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“I can see why that’s important,” said Pete, “but couldn’t you go to the bank and explain that you lost the key? They’d give you a duplicate, wouldn’t they?”
“My father lost the key to his safe deposit box,” said Bob. “He didn’t have any trouble about it. Oh, he did have to see an officer at the bank, and I think they had to change the lock on his box. There was a fee for that, but not very much.”
“I am embarrassed,” said A
“Very well,” said Jupiter. “The Three Investigators should be able to save you that embarrassment. It can’t be an impossible task. The i
“In the drawer of my desk. But now… ” A
“So we search,” said Pete. He pushed back his chair and got up from the table.
“Shall we start with the office?” asked Jupiter.
“We have already looked in the office,” A
“We can look again.” Jupe’s round face assumed a hopeful expression. “We might think of something you missed.”
“If you like.” A
The Three Investigators went immediately to the office, which was still a jumble of papers, folders, and ledgers.
“I think we’re wasting our time here, Jupe,” said Pete. “Cousin A
“I agree.” Jupe sat down at the desk. From the kitchen came the clatter of dishes and the rushing sound of water filling the sink. “But we may discover what A
Jupe began leafing through a stack of papers on the desk. “Hmmm. A letter from Hans, and another from Konrad. This one’s over two years old. A
“No reason for Havemeyer to sit up all night reading them, is there?” Bob took a ledger from the stack on the bookcase and began to page through it. “Hans and Konrad are here now, in the flesh, and if he wants to know anything about them he can just ask.”
“No reason at all.” Jupe leaned on his elbows and began to pull at his lower lip, a sure sign that he was concentrating intensely.
“Say, here’s something,” said Bob. He thrust a ledger across the desk to Jupiter. “Cousin A
“That’s a pretty hefty bankbook,” observed Pete.
“It’s not a bankbook at all. It’s only a record book. There’s a column for money put in, and one for money taken out, and the last column on each page is for money that’s available.”
Jupiter nipped the pages until he was halfway through the ledger. Then he stopped. “The latest entry is for the week before last.” he told Bob and Pete. “The week before last, A
“Wow!” cried Pete. “If that’s in cash, Cousin A
“So Cousin A
“You think he could be pla
“It’s possible. Certainly Hans and Konrad suspect this, and it’s easy to see that Hans and Konrad make him uncomfortable. He was not pleased when they decided to spend their vacation here helping with the pool. And that doesn’t make sense. The pool itself doesn’t make sense. Sweeping the yard doesn’t make sense. A tranquilizer gun doesn’t make sense.”
Jupe held up a warning hand at the sound of footsteps in the living room. A few seconds later, A
“You were right,” Jupiter told her. “The key isn’t here.”
“We’ll search the rest of the i
“Perhaps,” said A
“Of course not.” Jupe stood up. “Would you like us to straighten this room for you?”
“It is better if I do it,” said A
“Very well.” Jupe came out from behind the desk. He was almost at the door when he stopped, struck by a sudden thought. “Have you used your checkbook lately?” he asked A
“I do not have a checkbook,” A
“Everything?” Jupe was astonished. “Isn’t it dangerous to keep a lot of cash here?”
“I do not keep much cash here,” said A
“I keep my money in the bank, in the safe deposit box. You see, that is why the key is so important. Soon I must pay my bills. I will need money. Also, my husband has ordered cement for the swimming pool. I wish to pay for that when it is delivered.”
“In cash?” asked Jupe.
“It is safer,” declared Cousin A
“I don’t think the police would approve of your system, Mrs. Havemeyer,” said Jupiter. “If you pay cash for everything, people must know that you have large sums here from time to time. Suppose someone held you up?”
Cousin A
“You know” said Pete, “I think he would!”
6
Monster Mountain
The Three Investigators devoted the rest of the morning to a painstaking search of the i
“Are you sure it’s here?” asked Jupe, when he and Bob and Pete assembled for lunch. “Are you sure you didn’t drop it someplace — perhaps at the bank the last time you used it?”
A
Pete slumped at the table. “Beats me,” he said. “We’ve gone over every inch of this place. How could you hide anything that well and not remember where you hid it? That takes genius!”
A
“Don’t try,” advised Jupiter. “Don’t even think about it and it may come to you.”