“Very good,” said the inspector. “Now you’ve brought us back to the starting point — Marchand’s death.
All else is superficial, for the present.
“How was Marchand poisoned? That’s what we’ll have to find out.”
THE inspector arose and paced around the room. Detective Cardona looked at him in admiration.
Joe Cardona was looked upon as the smartest detective in New York; but he knew that his real ability could not approach that of Inspector Timothy Klein. Cardona’s superior was a man who dealt in simple facts; who reached to the heart of crime. He reduced all information to the lowest quantity before he acted.
The inspector stopped pacing. He pointed to the desk.
“Open that secret drawer again,” he said.
Cardona inspected the desk. He moved his hands down the side, seeking some spot that would yield.
His efforts brought no result. He opened an ordinary drawer in the center of the desk.
“Maybe there’s some kind of a key here,” he said.