American fiction -- 20th century; Detective and mystery stories
“Prison,” he said, shortly. “Prison? Give me the matron. Mrs. Conness?
Take that Ward girl into your room and give her the best you have
until I get down. Give me Andrews. Sergeant Andrews? Take that Ward
boy to the matron’s room and give him the best you have until I get
down there.” He hung up the receiver. “Come on. We’ll pick up Brady. He
lives just around the corner. We better get Maloney, too; he’s not far
away. If this is the bird I think it is, we’ll take no chances. Known
as the ‘Swallow.’ Two timer, Moyomemsing prison. Porch climber. Came
out here about fifteen years ago and reported on, saying he wanted a
chance to make good. We kept track of him for a couple of years. He was
clerking and doing the right thing. Then we lost him.”
“I didn’t identify him that closely,” said Lanagan. “But he’s the man
who did this trick and the other nine.”
Within twenty-five minutes Brady and Maloney were crowded into the
machine with us. Lanagan gave a direction. At Pacific Avenue and
Octavia Street we stopped, in the heart of the fashionable western
addition. With Lanagan and Leslie in the lead, Brady and I next and
Maloney bringing up the rear, we straggled along for several blocks.
At Washington and Buchanan Streets the Chief and Lanagan had stepped
back and signalled us. We closed up. From the middle of the block on
Washington Street came the sound of a taxicab starting. Leslie looked
around the corner as the machine came towards us, and stepped to the
street, flashing his shield. The machine stopped. The door opened. A
head appeared. A familiar voice came.
“Hello, Chief! What’s up?”
Detective Harrigan stepped out.
“You’re up,” said Leslie, with a bitter oath. “You are under arrest.
Brady, search the prisoner.”
Quick as a knife blade springs back Harrigan’s hand went to his
hip; but as quick as he was, Leslie was quicker. There was a click,
click and Harrigan stood before his superior officer and his brother
detectives, manacled. With practised fingers Brady was running through
his clothes. He passed over Harrigan’s revolver, handcuffs and billy.
He brought forth a leather wallet. Leslie tore it open. It held an
assortment of jewelry, jumbled together.
“So!” he said, his voice shaking with rage, “you knew it was the
Swallow, did you? And you have been shaking him down for half the loot?
Well, Officer Harrigan, you and the Swallow will be splitting cobble
stones inside of a month. You dirty, rotten, gutter scut! You were
framing to send two little kids to prison, were you? I wish I had let
you pull that gun! We’d have saved the county the expense of a trial!”
He tore Harrigan’s coat back and ripped his star from his breast. He
ground it under his heel until the number it held was obliterated, and
then he hurled it spinning into the air and over the corner house. It
landed faintly on a distant roof.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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