Silently, invisibly, The Shadow had learned facts which had escaped the observation of Joe Cardona; and those facts pertained to other than Joel Caulkins — namely, Judge Harvey Tolland, and to the man known only as Double Z.
CHAPTER V. CARDONA ENCOUNTERS CRIME
DETECTIVE JOE CARDONA was a man who played hunches. For months, he had been thinking off and on of Double Z. He had classed the man as an eccentric individual, who knew the inside of crookdom, and liked to display his knowledge by letters to the police.
He had harbored a hunch that Double Z might some day become dangerous, and he had been waiting for that time.
Now, the day had come. The murder of Joel Caulkins indicated action on the part of Double Z. It enabled Cardona to form his impression of what type of man Double Z might be.
He pictured him as one of those characters who fringe the borders of the underworld — perhaps a “fence” who disposed of stolen goods. Through contact with crime, the man had gained knowledge. Now, possessed of more intelligence than the average criminal, the lure of crime had caused him to enter the field himself, while his eccentricity still made him follow his old practice of writing letters to the police.
Cardona recalled that two of Double Z’s veiled tips of impending death had failed to materialize. Some months ago, he had said that a gangster was to be put on the spot, within a week. The killing had not occurred.
Then, he had hinted also the kidnapping of a prominent society woman. The police had become vigilant.
The abduction had not taken place. These, therefore, were indications that Double Z had known of crime, but had not planned them. On the contrary, most of his statements had proven true.
Three unsolved murders had been predicted by Double Z. In one case, he had been of aid to the police.