“Here we are, sir. Ms. Diamond’s office is on the second floor. Room 202.”“Here we are, sir. Ms. Diamond’s office is on the second floor. Room 202.”
“Park in front, Henry. And remember, if things turn out bad in there, don’t worry about me. Take care of yourself and Ms. Diamond.”
“Yes, sir. Anything else, Master Hawkes?”
“Yeah. No matter what I say or do, just play it cool.”
“Cool, sir?”
“You know—go along with whatever I do.”
“Of course, sir.” Henry stepped out of the car and went around to open Andy’s door.
Andy jumped out onto the sidewalk and tucked the back of his shirt into his jeans.
“Let’s go expose an impostor, Henry!”
“Whatever you say, sir.”
They walked into the lobby and waited for the elevator in silence. When it reached the second floor, Henry led Andy to Ms. Diamond’s office.
He opened the door and let Andy go in first. A secretary was talking on the telephone. She held her hand over the mouthpiece. “Can I help you?”
“Yes.” Henry stepped forward. “Master Hawkes is here to see Ms. Diamond. I believe he is expected.”
“Go right in. It’s the third door on the left.”
Henry led the way down the hall and tapped lightly on the door.
They heard Ms. Diamond ask them to come in. Andy pushed open the door and found himself staring into the beady eyes of a sharp-faced man with a long nose.
“This is your uncle Harvey, Andy,” Leslie said tensely. “He wants to take you out to dinner, or perhaps to the zoo, so he can get to know you better.”
“I must say, this is a bit sudden,” Henry protested. “We don’t even know for certain if this man is Master Hawkes’s uncle.”
The man’s eyes narrowed. “Show them the papers, Ms. Diamond.”
She quietly pushed a stack of paperwork across her desk. “By the way, Andy, did you bring your suit?”
Andy nodded. “You mean the blue one you wanted me to have dry-cleaned?”
“Uh, yes, that’s the one. You might want to wear it to dinner. Why don’t you go down and get it?”
“Okay.” Andy started for the door.
“Hold it. Nobody’s going anywhere.” A door that led to an adjacent office opened, and a big man with rust-colored hair and a wide flat face stepped in, holding a pistol. “Can’t you handle anything, Harvey? The kid was about to get away. They’re on to you. Tie up the geezer and the woman and we’ll take the kid for a ride until he feels like telling us where his grandpa’s secret formula is hiding.”
Harvey scowled and jerked the lamp cord out of the wall to use as a rope. “I was doing all right, Smoke. You didn’t have to bust in like that.”
“Yeah, you were real good. In another minute the kid would have been long gone.”
“Now, Henry!” Andy yelled.
Henry grabbed Leslie and dove for the floor. Andy pulled the Gloop Gun out of his pocket and fired at Harvey. It plastered one of Harvey’s hands to the wall behind him. The man struggled but couldn’t free himself.
Smoke raised his pistol but changed his mind and jumped through the adjoining door, slamming it behind him. His footsteps were loud as he ran down the hall.
Andy helped Ms. Diamond to her feet. “Call the police and tell them what’s going on.”
“All right, but where are you two going?”
“Ms. Diamond,” Andy whispered, “the Hawk is on his first big case.”