The Mystery of the Invisible Dog - M. V. Carey [0]
OF
THE INVISIBLE DOG
M. V. Carey
A word from Alfred Hitchcock
Greetings, mystery fans!
Again it is my pleasure to introduce that trio of young detectives known as the Three Investigators. They specialize in unusual cases, bizarre happenings, and eerie events. And unusual, bizarre, and eerie their new adventure certainly is! In it, they encounter one haunted man, a phantom priest, a would-be mystic with the ability to walk through walls, and also the image of a demon dog — a very solid image which manages to be completely invisible.
For any reader who is meeting the Three Investigators for the first time, I shall duly state that Jupiter Jones, the leader of the group, is a plump young lad with a keen mind and insatiable curiosity. Pete Crenshaw is quick and athletic, and Bob Andrews, a bookish fellow, keeps the records for the group and has a decided talent for research. All three reside in the coastal town of Rocky Beach, California, on the outskirts of Los Angeles.
So much for introductions. You may now turn to Chapter One and commence reading!
ALFRED HITCHCOCK
Chapter 1
The Haunted Man
IT WAS TWILIGHT — the abrupt, chill twilight of late December — when Jupiter Jones, Pete Crenshaw, and Bob Andrews first came to Paseo Place. They walked up the street past a park where a few late roses still bloomed in spite of the cold. Next to the park was a stucco house with a sign announcing that this was St Jude’s Rectory. Beyond the rectory, lights glowed behind the stained-glass windows of a little church and an organ boomed and droned. The boys could hear children’s voices piping phrases from an old hymn.
They passed the church and came to an apartment house which looked very private.
On the street level it had a row of garages. Above these were two storeys of apartments.
All of the windows had carefully closed curtains, as if the tenants wanted to shut out the world.
“This is it,” said Jupiter Jones. “Number 402 Paseo Place, and it is now exactly half past five. We’re right on time.”
To the right of the garages, broad flagstone steps led up one flight towards a gate. A man in a camel-coloured jacket was coming down them now. He passed the boys without looking at them.
Jupe started up the steps, with Pete and Bob close behind him. Suddenly Pete jumped and let out a startled exclamation.
Jupe stopped. Out of the corner of his eye he saw a small, dark shape glide away down the stairs.
“It’s only a cat,” said Bob.
“I almost stepped on it.” Pete shivered and pulled his dark ski jacket closer around him. “A black cat!”
Bob laughed. “Come on! You don’t really believe they’re bad luck!”
Jupe reached for the latch on the gate. Beyond, in the centre of a flagstoned courtyard, was a large swimming pool surrounded by chairs and tables. As Jupe opened the gate, floodlights went on in the pool and in the shrubbery that rimmed the court.
“No peddlers allowed!” said a nasal, raspy voice almost at Jupe’s elbow.
A door next to the gate had opened. In the doorway stood a thick-bodied, red-haired woman who squinted at the boys through rimless glasses.
“I don’t care whether you’re selling magazine subscriptions or candy or taking up a collection to help orphaned canaries,” said the woman. “I don’t want my tenants disturbed.”
“Mrs. Bortz!”
The woman looked up and past the boys. A thin, silver-haired man had come down a stairway from a balcony that overlooked the courtyard. “I believe these are the young gentlemen I am expecting,” said the man.
“I am Jupiter Jones.” Jupe made the statement in the precise, formal way that was characteristic of him. He stepped aside and nodded towards his friends. “Pete Crenshaw and Bob Andrews. I assume that you are Mr. Fenton Prentice.”
“I am,” said the elderly man. He glanced at the woman in the doorway. “We do not need you, Mrs. Bortz,” he added.
“Well!” exclaimed the woman. She retreated into her apartment and slammed her door.
“Nosy old crone,” said Fenton Prentice. “Please ignore her. Most of the other people who live in this building are reasonably civilized. Won