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Ep. 17 - The Poisen-Pen Puzzle · True Tales of The Secret Service

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Chapter seventeen, The Poison Pen Puzzle. Beside the bookcase in the room which
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Bill Quinn likes to dignify by the name of library, though it's only a
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den ornamented with relics of scores of cases in which members of the different government
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detective services have figured, hangs a frame containing four letters, each in a
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different handwriting. Beyond the fact that these letters obviously refer to some secret in
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the lives of the persons to whom they are addressed, there is little about
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them that is out of the ordinary. A close observer, however, would
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note that in none of the four is the secret openly stated. It is
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only hinted at suggested. But by that very fact it becomes more mysterious and
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alarming. It was upon this that I commented one evening, as I sat
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discussing things in general with Quinn. Yes, he agreed. The writer of
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those letters was certainly a genius as an author, or as an advertising writer,
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or in almost any other profession. Were a mastery of words, and
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the ability to leave much to the imagination is a distinct asset, they would
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have made a big success they, I inquired, did more than one person
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write the letters? Don't look like the writing of the same person, do
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they countered Quinn. Besides, that was one of the many phases of the
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matter which puzzled Elmer Allison and raised the case above the dead level of ordinary
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blackmailing schemes. Allison, Quinn went on, settling comfortably back in his big
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arm chair, was, as you probably remember, one of the star men
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of the Postal Inspection Service, the chap who solved the mystery of the lost
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one hundred thousand dollars in Columbus. In fact, he had barely cleared up
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the tangle connected with the letters when assigned to look into the affair of the
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missing money with what results you already know. The poison pen puzzle, as
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it came to be known in the department, first bobbed up some six months
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before Allison tackled it. At least that was when it came to the attention
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of the Postal Inspection Service. It's more than likely that the letters had been
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arriving for some time previous to that, because one of the beauties of any
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blackmailing scheme such as this one appeared to be is that ninety percent of the
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victims fear to bring the matter to the attention of the law. They much
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prefer to suffer in silence, kicking in with the amounts demanded, then to
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risk the exposure of their family skeletons by appealing to the proper authorities. A
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man by the name of Tyson, who lives in Madison, Wisconsin, was
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the first to complain. He informed the postmaster in his city that his wife
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had received two letters, apparently in a feminine handwriting, which he considered to
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be very thinly veiled attempts at blackmailing. Neither of the letters was long,
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just a sentence or two, but their ingenuity lay in what they suggested rather
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than in their actual threats. The first one read, does your husband know
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the details of that trip to fondu Lac. He might be interested in what
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Hastings has to tell him. The second, which arrived some ten days later,
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announced the photograph of the register of a certain hotel in fon du Lac
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for June eighth might be of interest to your husband. Who can tell?
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That was all there was to them. But it doesn't take an expert in
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plot building to think of a dozen stories that could lie back of that supposedly
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clandestine trip from the eighth of June. Tyson didn't go into particulars at the
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time. He contented himself with turning the letters over to the department, with
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the request that the matter be looked into. At once, said that his
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wife had handed them to him and that he knew nothing more about the matter.
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All that the postal authorities could do at the time was to instruct him
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to bring in any subsequent communications. But as the letter stopped suddenly, and
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Tyson absolutely refused to state whether he knew of anyone who might be interested in
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causing trouble between his wife and himself, there was nothing further to be done.
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Tracing a single letter, or even two of them, is like looking
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for a certain star on a clear night. You've got to know where to
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look before you have a chance of finding it, and the postmark on the
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letters wasn't of the least assistance. Some three or four weeks later a similar
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case cropped up. This time it was a woman who brought in the letters,
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a woman who was red eyed from lack of sleep and worry. Again,
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the communications referred to a definite escapade, but still they made no open
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demand for money. By the time the third case cropped up. The postal
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authorities in Madison were appealing to Washington for assistance. Before Bolton and Clark,
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the two inspectors originally assigned to the case, could reach the Wisconsin capital,
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another set of the mysterious communications had been received and called to the attention of
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the department. During the three months which followed, no less than six complaints
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were filed, all of them alleging the receipt of veiled threats, and neither
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the local authorities nor the men from Washington could find a single nail in which
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to hang a theory. Finally, affairs reached such a stage that the Chief
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sent for Allison, who had already made something of a name for himself,
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and told him to get on the job. Better make the first train for
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Madison. Were the directions which Elmer received. So far as we can tell,
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this appears to be the scheme of some crazy woman intent upon causing domestic
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disturbances, rather than a well laid blackmailing plot. There's no report of any
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actual demand for money, just threats or suggestions of revelations which would cause family
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dissension. I don't have to tell you that it's wise to keep the whole
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business away from the papers as long as you can. They'll get next to
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it sometime, of course. But if we can keep it quiet until we've
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landed the author of the notes, it'll be a whole lot better for the
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reputation of the department. Bolton and Clarke are in Madison now, but their
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reports are far from satisfactory, so you'd better do a little investigating of your
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own. You'll have full authority to handle the case any way that you see
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fit. All we ask is action before somebody stirs up a real row about
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the inefficiency of the service, and all that rot. Elmer smiled grimly,
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knowing the difficulties under which the department worked, difficulties which make it hard for
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any bureau to obtain the full facts in a case without being pestered by politicians
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and harried by local interests which are far from friendly. For this reason,
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you seldom know that Uncle Sam is conducting an investigation until the whole thing is
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over and done with and the results are ready to be presented to the grand
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jury. Premature publicity has ruined many cases and prevented many a detective from landing
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the men he's after, which was the reason that Allison slipped into town on
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rubber heels, and his appearance at the office of the Postmaster was the first
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indication that official had of his arrival. Mister Gordon said Allison, after they
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had completed the usual preliminaries connected with credentials and so forth. I want to
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tackle this case just as if I were the first man who had been called
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in. I understand that comparatively little progress has been made. Comparatively little is
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good, chuckled the Postmaster. Don't wish to be hindered by any more erroneous
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theories which may have been built up, So if you don't mind, we'll
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run over the whole thing from the beginning. Well, replied the Postmaster.
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You know about the Tyson letters, and I don't know about a thing.
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Elmer cut in, or at least will work on the assumption that I don't.
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Then I'll be sure not to miss any points, and at the same
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time I'll get a fresh outline of the entire situation. Some two hours later,
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Postmaster Gordon finished his resume of the various cases which were puzzling the police
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and the postal officials. For a number of the best men in the police
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force had been quietly at work trying to trace the poison pen letters. Are
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these all the letters that have been received, Alison inquired, indicating some thirty
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communications which lay before on the desk, all that have been called to the
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attention of this office. Of course, there's no telling how many more have
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been written about which no complaint has been made. Knowing human nature, I
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should say that at least three times that number have been received and possibly paid
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for, but the recipients didn't report the matter for reasons best known to themselves.
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As a matter of fact, but you are not interested in gossip,
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I most certainly am, declared Allison. When you're handling a matter of this
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kind, where backstairs intrigue and servants hall talk is likely to play a large
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part, gossip forms a most important factor. What does Dame Rumor say in
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this case, so far as these letters are concerned, nothing at all.
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Certain influence, which it's hardly necessary to explain in detail, have kept this
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affair out of the papers. But gossip has it that at least three divorces
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within its many months have been caused by the receipt of anonymous letters, and
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that there are a number of other homes which are on the verge of being
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broken up for a similar reason. That would appear to bear out your contention
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that other people have received letters like these but preferred to take private action upon
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them. Also that if blackmail were attempted, it sometimes failed, Otherwise the
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matter wouldn't have gotten as far as the divorce court. Then, after a
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careful study of several of the sample letters on the desk, Allison continued,
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I suppose you have noted the fact that no two of these appear to have
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been written by the same person. Yes, but that is a point upon
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which handwriting experts to agree. Some of them claimed that each was written by
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a different person, Others maintained that one woman was responsible for all of them,
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and a third school holds that either two or three people wrote them.
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What are you going to do when experts disagree? Don't worry about any of
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them, retorted Allison. If we're successful at all, we won't have much
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trouble in proving our case without the assistance of a bunch of so called experts
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who only gum up the testimony with long words that a jury can't understand.
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Where are the envelopes in which these letters were mailed? Most of The people
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who brought them in failed to keep the envelopes, but we did manage to
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dig up a few. Here they are, and the postmaster tossed over a
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packet of about half a dozen of various shapes and sizes. Mused the postal
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operative, all comparatively inexpensive stationery might have been bought at nearly any corner drug
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store. Any clue to the postmarks not the slightest, As you will note,
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they were mailed either at the central post office or at the railroad station,
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places so public that it's impossible to keep a strict watch for the person
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who mailed them. In one case, that of the osgoods, we cautioned
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the wife to say nothing whatever about the matter, and then ordered every clerk
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in the post office to look out for letters in that handwriting which might be
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slipped through the slot. In fact, we closed all the slots save one,
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and placed a man on guard inside night and day. Well what happened,
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inquired Allison, a trifle impatiently, as postmaster paused. The joke was
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on us. Some two days later a letter which looked suspiciously like these was
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mailed. Our man caught it in time to dart outside and nail the person
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who posted it. Fortunately, we discovered that she was missus Osgood's sister in
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law, and that the letter was a perfectly innocent one. No chance of
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her being mixed up in the affair. No, her husband is a prominent
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lawyer here, and besides, we've watched every move she's made since that time.
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She's one of the few people in town that we're certain of. Yet
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you say her handwriting was similar to that which appears on these letters. Yes,
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that's one of the many puzzling phases of the whole matter. Every single
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letter is written in a hand which closely reas embols that of a relative of
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the person to whom it is addressed. So much so, in fact,
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that at least four of the complainants have insisted upon the arrest of these relatives
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and have been distinctly displeased at a refusal to place them in jail, merely
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because their handwriting is similar to that of a blackmailer. Why do you say
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blackmailer? Do you know of any demand for money which has been made?
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Not directly, but what other purpose could a person have them to extract money?
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They'd hardly run the risk of going to the pen in order to gratify
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a whim for causing trouble. How about the Tysons and the Osgoods and the
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other people who brought these letters in? Didn't they receive subsequent demands for money?
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They received nothing, not another single letter of any kind. You mean
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that the simple fact of making a report to your office appeared to stop the
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receipt of the threats precisely. Now that you put it that way, it
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does look odd, but that's what happened. Allison whistled. This was the
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first ray of light that had penetrated a very dark and mysterious case, and
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with its aid he felt that he might after all be successful. Contenting himself
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with a few more questions, including the names of the couples whom Gossip stated
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had been separated through the receipt of anonymous communications, Allison bundled the letters together
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and slipped them into his pocket. It's quite possible, he stated, as
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he opened the door leading out of the postmaster's private office, that you won't
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hear anything more from me for some time. I hardly think it would be
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wise to report here too often, or that if you happen to run into
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me on the Street that you would register recognition. I won't be using the
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name of Allison anyhow, but that of Greg Alvin Gregg, who has made
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a fortune in the operation of chain stores and is looking over the field with
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a view to establishing connections here. Gregg, by the way, is stopping
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at the Majestic Hotel if you care to reach him. And with that he
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was gone. Alison's first move after establishing his identity at the hotel was to
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send a wire to a certain Alice Norcross in Chicago, a wire which informed
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her that my sister, missus Mabel Kennedy requests your presence in Madison, Wisconsin,
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urgent and immediate. The signature was Alvin Gregg e A. And to
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an inquisitive telegraph operator who inquired the meaning of the initials, Allison replied electrical
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assistant, of course, and walked away before the matter could be further discussed.
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The next evening, Missus Mabel Kennedy registered at the Majestic Hotel and went
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up to the room which mister Gregg had reserved for her, the one next
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to his. It's all right, Alice, he informed her. A few
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moments later, after a careful survey had satisfied him that the hall was clear
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of prying ears. I told them all about you, that you were my
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sister and everything, so it's quite respectable Missus Kennedy, or Alice Norcross,
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as she was known to the members of the postal Service, whom she had
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assisted on more than one occasion when the services of a woman with brains were
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demanded, Early smiled and continued to fix her hair before the mirror. I'm
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not worrying about that, she replied. You boys can always be trusted to
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arrange the details, but traveling always did play the dickens with my hair.
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What's the idea anyhow? Why am I missus Mabel Kennedy and what's she supposed
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to do? In a few words, Alison outlined what he was up against,
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evidently the operation of a very skillful gang of blackmailers who were not only
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perfectly sure of their facts, but who didn't run any risks until their victims
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were too thoroughly cowed to offer any resistance. The only weak spot and the
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whole plan, concluded the operative, is that the letters invariably cease when the
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prospective victims lay their case before the postmaster. You mean that you think he's
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implicated. No, but someone in his office is snapped, Allison, Else
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how would they know when to lay off? That's the only lead we have,
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and I don't want to work from it. But up to it.
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Do you know anyone who's socially prominent in Madison? Not a soul? But
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it's no trick to get letters of introduction, even for missus Mabel Kennedy.
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Fine, go to it the minute you get em. Start a social campaign
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here, stage several luncheons, bridge parties and the like. Be sure to
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create the impression of a woman of means. And if you can drop a
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few hints about your none too spotless past, so much the better. You
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want to draw their fire, eh, precisely, it's unfortunate that we can't
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rig up a husband for you. That would make things eas easier. But
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when it's known that I, Alvin Gregg, am your brother, I think
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it's more than likely that they'll risk a couple of shots. It was about
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a month later that Missus Kennedy called up her brother at the Hotel Majestic and
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asked him to come over to her apartment at once. Something stirring, inquired
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Allison as he entered the drawing room of the suite, which his assistant had
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rented in order to bolster up her social campaign. The first nibble replied the
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girl, holding out a sheet of violet tinted paper, on which appeared the
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words, of course, your brother and your friends know all about the night
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you spent alone with a certain man in a cabin in the Sierras. Great
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Scott ejaculated, Allison, do you mean to say it worked like clockwork?
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Was the girl's acting on your instructions? I made a special play for Snaith,
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the Postmaster's confidential secretary and general assistant. I invited him to several of
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my parties and paid particular attention to what I said when he was around.
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The first night, I got off some clever little remark about conventions, laughing
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at the fact that it was all right for a woman to spend a day
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with a man, but hardly respectable for her to spend the evening. The
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next time he was there, and he was the only one in the party
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who had been present on the previous occasion, I turned the conversation to snowstorms
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and admitted that I had once been trapped in a storm in the Sierra Nevadas
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and had been forced to spend the night in a cabin. But I didn't
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say anything then about any companion. The third evening, when an entirely different
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crowd with the exception of Snaith, was present, some one brought up the
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subject of what constitutes a gentleman, and my contribution was a speech to the
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effect that one never knows what a man is until he is placed in a
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position where his brute instincts would naturally come to the front. Not a single
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of those remarks was incriminating or even suspicious, But it didn't take a master
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mind to add them together and make this note. Snaith was the only man
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who could add them because he was the only one who was present when they
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were all made. Fine work, applauded Allison. But there's one point you've
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overlooked. This letter, unlike the rest of its kind, is postmark Kansas
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City. While Snaith was here day before yesterday when this was mailed, I
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know because Clark's been camping on his trail for the past three weeks. Then
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that means that Snaith is only one of the gang. The stool pigeon,
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or in this case, the lounge lizard who collects the information and passes it
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on to his chief exactly. Now, having mister Snaith where I want him,
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and knowing pretty well how to deal with his breed, I think the
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rest will be easy. I knew that somebody in the Postmaster's office must be
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mixed up in the affair, and your very astute friend was the most likely
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prospect. Congratulations on landing him so neatly, Thanks, said the girl.
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But what next for you? Not a thing? You've handled your part to
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perfection. The rest is likely to entail a considerable amount of strong arm work,
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and I'd rather not have you around might cramp my style. That night,
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or rather, about three o'clock on the following morning, Sylvester Snaith,
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confidential Secretary to the Postmaster of Madison, was awakened by the sound of someone
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moving stealthily about the bedroom of his bachelor apartment. Before he could utter a
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sound, the beam of light from an electric torch blazed in his eyes,
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and a curt voice from the darkness ordered him to put up his hands.
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Then, what do you know about the anonymous letters which have been sent to
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a number of persons in this city? Demanded the voice not a thing,
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stammered the clerk, trying to collect his badly scattered senses. That's a lie.
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We know that you supplied the information upon which those letters were based.
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Now come through with the whole dope, or by hell, I'll the blue
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steel muzzle of an automatic, which was visible just outside the path of light
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from the torch completed the threat Snaith, thoroughly cowed, came through, told
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more than even Allison had hoped for when he had planned the night raid on
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a man whom he had sized up as a physical coward. Less than an
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hour after the secretary had finished, Elmer was on his way to Kansas City,
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armed with information, which he proceeded to lay before the Chief of Police,
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Spencerian Peter eh grunted the chief. Sure, I know where to lay
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my hands on him. Been watching him more or less ever since he got
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out of Leavenworth a couple of years back. But I never connected him with
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this case. What do you mean this case, demanded Alison. Did you
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know anything about the poison pen letters in Madison? Madison? No, but
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I know about the ones that have set certain people here by the ears for
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the past month. I thought that was what you wanted him for. Evidently
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the game isn't new. Far from it, Elmer replied, I don't know
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how much he cleaned up in Wisconsin, but I'll bet he got away with
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a nice pile. Had a social pet there who happened to be the postmaster's
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right hand man collect the scandal for him, and then he'd fix up the
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letters, faking some relative's handwriting with that infernal skill of his. Then his
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man Friday would tip him off when they made a hauler to headquarters, and
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he'd look for other suckers rather than run the risk of getting the department on
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his trail by playing the same fish too long. That's what finally gave him
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away. That and the fact that his assistant was bluffed by an electric torch
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in an empty gun. Well, I'll be hanged, muttered the chief.
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You might have been explaining the situation here, except that we don't know who
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his society informant is. I think we'd better drop in for a call on
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Spenserian this evening. The call was made on scheduled time, Quinn concluded,
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but it was hardly of a social nature. You wouldn't expect a post office
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operative a chief of police and half a dozen cops to stage a pink tea.
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Their methods are inclined to be a trifle more abrupt, though Pete,
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as it happened, didn't attempt to pull any rough stuff. He dropped his
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gun the moment he saw how many guests were present, and it wasn't very
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long before they presented him with a formal invitation to resume his none too comfortable
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but extremely exclusive apartment in Leavenworth, Snaith. Being only an accomplice, got
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off with two years. The man who wrote the letters, and who was
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the principal beneficiary of the money which they produced, drew ten and who got
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the credit for solving the puzzle? I inquired, Allison or the Norcross girl?
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Allison replied, Quinn Alice Norcross only worked on condition that her connection with
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the service be kept quite as much of a secret as the fact that her
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real name was missus Elmer Allison. What she was Allison's wife? I demanded,
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Quite so, said the former operative. If you don't believe me,
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there's a piece of her wedding dress draped over that picture up there, and
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he pointed to a strip of white silk that hung over one of the framed
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photographs on the wall. But I thought you said that that was part of
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the famous thirty thousand Yards, which was nailed just after it had been smuggled
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across the Canadian border. I did, but Alison got hold of a piece
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of it and had it made up into a dress for Alice. So that
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bit up there has a double story, you know, one of them.
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Remind me to tell you the other sometime end of chapter seventeen,