"This picture was made by Gibson, on Fifth Avenue," she said, referring
to the photograph in the book. Both Baker and Duvall saw at once that on
the retouched picture, the name of the photographer had been scratched
off.
"How many of them were made, and what became of them?" Duvall asked
quickly.
"Ordinarily I could not answer such a question," Mrs. Morton replied,
"for Ruth has had many photographs taken, and we have not of course kept
a record of them, or what has become of them, but in this particular
case I happen to remember that she did not like the pose particularly,
and ordered but half a dozen. I do not think that she gave any of them
away. If I am right in my supposition, there should be five more here in
the apartment." Closing the book, Mrs. Morton went to the cabinet again,
and took out a portfolio containing numberless photographs of her
daughter in all sorts of poses.
After some searching, she produced a brown-paper envelope, containing a
number of pictures, all taken by the same photographer, at the same
time. There were in the envelope four copies of the photograph, the
fifth of which was contained in the album.
"Evidently one has been given away," Duvall exclaimed. "Now if we can
only find out to whom, our search for the writer of these letters may be
very quickly ended."
Mr. Baker regarded them both with a puzzled look.
"I have seen that picture before," he said, "and of course I could not
have done so, had I not seen the one that is missing." He sat for a
while in silence, searching his recollection for a solution of the
problem. Suddenly he spoke. "There was a picture like that in my office,
at one time," he exclaimed. "Miss Morton sent a number down, for
advertising purposes, and I am positive that this one was among them. I
remember distinctly the pose of the head, the unusual arrangement of the
hair. That photograph should be in our files. The fact that it has been
taken out shows that the person who has been writing these letters is a
member of our own staff, or at least has access to our files."
"That does not necessarily follow," observed Duvall.
"Why not?"
"Because the picture might have been obtained from the photographer."
"But they are not allowed to dispose of the portraits of others, without
the sitter's permission."
"I know that, but they sometimes do so, especially in the case of anyone
so well known as Miss Morton. She has become a sort of public character.
"Well," remarked Duvall, "we can readily find out, in the morning. You,
Mr. Baker, can go through your files, and should you find the photograph
to be there, I will take the matter up with the photographer. If, on the
contrary, the picture is missing, it will be fairly conclusive evidence
that the person or persons we are looking for are in some way connected
with the studio."
"I will make an investigation the first thing in the morning," Mr. Baker
announced, rising. "Do you expect to be at the studio early, Mr.
Duvall?"
"Yes. Quite early."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account