Chapter VI — Death by Accident
The laugh of The Shadow!
The echoes of that sinister sound were ringing in the ears of Detective Joe Cardona, as he returned to his hotel in downtown Philadelphia.
Staring at the window, he reflectively chewed the end of his unlighted cigar. Cardona faced a problem of deductive addition.
He was trying to put two events together — to find a reason for the strange happenings which had disturbed the spirit circles in New York and here.
It was obvious that one hinged upon the other. Yet death had struck upon only one occasion. Assuming that The Shadow had been at the seance of Professor Jacques in the Hotel Dalban, there was a logical reason why the mysterious man should have left when the death dagger reached the heart of Herbert Harvey.
That was the way of The Shadow — to disappear when mystery reached its height. But what was The Shadow's purpose at the home of Anita Marie? As on the previous occasion, he had probably gone there to shatter a display of fakery. If so, he had succeeded. Nevertheless, Cardona could not explain the sudden departure of The Shadow. Mentally, the detective identified the hawk-faced man and The Shadow as one. Cardona knew well that The Shadow was a master of disguise; that he possessed the amazing ability of changing his face almost at will.
Cardona had never before seen the man who had been at Anita Marie's. But the detective could not forget the eyes that had peered from that impenetrable, masklike face.
The eyes of The Shadow!
Cardona had seen those eyes in the past. Peering from beneath the brim of a slouch hat, they had flashed vengeance upon men of evil.