The Maltese Cube (Chapter 16)

What Happened in Chapter 15

Mac tells Lisa about the death of Newton. He questions her about who else might know anything about the Maltese Cube. She denies having told anyone. Leaving her behind, Mac goes to the bus station and gets the Cube out of the storage locker where Newton had put it. Mac transfered it to a suitcase and headed back to his ofice.

Chapter 16
Lessons learned from Sherlock (Elementary)

The cab dropped me off in front of my office building. I didn’t see Pindler or Gassly, but it stood to reason that they weren’t too far away. Everything was coming to a head and these weren’t the kind of people who followed a script. I made my way to my office and found Umax at her desk as usual.

‘Good morning Mac. Sherlock stopped by a little earlier and told me to give you these files. He said you would want them right away.’

I thanked her as she handed me four legal-sized envelopes that were still sealed. Maxie wasn’t the sort of person to go through my personal correspondences without leave. It was one of the main reasons I had hired her for originally. Not that she wasn’t inquisitive. She was obviously curious about what was inside, but was professional enough to leave them as they were given to her. She knew I would fill her in on the details as needed. I noticed her looking at the suitcase I had brought inside.

‘Going on a trip boss?’ She asked.

‘Not yet Maxie. I could use a vacation though. Especially after this job.’

I stepped inside my office and closed the door. Walking to the far corner of the room, I removed a small piece of paneling revealing an alcove just big enough to place the suitcase inside. I replaced the paneling and stood back to look at it. While it wouldn’t fool anyone doing a serious search of the room for long, it was safe enough for a casual inspection.

Sitting at my desk, I glanced at the four envelopes Sherlock had left for me. Opening the seal, I placed the four documents side by side on my desk and began to read M. Bell’s file. The more I read, the more things became clear.

My earlier suspicions about this being related to industrial espionage seemed correct. The last remaining questions still needed to be answered. Who was playing whom for possession of the Maltese Cube? Why did Pindler and Gassly come to me to find it? Why would a major player in the PC world like M. Bell use a private detective for information on a company like Apple? Why not use the vast resources of his own corporate empire? How did someone like Newton manage to stay hidden from the people looking for him for so long?

A person with the type of speech impediment that Newton had should have been easy to find. Why would a woman as attractive as Lisa (though no longer as stunning as she had been, she was still very pretty) be interested in Newton? She didn’t seem to be the type to go for a techno-geek like Newton.

It was unfortunate that during our last brief conversation, I hadn’t had a chance to ask him about Lisa. I knew what Lisa’s story had been about how they met. I would have liked to have gotten Newton’s take on the whole thing. Then there was the number one question of all. Who had killed Newton and why?

Putting aside M. Bell’s file, I picked up the one for Pindler. For someone who acted the way he did, there was surprisingly little known about him. Sherlock had filled in some of the blanks with his own speculations. Earlier, Sherlock had alluded to Pindler’s dealings with the Too brothers (Toocee, Tooey, and Toogee-ess). Nothing that could be proven in court, but Sherlock’s suspicions was enough for me to believe that Pindler could be one nasty customer.

While reading Gassly’s file I got a major shock! Of course! This explains many things. It all makes sense now. I had looked at Gassly with some contempt after our initial meetings. The French accent, the silly smile, his inane shouting of things to remind us of the land of his birth. It had been difficult to really take him serious even after his breaking into my apartment and smacking me in the head with that book. He had seemed so harmless unless he could sneak up on you. I wouldn’t take him so lightly during our next meeting.

I had to wonder how much of Gassly’s background Pindler knew. Chances were, he knew most of it. That’s probably what made him so valuable to Pindler. It’s easier to be threatening when you have a madman by the leash.

Putting down Gassly’s file, I picked up Lisa’s and began to read. Nothing really there that I didn’t already know or suspect. I put all the files back in order and placed them in the bottom drawer of my desk.

I picked up my Rolodex and made a few calls starting with M. Bell. I informed him that I knew what he really wanted was the Cube and that I was going to have custody of it soon. I told him that if he wanted the Maltese Cube, he should be ready to come to my office quickly when he heard from me next. Bell was less than pleased at this until I told him that my possession of the Cube was probably going to be fleeting and if he didn’t arrive in time, I couldn’t guarantee that I would deliver as promised. He assured me that he was leaving his office now and would be close by when needed. I firmly told him not to come before I called or he would scare off the deliveryman.

Next, I called Lieutenant B. H. Astronomer. I laid out everything I knew so far. I asked him not to intercede until he heard from me later. I had no hard-core evidence on what I knew had happened and if this wasn’t handled right; the guilty party would go free. He grumbled, but agreed to wait.

Lastly, I called Lisa. Of all the people involved, she was probably in the most danger right now. If what I suspected was true, it would be in Pindler’s best interest if Lisa disappeared and I needed her here at the office to smoke out the killer. Without Lisa, the murder would never be solved. I told her to quickly pack all she had and get over here as fast as she could. I warned her to be careful as Pindler may be looking for her.

Walking out to my lobby area, I quickly briefed Maxie on what I needed her to do when the time arrived. Her eyes shining with excitement because she knew that Pindler was going to be unpleasantly surprised and after his manipulation of her earlier, she would get back at him in no small way. I knew it wouldn’t be long before the throng in this little affair showed up and I had to be ready.