Behind the Green Door Page 2

  CHAPTER 1 _TROUBLE FOR MR. PARKER_

  "Watch me coming down the mountain, Mrs. Weems! This one is a honey! Anopen christiana turn with no brakes dragging!"

  Penny Parker, clad in a new black and red snowsuit, twisted her agileyoung body sideways, causing the small rug upon which she stood to skipacross the polished floor of the living room. She wriggled her slim hipsagain, and it slipped in the opposite direction toward Mrs. Weems who waswatching from the kitchen doorway.

  "Coming down the mountain, my eye!" exclaimed the housekeeper, laughingdespite herself. "You'll be coming down on your head if you don't stopthose antics. I declare, you've acted like a crazy person ever since yourfather rashly agreed to take you to Pine Top for the skiing."

  "I have to break in my new suit and limber up my muscles somehow," saidPenny defensively. "One can't practice outdoors when there's no snow. Nowwatch this one, Mrs. Weems. It's called a telemark."

  "You'll reduce that rug to shreds before you're through," sighed thehousekeeper. "Can't you think of anything else to do?"

  "Yes," agreed Penny cheerfully, "but it wouldn't be half as much fun. Howdo you like my suit?" She darted across the room to preen before the fulllength mirror.

  A red-billed cap pulled at a jaunty angle over her blond curls, Pennymade a striking figure in the well tailored suit of dark wool. Her eyessparkled with the joy of youth and it was easy for her to smile. She wasan only child, the daughter of Anthony Parker, editor and publisher ofthe _Riverview Star_, and her mother had died when she was very young.

  "It looks like a good, practical suit," conceded the housekeeper.

  Penny made a wry face. "Is that the best you can say for it? LouiseSidell and I shopped all over Riverview to get the snappiest number out,and then you call it _practical_."

  "Oh, you know you look cute in it," laughed Mrs. Weems. "So what's theuse of telling you?"

  Before Penny could reply the telephone rang and the housekeeper went toanswer it. She returned to the living room a moment later to say thatPenny's father was in need of free taxi service home from the office.

  "Tell him I'll be down after him in two shakes of a kitten's tail!" Pennycalled, making for the stairway.

  She took the steps two at a time and had climbed halfway out of thesnowsuit by the time she reached the bedroom. A well aimed kick landedthe garment on the bed, and then because it was very new and very choiceshe took time to straighten it out. Seizing a dress blindly from thecloset, she wriggled into it and ran downstairs again.

  "Some more skiing equipment may come while I'm gone," she shouted to Mrs.Weems who was in the kitchen. "I bought a new pair of skis, a couple ofpoles, three different kinds of wax and a pair of red mittens."

  "Why didn't you order the store sent out and be done with it?" respondedthe housekeeper dryly.

  Penny pulled on her heavy coat and hurried to the garage where two carsstood side by side. One was a shining black sedan of the latest model,the other, a battered, unwashed vehicle whose reputation was asdiscouraging as its appearance. "Leaping Lena," as Penny called her car,had an annoying habit of running up repair bills, and then repaying itslong suffering owner by refusing to start on cold winter days.

  "Lena, you get to stay in your cozy nest this time," Penny remarked,climbing into her father's sedan. "Dad can't stand your rattle andbounce."

  The powerful engine started with a blast. While Mrs. Weems watchedanxiously from the kitchen window, Penny shot the car out backwards,wheeling it around the curve of the driveway with speed and ease. Sheliked to handle her father's automobile, and since he did not enjoydriving, she frequently called at the newspaper office to take him home.

  The _Star_ building occupied a block in the downtown section ofRiverview. Penny parked the car beside the loading dock at the rear, andtook an elevator to the editorial rooms. Nearly all of the desks weredeserted at this late hour of the afternoon. But Jerry Livingston, one ofthe best reporters on the paper, was still pecking out copy on a noisytypewriter.

  "Hi, Penny!" he observed, grinning as she brushed past his desk. "Haveyou caught any more witch dolls?"

  "Not for the front page," she flung back at him. "My newspaper career islikely to remain in a state of _status quo_ for the next two weeks. Dadand I are heading for Pine Top to dazzle the natives with our particularbrand of skiing. Don't you envy us?"

  "I certainly would, if you were going."

  "If!" exclaimed Penny indignantly. "Of course we're going! We leaveThursday by plane. Dad needs a vacation and this time I know he won't tryto wiggle out of it at the last minute."

  "Well, I hope not," replied Jerry in a skeptical voice. "Your fatherneeds a good rest, Penny. But I have a sneaking notion you're in for adisappointment again."

  "What makes you say that, Jerry? Dad promised me faithfully--"

  "Sure, I know," he nodded, "but there have been developments."

  "An important story?"

  "No, it's more serious than that. But you talk with him. I may have thewrong slant on the situation."

  Not without misgiving, Penny went on to her father's private office andtapped on the door.

  "Come in," he called in a gruff voice, and as she entered, waved her intoa chair. "You arrived a little sooner than I expected, Penny. Mindwaiting a few minutes?"

  "Not at all."

  Studying her father's lean, tired-looking face, Penny decided thatsomething _was_ wrong. He seemed unusually worried and nervous.

  "A hard day, Dad?" she asked.

  Mr. Parker finished straightening a sheaf of papers before he glanced up.

  "Yes, I hadn't intended to tell you until later, but I may as well. I'mafraid our trip is off--at least as far as I'm concerned."

  "Oh, Dad!"

  "It's a big disappointment, Penny. The truth is, I'm in a spot oftrouble."

  "Isn't that the usual condition of a newspaper publisher?"

  "Yes," he smiled, "but there are different degrees of trouble, and thisis the worst possible. The _Star_ has been sued for libel, a matter offifty odd thousand."

  "Fifty thousand!" gasped Penny. "But of course you'll win the suit!"

  "I'm not at all sure of it." Anthony Parker spoke grimly. "My lawyertells me that Harvey Maxwell has a strong case against the paper."

  "Harvey Maxwell?" repeated Penny thoughtfully. "Isn't he the man who ownsthe Riverview Hotel?"

  "Yes, and a chain of other hotels and lodges throughout the country.Harvey Maxwell is a rather well known sportsman. He lives lavishly,travels a great deal, and in general is a hard, shrewd business man."

  "He's made a large amount of money from his hotels, hasn't he?"

  "Maxwell acquired a fortune from some source, but I've always had a doubtthat it came from the hotel business."

  "Why is he suing the _Star_ for libel, Dad?"

  "Early this fall, while I was out of town for a day DeWitt let a storyslip through which should have been killed. It was an interview with afootball player named Bill Morcrum who was quoted as saying that he hadbeen approached by Maxwell who offered him a bribe to throw an importantgame."

  "What would be the reason behind that?"

  "Maxwell is thought by those in the know to have a finger in nearly everydishonest sports scheme ever pulled off in this town. He places heavywagers, and seldom comes out on the losing end. But the story nevershould have been published."

  "It was true though?"

  "I'm satisfied it was," replied Mr. Parker. "However, it always isdangerous to make insinuations against a man."

  "Can't the story be proven? I should think with the football player'stestimony you would have a good case."

  "That's the trouble, Penny. This boy, Bill Morcrum, now claims he nevermade any such accusation against Maxwell. He says the reporter misquotedhim and twisted his statements."

  "Who covered the story, Dad?"

  "A man named Glower, a very reliable reporter. He swears
he made nomistake, and I am inclined to believe him."

  "Then why did the football player change his story?"

  "I have no proof, but it's a fairly shrewd guess that he was approachedby Maxwell a second time. Either he was threatened or offered a bribewhich was large enough to sway him."

  "With both Maxwell and the football player standing together, it doesrather put you on the spot," Penny acknowledged. "What are you going todo?"

  "We'll fight the case, of course, but unless we can prove that our storywas accurate, we're almost sure to lose. I've asked Bill Morcrum to cometo my office this afternoon, and he promised he would. He's overdue now."

  Anthony Parker glanced at his watch and scowled. Getting up from theswivel chair he began to pace to and fro across the room.

  A buzzer on his desk gave three sharp, staccato signals.

  "Morcrum must be here now!" the editor exclaimed in relief. "I'll want tosee him alone."

  Penny arose to leave. As she went out the doorway she met thereceptionist, accompanied by an awkward, oversized youth who shuffled hisfeet in walking. He grinned at her in a sheepish way and entered theprivate office.

  While Penny waited, she entertained herself by reading all the comicstrips she could find in the out-of-town exchange papers. In theadjoining room she could hear the rhythmical thumping, clicking sound ofthe _Star's_ teletype machines. She wandered aimlessly into the room toread the copy just as the machines typed it out, a story from Washington,one from Chicago, another from Los Angeles. It was fascinating to watchthe print appear like magic upon the long rolls of copy paper.

  Presently, the teletype attendant, young Billy Stevens, came dashing intothe room.

  "Oh, hello, Miss Parker," he said with a bashful grin.

  "Hello, Billy," Penny answered cordially. She studied the keyboard of thesending teletype machine, running her fingers over the letters. "I wish Icould work this thing," she said.

  "There's nothing to it if you can run a typewriter," answered Billy."Just a minute, I'll throw it off the line on to the test position. Thenyou can try it."

  At first Penny's copy was badly garbled, but under Billy's enthusiasticcoaching she was soon doing accurate work.

  "Say, this is fun!" she declared. "I'm coming in again one of these daysand practice. Thanks a lot, Billy!"

  As Penny went back into the editorial room she saw the Morcrum boyleaving her father's office. His head was downcast and his face wasflushed to the ears. Obviously, he had not had a comfortable time withMr. Parker.

  The moment the boy had vanished, Penny hurried into her father's officeto learn the outcome of the interview.

  "No luck," reported Mr. Parker, reaching for his hat and overcoat.

  "He wouldn't change his story?"

  "No. He seemed like a fairly decent sort of boy, but he kept insisting hehad been misquoted. I couldn't get anywhere with him. He'll testify forMaxwell when the case comes to trial."

  Mr. Parker put on his overcoat and hat, and opened the door for Penny. Asthey left the building he told her more about the interview.

  "I asked the boy point-blank if he hadn't been hired by Maxwell.Naturally, he denied it, but he acted rather alarmed. Oh, I'm satisfiedhe's either been bought off or threatened."

  "When does the case come to trial?"

  "The last of next month, unless we gain a delay."

  "That gives you quite a bit of time. Don't you think you could take twoweeks off anyhow, Dad? We both planned upon having such a wonderful timeat Mrs. Downey's place."

  Penny and her father had been invited to spend the Christmas holidays atPine Top, a winter resort which attracted many Riverview persons. Theyespecially had looked forward to the trip since they were to have beenthe house guests of Mrs. Christopher Downey, an old friend of Mr.Parker's who operated a skiing lodge on the slopes of the mountainoverlooking Silver Valley.

  "There's not much chance of my getting away," Mr. Parker repliedregretfully. "That is, not unless important evidence falls into my hands,or I am able to make a deal with Maxwell."

  "A deal?"

  "If he would make reasonable demands I might be willing to settle out ofcourt."

  Penny gazed at her father in blank amazement.

  "And admit you were in the wrong when you're certain you weren't?"

  "Any good general will make a strategic retreat if the situation callsfor it. It might be more sensible to settle out of court than to lose thecase. Maxwell has me in a tight place and knows it."

  "Then why don't you see him? He might be fairly reasonable."

  "I suppose I could stop at the Riverview Hotel on our way home," Mr.Parker said, frowning thoughtfully. "There's an outside chance Maxwellmay come to terms. Drop me off there, Penny."

  While the car threaded its way in and out of dense traffic, the editorremained in a deep study. Penny had never seen him look so worried. Herown disappointment was keen, yet she realized that far more than avacation trip was at stake. Fifty thousand dollars represented a largesum of money! If Maxwell won his suit it might even mean the loss of the_Riverview Star_.

  Sensing his daughter's alarm, Mr. Parker reached out to pat her knee.

  "Don't worry," he said, "we're not licked yet, Penny! And if there's anyway to arrange it, you shall have your trip to Pine Top just as weplanned."