"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 116 - Intimidation,Inc" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

his office; there the fellow handed him the note.
"A guy give it to me," he explained. "A solemn-looking bloke that rode
from the Dorchester House out to the airport. Says I was to hand it to you,
and
nobody else, your honor."
Wrightley opened the note. He started to read The Shadow's scrawl. The
hasty penciled lines were explicit.
"Read the enclosed letter," The Shadow had written. "Keep it safe or
destroy it. I am taking desperate chances in sending it to you. I have
complied
with its instructions. Cranston."
Wrightley did not unfold the typed letter. He had guessed its
significance. Instead, he pulled a ten-dollar bill from his pocket and handed
it to the cabby, who hesitated about taking the money. Wrightley insisted that
he keep it and hustled him from the office with the reminder that he was to
say
nothing of the message that he had brought.
Opening the typed letter, the mayor read the instructions that bore the
signature of Intimidation, Incorporated. He reached for the telephone; was
interrupted by a knock on the door. Hugh Bursard was announced.
The head of MXDO was highly excited when he entered; more so, in fact,
than Mayor Wrightley. As soon as the door was closed, Bursard flourished an
evening newspaper. Wrightley saw a headline stating that Newell Radbourne had
purchased the Oriental exhibit of the State exposition at a price of two
hundred thousand dollars.
"I went to Radbourne's when I read this," said Bursard. "I found out why
he made the deal. He received a letter this morning from Intimidation,
Incorporated. Here's the letter. Radbourne gave it to me."
"Then read this one," puffed Mayor Wrightley. "Cranston sent it from the
airport, by a taxi driver."
The two compared the letters. Bursard was the first to form a conclusion.
"It's plain enough," he said, ruefully. "The crook went after the cash
that Radbourne saved. Made him cough it over to Cranston. Radbourne holds the
receipt. He didn't waste much time with Cranston; simply told him to leave the
money and clear town."
"Maybe the money is still there," asserted Wrightley, in a grim tone. "I
shall send a couple of detectives over there to find out. I am afraid, though,
that we are too late."
"If Cranston could only have telephoned you -"
"Probably he did not dare. He took a long enough chance depending on the
taxi driver."
 WRIGHTLEY made the call ordering two detectives to go to the Dorchester
House and make a thorough search of Cranston's room, leaving it as they found
it unless they came across a bag of money. In that case, they were to call the
mayor's office at once.
That done, Wrightley called Elwood Clewiss and asked the lawyer to come
to
his office. Bursard departed for MXDO, deciding that it would be best for
Wrightley to talk to Clewiss alone.
When Clewiss arrived, the mayor showed him the letters. Clewiss took them