Free The Roman Hat Mystery by Ellery Queen Page A

the rear. ” Velie nodded. “ Now, about the search. Piggott! ” The detective came on the run. “ Piggott, you accompany Mr. Queen and Sergeant Velie and help search every man who goes out the main door. There ’ ll be a matron there to search the women. Examine every parcel. Go over their pockets for anything suspicious; collect all the ticket stubs; and watch especially for an extra hat. The hat I want is a silk topper. But if you find any other kind of extra hat, nab the owner and be sure he ’ s nabbed properly. Now, boys, get to work! ”
    Ellery, who had been lounging against a pillar, straightened up and followed Piggott. As Velie stalked behind, Queen called, “ Don ’ t release the people in the balcony until the orchestra is empty. Send somebody up there to keep them quiet. ”
    With his last important instruction given the Inspector turned to Doyle, who was standing guard nearby, and said quietly, “ Shoot downstairs to the cloakroom, Doyle, my lad, and keep your eyes open while the people are getting their wraps. When they ’ re all gone, search the place with a fine comb. If there is anything left in the racks, bring it to me. ”
    Queen leaned back against the pillar which loomed, a marble sentinel, over the seat in which murder had been done. As he stood there, eyes blank, hands clutching his lapels, the broad-shouldered Flint hurried up with a gleam of excitement in his eyes. Inspector Queen regarded him critically.
    “ Found something, Flint? ” he asked, fumbling for his snuffbox.
    The detective silently offered him a half-ticket, colored blue, and marked “ LL30 Left. ”
    “ Well, well! ” exclaimed Queen. “ Where did you find that? ”
    “ Right inside the main door, ” said Flint. “ Looked as if it was dropped just as the owner came into the theatre. ”
    Queen did not answer. With a swooping dip of his fingers he extracted from his vest pocket the blue-colored stub he had found on the dead man ’ s person. He regarded them in silence ― two identically colored and marked stubs, one with the inscription LL32 Left, the other LL30 Left.
    His eyes narrowed as he studied the innocent-appearing pasteboards. He bent closer, slowly turning the stubs back to back. Then, with a puzzled light in his gray eyes, he turned them front to front. Still unsatisfied, he turned them back to front.
    In none of the three positions did the torn edges of the tickets coincide!
    Chapter 5
    In Which Inspector Queen Conducts Some Legal Conversations
    Queen made his way across the broad red carpet covering the rear of the orchestra, his hat pulled down over his eyes. He was searching the recesses of his pocket for the inevitable snuffbox. The Inspector was evidently engaged in a weighty mental process, for his hand closed tightly upon the two blue ticket stubs and he grimaced, as if he were not at all satisfied with his thoughts.
    Before opening the green-speckled door marked “ Manager ’ s Office, ” he turned to survey the scene behind him. The stir in the audience was businesslike. A great chattering filled the air; policemen and detectives circulated among the rows, giving orders, answering questions, hustling people out of their seats, lining them up in the main aisles to be searched at the huge outer door. The Inspector noticed absently that there was little protest from the audience at the ordeal they were facing. They seemed too tired to resent the indignity of a search. A long queue of half-angry, half-amused women was lined up at one side being examined rapidly, one by one, by a motherly woman dressed in black. Queen glanced briefly at the detectives blocking the door. Piggott with the experience of long practice was making rapid passes over the clothing of the men. Velie, at his side, was studying the reaction of the various people undergoing examination. Occasionally he searched a man himself. Ellery stood a little apart, hands in his capacious topcoat pockets smoking a cigarette and seeming