“First,” explained Biscayne, “I think Harshaw must have mistrusted the man. I don’t think he ever left Homer here alone. He insisted that I bolt the door while I was inside here, two days ago.
“Second, Harshaw was planning to take a trip to Florida, for his health. He told me that in confidence. Naturally, he would not need the servant while he was gone. He did not want people to know of his absence.”
“Do you think,” questioned Cardona, “that Harshaw was afraid some one might try to get in here and steal his plans?”
“Yes,” replied Biscayne, “I do. He told me once that he had a model of his remote-control machine, and that he had put it where no one could possibly find it. He also spoke vaguely of enemies.
“He said — I can recall his exact words — that he kept their names in his head, and that was where he kept his plans, also. He said that they would like to steal his model, but that he had planned to prevent them.
“He mentioned those enemies two nights ago, and his remarks might have been construed as threats against those unknown persons. But he was so vague and eccentric in all his statements that it was difficult to get his exact meaning.”
“Do you really think that he had enemies?” Cardona asked.
Biscayne replied with a broad smile:
“Perhaps they were actual only in his own head — as he himself said. Harshaw was an interesting but complex study in psychology, and my contact with him was too occasional to enable me to fathom him.”
CARDONA drew a report sheet from his pocket and referred to notations which he had made.