“Well, if nothing’s happened by the time you get back, I want you to talk the girls into going somewhere with you in the afternoon, and stay away till evening.  And don’t get the idea that you could help me here,” he added, stopping an objection.  “I know what I’m talking about.  The presence of any of you here would only delay matters and make it harder for me.”

Then Ritter came in, a cigarette in one corner of his mouth, carrying a tray on which were a bottle of Bourbon, a bottle of Scotch, a siphon and a couple of bottles of beer.

CHAPTER 20

The dining-room was empty, when Rand came down to breakfast the next morning.  Taking the seat he had occupied the evening before, he waited until Ritter came out of the kitchen through the pantry.

“Good morning, Colonel Rand,” the Perfect Butler greeted him unctuously.  “If I may say so, sir, you’re a bit of an early riser.  None of the family is up yet, sir.”

Rand jerked a thumb toward the kitchen.  “Who’s out there?” he hissed.

“Just the cook; frying sausage and flipping pancakes.  Premix pancakes, of course.  The maid sleeps out; she hasn’t gotten here yet.  How’d it go last night?  You put a dummy under the covers and sleep on the floor?”

“No, last night I was safe.  The blow-off isn’t due till this morning, when the women are at church, and he’ll have to catch me and the fall-guy together.”

“What do you want me to do?” Ritter asked, giving an un-butler-like hitch at his shoulder-holster.  “I can stand on my official dignity, and get out of any cleaning-up work till after dinner, and I won’t have any buttling to do till the women get home from church.”

“Case Varcek and Dunmore, when they come in; see if either of them is rod-heavy.  Find anything, last night?”

Ritter shook his head.  “I searched Varcek’s lab, after everybody was in bed, and I searched the cars in the garage, and a lot of other places.  I didn’t find them.  Whoever he is, the chances are he has them in his room.”

“Did you look back of the books in the library?” Rand asked.  When Ritter shook his head, he continued:  “That’s probably where they are.  Not that it makes a whole lot of difference.”

“If I’d found them, it’d of given me something to watch; then I’d know when the fun was going to start.”  Ritter broke off suddenly.  “Yes, sir.  Will you have your coffee now, or later, sir?”

Gladys entered, wearing the blue tailored outfit she had worn to Rand’s office, on Wednesday.

“At ease, at ease,” she laughed, dropping into her chair.  “Anything new?”

Rand shook his head.  “We’ll have to wait.  I’m expecting some action this morning; I hope it’ll be over before you’re home from church.”

She looked at him seriously.  “Jeff, you’re using yourself as murder-bait,” she said.  “Aren’t you?”

“More or less.  He knows I’m onto him.  He’s pretty sure I haven’t any real proof, yet, but he doesn’t know how soon I will have.  He realizes that I’m cat-and-mousing him, the way I did Walters.  So he’ll try to kill me before I pounce, and when he does, he’ll convict himself.  What he doesn’t realize is that as long as he sits tight, he’s perfectly safe.”