“Wait a minute,” Shayne interjected. “Are you positive of the apartment number? Two-sixteen? Could it have been one -sixteen and you made a mistake?”
“Not a chance. I can’t afford to make mistakes in my business. I wrote down the number and repeated it back to you — him. I got there early and cased the joint. I found a side entrance and stairway where I could get up and down without anybody seeing me from the lobby. Then I went and had a drink and came back at two-fifteen and went up. It was exactly two-twenty when I went in.”
“You didn’t meet anybody going up or down the stairs?”
“Not a soul.”
“And the door of two-sixteen was open?”
“That’s right. Standing ajar like I was told it would be. I had my camera ready and went in. Couldn’t hear a sound from the bedroom, but that wasn’t any of my business. I figured maybe they was busy — you know. So I went to the doorway and set off my flash. My God! I was scared stiff when I saw him in the flashlight. Alone, and dead on the bed with blood all over.
“I beat it fast,” he continued after a brief pause during which he covered his face with both hands and pressed his eyes with his finger tips. “All I could think about was staying in the clear by phoning the police. Then, if they did find out, they couldn’t say I covered up. Later, I got to thinking, and tried to call you at a number I got from Information. Somebody answered and said it was you but the voice didn’t sound right. I thought it was the cops and hung up.” He paused again and regarded Shayne with puzzled eyes. “Say, it was you that time. It was your voice.”
“That’s right. You mean my voice sounded different from the one who first called you. How was it different?”
“I dunno,” he said, his bloodshot eyes reflective. “Sort of heavier, yours was. Not so much rasp in it. Anyhow, I got scared and hung up and thought maybe I’d better hide out. So I checked in here. If it wasn’t you that called me yesterday, who was it?”
“That,” said Shayne with a frown, “is one of half a dozen sixty-four-dollar questions. Exactly what did the man say?”