“Looks like a clothing tag,” said Clyde.
“Not much of a guess, is there?” laughed the detective. “You’ve probably never heard of the concern. Small but exclusive: ‘Helmsford Brothers. Tailors. New York.’ That’s the complete name.
“Here’s something just as important. Notice that bit of gray cloth that came off with the lining?”
Clyde nodded.
“All right,” continued Joe Cardona. “This was clutched in Charles Blefken’s hand. I found it just after the doctor declared him dead. I took it.
“The minute I had a good look at it, I knew that Middleton wasn’t the man I wanted. He was wearing a dark-blue suit. That bit of gray cloth indicated another person.
“I didn’t wait until daylight. At three o’clock this morning, I had James Helmsford, head of the tailoring concern, in his shop.
“Luck was with me, Burke. This Helmsford outfit are a high-priced crowd. They know their cloth when they see it. Helmsford showed me a remainder of the same material.
“He checked up. Found they were keeping it for a man named Clinton Glendenning. He owns two suits of this same stuff. His own private material, you might say.
“I put Williamson covering Glendenning’s house from then on. At ten o’clock this morning, a young man came out, carrying a gray suit. He took it to a little tailor’s shop a block away. Williamson and his men grabbed him.