Cop Out by Ellery Queen

I’d probably keep her home over the weekend just in case.”
    He touched her black Irish hair. “What would I do without you?”
    â€œI’ll bet you say that to all your girls.”
    â€œYep.” He kissed her and felt the tension of her body through the terry robe. “I’m one hell of a cop. I never even thought of the school.”
    â€œOh, Loney, I’ve got to do something!” His stomach contracted. She was jerking with sobs again. “My baby … waking up this morning with those horrible people …”
    â€œA few minutes ago you were thanking God they got through all right.”
    She kept sobbing. He kept stroking her. He could find nothing else to say. He had always hated to see Ellen cry, he was a complete coward about her tears. They made him furious, they brought back memories of his mother, who had cried her eyes out when his father was alive. The night after his mother-in-law’s funeral Ellen had cried till dawn, and he had run up and down in their bedroom finding no words of comfort, only curses at his helplessness.
    â€œI’m sorry.” Ellen pushed away from him. “Bawling isn’t going to help Bibby.”
    â€œYou cry all you want.”
    â€œNo, sir. That nonsense is over . Let me make you some breakfast.”
    â€œI’m not hungry.”
    â€œYou’ve got to. You hardly touched your dinner at the Inn last night, you were so tired.”
    â€œI’d throw it right back at you,” Malone said. “Look, hon. We’ve got to figure out where we stand.”
    â€œAll right, Loney.” She immediately sat down. They both avoided the empty third chair.
    â€œThere’s got to be something we can do besides stay here like bumps on a log.”
    â€œLet’s get settled first on what we can’t do,” Ellen said. “What we can’t do is let Chief Secco or anybody know they were here last night and took Bibby. That’s the one thing I won’t let you do, Loney. We’d better have an understanding about that right off.”
    â€œWhat do you think I am, crazy?”
    â€œLoney, look at me.”
    He looked at her.
    â€œYou’re not a cop in this thing. You’re Bibby’s father.”
    â€œI told you,” he said gruffly.
    â€œJust remember,” Ellen said. “Or I swear on my child’s life I’ll walk out on you and you’ll never see me again.”
    â€œWhat do you want,” he shouted, “my blood?”
    â€œLoney. I had to say it. We have to have that clear.”
    â€œAll right, so it’s clear! She’s my child, too, remember!”
    â€œDon’t be mad at me, Loney.”
    â€œAll right.” He reached down and brought up the black bag and set it on the table between them. He stared at it bitterly. “We don’t even know what they look like. Those goddam masks.”
    â€œYes,” Ellen said. “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.”
    â€œHuh?”
    â€œDidn’t you notice?”
    â€œNotice what?”
    â€œThe woman was wearing a Goldilocks mask. That little one—Furia—he was wearing the Papa Bear mask, and the big bruiser was wearing the Mama Bear one. It must be a set.”
    â€œThen there’s a Baby Bear mask! For Bibby?”
    â€œThat’s what I’m wondering.”
    He jumped up, sat down again, shook his head. “No, that wouldn’t make sense. Why would they put a mask on her? It wouldn’t serve any purpose.”
    â€œI just thought I’d mention it,” Ellen said.
    He sat thinking. She got up and refilled their cups. “We can do one of two things, Ellen. We can either sit here and wait—”
    â€œI’d die. ”
    â€œOr I can try to find their hideout and get Bibby back.”
    â€œWouldn’t that be terribly dangerous for Bibby?”
    â€œCould be.”
    â€œOh, God.”
    â€œEllen. Why don’t I try? I can