Part 5 (1/2)
”I, too, recall that cameo, now that it has been mentioned,” stated the importer. ”I remember seeing it on Shurrick's watch chain, one of the times I ran into him in the hallway. It was quite conspicuous.”
”I've seen it, too,” put in Lattan.
”Here's the ring it was. .h.i.tched to,” informed Cardona, stooping beside the body. ”A little gold loop, hooked around the chain. Dave Callard must have yanked the locket off its fastening.”
”We've found a motive, Cardona,” declared the commissioner, as the detective arose. ”Robbery was in back of murder here to night. This, however, is a matter which we shall discuss later. After a study of your full report, Cardona.
”In the meantime, you can send the witnesses downstairs. Have the body removed to the morgue. I shall hear your report, doctor” - this was to the police surgeon - ”and that will conclude your work here. I shall come back to the club later, Cranston” - Weston turned to The Shadow as he spoke - ”and I hope that I may meet you there.”
”Very well, commissioner,” responded The Shadow, with a faint smile that characterized Cranston. ”I do not expect to go home until midnight, so I shall probably see you later.”
TURNING, The Shadow followed the witnesses, who were already filing from the room. Markham was ordering them down to the twelfth floor, to wait in Dolver's apartment. The Shadow descended the stairs and entered the elevator, which was being operated by a detective.
As he stepped from the car, The Shadow ran squarely into a young man who had just come in from the street. It was Clyde Burke; the reporter mumbled an apology and stepped into the elevator without further notice of his chief.
The door of the elevator slammed. Standing alone in the empty lobby, The Shadow delivered a whispered laugh that came from motionless lips. Playing the part of Lamont Cranston, The Shadow had taken Commissioner Weston's tip and had left the apartment house.
Though he had gained no new clue to the present whereabouts of Dave Callard, The Shadow had no worry concerning further crime. He had learned enough to forestall all coming strokes of doom.
CHAPTER VIII. THE LAW'S SUMMARY.
MIDNIGHT was approaching when Commissioner Ralph Weston walked into the exclusive Cobalt Club. Weston's first act was to inquire for Lamont Cranston. He was informed that the millionaire was in the grillroom. The commissioner made in that direction and located his friend at a table, puffing a cigarette above a half-emptied cup of coffee. ”Sorry, Cranston,” apologized Weston. ”I couldn't very well invite you to remain at Shurrick's tonight.
Too many persons about; and Cardona works better when he has a chance to study things alone.”
”I suppose so,” smiled The Shadow, with a nod. ”Furthermore, I presume that he developed new theories on important points.”
”He did,” a.s.sured Weston. ”I must credit him with bringing up one subject that did not occur to either of us.”
”You are wrong, commissioner. It occurred to me after I had come back to the club.”
”Occurred to you, Cranston? What do you mean? I have not even told you what the subject was.”
”I have guessed it. The question was why the murderer did not kill Dolver as well as Shurrick.”
”Marvelous, Cranston!” Weston's exclamation betokened full admiration. ”That was the very point that Cardona brought into the discussion. But he carried it further.”
”So did I, commissioner. In fact, Cardona must have struck upon the very thought that started my chain of reasoning. Since the murderer killed two men at Ralgood's, he should logically have done the same at Shurrick's.”
”Precisely, Cranston. Let me apologize again. I should have had you remain at the penthouse. Your processes of deduction have paralleled Cardona's. But he went further -”
”Let me continue, commissioner. Circ.u.mstances, as you have studied them, point to David Callard as the murderer. He would have had every reason to kill Ba.s.slett, for the secretary might have known something about him. But he had no reason to slay Dolver, a chance intruder.”
”You have followed Cardona's reasoning, Cranston. But he brought up one point that you missed. There was another reason why Callard spared Dolver. He was restricting himself to the use of a single gun; the one he had stolen from Ralgood's. He fired all the bullets at Shurrick; hence he had none left for Dolver.”
WESTON smiled as he completed this statement. He felt sure that he had scored one on Cranston. The Shadow's quiet reply, however, caused the commissioner's smile to fade.
”Ralgood and Ba.s.slett were both murdered by bullets from a single gun,” reminded The Shadow. ”Three shots for each victim. I believe the newspapers stated. Since Dolver, by his own testimony, came into the fray before the shots were fired, it seems that young Callard might have reserved some bullets for him, as you believe he did with Ba.s.slett.”
”That's true,” admitted Weston. ”You've jumped ahead of Cardona. He missed that point, Cranston. I shall have to discuss it with him.”
”He may have an answer, commissioner.”
”What could that be?”
”The killer used a strange gun tonight. It was an antiquated weapon, one that he might consider less effective than his own. Moreover, it had only five chambers, whereas his previous gun had six. One less bullet might worry a killer who seems to rely upon a minimum of three.”
”Good logic,” laughed Weston. ”Jumps ahead of Cardona, yet it brings us back to where we were.”
”Not quite,” remarked The Shadow. Weston looked puzzled.
”We have the matter of the rope,” explained The Shadow, flicking his cigarette, in the fas.h.i.+on of Cranston. ”We must find a reason for its presence.”
”That is easy,” a.s.sured Weston. ”He brought the rope along to tie up James Shurrick.”
”Then you believe that he did not intend to murder the old man?”
”I don't think he did, Cranston. He wanted the locket that he stole. He knew that revolver shots would be heard. He probably intended to overpower Shurrick. Remember, Cranston: Dolver said that young Callard was wearing a mask. He did not expect Shurrick to recognize him. Gunfire was a risky process.”
”And yet the murderer pumped five bullets into Shurrick -”
”Because he had to, Cranston. He had two men to deal with after Dolver intervened.”
”Very well. He knew that gunfire was risky; he wanted to avoid it because it would hamper his get-away.
Yet he deliberately took out time to truss up Dolver.”
”He had to do that since his revolver was empty. He had no more cartridges for that borrowed gun.”
”He still had the revolver -”
”But how could he use it, I ask you? Without ammunition?”
”It would have served him as a bludgeon. It would have been quicker, easier, to batter Dolver's skull than to tie him up. Particularly, it would have been preferable, if we consider the first theory that Cardona presented. A theory with which you agreed, commissioner.”
”You mean the theory that Callard was trying to cover his ident.i.ty?”
”Yes. Wherever Callard may be, he has known since this morning that the police were searching for him.
You issued such a statement to the newspapers. They mentioned that he had been a sailor.”
WESTON pondered. He seemed to recall former discussions that he had held with Lamont Cranston, concerning certain crimes. His globe-trotting friend had a peculiar penchant for beginning a circle of facts, each statement bringing the discussion back toward the starting point.
”I'm beginning to be puzzled, Cranston,” admitted the commissioner. Then, his face a trifle annoyed, he added: ”Well, perhaps you can give an opinion on one point that we haven't settled. About that locket of Shurrick's.”
”State the question,” suggested The Shadow.