effort to get close to you.”
A new friend, taken into the madame’s confidence, might well have robbery in mind.
Thoughtfully, she said, “I had not met before Miss Pope-but I knew of her, hear of her, we have the mutual friend. . She is an architect, you know, a designer of library, a leader of the party Progressive.”
And a lunatic who believed in spooks and fairies.
“Anyone else?”
She nodded. “There is a Dr. Fisher-Howard Fisher. He travel with his wife’s young sister, a Miss Connor, Dorothy Connor.”
Fisher, she said, wanted to help his British brother-in-law establish a hospital in France.
“They say they would like to join forces with my husband at La Panne,” she said.
“But you’d never heard of them before. And they are first-class passengers?”
I wrote down their names. Later I would ask Miss Vance to investigate them, to which she readily agreed.
“I’ve focused on your war efforts,” I said. “Is there anyone on the ship that you knew previously-someone out of your personal life who you did not expect to see? Anyone with a grudge?”
“
“How long have you known Dr. Houghton?”
“A few week-he is from a town in New York. . Troy.”
“He sought you out?”
“Yes-at one of the rally where I raise the money.”
I had already jotted the good doctor’s name down, and would request Miss Vance investigate him, as well.
“These question,” she said, and her eyes were amused and yet her aspect remained one of
“No.” I glanced at Miss Vance for help.
“Madame,” the lady Pinkerton said, “Mr. Van Dine and I have become good friends. .”
The regal woman smiled. “Perhaps he is the man I hear in your room last night?”
This astonished both of us, but Madame DePage only laughed, the weight of the war finally disappearing from her shoulders. “I am French. Do you think I would judge you?. . You know the expression
Suddenly I wondered just how friendly she and Dr. Houghton had become, no matter how dedicated she might be to her husband and his cause.
Madame DePage smiled, eyes atwinkle, nodding her approval of starry nights and shipboard romance.
“Mr. Van Dine and I have become friends,” Miss Vance said, trying again-and this was the first time I’d seen this calm and collected woman show any sign of embarrassment, “and he is helping me investigate. We believe a ring of thieves may be aboard the ship.”
She did not mention that the members of this ring-at least, the three German stowaways-were in cold storage.
“I see,” Madame DePage said. “And you seek the
“Yes,” I said. “Even a crew member who you might find in your room, seemingly quite innocent. . Ask yourself, does he belong here? Is he serving some ship’s purpose, or his own?”
The lovely envoy nodded and smiled. “Your concern is appreciated, monsieur. But I think the. . Miss Vance, what is the word?. . The precautions we have take, this will make the effort of any thief foolish. . And now I must bring our conversation to a close. I wish some time in my suite before luncheon-can you believe it is almost time to eat again?”
She rose, bid us bonjour, and Miss Vance and I were suddenly alone in our nook of the lavish lounge.
“Madame DePage does seem a terribly unlikely suspect,” I said.
Miss Vance had shifted to the chair vacated by Marie DePage, to sit closer. “I would agree-and the time I’ve spent with her, which is considerable, only underscores that notion.”
“Nonetheless, we had to have this interview.”
“Oh yes.”
“And we did learn some things.”
It was at this point that I suggested Miss Vance investigate Dr. Fisher and his sister-in-law, Dorothy Connor, and Dr. Houghton, madame’s male companion. She said she would wire Pinkerton to make what she called “background checks” on all of them-which she of course had already put into motion for the crew members Williams and Leach.
“What are these precautions to which madame referred?” I asked her. “What secrets are you keeping from me, Vance?”
She arched an eyebrow, and her half-smile dug a dimple in her left cheek. “After last night, Van, I would say precious few.”
I did not blush. “If you don’t trust me, well then. . you don’t trust me.”
Miss Vance touched my hand. “I would be violating Pinkerton procedures.”
“It’s really none of my business. None of my concern.”
“Don’t pout! It’s not manly. . ” She leaned conspiratorially close, her tone shifting from quiet to near whisper. “Madame DePage has a steamer trunk in her suite. Inside is a locked strongbox in which one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, in cash, resides.”
I frowned. “How is this a precaution?”
She shrugged in a matter-of-fact manner. “The bills are counterfeit.”
I sat back, eyes wide. “What? But surely that’s illegal. . ”
“Not in this instance. In cooperation with the U.S. Secret Service, Pinkerton placed this fake money, as bait, in madame’s possession. Should it be stolen, and the culprits not apprehended aboard ship, those counterfeit bills will lead the authorities to them. Lists of those bills will be distributed internationally.”
“That is clever,” I admitted. “And the real money is in safekeeping?”
“It’s somewhere in my cabin,” she said. “Isn’t that enough information for you?”
It was. But I did have to wonder if it had been in her mattress-if so, I’d never been that close to so much money in my life.
Then it was time for the first luncheon sitting, though I stopped by the switchboard first-seemed we had appointments this afternoon with George Kessler, Charles Frohman and Elbert Hubbard. . and the latter one would no doubt try my digestion.
TEN
Charles Frohman’s suite was on the starboard side of the ship. With the exception of last evening’s meal, Frohman had apparently not ventured out of his quarters since boarding; and he was not your typically blustery theatrical character, despite a propensity for surrounding himself with specimens of that obnoxious breed.
I was aware of him by reputation, vaguely at least-Frohman was one of the best-known and most beloved men in New York-but it was Miss Vance, that delightful actress turned detective, who prepared me for the interview.
“It’s rather remarkable,” she told me over luncheon, “that he agreed to see us at all.”
