The Scarlet Car

Summary

In a narrative steeped in the moral ambiguities of early 20th-century finance, Paul Revere Forbes, the scrupulous cashier of a prominent bank, unearths a staggering embezzlement scheme orchestrated by the institution's president, Cyrus Peabody, and his complicit son, Ernest. The sum, a hefty $35,000, becomes the fulcrum of a desperate confrontation. Forbes, unwavering in his ethical stance, threatens to expose their malfeasance, provoking a violent outburst from the Peabodys. Believing their inconvenient employee to be fatally incapacitated after a brutal blow, they hastily arrange for their broker to dispose of the body in a secluded locale. Yet, fate, with its characteristic irony, intervenes: the broker perishes in a vehicular accident, leaving Forbes, miraculously still clinging to life but afflicted with profound amnesia, to wander disoriented into the unforgiving world. Simultaneously, the cunning Peabodys seize the opportunity, fabricating a narrative wherein Forbes is not a victim but the architect of the theft. It falls upon Beatrice Forbes, the steadfast daughter, and her once-aimless but now galvanised suitor, Billy Winthrop, to navigate this labyrinth of deceit, clear Paul Revere's name, and unmask the true perpetrators.

Synopsis

After discovering that Cyrus Peabody, the president of the bank, and his son Ernest have embezzled $35,000, their cashier, Paul Revere Forbes, threatens to expose them. In a rage, the two men strike him on the head and, persuaded that the busybody is dead, ask their broker to dump the body off in a deserted place. But the broker has an accident and is killed in the crash. The cashier, who was actually still alive, comes to and, while suffering a loss of memory, wanders off. Still believing their employee dead, the Peabodys accuse their cashier of having stolen the money. But Beatrice Forbes, Paul Revere's daughter, and her boyfriend, idle-turned-responsible Billy Winthrop, are on the alert.