The detective obeyed, wondering. When he pressed with the finger that wore the thimble, the secret compartment suddenly appeared at the front of the desk.
“Did you notice anything?” asked Klein.
“Yes,” replied the detective, still puzzled. He looked at the thimble. “It seemed as though I struck metal.”
“Pliers?” demanded the inspector.
Cardona felt in his pocket and produced a pair of tweezers.
“Those will do,” said Klein.
He leaned over the desk and raised the sliding molding with the thumb of his left hand. Holding the tweezers in his right, he probed the hole beneath the molding.
Slight clicks followed; then the inspector twisted his hand and drew out the tweezers.
Raising the instrument to the light, he revealed a short, slender point of metal, clipped between the ends of the tweezers.
“It looks like a needle!” exclaimed Cardona. “Like the needle of a sewing machine.”