Part 49 (1/2)
”Even if it makes your father a b.u.t.t for ridicule.”
”Yes, even that. All things are matters of comparison. Thorpe's life, or even Thorpe's name mustn't be sacrificed to father's feelings. I may sacrifice my own future, even my own life if I choose, but not that of another.”
”Are you sure Mr. Thorpe is innocent?”
”As sure as shooting! But you must tell me all the details of your investigations. I've studied the newspaper reports, but I want your accounts, too. When can you get Wise back here? Send for him at once, will you? He can't get anything on Blair out there. Blair's life was blameless. I know it as I know my own. Why, Zizi, you don't realize,-- I've lived with my family and my friends for a whole long lot of years.
I'm no newcomer, except regarding the last six months. You can't tell me of Blair's character, or Thorpe's either. Now, what I want to puzzle out is whether I can do my part in producing the real murderer, without revealing my presence here and without even showing my hand in the matter.”
”You might appear as your own spook.”
”I've thought of that, and it offers wide possibilities. But it isn't fair to mother and Dad. Let the medium fool them, if she will, it's not for their own son to fool them, too! No, I can't do that.”
”You might appear to the--the criminal.”
”And give him the scare of his life! Yes, I might do that. But I'm not yet sure he is the criminal,--I'm basing my suspicion on generalities, not any specific evidence.”
”Tell me his name.”
”Not yet. Let's plan a little first. You see, I've arranged a fake _seance_ with Madame Parlato. If I rearrange it a bit, it may serve our purpose. I'll postpone it until Mr. Wise can get back, and then we'll see what we shall see!”
CHAPTER XVIII
The Confession
Peter Boots arranged and rearranged his plans for the _seance_ many times.
Though still living under the name of Louis Bartram, he had cast aside fear of having his real ident.i.ty discovered, pretty sure, now, that it must come sooner or later.
His present concern was with the discovery of Blair's murderer, and thereby the freeing of his sister's fiance. These accomplished he would consider the case of his own restored ident.i.ty, if it were not by that time a foregone conclusion.
Pennington Wise came back from the West, and was let into the secret.
His amazement was beyond all bounds when Zizi took him over to the Brooklyn hotel and he met Peter Crane.
”This thing has never been equaled in my experience,” he declared. ”And no one but Zizi could have found you out, unless you chose to make yourself known. Now, we must move warily,--your quarry may get away.”
”You know whom I suspect?” asked Peter in astonishment.
”Of course I do, and I've had the same suspect from the beginning. But I couldn't get a shred of evidence,--haven't any yet,-- I say, Mr. Crane, suppose you confide in me fully. You'll have no cause to regret it.”
So Peter Boots and Pennington Wise and Zizi had a long confab, in which all cards were laid on the table, and all details of the plan settled.
Wise agreed that it would be a fearful blow to Benjamin Crane's pride, but he held that the author of the book about Peter would receive no blame and the fame of the affair would be world-wide, which would make up for the blow to the author's vanity.
Peter was not convinced of this, but agreed to go ahead as Wise suggested. Indeed, he had no choice, for it now rested on his statements whether an innocent man was tried for crime or not.
The medium was completely suborned. She was instructed that if she obeyed orders implicitly and succeeded in fulfilling the desires of her new employers, she would be paid a large sum of money, and enabled to leave the country secretly and safety.