“To find out something regarding Judge Tolland.”
“Ah!” exclaimed Mann. “But why was Double Z there?”
“For the same reason as Caulkins. Judge Tolland is the missing connection between the two.”
Rutledge Mann was nodding, but his brain was in a turmoil. He could not figure the connection; but he realized that new depths of the mystery were being probed.
He heard a soft laugh from the darkness. It was a mirthless laugh that brought a shudder, even though Mann knew that his weird companion was his friend.
“You have not seen the scene of the crime,” came the whispered comment, “but I have. I went there, assuming that Caulkins had been killed on the spur of the moment, and not through premeditation on the part of his murderer. I found evidence to prove that point.”
“Double Z did not go there to kill?”
“Double Z did go there to kill,” contradicted the voice, “but his intended victim was not Joel Caulkins. He was after Judge Harvey Tolland. Let us picture the situation.
“Judge Tolland was living in that old house under the name of Joseph T. Dodd. The name card in the vestibule is warped and grimy. It shows traces of having been there many months.
“The thin carpet in the upstairs room is worn in spots. One place is before the mirror. A man must have stood there often, studying his own reflection, considering his disguise, and trying to practice new facial expressions.