Benny went into the bedroom and after a while he came out again. He looked more bewildered still. He shook his head helplessly. “No,” he said, “she hasn’t taken anythin’. The only things that are missing are the clothes she wore yesterday and her handbag. Nothing else.”
Jay didn’t like the sound of this. No woman would ran away from her husband without taking some of her belongings.
“Will you wait here?” he said. “I’ll go across and hare a word with Mendetta. Maybe he heard somethin’.”
Benny suddenly went very pale. “You don’t think anythin’ bad’s happened to her?” he asked.
Jay shook his head. “No,” he said, “I don’t think so, but we’ll clear this up or find out somethin’, so we can get the cops interested. You sit down for a moment.”
He left the apartment and crossed the corridor. He rang Mendetta’s bell. No one answered. He stood there waiting, and then he rang again. Still no one answered.
Benny came to his front door and stood watching him.
“No one seems at home,” he said.
Jay scratched his head. “Will you phone down to the porter and find out what time Mendetta went out?” he said.
While Benny was doing this Jay took a little instrument from his vest pocket and inserted it in the lock. He made no attempt to open the door, but by careful probing he knew that, if he wanted to, he could do so.