“Probably he got a tip to go there. He knew a lot of gangsters. Or perhaps he met some one—”
“Very well. I incline to the first theory. However, he went to the place alone, unarmed, apparently suspecting no danger. There was some one there with him. Maybe some one posing as Judge Tolland.
Double Z, for instance.”
“Double Z!” exclaimed Ward.
“Yes. Because Caulkins was not killed by a gunman!”
“Why not?”
“Gunmen don’t bump off reporters — at least, not in New York. Besides that, it took four shots, and two of them were wide ones. Caulkins was at the telephone — an easy mark. A gangster would have nailed him with one shot, or two at the most.”
Ward nodded. He saw Cardona’s point.
“Now get this,” declared the detective. “Whoever was intending to murder Caulkins inside that house gave Caulkins the opportunity to spill a certain amount of information. From your description, that information came straight from Caulkins — it was not under threat. Caulkins had confidence in the man who was with him.
“Now, Judge Tolland, if he is alive — if he is in New York — would certainly want to lay low. At any rate, he would have seen to it that Caulkins either said nothing or said everything. That’s logical, isn’t it?”