The Thief (Isaac Bell 5)

The normally nimble-fingered Isaac Bell was having trouble knotting his tie, so best man Archibald Angell Abbott IV was attempting to tie it for him. Archie tossed the boy a coin that made his eyes widen and handed Bell the orange Marconi Wireless envelope.

Bell tore it open, unfolded the buff-colored marconigram, noted the date and the notation “Handed in at S.S. Adriatic,” indicating the White Star liner had relayed the radio signal from a shore station, and then began to decipher its handwritten contents while Archie started over again on his tie.

“This is odd.”

“Hold still! What’s odd?”

“Art Curtis says that Professor Beiderbecke is not a munitions inventor.”

“What does he invent?”

“Hang on, I’m still trying to figure…” Ordinarily as quick with figures as he was nimble-fingered, he was having trouble reading the familiar Van Dorn code.

“I have never seen a more jittery groom,” said Archie.

“You were walking into walls at your wedding. Here we go! Professor Beiderbecke is an electro-acoustic scientist at Vienna’s Imperial-Royal Polytechnic Institute.”

“What the heck is an electro-acoustic scientist?”

“Art says he holds patents for recording and amplifying speech and music.”

“Gramophones?”

The two detectives looked at each other. “What does a munitions outfit care about gramophones?”

Archie laughed. “If Krieg Rüstungswerk challenges Mr. Thomas Edison’s phonograph patents they’ll see what war really is.” He saw expressions of puzzlement and intense curiosity cross Isaac Bell’s face. “What else?”

“Clyde Lynds is an honors graduate of the Polytechnic Institute.”

“Like they told you.”

“But they didn’t tell me he’s taken it on the lam.”

“Who’s chasing him?”

“The Imperial German Army issued an arrest warrant for desertion — that makes no sense at all. The kid’s no soldier.”

“Maybe that’s why he deserted.”

Bell nodded. “But he grew up in the United States, and he’s been studying in Austria. You’d think he wasn’t subject to the German draft.”

“Maybe they drafted him anyway and he didn’t show up.”

“Art speaks fluent German, and he always chooses his words precisely. He writes ‘desertion.’ Meaning Clyde Lynds was already in the Army — come on, let’s go.”

“Where?”

“I’m going to ask Beiderbecke why a munitions outfit is trying to steal his gramophone.”

As Bell yanked open the door, a page boy came along banging a Chinese gong.

“There goes the dressing gong. You don’t have time. The captain’s tying your knot in half an hour.”

“And I’m going to keep asking until he gives me an answer.”

“But your wedding—”

Bell was already out the door. “When we get up there, peel Lynds away from Beiderbecke so I can talk to the Professor alone.”