“There isn’t a cop smart enough to find out that he was ever here. I play my cards too close for that.
“WHEN Harshaw gave you the sack, I figured we’d better act quick. That’s why Max went on the job that night.
“When it comes to ladder work, there couldn’t be any one slicker than Max was. You know what happened. Max heard a shot while he was going up the ladder.
“He waited a while; then went on up. He found the window open, like he told us. It’s a sure bet the old man must have opened it to look out.
“Maybe he’d heard Max hook up the ladder. But when Max threw the glimmer in there and spotted the old man dead on the floor, he scrammed.”
“He lost his nerve,” declared Homer. “He was the yellow guy — not me.”
“Lost his nerve?” snorted Farley. “Not Max. He kept his head. Why did he want to go in there? Ten to one the guy that bumped off the old man was still around. No, sir. Max showed sense.
“He stayed right there in his room at the hotel, didn’t he? That was nerve, wasn’t it? He laid low until they found the old man’s body.
“He had to wait three nights. Then he figured the dicks were gone. They were still around, but Max was too foxy for them.
“He went in that room again. He’d have got away with the old man’s model, too, if he’d only been dealing with coppers. But somebody plugged him.