Mann opened the envelope. Within he discovered typewritten sheets discussing each of the individuals who had been at Murdock's home.
The investment broker studied each sheet and laid them aside one by one until he came to a paper that bore the name of Lamont Cranston.
Mann read this page with interest. He knew Lamont Cranston by sight and by reputation.
The man was an eccentric multimillionaire, who lived on an estate in New Jersey.
He spent most of his time while in New York at his favorite clubs. But Cranston was seldom in New York. He had a habit of going on long journeys. The world was his playground.
Cranston, according to Burke's report, had financed a number of successful scientific projects, and it was likely that he had gone to Murdock's with some such plan in mind for the new process of harnessing the atom.
Cranston's sheet was laid aside and Rutledge Mann observed another page that bore the name of Doctor Gerald Savette. He had heard of this prominent physician, but until now there had been no occasion to go into his past history.
According to the report, Doctor Savette had experienced a varied medical career. At one time he had conducted a small sanitarium on Long Island. There had been a fire there nearly three years ago. Savette's heroic efforts had saved the lives of all his patients except one. Austin Bellamy, a retired manufacturer had perished in the blaze. His charred body had been recovered from the ruins. Since then, Savette had resided in New York, where he had gained considerable repute as a plastic surgeon, although this field represented but one of his many medical accomplishments. Recently, Savette had traveled occasionally from New York, but Burke had found no record of the physician's journeys. At the end of the sheets, Mann found a page which Burke had voluntarily supplied. It listed brief reports on persons indirectly concerned with those who had been at Murdock's home. Mann clipped these short paragraphs apart and pasted them to the pages where they belonged.
He folded the papers, added clippings from the newspapers and put them all in a large envelope. In order to obtain clippings, Mann had opened the desk drawer. He now began an examination of other clippings which he had assembled on various cases.
One of these caused a perplexed frown to appear upon the broad forehead of the investment broker. It pertained to the strange disappearance of Professor Pierre Rachaud, a radio technician who was considered an expert on television.