upon Gibson to work with him instead of against him and the department
in his effort to clean up the city.

"If Commissioner Gibson has any evidence that Los Angeles is wide open,
as he says, he should turn it over to the police department and I'll
guarantee that conditions will be remedied before morning," Sweeney's
statement read. "The police department is functioning. I'll stay on the
job until the mayor removes me.

"I deny the commissioner's charge that graft exists in the department
and that the city is wide open. Let him come out and put his cards on
the table, face up. If he has any reason to hesitate to take me into his
confidence, why doesn't he say so. He speaks of the fair name of Los
Angeles being dragged in the mire. I claim he is broadcasting that the
city is wide open without tangible substantiation of his charge."

Brennan puffed at his inevitable cigarette as they headed for Gibson's
office.

"She said she had no idea where he is and what he is doing, did she?"
said Brennan. "How come you thought of asking her about it?"

"She mentioned it to me," evaded John, reluctant to relate the details
of his conversation with Consuello. There appeared no reason, he
thought, to bring her into the situation precipitated by Gibson's
disappearance.

They went over the ground they had covered the week before in searching
for Gibson, but were unable to uncover a single piece of information
concerning the commissioner's whereabouts. At his office his secretary
told them that he had not seen nor heard from him since the day he
disappeared.

"Aren't you a bit concerned about his unusual absence?" asked Brennan.

"No, you see he told me he would be back sometime this week and
cautioned me not to seek to locate him," the secretary answered.

"Wherever he is, he's certainly covered up his tracks well," commented
Brennan as they left.

"What about Sweeney--is he square?" John asked.

"I don't know anything against the chief," Brennan said. "It seems to me
he has the town as clean as it has ever been. I think he's straight. I
think most of the men in the department are straight. Some of them are
grafting--there are always a few crooks in any large body of men--and
the chief has always fired them as fast as he found them.

"That's what makes me inclined to believe that Gibson may be off on the
wrong foot. That and one other thing."

"What?" asked John, expecting to hear another skeptical dissertation by
Brenn