The Mystery of Sinister Scarecrow - M. V. Carey [43]
tunnel to the Mosby house was, it must have
been clumsy compared to the work Gerhart
Malz did on the imitation master-pieces.”
“It was difficult to tell the originals from his copies,” said Bob. “Now I understand
why museums insist that students make
copies that are a different size than the
original!”
“Quite so,” said Mr. Hitchcock. “Well, I
am delighted to have the opportunity to read the file on the case of the sinister scarecrow. I’m not at all surprised that The Three Investigators were involved in the doings at the Mosby Museum. Indeed, I would have been astonished if there had been a crime of such magnitude so near Rocky Beach and you had not been there.”
Bob smiled. “Chief Reynolds says we have a talent for trouble.”
“A doubtful asset,” said Mr. Hitchcock, “but without it, life might be quite dull!”
Mr. Hitchcock closed the file and handed it back to Bob. “I shall be happy to introduce this new adventure for you,” he said, “but there are a few questions I should like to ask. For example, how did Burroughs and his wife succeed in persuading an English lord to give them such a glowing reference?”
“Burroughs’ real name is not Burroughs at all,” said Jupiter. “It is Smith.”
“Oh, no!” said Mr. Hitchcock.
“Yes. Robert Smith. His wife is Evelyn Smith, who was born in Evelyn Baldridge.
The couple have had many aliases. They are thieves with long records and international reputations.
“They were on a flight from England with a couple named Burroughs who truly were houseman and cook to Lord Armiston. The real Mr. and Mrs. Burroughs were planning to retire to Florida. They changed planes in New York. Mr. and Mrs. Smith decided that Lord Armiston might give them an excellent reference if they ever needed employment in a large household. They made a note of the name and went on to Los Angeles.
“Perhaps they had already started to lay plans to rob the Mosby Museum.
Certainly they didn’t waste much time. They were at the employment agency in Beverly Hills within a week of that airplane flight from England. The police have checked the records at the agency and learned that the couple who presented themselves as Mr. and Mrs. Burroughs refused several jobs that paid more than the one in the Radford house.”
“But they could have waited months for an opening at the Radford place,” said Mr. Hitchcock. “Perhaps there wouldn’t have been an opening for years!”
“They could have gone to any of several homes in the Los Angeles area,” said Jupe. “Burroughs — or rather Smith — had a list of dozens of places where there were jewels or works of art worth stealing.”
Mr. Hitchcock sighed. “Foolish of him to keep such a list, but we are all capable of folly. And he was already taking a chance. Lord Armiston might hear from the real Burroughs and wonder about the inquiry from the employment agency.”
“That did happen,” said Jupiter. “Lord Armiston contacted the agency the day before the theft. The agency called Mrs. Chumley and warned her that her houseman and cook might be impostors. She said she didn’t care — that she hadn’t had such good help in years!”
“Unfortunate woman,” said Mr. Hitchcock. “They had her completely in their power.”
“She brought it on herself by pretending to be a cripple,” said Jupiter. “But you can’t help feeling sorry for her. She was picked up by the police in Santa Barbara. She had run out of gas there and was trying to pawn a ring to pay for more. She had left the house with absolutely no identification, and the pawnbroker became suspicious and called the authorities.”
“What will happen to her?” said Mr. Hitchcock.
“I don’t think she’ll go to prison,” said Jupe. “Her age is in her favour, and she has no previous record. Letitia Radford is paying for a lawyer for her. Letitia may be arbitrary and temperamental, but she’s not a vengeful person.”
“I should say not,” said Mr. Hitchcock. “Under the circumstances, she is being quite merciful.”
“Her encounter with the scarecrow seems to have changed her,” said Jupe. “She has announced that she is not going back to Europe. She is going to stay in Chaparral