"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 123 - Washington Crime" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

He gave me my information."
"You mean Cranston! Was he one of your agents?"
"No. Cranston was the person whom you suspected him to be. He was The
Shadow!"
Bryland gripped the arms of his chair; exclaimed, in startled fashion:
"If Cranston is The Shadow -"
"I said that Cranston was The Shadow," reminded Creelon, coldly. "He will
trouble us no longer, Bryland. I kept him alive only until I knew that you had
arrived here."
"The Shadow became your prisoner!"
Creelon nodded. Blandly, he told how he had posed as Agent F-3. From his
own statement, he practically admitted that he had murdered the real F-3 in
Paris. That did not shock Bryland. Instead, it brought a sparkle of evil
approval from the ex-major's deep-set eyes.


FROM the Argus mirror, The Shadow could see a tightening of Creelon's
straight lips. The master-spy was coming to the matter of business; but he was
cagily avoiding mention of the NEC until he had sounded Creelon further.
"Nina Valencita came here after she saw you," informed Creelon. "She said
that a girl was with you at the Apollo Club; that the girl saw her and did not
like it."
Bryland grimaced; shrugged his shoulders.
"The girl was Martha Leeth," he said. "The congressman's daughter. She
made a scene, and it looked bad. There were people about."
"Did they see Nina talking to you?"
"Yes. But I doubt that it mattered. Nina Valencita is well accepted in
all
Washington circles."
Creelon arose; shook his head as he stepped toward the fire to warm his
hands. Facing about, the spy looked toward Bryland. From the mirror, The
Shadow
could see the false ruddiness that came to Creelon's features. All that they
needed was the evil smile; then the firelight would give them their satanic
glow.
"I am not sure about Nina," expressed Creelon, slowly, still preserving
his straight-lipped pose. "She is reliable; otherwise I would not have
employed
her. But her status in Washington may be less established than I supposed. Her
trip to Spain, during the revolution there, was the sort of expedition that
would have placed her name on a doubtful list.
"I think that you should have an alibi to cover your meeting with Nina.
Therefore, I have provided these. Nina wrote them hastily while she was here;
but they will suffice. Particularly because she showed skill in writing love
notes."
Creelon produced a small packet of note papers. Bryland scanned them, he
recognized the handwriting of Nina. He smiled as he read them; nodded
approvingly.
"All back dated," he remarked. "They certainly convey the impression that
Nina was once in love with me. They go well with this note that she had