“The police must be working fast,” Mason said.
“You bet they’re working fast,” Drake agreed. “My man got a hot lead, and beat the police to it by only ten minutes.”
“What did he find out, Paul?”
“Well, there are a couple of fellows who heard the conversation. One of them heard some of it, and another guy heard nearly all of it. Serle had told them he was supposed to call Conway around ten-thirty. He put through the call, and asked if everything was okay. Conway evidently told him it was. They talked for two or three minutes, and then Serle hung up. He played a game of pool for about ten minutes, then he called police headquarters, wanted to know what the hell they meant by raiding his joint, said his business was just as legal as any of the banknight schemes, and that he was going to prove it. He said he was coming up and surrender and make bail, and left right after that.
“Now, you can figure what that means. He had left Conway’s apartment shortly after eight o’clock. Evidently Conway had agreed to raise bail for him. But the joker was that Conway didn’t have the dough. He probably told Serle he knew where he could raise the money.
“You can see where it all ties in. Conway was blackmailing Alden Leeds. Leeds was to come up around ten o‘clock — evidently with another twenty grand. With that money in his jeans, Conway was going to bail Serle out.”
Mason, pacing the floor, said, “Paul, we’ve simply got to fix the time of that telephone call.”
“I know it,” Drake said. “If it was as late as ten-thirty, it will prove Milicant, or Conway, was alive after Leeds left.”
Mason said, “Hell, Paul, it must have been either while Leeds was there, or right after he’d left. Conway must have told Serle that the dough was ready. Serle went down and gave himself up on the strength of it.”
“Well,” Drake said, “it’s just one of those things. No one seems to have bothered about the exact time. Apparently, Serle doesn’t have the time element fixed very clearly in his mind. He thought it was nearly nine o‘clock before he left Conway’s apartment. We know it was before eight-thirty. He was down at the pool room by nine o’clock. He said he was to call Conway around ten-thirty. The men who heard the telephone conversation think it was right around ten-thirty, but the point is, they aren’t sure.”