THREE MONTHS AFTER THEY WERE HIRED, PINKERTON HADN’T produced any substantial leads on the case. The private detectives had frequently been meeting with the men who had hired them, but they weren’t frequently communicating with the police. Instead of working together to find Charley, the two groups were competing against each other for recognition and reward monies.
At home on Washington Lane, Sarah Ross did what she could to run her household and keep the press from her five children without the help of her husband. In mid-November, the number of visitors had subsided. Letters still arrived daily, but the family didn’t come into contact with as many strangers or gawkers on the property as they had in the early weeks of the investigation. Still, the police continued to patrol the street regularly.
Sarah’s neighbors did notice one particular man lurking on Washington Lane. Privately, they wondered what he was doing there. He didn’t seem to speak with anybody. They thought he could be either stalking the Ross house, or connected with yet another string of robberies in the area, or both. Sarah noticed him also. She waited until she saw him more than once before contacting Officer Frank Eldridge. Eldridge spoke with Sarah’s neighbors and developed a clearer picture of the man and his haunts. Before long, he made an arrest. When Eldridge took the suspect to the Germantown station house, he learned that the man’s name was R. W. Petty. Petty identified himself as a Pinkerton detective.
The Lewis brothers, meanwhile, wanted to protect their sister and her family from further harassment and fear. In Christian’s absence, they attempted to turn the case back into a private family affair, just as the kidnappers had intended. They informed Sarah and the authorities in New York and Philadelphia that whether or not the advisory committee approved, they would be contacting the kidnappers according to the instructions in the latest letter.
But the kidnappers did not see a message addressed to them in the paper on Tuesday, November 10, as they had asked. Because both parties involved could not agree on exchange details, Walling and Heins had more time to convince the family not to make a trade. Walling especially welcomed yet another delay, confident that the kidnappers were running out of options and would soon get caught. He told Captain Heins that he hoped Douglas would betray Mosher in exchange for leniency.
The parties are hard up and have come to the end of their tether. We are pushing them so hard that they dare not get out to do anything. I don’t think Douglas will squeal unless we can get hold of him.
Yours, etc.,
GEO. W. WALLING, Superintendent
Walling refused to believe that he had spent his contacts, time, and funds in vain. He summoned Westervelt and questioned him once again, this time mentioning the kidnappers’ latest contact name—Saul of Tarsus.
If Mosher and Douglas show up on the day the family names, Walling told him, they will receive their money.
Walling then tried postponing this “day” by encouraging Heins to intimidate the family.
DEAR SIR.—Please see Mr. Lewis and say to him that I think it dangerous for parties to meet relative to any negotiations for the child, with a large amount of money, unless they have some officers within call, as the parties might be disguised, and in case the villains were to fail in making terms, they might take desperate chances to obtain the money.
GEO. W. WALLING, Superintendent
The Lewis brothers waited a few more days for the police to make an arrest. On Monday, November 16, they placed an advertisement in the Herald.
Saul of Tarsus. Fifth Avenue Hotel, Wednesday, the 18th inst. All day.
F.W. LINCOLN
Henry Lewis and his son Frank took the train to New York on November 17. They arrived at the Fifth Avenue Hotel in the afternoon and registered under the name F. W. Lincoln. They held a satchel carrying $20,000, divided into one- and ten-dollar bills. Neither man left the room that day or the next. The night of the eighteenth, they walked another personal advertisement to the Herald office.
New York Herald. November 19.
“Saul of Tarsus. We have performed our part to the letter, you have broken faith; we will have no more trifling; action must now be simultaneous.”
Walling sent an officer to arrest Westervelt on Thursday, November 19. He confronted him in a private room at police headquarters on Mulberry Street, reminding him that he had staked his reputation on his faith in Westervelt’s cooperation. Walling accused Westervelt of double-crossing him by using police intelligence to warn the kidnappers of a possible ambush at the Fifth Avenue Hotel.
Westervelt maintained his innocence.
Walling demanded to see a memo pad that Westervelt kept on his person. Previously, he had seen the name “Saul of Tarsus” written on one of its pages.
Westervelt handed it over.
Walling flipped through the little book. He found no incriminating evidence. Instead of releasing Westervelt, he stalled by inviting him to dinner. As he ate, Westervelt complained that he was going to be fired from his job as a driver on the Eighth Avenue line because he had been arrested at work. Walling agreed to write to his employer and ask for leniency on Westervelt’s behalf.