The Dime Museum Murders by Daniel Stashower Read Free Book Online Page A

on Harry that Lieutenant Murray was
exasperated with him. "I do not wish to hamper your
investigation or inconvenience Mr. Wintour's guests," he said,
adopting a more diplomatic tone, "but what you say concerning Le
Fantôme seems
incredible to me, knowing its workings as I do. I am merely trying to
fix the scene in my mind, so as to judge whether the automaton could
have acted in the manner you describe."
    The
lieutenant's hands dropped to his sides. He nodded at Blanton to
continue. He didn't look happy about it, though.
    "As
I told the police," Dr. Blanton said, "Bran— that is,
Mr. Wintour—was seated at his desk when I entered the room. His
head was forward on the desk and I naturally supposed that he was
asleep. It was only when we stepped forward—"
    "Pardon
me, sir," Harry interrupted. "Who was with you in the
room?"
    "Why,
all of us. Myself, of course. Phillips, the butler. Mr. Hendricks and
his wife. And Margaret, naturally."
    "Margaret?"
    "Mrs.
Wintour."
    "His
wife? Where is she now?"
    "I
had to take her upstairs and give her a sleeping powder. She was
distraught, as you can well imagine."
    "I
see. And who is Mr. Hendricks?"
    "I
am," said the gentleman who had been seated on the Chesterfield.
He was tall and gaunt-faced, with brown curly hair and a Vandyke
beard covering what looked to be a jutting chin. I guessed his age to
be fifty or so, though his lined forehead and the dark hollows
beneath his eyes made it difficult to judge.
    "When
Bran invited me here tonight he said he'd made
the find of a lifetime," Hendricks said. "If what you say
about the automaton is true, I'd say he wasn't exaggerating. I've
often heard stories about the Blois collection, but I never dreamed
I'd actually see any of it."
    "Excuse
me, sir," Lieutenant Murray said. "What did you call the
collection?"
    "The
Blois collection," Hendricks said, giving a careful
pronunciation. "That's what it's always been called. Blois is
the name of the city where Robert-Houdin lived."
    "You
know something of these devices, then?" The lieutenant seemed to
be choosing his words carefully.
    "I
own a great many automatons, Lieutenant. I daresay that's why Bran
invited me here this evening—to gloat over his prize."
    "Have
you, ah, any experience of how they work?"
    "Indeed
I do. I'm in the toy business myself. One doesn't run a manufacturing
concern without picking up a thing or two. I doubt if I'm as
knowledgeable as Mr. Houdini, but I have a decent understanding of
the basic mechanics. Don't look so alarmed, Lieutenant. I'm well
aware that this makes me a suspect."
    The
woman sitting at his side—whose kindly face had encouraged me
in my earlier recitation—laid a hand on his arm. "Surely
you don't suspect my husband, do you, Lieutenant?"
    "Of
course he does, Nora," Hendricks said, not unkindly. "I
dare say I'm at the very top of the list. There are only a handful of
men in New York who could get Le
Fantôme to
work after all these years. Three of us are in this room, and one of
us is dead. I can't speak for Mr. Houdini, but I certainly have my
share of motives. As soon as you begin to do a little digging,
Lieutenant, you'll
discover that I'm a business rival of the dead man."
    "But
the two of you are friends," Mrs. Hendricks protested. "You
used to be partners."
    "We
used to be, darling," her husband said, patting her hand. "I'm
afraid that's the point." He turned back toward the desk. "There
is something I've been wondering, Lieutenant. Are you certain it was
murder? Couldn't it have been an accident, like a gun going off
during a cleaning? Who knows how long it's been since anyone has
tinkered with those old gears."
    "We're
looking into that, sir," the detective admitted. 'The man who
sold the doll to Mr. Wintour is answering questions downtown."
    Harry,
who had resumed his study of the carpet» looked up in surprise.
"You don't mean Josef Graff, do you?"
    Lieutenant
Murray consulted his notebook. "Yes, Josef Graff. Runs a toy
shop, I believe. On the