One Bright Summer Morning

Harper opened the gate, got in his car and drove up the drive. He drove slowly and his alert eyes took in the scene. He grimaced. The place offered no cover. There were a few small sand dunes behind which a man could hide, but they were too far away from the house. He could see as he drove that any car approaching would create a telltale dust cloud.

As he drove past the sand dimes, he saw the house. It was a quarter of a mile from him, set on a flat plane of sand, surrounded by green lawns and several outbuildings. He saw at once that there was no hope of approaching the house in daylight without being seen. He knew from the previous night that the moon shed a brilliant white light over the desert. It would be tricky and dangerous even to make the attempt at night.

He whistled through his teeth, thinking that Dennison would have a job on his hands if he meant to rush the place.

As he drew nearer to the house, he could see the long, deserted veranda. He noticed all the windows were closed. It looked as if no one was at home. Then he noticed a Lincoln car parked near the house. It was dusty and had California number plates. He memorized the number as he pulled up near the car.

He felt instinctively that he was being watched. He got out of the car and stood for some moments regarding the house, then with casual strides and a thumping heart, he reached the veranda steps, mounted them and rang the front doorbell.

As he waited, he thought ruefully that although Dennison was his future father-in-law, he certainly dreamed up some tough jobs for him.

There was a long pause, then the door opened and Chita regarded him, her face expressionless, one eyebrow lifted.

The sight of her gave Harper a jolt. Dennison had supplied him with the description of the girl who had been riding with Zelda Van Wylie just before Zelda’s disappearance given to him by Patrol Officer Murphy. Harper recognized Chita at once from this description.

So Dennison was right as usual, he thought. I’ve walked right into them.

“Sorry to disturb,” he said with a wide, friendly smile, “but I was passing. Could I see Mr. Dermott for a moment?” He inclined his head slightly to one side. “You wouldn’t be Mrs. Dermott?”

“They’re both out,” Chita said in a cold, flat voice.

“Mr. Harris-Jones... in case you don’t know he owns this place,” Harper said. “He is renting it to me in a couple of months. As I was passing, I wondered if I could look the house over. I’m not all that sure if it will be big enough for my requirements.”

“I can’t let you in, while they’re out.”

Harper widened his smile which was beginning to make his face ache.

“I can see that. Well, then I’ll get along. I shouldn’t have bothered you, but...”

“Yeah,” Chita said. “You told me: you happened to be passing,” and she shut the door in his face.

Still aware that he was being watched, Harper walked to his car. The back of his neck felt prickly. He didn’t hurry although he wanted to run. In spite of the fact that he kept wondering if he was going to get a bullet in his back, his eyes kept busy. There was a small cabin to his right, probably for the staff, to his left a double garage, then this expanse of lawn and another vast expanse of sand. It would be a hell of a place to approach without being seen.

It wasn’t until he was in his car and driving fast down the drive-in that he began to relax. He had the information that Dennison wanted and he had got away with his skin in one piece: how Dennison was going to tackle this place happily was Dennison’s headache.

Once out of sight of the house, Harper pulled up and jotted down the number of the Lincoln. He then drove on fast to Pitt City. There he called Dennison.

“You hit it right on the nose,” he told Dennison when he came on the line. “This girl who was driving with Miss Van Wylie came to the door. From the description, I’m certain it’s the same girl.” He went on to describe the approach to the ranch house and gave Dennison careful details of the layout of the house.

“Okay,” Dennison said. “Here’s what you do now. Take Brody and Letts and go back there after dark. Get as close to the place as you can... you’ll have to walk part of the way. Take a pair of field glasses with you. I want a twenty-four hour non-stop watch kept on the house. Go prepared. I don’t have to tell you what you want. Get Franklin of Pitt City to fit you out. I want to know who is in the house. Understand,”

“Yeah,” Harper said.

“The one thing you have to take care about is that no one in the house has the slightest idea they are being watched. That’s your responsibility. Take no risks. Good luck,” and Dennison hung up.