“What a lazy bum.” Fellows sat down at the kitchen table. Two other officers were in the room. One of them took the pot off the stove and started pouring.
“Not much food in the house,” Wilks said. “Just coffee and a few cans of things. They must have lived pretty much day to day.”
“That reminds me. As soon as everybody gets back from lunch, start them on a canvass of all grocery stores that deliver. A delivery was made here Friday the thirteenth. Campbell paid for it in person.”
Wilks made a note of it, and Fellows said, “By the way, that inventory of yours include vacuum cleaners?”
Wilks waved at the kitchen closet beside the stove. “An old one in there. Prewar.”
Fellows got up to look at it. It was a Eureka with a cloth bag and a long handle. He unwound the cord, plugged it into a socket, and tested the switch. The motor came on purring evenly and the bag filled with air. He switched it off, unplugged it, and put it away again.
Wilks said, “What’s that for?”
“Just wondering what they might need another vacuum cleaner for.” He accepted a cup of the coffee. “Any others around?”
“No. There supposed to be?”
Fellows brought the coffee to the table. “The woman down the road saw the guy bring a new one in one day. She didn’t see it leave.”
Wilks grinned. “Is that supposed to mean it’s still here?”
“She doesn’t miss much. Of course Campbell could have taken it away again at night. I think she might not quite see it from her window in the dark.”
“Real eager, huh?”
“I think she’s a British mystery-story fan. Kept calling me ‘Inspector.’ Any milk for this coffee?”
“There’s milk in the icebox, but it’s sour.”
“Well, it’s better if I drink it black anyway, I suppose.” He sipped the steaming dark liquid. “Henderson get the ashes out of the furnace?”
“He’s on his way to Hartford with them now.”
“Well, we’ll drink this and leave a couple of men here and go in for some lunch. I didn’t eat any breakfast and this stuff isn’t nourishing. And I want to get in touch with the Erie police.”
“What for?”
“To check on Campbell. He listed himself on his application as working for the Gary Hardware Company there. I don’t suppose he does, but I want to make sure.”
“What else did you find?”
“The girl didn’t wear a wedding ring. And I got a description of Campbell. Tall, dark, medium build, tan overcoat. No hat when Watly saw him, but he wore a brown one when the woman across the way got a look.”
“And he brought in a vacuum cleaner? What the hell for?” Fellows shrugged. “It beats me.”
CHAPTER V
Thursday, 3:30-5:30 P.M.
042 FILE 2 PD STOCKFORD CT FEB 26-59
PD ERIE PENNA
REQUEST INFO JOHN CAMPBELL DARK HAIR 5-10 WT 160
AGE 30-40 EMPLOYED GARY HARDWARE CO UR CITY WANTED
ON SUSPICION OF MURDER PLEASE CONFIRM
AUTH F C FELLOWS OPR NORTON 3-30 PM
zzzzzz
zzzzzz
ALARM 321 CODE SIG 12 AUTH F C FELLOWS FEB 26
59 ARREST FOR MURDER JOHN CAMPBELL WHITE 35-5-10-160
SLIM DARK HAIR DRIVES TAN LATE MODEL FORD
OPR NORTON 3-48 PM
064 FILE 8 PD ERIE PENNA FEB 26-59
PD STOCKFORD CT
CAMPBELL VICE PRES GARY HARDWARE CO AGE 53 HT 5-9
WT 165 HAIR GRAY REQUEST INSTRUCTIONS
AUTH T F PRENDERGAST OPR RIKERS 4-29 PM
zzzzzz
042 FILE 2 PD STOCKFORD CT FEB 26-59
PD ERIE PENNA
INVESTIGATE WHEREABOUTS JOHN CAMPBELL FEB 1-26 AGE
AND HAIR WRONG CAN YOU SEND PHOTO CAMPBELL
AUTH F C FELLOWS OPR NORTON 4-47 PM
zzzzzz
064 FILE 8 PD ERIE PENNA FEB 26-59
PD STOCKFORD CT
CAMPBELL IN NASSAU JAN 23-FEB 23 RETURNED TO WORK
FEB 24 CONFIRM HAIR GRAY AGE 53 ONLY JOHN CAMPBELL IN
GARY HARDWARE RECORDS SENDING PHOTO
AUTH T C PRENDERGAST OPR RIKERS 5-19 PM
zzzzzz
Chief Fellows was looking over the shoulder of the girl in communications when the last message came in. He tore off the sheet and scowled at it. “Tell them to hold up—no. Tell them I want that alibi checked out, Doris.” He took the paper with him back to the headquarters room downstairs.
Sergeant William S. Gorman was on the desk and three reporters were talking with him, with Sergeant Wilks, and plainclothesman Edward N. Lewis. Fellows said, “I guess you can all see this,” and passed the message to Wilks, who read it and handed it around.
Wilks said, “I don’t suppose Watly’s eyesight could be so bad he’d call a fifty-three-year-old man in his thirties, even with dyed hair.”
Gorman, who had come on at four and been catching up on events ever since, said, “That time element, though. Campbell left for Nassau on the twenty-third of January and that was the day Campbell rented the house.”
One of the reporters said, “What about it, Chief?”
Fellows smiled. “Now wouldn’t I be a fool to go speculate in front of the press?”
“Is there a chance it’s the same guy?”
“The Erie police are going to check his alibi. I’ll tell you when we get the reports and when we show Watly his picture.”
“If it’s not the right Campbell, would that mean someone’s trying to impersonate him?”
“Your guess is as good as mine.”
“What’s the next move?”
“Sergeant Wilks and I are going out to look over the house again.”
Wilks said, “Hey, I’ve been all over it, Fred. It’s been checked thoroughly.”
“Not by me.” He smiled. “Come on, Sid, what do you want to do, go home early?”
CHAPTER VI
Thursday, 5:40-6:45
“It’s not going to be the same Campbell,” Wilks said to Fellows as they drove out to the house in the gathering darkness. “No man in his right mind would use his real name renting a house to kill someone in.”
“I’ll go along with that, Sid, but it’s interesting that there really is a Campbell at the Gary Hardware plant. Our Mr. Campbell told Watly everybody from the president on down would vouch for him. Sounds like he had the vice president in mind.”
“I’ll guess that’s an angle we’d better
