The Golden Circle Read Free

the pocket which now held that gun. "Want to tell me about it?"
"You're with homicide in New York?"
The dark stocky Colma glanced across at him. He was holding the stub of a pencil between the fingers of his left hand like another cigarette. "Eight now I'm with robbery division," he said. "Which is why I'm doubly interested in you. I didn't find anything on you when I frisked you before. Later, we'll take your little room here apart, and your luggage."
"Something was stolen from Pieters?"
"You didn't know, of course."
"I had a pretty good idea," replied the Phantom. "One of the two women who came into this compartment after the shooting had something in her purse which she passed on to the stewardess."
"Oh, so?" The dark bushy eyebrow over Colma's left eye rose. "Two ladies was it?"
"Three counting the stewardess."
The lieutenant transferred the pencil to his right hand. "Okay, Walker, suppose we cut the bull. Tell me what really happened."
"Who was Pieters?"
"He works in the jewelry district of Manhattan. And he happened to share my feeling about airplanes," said the stocky policeman. "I suppose you didn't know any of that either."
"No, but it fits in," said the Phantom. "Then they must have taken jewels from him."
"Exactly right. A packet of gems worth over $200,000," Colma said. "Pieters was a smart man, able to take care of himself. Besides which he was armed. I'd really like to know how he let you walk in and get the drop on him"
"I imagine the blonde was the one who got through his defenses," observed the Phantom. On the window next to him the rain was slamming hard. "She has a very innocent exterior."
"You're sticking to this yarn about a bunch of dames?"
"Because it's the truth."
    Grunting, Lt. Colma reached up to push the serv-
ice buzzer. "Okay, Walker. We'll talk to the steward ess for this car. I'll ask her if she saw your lady friends, or if she happens to be a jewel thief herself. Then we'll get back to reality."
"Have there been other robberies like this one?"
"This is the first one on a train in a long time." Colma was doodling in the notebook margin, but his eyes were on the big man opposite him. "We're fairly sure down on Center Street there's at least one big jewel theft ring operating in and around New York City at the moment. These boys don't balk at killing. This job tonight could be their work." He sighed out smoke. "But you already know all this, Walker. Don't your
The Phantom said, "You ought to be searching the train for those women."
"Train hasn't stopped anywhere since Pieters was killed," answered the squat lieutenant. "Nobody's going anywhere the train isn't."
There was a knock on the door. Then a lean black man, wearing a crisp white jacket, looked in. "Yes, sir? What can I do for you?"
"Where's the girl who acts as stewardess in this car?" Colma asked.
The porter checked his watch. "Oh, she went off duty two hours back. These days, sir, we don't have round the clock...."
"You sure the girl hasn't been here within the last hour?" asked the policeman.
"Yes, I am, sir. I made up Miss Toshiko's bed myself well over an hour ago."
The Phantom sat up. "The stewardess is Japanese?"
"Oh, yes, sir."
"And she's the only one?
"We only have one girl now, sir. These days. . . ."
"Okay, thanks," said Colma. "That will do it for now."
"The girl I saw was a redhead." The Phantom started to say something more, then stopped. He'd noticed an object on the rug glistening in the light from the corridor. When the porter was gone, he said, "Look at this, lieutenant."
"Costume jewelry," snorted Colma. "Not what I'm after."
"The girl who was here tonight was wearing this."
The lieutenant made a dismissing gesture at the golden arrow pin. "Walker, I've been as amiable as I intend to be. Your story, to put it mildly, stinks. You heard what the porter had to...." He stopped talking to cough. 1 really ought to quit smoking." He coughed a few more times and wiped his nose. "Okay, now are you going to tell me about what