One Fearful Yellow Eye by John D. MacDonald Page A
Authors: John D. MacDonald
Tags: Fiction, General, Suspense, Mystery & Detective, Private Investigators, Detective and Mystery Stories, Political, Hard-Boiled, Florida, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.), McGee; Travis (Fictitious character)
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don't understand it's like an itch I can't reach. I have to make the logical or illogical connection between six hundred thousand gone into thin air and somebody being kidnapped. When did the boy get grabbed?"
"Let me think. I have to remember what we were... oh, we'd just come back from New York Fort read a paper at a medical convention. It was quite warm.... May. That was it. A year ago last May."
"Two months later Fort started cashing in his securities. What about this? Suppose somebody Page 42
got a message to Jeanie. Come up with lots of cash or we'll take one of your kids. So she comes running to Fort. And... No, there's two big holes in that."
"Like what?"
"One. She'd tell Roger. He'd know that's where the money went, and he wouldn't be making such a jackass of himself about it. Two. Fort was certainly smart enough to know it would be an awful lot cheaper to get Jeanie and the kids out of reach. Fly them to Switzerland for example, and put the cops to work on the problem. I suppose the kid was too little to give any description of the person or persons who took him riding, or the car they took him in."
"Branty said it was a nice man who sang a lot." "That doesn't sound like a nervous type."
"Somebody saw the car driving away. They said it was a blue Dodge. I think it was about a week later they found what could have been the same car, but they couldn't be sure. It had been stolen from a shopping center the morning of the day the boy was taken, and they found it in a big used-car lot out near Midway Airport with no plates on it, and no fingerprints or anything.
Nobody could say how long it had been there."
"It doesn't fit." "What doesn't?"
"The car is clouted in a very professional way, from the kind of place where the pros work, and it is unloaded in a very professional way, as if it had been iron they'd used in a bank job. But the man gets nervous and changes his mind and leaves the kid off. It couldn't have been the same car, Glory. That's the only thing that makes any sense."
Her mouth trembled for a moment and then she smiled. Her eyes were shiny. "We better face it, McGee. Nothing about this whole thing is ever going to make any sense, and for the rest of my life people are going to keep an eye on me, just in case.
At quarter to ten after Glory had stashed the dishes, we tried Janice Stanyard again. She picked up the phone on the first ring.
"Janice? This is Gloria Geis."
"Hello! I've been wondering about you, dear. I was wondering if I should ask you to come in and have lunch with me some day."
"I'd like that, I really would. I tried to get you earlier."
"Today? I was over in Elgin."
"How is he?"
"Fine. He had a bad cold but it's nearly gone now. What did you call me about, dear?"
"Well... I want to introduce you to a friend of mine from Florida. He's on the line too. Travis McGee. Janice Stanyard."
"Hello, Mrs. Stanyard."
"How do you do, Mr. McGee." Her voice sounded puzzled. It was a good voice, a firm and Page 43
nicely articulated contralto.
"Trav would like to come and talk to you, Janice."
"He would? What about?"
Gloria started to explain, but I broke in and said, "It's just a little confusion about Doctor Geis'
estate, and Glory thinks you might have some answers." "But I wouldn't know a thing about that!" "Sometimes the way these things work out, Mrs. Stanyard, you can help out without realizing you can. I'd just like to drop by anytime tomorrow at your convenience for a few minutes."
"But..."
"We'd both be very grateful to you."
"Well... would three tomorrow afternoon be all right?"
"Just fine."
"Will you come too, Gloria?" she asked.
"Just me," I said quickly, "and now I'll hang up and let you people fix up that lunch date."
As I was leaving, I remembered my other question. I asked Glory who had done the investigation work for Fort when Gretchen had asked him for more money. "He dealt with a Mr. Smith. But I don't know the name of the company." We went to his study and
"Let me think. I have to remember what we were... oh, we'd just come back from New York Fort read a paper at a medical convention. It was quite warm.... May. That was it. A year ago last May."
"Two months later Fort started cashing in his securities. What about this? Suppose somebody Page 42
got a message to Jeanie. Come up with lots of cash or we'll take one of your kids. So she comes running to Fort. And... No, there's two big holes in that."
"Like what?"
"One. She'd tell Roger. He'd know that's where the money went, and he wouldn't be making such a jackass of himself about it. Two. Fort was certainly smart enough to know it would be an awful lot cheaper to get Jeanie and the kids out of reach. Fly them to Switzerland for example, and put the cops to work on the problem. I suppose the kid was too little to give any description of the person or persons who took him riding, or the car they took him in."
"Branty said it was a nice man who sang a lot." "That doesn't sound like a nervous type."
"Somebody saw the car driving away. They said it was a blue Dodge. I think it was about a week later they found what could have been the same car, but they couldn't be sure. It had been stolen from a shopping center the morning of the day the boy was taken, and they found it in a big used-car lot out near Midway Airport with no plates on it, and no fingerprints or anything.
Nobody could say how long it had been there."
"It doesn't fit." "What doesn't?"
"The car is clouted in a very professional way, from the kind of place where the pros work, and it is unloaded in a very professional way, as if it had been iron they'd used in a bank job. But the man gets nervous and changes his mind and leaves the kid off. It couldn't have been the same car, Glory. That's the only thing that makes any sense."
Her mouth trembled for a moment and then she smiled. Her eyes were shiny. "We better face it, McGee. Nothing about this whole thing is ever going to make any sense, and for the rest of my life people are going to keep an eye on me, just in case.
At quarter to ten after Glory had stashed the dishes, we tried Janice Stanyard again. She picked up the phone on the first ring.
"Janice? This is Gloria Geis."
"Hello! I've been wondering about you, dear. I was wondering if I should ask you to come in and have lunch with me some day."
"I'd like that, I really would. I tried to get you earlier."
"Today? I was over in Elgin."
"How is he?"
"Fine. He had a bad cold but it's nearly gone now. What did you call me about, dear?"
"Well... I want to introduce you to a friend of mine from Florida. He's on the line too. Travis McGee. Janice Stanyard."
"Hello, Mrs. Stanyard."
"How do you do, Mr. McGee." Her voice sounded puzzled. It was a good voice, a firm and Page 43
nicely articulated contralto.
"Trav would like to come and talk to you, Janice."
"He would? What about?"
Gloria started to explain, but I broke in and said, "It's just a little confusion about Doctor Geis'
estate, and Glory thinks you might have some answers." "But I wouldn't know a thing about that!" "Sometimes the way these things work out, Mrs. Stanyard, you can help out without realizing you can. I'd just like to drop by anytime tomorrow at your convenience for a few minutes."
"But..."
"We'd both be very grateful to you."
"Well... would three tomorrow afternoon be all right?"
"Just fine."
"Will you come too, Gloria?" she asked.
"Just me," I said quickly, "and now I'll hang up and let you people fix up that lunch date."
As I was leaving, I remembered my other question. I asked Glory who had done the investigation work for Fort when Gretchen had asked him for more money. "He dealt with a Mr. Smith. But I don't know the name of the company." We went to his study and
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