The Case of the Stolen Artifact
Chapter 4
1
The next morning, Eli Schneider watched as Alexandra Hughes entered police headquarters. He shook his head as she disappeared inside. They were depending on this woman to steal the Tiger. Instead, Alexandra was headed into the building where Robert Ironside worked and resided.
It could only mean one thing, she was double-crossing them. He should have known if they backed her into a corner, she would save her own skin. Eli just didn't consider that she would go to Ironside. It would mean an automatic arrest. Yet, there she was.
He had sensed something in her the moment she had arrived in San Francisco. She was not the Alexandra Hughes he had worked with in the past. She had always been a professional and did her job well. They should have known she would be reluctant to come back to San Francisco and Robert Ironside.
Eli didn't care. She did not have to throw the Tiger aside. She could have simply run down the crippled cop and left with the Tiger. Alexandra had gotten out of the city, so she could have done so with the Tiger.
Right now, they could be pedaling it to the highest bidder, and all three of them would have enough money to live on for the rest of their lives.
The problem was that Alexandra did not need the money. She had worked with others to steal very valuable artifacts from other museums. Both Eli and Louis had been in her Villa in France. It had become painfully obvious she was not hurting for money. Apparently, Alexandra was much better at cutting deals than he was.
He should have known that she would not steal the Tiger under Ironside's nose again. Their operation was now in jeopardy. Alexandra could not be trusted, and Eli had to talk to Louis. They had to do something about it.
If she thought she was going to get away with this, she was dead wrong. He and Lewis would make her pay for her betrayal. What was it about that crippled cop that made an otherwise professional thief turn to putty?
Eli got back into his rented vehicle. He turned the ignition, started the car and headed away from police headquarters. He and Lewis had to start making different plans. This time, these plans would not include Alexandra. At least she would not know they did not include her.
If they were going to pull this off, they would have to do it without her. One thing for sure, was she was going to regret turning on them.
He traveled back to the house which they had rented. Thinking about it, they might have to change their location to keep Ironside from finding them. On the other hand, if they did change, Alexandra would know something was up. Still, Eli felt uneasy residing in a house which Alexandra had likely given up the location to the crippled cop. He didn't see that they had any choice.
When he arrived at the house, he shut off the car and went inside. Lewis was sitting in the living room reading a magazine. When Eli entered, he looked up. "Just where the hell have you been?"
"Following our so-called partner."
Lewis raised an eyebrow. "What exactly do you mean by so-called?"
"Do you know where I followed her to?"
"Now, how the hell would I know that?"
"I followed her to police headquarters," Eli informed him.
The color drained from Louis's face. "Why would she go to police headquarters?"
"To rekindle her love affair with Ironside," Eli growled in frustration. "What the hell do you think she was doing there?"
"There would only be one reason for her to be there. She is double-crossing us."
"That is exactly what I figured," Eli agreed.
"What are we going to do about it? She obviously cannot be trusted. Alexandra is likely setting us up with Ironside to save her own skin."
"We must come up with an alternate plan."
Lewis was uncertain of that. "Maybe we should forget the whole thing and get out of San Francisco. Right now, Ironside has nothing on us. He can't arrest us. In fact, he can't even give us a ticket."
"Don't tell me that the great Lewis Blaine is scared of Chief Robert T Ironside," Eli mocked.
"Don't be a smart ass. I have never been scared of Ironside. Anyone that does not respect his abilities as a detective will end up behind bars."
Eli walked over to a nearby chair and sat down. "I have no doubt the man deserves his reputation. Any cop that has put as many guys behind bars as Ironside has done, is dangerous. He's a smart cop, but we have outsmarted smart cops many times."
Lewis still felt uneasy. He wanted the tiger badly, but the last thing he wanted was to end up in prison again. It would make him a third time loser, and he would be there for the rest of his life. It was not exactly the accommodations he chose to live in.
If they were to steal the Tiger, they had to be successful. Their entire plan was based around Alexandra. Now, that was all shot to hell. "All right, what exactly are you proposing?"
"I say we string her along, make her believe she is still part of the plan and figure on stealing the Tiger without her help. That will leave her high and dry with Ironside. We get away with the Tiger and she goes to jail. That will teach her for betraying us." Eli looked at Lewis and grinned.
Lewis did not want to give up on the Tiger any more than Eli did. Whatever plan they came up with had to be foolproof. Otherwise, he would have nothing to do with it. There was definitely other fish in the sea, and he was outstanding at fishing. Still, the Tiger was too impressive to give up on it easily. "So what is your plan? What are you suggesting?"
"While I was out this morning, I found out that a former colleague of ours works at the Museum. I suggest we have a little chat with him."
Lewis was skeptical. "Are you suggesting that we blackmail him as well? How did that work out for us with Alexandra?"
"Believe me, my friend does not have to be blackmailed. He is working there for one reason, and one reason only. He is looking for a big score. For all we know, that big score could be the Tiger. With an inside man, our chances of being successful will increase greatly."
"You are sure of this guy?" Lewis asked with a frown.
"If I wasn't, I would have abandoned this entire operation. I don't think that is going to be necessary. I believe he is the right man for the job." Eli sat forward in his chair waiting for Lewis's decision.
The wait was not very long. Lewis wanted that Tiger and if it was possible to get it, he was willing to talk to Eli's friend. Standing up, he looked down at Eli and said, "Well, don't just sit there, let's go see the man."
2
Della Street washed and dried the breakfast dishes as Perry Mason gathered up his papers from the night before off the table. He placed them in his briefcase and joined Della in the kitchen.
"Della, how many times do I have to tell you to let the dishes go. The maid will be in, and she will take care of them."
"She only comes in once a week, Perry. Are you going to let them collect in the sink for a week?"
"She comes in today."
"Really, I don't think part of her job is to do your dishes. Besides, I don't mind."
Mason took the dish cloth out of her hand and dropped it on the kitchen counter. "Well, I do. We have to get to the office. Let's go."
Taking her by the elbow, Mason let her out of the apartment, turned on the house alarm and locked the door behind them. As they walked down to the elevator, Della ask him, "Did you get a hold of your brother last night?" She had been exhausted and gone to bed early as Perry worked on a case for another client.
"I got so engrossed in what I was doing, I actually forgot all about calling him. When we get to the office, that will be the first thing I do."
They rode down the elevator in silence. When it stopped on the main floor, they both stepped out. Mason grabbed her arm and pushed her behind him.
"Perry, what's wrong?"
"Reporters. I just spotted a crowd of them outside the building garage."
"Since we don't have any trials going on right now, it could only mean one thing," Della remarked.
"That article that Jurgens put on Spicy Bits website," Mason surmised.
"You never should have let your client sell that magazine to Howard Jurgens."
"Unfortunately, I was unable to stop it. I knew this guy was going to be a problem. I checked out his reputation and tried to talk the client out of it, but was unable to do so."
"What are we going to do?" Della asked him.
"You are going to stick around the apartment for a while, and then go out the back way and hail a taxi. I am going to go into the lion's den."
Della was skeptical that they would be able to avoid the press. "It probably will not do any good, Perry. They likely have the other entrance covered as well. I have no doubt that they have reporters over at my apartment too."
"Can you get in your apartment building without being seen?" Mason asked her.
"I think so, why?"
"Go back up to my apartment and stay there for a while. After I have gone to the office, take a taxi over to your apartment building. When you do not come out of my building, they will assume that you are not staying with me. More than likely, a couple reporters will stick around at your building. If you can get in the back way, simply walk through the building and come out the front door. Take your car to the office."
"And just how long are we going to keep this up? Can't you file suit against Howard Jurgens?"
"Della, I am considered a public figure. He can print what he wants about me. Besides, if we were to sue him, he would have to be printing lies. He said in his article that you are living with me, that is not a lie."
"He slandered you in other ways. Can't you sue him for that?" Della already knew the answer to that as it had been discussed. She knew Perry would not do it. It would only give Howard Jurgens the publicity he wanted. She just hated seeing him get away with what he was doing. Della knew Perry was only concerned about her and not his reputation.
"We already talked about this. I am not going to give him the satisfaction of the attention he would get if I sued him. Now get going. I will handle the press," Mason told her.
Della nodded, turned and left him. Mason continued toward the front door. When he arrived, cameras began snapping and reporters began shouting questions at him.
"Mister Mason! Is the Spicy Bits article accurate? Is your secretary living with you?" One of them shouted.
Turning on the charm, Mason answered, "Spicy Bits is nothing more than a gossip magazine. What they can't find, they make up. I don't have the time to worry about the garbage printed in that magazine."
"You did not answer his question," another reporter shouted. "Is Miss Street living with you?"
Mason had no intentions of lying to the press. It would be something that would come back to haunt him. Nevertheless, neither did he have any intentions of allowing them to stick their noses into his private life. So rather than give them a yes or no answer, Mason said, "Do you see Miss Street anywhere around here?"
"If she is, Mason, she will not get out of this building without us knowing it. We have the back entrance covered as well."
Perry had already known that would be the case. It was the reason why he had told Della to go back up to his apartment and stay there for a while. Hopefully, when he left, she would be able to slip out unnoticed.
As they continued to shout questions at him, he moved toward his vehicle. Mason had to ask the reporters to step back to open the door of his Cadillac. He got inside of the vehicle, rolled down the window and told them, "I am sorry gentlemen, but I must get to the office." Rolling the window up, Mason slowly backed his vehicle out of the parking spot, avoiding bumping into any of the reporters. As relentless as they were, they moved out of the way of the Cadillac. Mason pulled out of the parking garage and into the street. He was not happy about these developments, but he and Della had no choice but to deal with them.
In the meantime, Della had gone back up to Perry's apartment as she was told to. She waited a half-hour before trying to sneak out of the building. Grabbing her purse, she turned on the alarm, left and closed the door. She took the back elevator and pushed the button for the first floor. When it came to a stop, Della peaked out before stepping into the hall. There weren't any reporters in sight. She went over to the side of the door and peered out. She could not see any reporters out there either. Della appreciated that Perry lived in such a security minded building, but times like this it came as a disadvantage. She waited for several minutes before venturing out into the parking lot. Della expected to be surrounded by reporters immediately, but it didn't happen. Apparently, when she didn't come out the same time Perry did, they lost interest.
She walked down the street, hailed a taxi and had the cab driver take her to her apartment. There wasn't any reporters waiting for her there either. Della got in her car, started it up and headed for the office. She thought about how ridiculous this whole charade was. No one cared anymore about couples living together. She loved Perry for trying to protect her. She just wished he would not worry about her reputation. Della wasn't worried about what anyone thought. It was none of their business anyway.
Upon arriving at the Brent Building, she had run out of luck. There were several reporters waiting for her. They shouted questions at her about hers and Perry's relationship. Della ignored them and moved through the crowd of nosy reporters.
Finally, arriving at the office, Della opened the lobby door and went in. She headed for Mason's private office. Opening his door, she entered. "I certainly hope they lose interest soon. I would hate to have to go through this very long. Maybe we should stay in separate apartments for a while, Perry."
"Della, I have no intentions of allowing that bunch of vultures to rule our lives. You are staying with me," he said. "We will figure out a way to outsmart them."
3
Ironside finished his breakfast as he waited for his staff to report to work. Mark started clearing the table. They both looked up when the door to the office opened. Only it was not Eve or Ed. Commissioner Randall walked swiftly down the ramp and directly to Ironside's table.
"Well, good morning, Dennis. What brings you here this early in the morning?"
"Have you read Spicy Bits yet?"
"Not only have I not read it, Dennis. I don't even know what it is," Ironside answered.
"It's basically a gossip magazine. It is now published online."
"Dennis, why in the world would I read that kind of garbage?"
The door opened, Ed and Eve entered and came down the ramp. "Because you and your brother are the subject on the main page of the site," Eve answered for the commissioner.
Ironside looked at Eve who was headed for the computer on Ironside's desk. She booted it up and waited. "Forget it, Eve. I am not going to give any gossip magazine the time of day," he told her.
"I think you better this one, Bob," the commissioner said.
"Now just why should I do that?"
"Come and take a look for yourself, Chief," Eve said.
Ironside hesitated and finally turned his chair around and wheeled over to his desk. Eve had the Spicy Bits site up. Sure enough there was the article everyone of them was talking about. He began reading it. The more he read, the more disgusted he felt. When he finished, he turned around. Mark had been reading over his shoulder. The others were lined up and staring at him.
"Why did you people insist I read this garbage?" Ironside said. "Perry and Della can handle what ever this gossip site prints. It's no one's business how they live, but theirs. As far as the rest of this, well, they weren't there. I don't care what they print."
"We have to care, Bob," Randall said.
"Why?" Ironside asked him.
"Because the press is going to start asking questions about Alexandra Hughes, and we must be prepared to answer those questions." Randall was afraid he wasn't going to take the problem seriously. Bob Ironside did not care what others thought of him.
"So let them ask. It all happened too fast, Dennis. I was busy trying to get out of the way of Alexandra's vehicle. I did not have time to get the license number."
"I know that, Bob, and I believe you. The problem is anytime the press smells blood in the water, there is a frenzy. They will be demanding you answer the charges."
"Charges? We are calling them charges now?" Ed said. "I agree with the chief. I think we should just ignore it. We have more important things to worry about than some gossip written about the chief."
"Personally, I would love to ignore it," Randall said, "unfortunately, all of you know that the press is not going to ignore it. We are going to be bombarded with questions regarding that incident. If it were only the people in this room that had to be concerned about it, then I would agree with you about ignoring it. However, I have already had calls from three members of the city council. We can't just ignore this problem."
"And just exactly what do you suggest we do about it?" Ironside snarled at his boss.
"I suggest a news conference where you can tell the press exactly what you just told me. It all happened so fast, you could not get out of the way of the vehicle and check the license plate too."
'Dennis, you really do not think that is going to do any good, do you? Those that want to believe I purposely let her get away or not going to accept any explanation from me at all."
Randall rolled his eyes toward the ceiling. "Well, it would help if you had not turned her loose after she came up to this office." He watched for the expression on Bob Ironside's face, then continued, "I don't understand. Why did you not arrest her immediately?"
"Commissioner, she came into this office fully expecting to be arrested. She gave me information on Blaine and Schneider who are planning another attempt to steal the Tiger. Alexandra is going to help set them up. She knows that she is facing charges. She came in here knowing that. What would you like me to do? Simply hope we can stop the thieves, or would you rather set them up and make sure we have an ironclad case against them?"
"Well... I suppose it would be better if we set them up."
"Good, I am glad you agree, because that is exactly what we are going to do."
Randall shook his head. He knew he had just lost another argument with Ironside. "You are still going to face questions about Alexander Hughes."
"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, Dennis."
Commissioner Randall stood up and headed for the door. Over his shoulder he called out, "I don't know how long I'm going to be able to hold off the city council on this one, Bob. They are going to demand to know why you have not arrested Alexander Hughes." With that parting shot, Randall left Ironside's office.
4
Perry Mason paced back and forth in his office while Della Street watched him. She knew, spite the fact that Perry would never allow anyone to blackmail him, he was concerned about his brother. It seemed he never worried about himself. Although, she would just prefer that she give up her apartment and move in with him, he was constantly worried about her reputation. In this day and age, it just didn't make sense anymore. Nobody cared about that sort of thing. Yet, Perry cared. He did not care what people thought of him, but he would protect her whether she wanted him to or not.
"Perry, you're going to wear a hole in the rug." Della sat at the table. She began tapping her pencil. It was something she knew drove Perry crazy. Hoping to settle him down, she continued to tap the pencil.
"Della, do you have to do that?"
Rather than answer him, she asked, "Do you have to keep pacing back and forth?"
"You know it helps me to think. I knew Jurgens was going to publish, but I didn't realize how damaging it would be to Bob. The last thing I want to do is hurt him in any way."
"What choice did you have?" she asked him. "You certainly couldn't allow him to blackmail you."
Mason stopped his pacing, went around the desk and sat down in his chair. "I know that, Della. If only my client had consulted me before selling Spicy Bits."
"So what are we going to do? Are we going to file suit in court against Howard Jurgens?"
"How could I do that? What did he say about us that is not true? We do hold separate apartments and you do live with me most of the time. Unfortunately, I cannot sue him for what he printed. However, I am going to find out what happened that day when Alexander Hughes left behind that Tiger."
Mason reached for the phone, dialed long distance to San Francisco and waited.
"Chief Ironside's office," Eve Whitfield answered.
"Eve, this is Perry Mason. Is my brother there?"
"Yes, Perry. One moment." She turned to her boss and told him, "Perry Mason is on the line, Chief."
Ironside punched the line that was lit and barked into the phone, "Perry, who the hell owns that rag magazine online?"
Mason could not help but smile. His brother knew exactly why he was calling, and he wasted no time getting to the subject. "A man by the name of Howard Jurgens. I am sorry, Bob, but Jurgens came to me while Della and I were eating in a restaurant. He wanted an exclusive on our relationship, and when I would not give it to him, he threatened to print it anyway, as well as the story on you."
"And, of course, you told him you would not be blackmailed," Ironside surmised.
"I had no choice, I will not be blackmailed by anybody for any reason."
"It's all right, Perry. You did the right thing."
"I am worried about the problems this is going to cause you. What about the story he printed? Would you like to sue him?"
"No, that would just keep this in the papers that much longer. Jurgens wasn't there. I was busy trying to get out of the way of an automobile. I didn't have time to get a license plate number. Believe me, Perry, I did not allow Alexandra to get away. Under the circumstances, I was on able to stop her."
"How much trouble is the commissioner giving you?"
"He's getting the usual pressure from the city council. However, I am going to handle this my way."
Mason smiled. Despite the fact that Dennis Randall was his brother's boss, he pretty much did what he wanted to do. Randall rarely ever overruled him. "So what does that mean? What are you going to do?"
Ironside told Mason about Alexander Hughes coming to his office and telling him about Blaine and Schneider.
"Then I take it, you are going to set them up? Bob, I don't mean to tell you how to do your job, but how do you know that Hughes isn't setting you up?"
"I don't. However, she did come into my office knowing that I would probably arrest her."
"But you didn't arrest her?"
Ironside sighed. "No I didn't. It wouldn't have been possible to set up Schneider and Baines with her in jail."
"Who else knows that you turned her loose?" Mason asked.
"My staff and Commissioner Randall."
"Bob, sooner or later others are going to find out. If Jurgens gets wind of it, he will delight in printing it," Mason told him.
"And by that time I will have Schneider and Blaine in jail. Then I don't care what he prints." Ironside was silent for a moment before he asked his brother, "What are you going to do about how he slandered you and Della?"
"I am going to put Paul on his trail. I doubt very highly if he is as squeaky clean as he expects us to be. When I get done with him, he is going to be sorry he tangled with either one of us."
"Keep me informed," Ironside said.
"I will, and Bob, be careful."
Perry hung up the phone. Della was watching him. When he noticed, he said, "He didn't say it, but I think he's getting the same thing we're getting here."
"What are you going to have Paul do?"
"Discredit that entire story on Bob and me. I have a plan. I will need Paul to help execute it." He got up and headed for the door into his private office.
"Perry, where are you going?"
As he open the door, he turned and looked back at her. "To Paul's office. It is time someone put Howard Jurgens and Spicy Bits out of business."