The Mystery of the Singing Serpent - M. V. Carey [10]
“Crazy!” exclaimed Allie. “Absolutely crazy!”
Jupiter permitted himself a somewhat superior smile. “I think I know which crystal ball it is.”
“You do?”
“On the twenty-first, there will be an auction of the estate of the late Ramon Castillo, the movie star. Among the things to be sold is the crystal ball he used as a prop in the film The Vampire’s Lair. My aunt and uncle were discussing it the other day. Your aunt collects items used in famous films. Wouldn’t she want that crystal ball?”
“Her mouth must be watering at the idea!” said Allie.
“And she wants a person named Compton to be away from the city at the time of the auction.”
“Aunt Pat and Margaret Compton hate each other’s guts,” said Allie.
“Is Margaret Compton also a collector?”
“She’s a collector, all right, a very successful one. She’s a rich widow and has much more money than Aunt Pat. If she wants that thing, she can bid it up so high that Aunt Pat won’t be able to touch it.”
“And Hugo Ariel, by lighting candles and making strange sounds, is going to prevent the Compton woman from attending the auction.”
“Nice of him,” said Allie, “but why is he doing it? It can’t be for money. Aunt Pat has a little income from stocks, but that’s all. If she has to fuss about a high bid on a crystal ball, she isn’t going to have much to give Ariel, is she?”
“So we don’t know the motive,” said Bob.
“But we do have an objective,” countered Jupiter. “We want to get Hugo Ariel out of Allie’s house. We can’t be sure that Ariel has an accomplice, so let’s assume that he doesn’t. If we could search the house, we might find the equipment he uses to produce his night songs. We could then demonstrate this to your aunt, Allie. I think this should cause her to lose faith in him.”
Allie grinned wickedly. “She’d toss him out on his ear. Great idea! And searching the house will be a cinch, because today Ariel got a phone call.”
“Is that unusual?” asked Jupiter.
“It is. He never gets any calls. He never goes anywhere. But this morning the phone rang and a man asked for Ariel. I had to bang on his door to get him up.”
“I’m sure you got to an extension and listened,” said Pete slyly.
“No time,” said Allie. “He was only on the phone for a couple of seconds. He said,
‘Very good,’ and hung up, and he told Aunt Pat that tonight there will be a meeting of the entire fellowship.”
“Haven’t you asked your aunt anything about this fellowship?” said Bob.
“Of course I asked her, and a fat lot of good it did. She says it’s a nice club she belongs to. She says it’s sweet of me to take such an interest in her social life. And she’s all excited.
She’s going out tonight, and Ariel’s going with her. So if we want to search the house for the gizmo Ariel uses to make that sound, we won’t have any interruptions.”
Jupiter mused, pulling at his lip. “He might carry the thing on his person,” he said. “In that case, we’d find nothing.”
“Aren’t you even going to try?” demanded Allie. “It could be under the rugs or in the drapes or …”
“Yes, it could,” admitted Jupe. “How are you at searching houses?”
“Well, I’ve never done it,” admitted the girl, “but it isn’t the kind of thing you have to take courses for.”
“Fine. Tonight, you search. Don’t forget the garage, in case there is an accomplice.
Look for anything unfamiliar — a fine piece of machinery, a miniature tape recorder, anything like that.”
“I’m so glad I hired you,” said Allie. “I get to do all the work.”
“Look everywhere,” Jupe instructed her. “It could be under the table or the sideboard or …”
“In the wisteria, maybe?” suggested Allie.
“Yes, in the wisteria. Don’t fall off the trellis.”
“Don’t worry. And while I’m climbing around on that trellis, what are you going to be doing?”
“We will be following your aunt and Ariel to the meeting of the fellowship.”
Chapter 6
The House at Torrente Canyon
“It was nice of you to bring your own car, Worthington,” said Pete warmly.
Worthington smiled. He was