Burbank’s location was always a matter of the greatest secrecy. So Cliff had thought nothing of the fact that Burbank was in a new place. Yet therein lay the secret of The Shadow’s watchfulness over Flash Donegan.
Burbank was sitting in the dark room of an apartment. He had moved in there that very afternoon. The apartment was in an old building, where tenants were few, and new ones were welcomed with very little question.
It had not been difficult for Burbank to obtain the very apartment he wanted. As a result, The Shadow’s quiet-voiced agent was located in the room directly beneath Flash Donegan.
Before him, on a table, Burbank had two telephones. One had been in the apartment — an outside connection used by the previous tenant. It had been restored to service that morning.
The other phone was of Burbank’s installation. It had a wire running upward toward the ceiling. Beside it was a switch box. Burbank had been listening over that telephone before Cliff had called by the outside wire.
Burbank was now dialing the outside phone. He had called a number before he had heard from Cliff, but had received no response. Now, with Cliff’s call ended, the man in the darkness again dialed.
He heard the ringing; then a low, whispered voice came from the receiver. Burbank replied.
“Burbank reporting,” he said.
“Report,” came the voice.
A flashlight glimmered. Its tiny spot showed a sheet of paper covered with shorthand notations. Burbank began to read. His report was a complete account of the telephone conversation between Flash Donegan and Dip Riker.