“Then why talk there?”
“Because it’s public.”
“And how about that person in your room?”
I said, “We’ll speak to the house detective.”
Cutler wasn’t keen about that house-detective idea, but he waited while I summoned the house detective, explained to him that a friend of mine had telephoned my room, that a stranger had answered, and that I thought someone might be prowling through the room. I gave him my key, told him to go up, and take a look.
Then I turned to Cutler. “Okay, now we can talk.”
Cutler was frightened. “Look here, Lam, suppose it should be the police?”
“The person in my room?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“If it’s the police, it’s all right. City police sometimes get suspicious of private detectives and want to check up on them. It’s something we get accustomed to. You have to learn to take it — and like it.”