I didn’t know how to use them when I had them. The average person doesn’t. During the past twenty years I’ve learned to use my other senses—hearing, feeling, taste and smell. With Schnucke to guide me—both of us were trained at the Seeing Eye—and the ability to get information from those who can see, I’m more than compensated.”

  “You mean you’re perfectly happy?” she asked, astonished at his cheerful tone.

  “Perfectly. More. I’ve reversed the old adage about the land of the blind where the one-eyed man was king. I’ve become king in a
land of two-eyed detectives, none of whom know how to see as well as I do. By the touch of the skin on your hand, and the sound of your voice, I know you’re quite young. You’re engaged to be married—I felt the solitaire when I took two steps beside you. It’s quite a good one, too, about three-quarters of a carat, unless I’m mistaken. Your stride indicates that you’re about five foot six. You see, I know how many steps you took from the door to where you’re sitting. While I was shaking hands my fingers told me that you were so nervous coming here to see me that you wadded your handkerchief into a ball and were still clutching it in your hand. Now all of those things I’ve learned through touch and hearing.

  “I’ve added to that from smell that you’re a very meticulous young lady, addicted to plenty of soap and water and regular visits to the beauty shop.”

  “You make me feel like a goldfish.”

  “But a very pretty one. You see, I know further that you have brown hair, carefully waved, brown eyes, slightly snub nose, full red lips, extremely white and even teeth, a good chin, a slim but rounded figure, shapely legs and slender ankles. You’re wearing a white silk blouse with a dark-blue tie and a monogram on the left breast; a blue leather belt; a white flannel skirt; light silk stockings and black and white sport shoes. Your blue hat is of the new airplane design—with a wing on the left side. It must add a very fitting touch to your ensemble.”

  Evelyn rose slowly to her feet and said coldly, “I’m sorry, Captain Maclain. This joke about your blindness has gone a little too far, hasn’t it?”

  “Please sit down,” he said pleadingly. “I was merely trying to illustrate my point. I assure you I’m quite blind—hopelessly so. But no one ever gets up to this penthouse without being seen. When you changed elevators at the twenty-fourth floor your description was phoned upstairs to me immediately. Mrs. Savage, whom you met in the hall, was two flights down, watching you through a slot in the door directly opposite the elevator. She ran up the stairs and greeted you in the hall when you got off. Will you trust me now—and let me see if I can’t help?”

  She resumed her seat and said thoughtfully after a moment,

  “Yes, Captain Maclain, I think I will!”

  Outside the mugginess had turned to a drizzle, covering the streets with a fine film of oily black. In a coupé, parked across from the apartment house on 72nd Street, a cherubic-faced youth of 19 tossed his cigarette out of the window and started the motor. The clock on the dash showed it was nearly nine.

  He turned the car north on Riverside Drive and back to Broadway on 74th Street. In a United Cigar Store he sought a telephone booth and dialed a number.

  “The dame’s been in 315 West 72nd for half an hour!” His upper lip touched the top of the mouthpiece when he talked.

  “Oh, yes, Miss Curtis,” a suave voice replied. “I’m glad you reminded me of that.”

  “And popcorn to you, Madame Butterfly! Maybe you can’t talk but you better act. That blind dick Maclain lives in that building. You’re getting the twin sawbucks. I’ll be seeing you up the river.”

  “I’m sorry I can’t meet you there,” said the voice contritely. “But I’ll attend to the matter without delay!”

  Chapter Two: THE DANGEROUS MAN

  “I’m not really worried about myself,” Evelyn told Maclain. “It’s my brother Paul. He’s an assistant district attorney in the Homicide Division.”

  “Threats?”

  “Not exactly. During the past few months he’s changed in some way. I’m more than sensitive to his moods. He’s twelve years older and has rather taken the place of my father, who died ten years ago.”

  “Can you state accurately when you first noticed this change?” Maclain opened a desk drawer at his right and took out a small pasteboard box. He dumped the contents on the desk before him. Evelyn gazed unbelievingly at fifty or more pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Swiftly and unerringly his highly tactile fingers were turning the pieces face up.

  He sensed that her pause was caused by his occupation and explained, “This is one of my bad habits—or good habits, according to the point of view. Believe me, I’m listening most intently—but it’s necessary that I keep my fingers in training. The jigsaw puzzles help. I’ve become quite proficient after many years. They’re really quite simple to fingers that must read Braille and follow the intricacies of raised maps. I was asking you about the date of this change in your brother.”

  “Oh, yes,” she continued, unable to take her eyes from the deft selection and rejection, which had already coupled four pieces together. “It concerns so many small things that I can’t say just when it started. Probably the first was a series of phone calls from someone who refused to leave their name.”

  “The same person?”

  “I don’t know. I answered several times when Paul was out. The calls came in the evening. Twice it was a woman. Several times a man. Then our maid, Ida, a colored girl, answered once or twice but couldn’t get any name.”

  “Is your brother interested in women?” Maclain held a piece poised over the desk.

  After a brief wait she nodded, then flushed as she remembered the futility of nodding to Duncan Maclain. “Spasmodically,” she said. “He’s just past thirty and very good-looking. He’s never been engaged—but he’s had plenty of prospects. We make it a rule not to interfere with each other.”

  “Then you don’t attribute his worry to women?”

  “Decidedly not. Two months ago a call came for him at two in the morning. We have a small house on Greenway South in Forest Hills, although Paul maintains an apartment of his own in the city. I heard him answer the phone and shortly after he went out. He stayed out until six. I’m afraid he was in a fight. His face was badly bruised, and the knuckles of one hand were swollen.”

  “You asked where he’d been?”

  “Up to then I’ve never had to ask him anything.” Maclain was keenly aware of the dejection in her answer. The dejection blended into fear: “Since then I’ve hardly dared.”

  “When did he threaten you?”

  Her breath quickened as she watched Maclain trace a complicated curve with his forefinger and fit another piece into place. She had not intended to mention Paul’s threats. An uneasy moment passed while she felt that Maclain’s fluid fingers were not working a puzzle but were probing the intricacies of her mind laid on the desk before him. She had a flash of disquieting clearness, which showed her how useless it was to practice subterfuge in the presence of a man who saw with his senses instead of his eyes.

  “Less than a week ago.” She was agonizedly twisting the handkerchief again. “He bought a pistol, and I demanded flatly to know what it was for. He told me to mind my own business—or I’d get myself into trouble. I guess I flared up. I said he had become impossible to live with—and he intimated he could move in town permanently.”

  “He’d been drinking?”

  “Yes,” she admitted, surprised again into revealing something she had intended to conceal.

  “That’s been worrying you, too. I judge it’s unusual.”

  “It is unusual. I’ve kept house for him since I was a little girl.” The words came tumbling out. She was close to tears. “He’s educated me—been kind to me—taken the place of my parents. We’ve been friends more than brother and sister. He’s involved in something terrible, Captain Maclain, something sinister. Two nights ago he was away all night—and our house was searched. Everything torn to pieces but nothing taken. He refused to call in the police—cursed me when I made the suggestion. And now I’m being followed. I’m certain of it.”

  “Money?” Maclain fitted the last piece of the puzzle into place, mussed the picture up with a few quick motions, and returned the pieces to the box.

  “We’ve always had plenty. My father was wealthy. We have sufficient income to live on without Paul’s salary. I can pay you without any trouble—any reasonable fee if you’ll help me!”

  “Unfortunately all investigations cost money.” He rubbed the tip of his nose an
d leaned back in the chair. “I didn’t have that in mind. Does your brother handle your father’s estate?”

  “He was made sole executor.”

  “Of how much?”

  “Nearly $300,000. But—” She stopped abruptly, lacing her fingers together, pressing the handkerchief between her palms.

  Maclain took another cigarette from his case and lighted it. “There’s been no change in your income?”

  “That’s impossible, Captain Maclain!” She was annoyed, a trifle overinsistent. He had touched a latent worry which for weeks she had not admitted to herself. She considered the very thought libelous to her brother. The Zarinkas were a family strong in tradition, comfortable in circumstance. Her background had been that money was naturally available and therefore unmentionable. Yet, since her father died, she had not failed to notice that Paul was obsessed with an urge for greater riches, additional power.

  Duncan Maclain’s silence was worse than questioning. He sat behind his desk reflecting calm expectancy, wordlessly dissecting intimate irritations which decency demanded be either forgotten or concealed. Evelyn found she could neither conceal nor forget them. Gadflies of memory returned in a swarm to prod her—Paul’s cynical remarks: “Money’s the key to this city!”—“I believe in charity. It’s a good graft!”

  Such statements had been repeated too often to be casual. She was concerned about Paul’s safety—most concerned. But she was also conscious of the good name her family had long possessed. Duncan Maclain must never know that for four black months her income had stopped entirely. Added to drinking and threats it painted a picture unfair to her brother and herself. She might believe Paul headstrong and unwise. Even to insure his safety she would not brand him a blackguard. Her income had started again, without explanation. The temporary cessation was best put out of mind.

  “I presume you receive regular reports as to the status of your father’s estate?” Maclain asked the question twice before she answered, and his eyebrows showed he was puzzled.