They had made a thorough search of the premises, looking for a man in black. They had not found him; for he had been wise enough to stay away.
BROADWAY lights were gleaming as the car rolled down that busy thoroughfare. It turned into a side street. There the driver parked it.
He strolled back toward Broadway, a lone individual in the vast throng that moved along the sidewalks.
He seemed even more inconspicuous here. Like so many of the strollers, he was leisurely in his walk.
Choosing a street above Fortieth, he turned from the busy thoroughfare and entered an apartment house.
It was an unpretentious place. A clerk sat at a desk, answering phone calls, asking the business of each arrival.
The newcomer, however, did not approach the desk. Instead he went up the stairway.
His way was blocked by a closed iron grillework. All visitors were supposed to ascend by elevator. The barrier was locked; but the sombre man opened it quickly with the aid of a sharp-pointed steel instrument.
He closed the gate behind him and went up to the fourth floor. He stopped before the door of a corner apartment. He listened to the sound of a woman singing softly.
Again the pick worked, smoothly and noiselessly. The man opened the door and entered.