DEATH IN THE DARK
DETECTIVE SERGEANT MAYHEW began his unusual duty the moment that Joe Cardona left Silas Harshaw’s apartment.
The big door that led to the hall had been repaired; so had the door between the outer room and the study. They had been fitted with locks instead of bolts, and Mayhew had the keys.
Presumably, Mayhew left the hotel shortly after Cardona. The detectives held a brief discussion in the lobby, and there was no doubt that their words were overheard.
Mayhew stated that he would be at headquarters within an hour, and he turned in the keys of the apartment at the desk.
Cardona went out through the lobby. Mayhew went into the dining room.
From there, Mayhew went to a small side door, but instead of leaving the hotel, he doubled up the stairway, and returned to the murdered man’s apartment. Duplicate keys were in his pocket.
There were several guests in the lobby when Cardona left. One of these was a tall, solemn-faced man who was resting leisurely in a large, comfortable chair.
Another was a powerful, thickset man who lounged in a corner, reading a newspaper. Shortly after Cardona’s departure, this individual went out of the hotel.
The tall man remained for nearly an hour, then he strolled to the street. He did not return. He was not in the lobby when the thickset individual came back at midnight.