"Good morning, Colonel Rand," the Perfect Butler greeted him unctuously.
"If I may say so, sir, you're a bit of an early riser. None of the family
is up yet, sir."
Rand jerked a thumb toward the kitchen. "Who's out there?" he hissed.
"Just the cook; frying sausage and flipping pancakes. Premix pancakes, of
course. The maid sleeps out; she hasn't gotten here yet. How'd it go last
night? You put a dummy under the covers and sleep on the floor?"
"No, last night I was safe. The blow-off isn't due till this morning,
when the women are at church, and he'll have to catch me and the fall-guy
together."
"What do you want me to do?" Ritter asked, giving an un-butler-like hitch
at his shoulder-holster. "I can stand on my official dignity, and get out
of any cleaning-up work till after dinner, and I won't have any buttling
to do till the women get home from church."
"Case Varcek and Dunmore, when they come in; see if either of them is
rod-heavy. Find anything, last night?"
Ritter shook his head. "I searched Varcek's lab, after everybody was in
bed, and I searched the cars in the garage, and a lot of other places. I
didn't find them. Whoever he is, the chances are he has them in his
room."
"Did you look back of the books in the library?" Rand asked.
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