by Ben Benson
I waited for him to say something else. But he didn’t. He turned to one of the other men and began talking to him. When he turned back to me I looked at my watch.
“I have to be going,” I said.
“Oh,” he said. He looked at my glass. “Now who are you kidding, old boy? You haven’t touched that drink either.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I reminded myself I’m working.”
“You’re working at this hour?”
“Oh, yes,” I said. “Thanks for the consideration anyway.” I said good night and went out of the lounge bar. I left the hotel and walked down to my car. I looked over at Uhlberg, but it wasn’t necessary to speak with him. I got into my car and drove off.
Chapter 22
At Gibbey’s Cottages the main lights were out. There was a small light that said VACANCY. In the office a dim light was showing. I parked my car adjacent to an empty, deserted vegetable stand and walked back along the road. The time was 1:45 in the morning.
I walked on the grass down along the rows of cabins. Only half of them had cars near them to show they were occupied. Except for the last one on the right, all were dark.
I came up near it. The little gray car was parked along the side. I passed by it and moved into the woods next to the cottage. There was a small scrub pine and I leaned against its trunk. I looked up. There was no moon, but the sky was so clear and bright I was able to see fairly well in the half-light.
I looked at my watch again. 2:05. Now I began to wonder if Starrett had gone for the bait. A mosquito buzzed near my ear. It sounded like the king-sized Cape species. Some animal threshed about in the woods nearby, and the sound sent a prickling sensation through my scalp. An occasional car rushed by on the highway, its headlights heralding its approach long before it arrived.
Now another car came. Instead of continuing it slowed and turned into the grounds, its lights sweeping the area in dazzling brightness. It came down toward me, slowed and pulled in beside one of the cabins. A man and a woman got out and went inside. Their light went on and the door slammed. There were noises from the cabin. I waited. The noises subsided and the lights went out.
Ten minutes later another car turned into the driveway of the motel. The driver switched off his headlamps and used only his parking lights. As it crept down the slight hill I saw it was a big Cadillac. It went by each cabin, finally stopping at the last one on the right.
The parking lights of the Cadillac stayed on as the man got out of the car. He went up to the door of the cabin and knocked softly. The lock snicked and the door opened. In the blaze of light I could see the man was Wendell Starrett. Holding the door open was Constance Ossipee.
Starrett went inside. The door was closed and locked again. A few moments later a black sedan came in off the highway, its lights dimmed. When it had driven a few feet down into the motel area it swung around, blocking any exit. That was Sergeant Bob Wolk.
I made my own move now, coming out of the woods and over to the Cadillac. I looked in. The keys were in the ignition. I opened the door quietly, removed them and slipped them into my pocket.
Going over to the window I flattened against the building. I heard Starrett’s voice saying, “—he’s wise. Pack up and get out of here quick.”
“I don’t understand,” Connie Ossipee’s voice said. “How did he find out?”
“He followed you to the Royal Colonial, that’s how. Where’s your bag?”
“Over there.”
“All your things in it?”
“I didn’t unpack. This is great. I lost my job, everything on account of you.”
“I’ll square it with you. Okay, let’s go.”
“Wait a minute,” she said. “You’re all excited. You sure he was at the Royal Colonial at half-past nine? I didn’t see him.”
“He was there. He told me himself. Can’t you see, you little idiot? He was at the hotel when you were there. He must have found out you were looking for me. That’s why he waited there until the game was over.”
“Wen, you’re only guessing.”
“He was asking questions of Eccles.”
“Who’s Eccles?”
“One of the big losers in the game. Come on, you and I are traveling.”
“Wait a minute,” she said. “Don’t rush it, Wen. He must have followed you here, too.”
“No. Don’t you think I thought of that right away? He tried to follow me. A car did trail me from the hotel. I went all the way into Plymouth before I shook him. That’s why it took me so long to get here. I went the long way around. The time when I can’t outsmart—”
“I don’t know,” she said. “It seems too easy. They didn’t try to arrest you or anything.”
“They waited to catch us together. But they waited too long.”
“Did you win a lot of money, Wen?”
“Enough to shake this whole horrible mess. You’re getting out of the state. I don’t care where you go, but get out of Massachusetts.”
I heard a scraping sound and their footsteps. I moved around to the front of the cabin.
The door opened. I stood facing Wendell Starrett, a suitcase in his hand. I blinked in the light.
I said, “Let’s go back inside, please.”
He dropped the bag and stood motionless. I moved in on him and pushed him gently. “Back inside.”
He left the suitcase on the landing where it was. I picked it up and followed him into the cabin. It was bare and poorly furnished. Connie Ossipee was backed up against the bed.
“I’m not going to say ‘I told you so,’” she said to Starrett. “But I knew it was too easy.”
“Shut up,” he said sharply. “He knows nothing and he can prove nothing.”
“Turn around,” I said to him. “Spread your feet, raise your hands and lean on them against the wall.”
He sized me up carefully as though he was speculating on fighting me. Then he turned slowly and braced his hands against the wall.
I searched him. He had no weapon. He did have several signed checks, a bundle of high-denomination bank notes, and some travelers’ checks signed and countersigned by a John Metcalfe. There were no eyeglasses on him, no playing cards, no ring or pipe shiner, no thumb prick device or any kind of trick holdout machine. His New York driver’s license gave his name as Wendell H. Starrett.
“All right,” I said, “what’s the connection between you two?”
There was no answer from Starrett.
“Come on,” I said, “there’s more than a mere short acquaintance here. Have you two worked this racket before?”
“He’s my brother,” Connie Ossipee said.
“You have different names.”
“I’ve been married and divorced,” she said. “Two years ago when I didn’t know better. Down in Miami. An airman stationed at Opa Locka. It lasted exactly one winter. We were a couple of silly kids. My name is Constance Starrett Ossipee.”
“Did you work this same racket in Florida?” I asked.
“I haven’t worked anything,” she said.
“That’s the way it is, Ralph, old boy,” Starrett said comfortably. “What’s your complaint?”
“Larceny by fraud.”
“And the proof?” Starrett asked.
“In due time.”
“Connie’s a witness to whatever money you took from my person. There was over four thousand dollars.”
“I didn’t count it,” I said. “But we’ll put everything in her suitcase for safekeeping.” I kept staring at him. He seemed perfectly at ease and unworried.
He said, “You didn’t follow me here, did you?”
“No.”
“It’s obvious you were already here waiting for me.”
“Yes.”
“Yet I’m sure somebody followed me from the hotel in a tan-colored sedan. I lost them in those narrow, one-way streets down near the Plymouth waterfront. I know I was followed and I know I lost them.”
“I guess you’re pretty smart,” I said. I didn�
�t tell him he had also been followed by Sergeant Wolk in a black sedan. When Sergeant Uhlberg became aware that Starrett knew he was being followed he had probably allowed Starrett to lose him. Sergeant Wolk was close behind and took over, thereby lulling the suspect and making him feel secure enough to drive to the Gibbey Cabins.
“Let’s go,” I said, picking up the suitcase.
Starrett barged suddenly by me and made for the open front door. He ran straight into the arms of Sergeant Bill Uhlberg.
Chapter 23
The state policewoman had taken Constance Ossipee away. Wendell Starrett was locked up in the small cellblock at Troop D Headquarters, Middleboro Barracks. We were sitting there in the guardroom, Lieutenant Sam Gahagan, Mr. Eccles and Mr. Metcalfe, and I. The time was four o’clock in the morning and I was tired.
The duty sergeant poked his head in and said, “Captain Dondera is in his office, Lieutenant. You can see him now.”
We went down the corridor into the captain’s office. Dondera was there, freshly shaven and in uniform. Introductions were made all around and we sat down.
Dondera said, “Go ahead, Sam.”
Gahagan leaned an elbow on the flat-topped desk and said to Eccles and Metcalfe, “Now you both lost over two thousand dollars apiece to the young man and you don’t know how he did it. Am I right?”
“You’re right,” Eccles said. Metcalfe nodded.
Gahagan said, “How did you meet Starrett?”
“We were down at the swimming pool in the morning,” Metcalfe said. “A small group of us. Starrett was there. We had a few drinks together. He was a pleasant boy. One thing led to another and, before we knew it, we’d arranged a poker game for the night.”
“Who arranged it?” Gahagan asked.
“Carl and I,” Metcalfe said, pointing to Eccles, “have been playing cards at the Royal Colonial for years. Always the same gang. McIvor and Palme and a few others.”
“What games?”
“Stud poker, gin rummy and blackjack. Mostly stud poker.”
“Who suggested Wendell Starrett come in?”
“Nobody, as I can recall. What do you think, Carl?”
“Nobody had to suggest it,” Eccles said. “It came out in the conversation. Starrett looked like a nice boy. We thought he’d make a good player. We wanted a sixth for poker. Steve Palme was going to the Playhouse with Mrs. Palme. Starrett seemed all right. Looked like he could afford it.”
“How was he as a player?” Gahagan asked.
“About the best I’d ever seen,” Eccles said.
“Nothing more than fantastic luck,” Metcalfe said. “That, too, helps. He had no accomplices. We knew everybody else in the game. We’ve been coming to the Royal Colonial for years.”
“Our poker games were an institution,” Eccles said. “I suppose a man could lose a few hundred. Maybe five hundred if he had a bad night.”
“Whose cards did you use?” Gahagan asked.
“Phil McIvor had some cards in his room,” Eccles said. “But we didn’t use them. Somebody suggested we play with fresh cards.”
“Who suggested it?”
“I don’t remember,” Metcalfe said.
“I do,” Eccles said. “Starrett himself. He said he’d be obliged if we used fresh cards. He’d pay for them. There was no need for him to pay, of course.”
“Who got the cards?”
“I did,” Eccles said. “I needed some cigars. While they were setting up the table, I went down to the newsstand and got them.”
“How many decks?”
“Eight.”
“What kind of backs?”
“Bicycle-rider backs. Four red backs and four blue.”
Gahagan looked at Captain Dondera. Dondera opened his desk and pushed eight packs of cards across the surface. Dondera said, “Are these the cards, gentlemen?”
Eccles opened one of the boxes and took out the cards. “They look like the type, Captain.”
Gahagan said, “We got them from the hotel room where you played.”
“Then they must be the cards,” Eccles said.
“How often did you change them?” Gahagan asked.
“Every hand,” Eccles said. “While one man dealt, the next man shuffled the next deck. We kept going like that all around the circle. It kept things moving.”
“When did Starrett begin winning?” Gahagan asked.
“As I recall, he won the first hand. After that I don’t remember.”
“What do you remember, Mr. Metcalfe?”
“No, I can’t remember which hands he won,” Metcalfe said. “He certainly didn’t play in every single hand, nor did he win every hand.”
“You were playing stud poker?” Gahagan asked.
“Yes,” Eccles said. “Starrett won steadily. Almost always when there was a big pot. He knew exactly when to stay out and when to bet and raise.”
“Did he lose any hands?”
“A few small ones,” Eccles said. “I know, because I won a couple from him.”
“Do you remember the color of the backs of the cards when he did win?”
“No,” Metcalfe said. “I have no idea.”
“Not me,” Eccles said. “It wouldn’t even enter my mind.”
Gahagan picked up one of the decks and removed the cards from the pack. “You were playing stud poker,” he said. “The first card face down, the next four up?”
“Exactly,” Eccles said.
“Take the deck,” Gahagan said to Eccles. “Shuffle them. Have Mr. Metcalfe cut them. Deal one face down to each of us.”
Eccles shuffled the cards thoroughly. Metcalfe cut them twice. Eccles dealt the cards around.
“Just leave them the way they are,” Gahagan said. He extended his hand to Captain Dondera. Dondera gave him a pair of dark-lensed glasses. Gahagan put them on.
Gahagan said, “Mr. Metcalfe, you have the nine of clubs. Lindsey has the two of clubs. Mr. Eccles has the jack of spades. I have the seven of diamonds and Captain Dondera has the king of hearts. Now turn them over.”
We turned over the cards. There was a pause. Then Eccles said, “Absolutely right, Lieutenant. May I see those glasses, please?”
Gahagan handed them over. Eccles put them on and peered at each card. “I see what happens,” he said. “The back of the card fades out and a big number appears in green. You have a D in one corner and an H in another. I presume that stands for the suit.”
“Yes,” Gahagan said.
Eccles took off the glasses and handed them to Metcalfe. “Look through these, John.”
Metcalfe looked through the glasses and shook his head slowly. Then he took them off and said, “How does it work, Lieutenant?”
“The cards have been marked with a luminous material,” Gahagan said. “The glasses neutralize the back design and make the markings stand out.”
“Nothing shows to the naked eye,” Metcalfe said. “How do you find out?”
“We’ve had these before,” Captain Dondera explained. “The cards go into our photo lab in Boston. There they’re photographed in infrared film with an 88A Wratten filter. One-minute exposure. It sounds technical but it isn’t. The markings do show up very clearly. We can blow them up for court exhibits.”
“This pack has red backs,” Metcalfe said. “How about blue backs?
“The markings wouldn’t show. They have to be against a contrasting color.”
“All right,” Eccles said. “But Starrett wasn’t wearing these glasses when we played. He wasn’t wearing any glasses at all.”
“We know,” Captain Dondera said. “The glasses came from the State Police contraband room. We just used them to conduct the experiment.”
Gahagan said, “Did you notice the color of Starrett’s eyes, Mr. Eccles?”
“No,” Eccles said. “Did you, John?”
“Were they brown?” Metcalfe asked. “I’m not sure.”
Eccles said, “Lieutenant, I have friends I’ve known all my life and I don’t remember th
e color of their eyes.”
“That’s perfectly all right,” Gahagan said. “But if you were a police officer you would. When a police officer sees a person the description should register automatically.” Gahagan rubbed his grizzled head. “Wendell Starrett has blue eyes.”
“There you are,” Metcalfe said. “I thought they were a dark brown.”
“Well, let me tell you,” Gahagan said. “Trooper Lindsey first met Starrett a few days ago at the Mount Puritan Hotel. Starrett had blue eyes then. Last night when your group came down into the hotel lobby, Lindsey noticed there was something wrong about Starrett. He couldn’t place it at first. When you went into the lounge bar Starrett went into the men’s room. When he came out his eyes were blue. Then Lindsey remembered that Starrett’s eyes were a deep purplish brown in the lobby.”
“Of course,” Eccles said. “Contact lenses. That’s how Starrett was able to read the markings on the cards.”
“That’s it,” Gahagan said. “Starrett thought Lindsey was getting too close so he flushed the lenses down the drain in the men’s room. They’re only tiny little round things that don’t even cover the iris of the eye.”
“It’s all perfectly clear to me but for one thing,” Eccles said.
“Yes?” Gahagan said.
“How was he able to mark the cards? When did he have time? We started to play the minute I came back to the room.”
“I’m afraid he did that a long time ago,” Gahagan said. “He had a partner who sold these cards to the hotels months before.”
“Well, now,” Eccles said, “where do we stand in the recovery of our money?”
“It’s been confiscated,” Dondera said. “The court will see that you get it back. If you want, you can bring a civil action against Starrett. Under our General Laws, Chapter 137, Paragraph 1, you may recover triple damages in tort. We’ll handle the criminal charges ourselves.”
“Well,” Eccles said, “I must congratulate this young man, Trooper Lindsey, here. He discovered the whole thing, didn’t he?”
“No,” Captain Dondera said. “Lindsey followed it through. It had been discovered by another young man before him. The other boy wasn’t even a police officer. Not yet.”
“Then please extend our thanks to him,” Eccles said.