The Kidnap Murder Case Read online

  THE KIDNAP MURDER CASE

  THE KIDNAP MURDER CASE

  S. S. Van Dine

  FELONY & MAYHEM PRESS • NEW YORK

  All the characters and events portrayed in this work are fictitious.

  THE KIDNAP MURDER CASE

  A Felony & Mayhem mystery

  PRINTING HISTORY

  First edition (Scribner’s): 1936

  Felony & Mayhem edition: 2020

  Copyright © 1936 by Charles Scribner’s Sons

  Copyright renewed 1954 by Claire R. Wright

  All rights reserved

  ISBN: 978-1-63194-204-4

  Manufactured in the United States of America

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Van Dine, S. S., author.

  Title: The kidnap murder case / S.S. Van Dine.

  Description: Felony & Mayhem edition. | New York : Felony & Mayhem Press, 2020. | Series: Philo vance ; 10 | Summary: “Philo Vance tracks down a wealthy playboy kidnapped for ransom”-- Provided by publisher.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2020046469 | ISBN 9781631942044 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781631942129 (ebook)

  Classification: LCC PS3545.R846 K53 2020 | DDC 813/.54--dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020046469

  Non semper ea sunt, quæ videntur; decipit Frons prima multos.

  —Phædrus

  CHARACTERS OF THE BOOK

  PHILO VANCE

  JOHN F.-X. MARKHAM

  District Attorney of New York County.

  ERNEST HEATH

  Sergeant of the Homicide Bureau.

  KASPAR KENTING

  A playboy and gambler, who mysteriously disappears from his home.

  KENYON KENTING

  A broker; brother of Kaspar and technical head of the Kenting family.

  MADELAINE KENTING

  Kaspar Kenting’s wife.

  ELDRIDGE FLEEL

  A lawyer; a friend of the Kenting family and their attorney.

  MRS. ANDREWS FALLOWAY

  Madelaine Kenting’s mother.

  FRAIM FALLOWAY

  Madelaine Kenting’s brother.

  PORTER QUAGGY

  Another friend of the Kentings.

  WEEM

  The Kenting butler and houseman.

  GERTRUDE

  The Kenting cook and maid; wife of Weem.

  SNITKIN

  Detective of the Homicide Bureau.

  HENNESSEY

  Detective of the Homicide Bureau.

  BURKE

  Detective of the Homicide Bureau.

  GUILFOYLE

  Detective of the Homicide Bureau.

  SULLIVAN

  Detective of the Homicide Bureau.

  CAPTAIN DUBOIS

  Fingerprint expert.

  DETECTIVE BELLAMY

  Fingerprint expert.

  WILLIAM MCLAUGHLIN

  Patrolman on night duty on West 86th Street.

  CURRIE

  Vance’s valet.

  The icon above says you’re holding a copy of a book in the Felony & Mayhem “Vintage” category. These books were originally published prior to about 1965, and feature the kind of twisty, ingenious puzzles beloved by fans of Agatha Christie and John Dickson Carr. If you enjoy this book, you may well like other “Vintage” titles from Felony & Mayhem Press.

  ANTHONY BERKELEY

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  ELIZABETH DALY

  Unexpected Night

  Deadly Nightshade

  Murders in Volume 2

  The House without the Door

  Evidence of Things Seen

  Nothing Can Rescue Me

  Arrow Pointing Nowhere

  The Book of the Dead

  Any Shape or Form

  Somewhere in the House

  The Wrong Way Down

  Night Walk

  The Book of the Lion

  And Dangerous to Know

  Death and Letters

  The Book of the Crime

  NGAIO MARSH

  A Man Lay Dead

  Enter a Murderer

  The Nursing Home Murder

  Death in Ecstasy

  Vintage Murder

  Artists in Crime

  Death in a White Tie

  Overture to Death

  Death at the Bar

  Surfeit of Lampreys

  Death and the Dancing Footman

  Colour Scheme

  Died in the Wool

  Final Curtain

  Swing, Brother, Swing

  Night at the Vulcan

  Spinsters in Jeopardy

  Scales of Justice

  Death of a Fool

  Singing in the Shrouds

  False Scent

  Hand in Glove

  Dead Water

  Killer Dolphin

  Clutch of Constables

  When in Rome

  Tied Up in Tinsel

  Black as He’s Painted

  Last Ditch

  A Grave Mistake

  Photo Finish

  Light Thickens

  Collected Short Mysteries

  PATRCIA MOYES

  Dead Men Don’t Ski

  The Sunken Sailor

  Death on the Agenda

  Murder à la Mode

  Falling Star

  Johnny Under Ground

  Murder Fantastical

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  Who Saw Her Die?

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  Angel Death

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  Night Ferry to Death

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  LENORE GLEN OFFORD

  Skeleton Key

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  My True Love Lies

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  THE KIDNAP MURDER CASE

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  Half Title

  Title

  Copyright

  CHARACTERS OF THE BOOK

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE Kidnapped! (Wednesday, July 20; 9:30 a.m.)

  CHAPTER TWO The Purple House (Wednesday, July 20; 10:30 a.m.)

  CHAPTER THREE The Ransom Note (Wednesday, July 20; 11 a.m.)

  CHAPTER FOUR A Startling Declaration (Wednesday, July 20; 11:45 a.m.)

  CHAPTER FIVE On the Rungs of the Ladder (Wednesday, July 20; 12:30 p.m.)

  CHAPTER SIX $50,000 (Wednesday, July 20; 12:45 p.m.)

  CHAPTER SEVEN The Black Opals (Wednesday, July 20; 1:15 p.m.)

  CHAPTER EIGHT Ultimatum (Thursday, July 21; 10 a.m.)

  CHAPTER NINE Decisions are Reached (Thursday, July 21; 11:15 a.m.)

  CHAPTER TEN The Tree in the Park (Thursday, July 21; 9:45 p.m.)

  CHAPTER ELEVEN Another Empty Room (Thursday, July 21; 11:10 p.m.)

  CHAPTER TWELVE Emerald Perfume (Thursday, July 21; 11:30 p.m.)

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN The Green Coupé (Thursday, July 21; midnight.)

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN Kaspar is Found (Friday, July 22; 12:30 a.m.)

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN Alexandrite a
nd Amethyst (Friday, July 22; 8:40 a.m.)

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN “This Year of Our Lord” (Friday, July 22; 11 a.m.)

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Shots in the Dark (Friday, July 22; noon.)

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN The Windowless Room (Friday, July 22; 10:30 p.m.)

  CHAPTER NINETEEN The Final Scene (Saturday, July 23; 9 a.m.)

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  Guide

  Cover

  Half Title

  Title

  Copyright

  CHARACTERS OF THE BOOK

  CONTENTS

  Start of Content

  CHAPTER ONE

  Kidnapped!

  (Wednesday, July 20; 9:30 a.m.)

  PHILO VANCE, AS you may remember, took a solitary trip to Egypt immediately after the termination of the Garden murder case.* My surmise must have been correct, for it was that very evening, when he was relaxing in his roof-garden, that Vance remarked to me, apropos of nothing that had gone before: “A man’s affections involve a great responsibility. The things a man wants most must often be sacrificed because of this exacting responsibility.” I felt quite certain then that his sudden and prolonged trip to Egypt had not been an unqualified success as far as his personal objective was concerned.

  For the next few days Vance busied himself in arranging, classifying and cataloging the rare pieces he had brought back with him. He threw himself into the work with more than his wonted interest and enthusiasm. His mental and physical condition showed improvement immediately, and it was but a short time before I recognized the old vital Vance that I had always known, keen for sports, for various impersonal activities, and for the constant milling of the undercurrents of human psychology.

  It was just a week after his return from Cairo that the famous Kidnap murder case broke. It was an atrocious and clever crime, and more than the usual publicity was given to it in the newspapers because of the wave of kidnapping cases that had been sweeping over the country at that time. But this particular crime of which I am writing from my voluminous notes was very different in many respects from the familiar “snatch”; and it was illumined by many sinister highlights. To be sure, the motive for the crime, or, I should say, crimes, was the sordid one of monetary gain; and superficially the technique was similar to that of the numerous cases in the same category. But through Vance’s determination and fearlessness, through his keen insight into human nature, and his amazing flair for the ramifications of human psychology, he was able to penetrate beyond the seemingly conclusive manifestations of the case.

  In the course of this investigation Vance took no thought of any personal risk. At one time he was in the gravest danger, and it was only through his boldness, his lack of physical fear, and his deadly aim and quick action when it was a matter of his life or another’s—partly the result, perhaps, of his World-War experience which won him the Croix de Guerre—that he saved the lives of several innocent persons as well as his own, and eventually put his finger on the criminal in a scene of startling tragedy.

  There was a certain righteous indignation in his attitude during this terrible episode—an attitude quite alien to his customarily aloof and cynical and purely a
cademic point of view—for the crime itself was one of the type he particularly abhorred.

  As I have said, it was just a week after his return to New York that Vance was unexpectedly, and somewhat against his wishes, drawn into the investigation. He had resumed his habit of working late at night and rising late; but, to my surprise, when I entered the library at nine o’clock on that morning of July 20, he was already up and dressed and had just finished the Turkish coffee and the Régie cigarette that constituted his daily breakfast. He had on his patch-pocket grey tweed suit and a pair of heavy walking boots, which almost invariably indicated a contemplated trip into the country.

  Before I could express my astonishment (I believe it was the first time in the course of our relationship that he had risen and started the day before I had) he smilingly explained to me with his antemeridian drawl:

  “Don’t be shocked by my burst of energy, Van. It really can’t be helped, don’t y’ know. I’m driving out to Dumont, to the dog show. I’ve a little chap entered in the puppy and American-bred classes, and I want to take him into the ring myself. He’s a grand little fellow, and this is his début.* I’ll return for dinner.”

  I was rather pleased at the prospect of being left alone for the day, for there was much work for me to do. I admit that, as Vance’s legal advisor, monetary steward and general overseer of his affairs, I had allowed a great deal of routine work to accumulate during his absence, and the assurance of an entire day, without any immediate or current chores, was most welcome to me.

  As Vance spoke he rang for Currie, his old English butler and majordomo, and asked for his hat and chamois gloves. Filling his cigarette case, he waved a friendly good-bye to me and started toward the door. But just before he reached it, the front doorbell sounded, and a moment later Currie ushered in John F.-X. Markham, District Attorney of New York County.†

  “Good heavens, Vance!” exclaimed Markham. “Going out at such an early hour? Or have you just come in?” Despite the jocularity of his words, there was an unwonted sombreness in his face and a worried look in his eyes, which belied the manner of his greeting.

  Vance smiled with a puzzled frown.

  “I don’t like the expression on your Hellenic features this morning, old dear. It bodes ill for one who craves freedom and surcease from earthly miseries. I was just about to escape by hieing me to a dog show in the country. My little Sandy—”

  “Damn your dogs and your dog shows, Vance!” Markham growled. “I’ve serious news for you.”

  Vance shrugged his shoulders with resignation and heaved an exaggerated sigh.

  “Markham—my very dear Markham! How did you time your visit so accurately? Thirty seconds later and I would have been on my way and free from your clutches.” Vance threw his hat and gloves aside. “But since you have captured me so neatly, I suppose I must listen, although I am sure I shall not like the tidin’s. I know I’m going to hate you and wish you had never been born. I can tell from the doleful look on your face that you’re in for something messy and desire spiritual support.” He stepped a little to one side. “Enter, and pour forth your woes.”