"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 255 - The Devil's Partner" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

"Look here, Swade; what kind of talk -"

"Shut up! Listen! It's time you learned where that fifty thousand dollars of yours came from."

"Didn't it come from a stock-market deal?"
"I said nothing of the kind. If you were listening you'd have heard what I said a moment ago. The money
came from a little flyer in real estate."

"I don't understand."

"No?" Swade's sneer grew. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret that I've known all along. There is no
need for you to finance the play ground memorial. The city decided to appropriate money for the whole
project - including both the land and the equipment. In other words, that fifty-thousand-dollar bundle of
yours is going to make things look bad for you. In fact, criminal!"

"CRIMINAL?" Kilby faltered.

Swade's laughter was harsh.

"The deal which netted you your profit was the sale of the playground land to the city! How do you think
that would sound if it were made public? Marcus Kilby's crooked son profits fraudulently from the sale of
overvalued land to the city to be used as a memorial to his own saintly father! Can't you see the black
headlines?"

"Damn you, Swade, you can't prove it! I acted innocently on your advice. I didn't invest the money. You
did!"

Swade's mouth twisted in a grin.

"That won't save you, my friend. I didn't handle the deal. It was all done - and done very smartly, too -
by a dummy purchaser who did exactly what I told him to. The dummy, a smart lad named Quinn,
bought cheap tenement land at a fraction of its value. He resold it to the city for many times what it was
worth. That money on your desk, Kilby, is only a small part of the total profits. But it's enough to put you
in prison stripes - if you refuse my demands."

"Blackmail, eh?" Kilby flashed. His face was pale. "You want my answer? It is no!"

"Think it over," Swade said. "Just remember a couple of things. You gave me your five thousand by
check. At my suggestion, you drew your check to cash. It was endorsed by you. It was also endorsed
by my dummy. All investigation for fraud will lead directly where I planned - to you!"

His voice was jeering as he continued:

"Well? Do you want me to squeal to the newspapers? My dummy can afford to get into hiding
indefinitely. Can you?"

There was sweat on Kilby's face.

"You dirty rat! What do you want?"