It did not seem possible that Joe Leslie could be doing this exactly, but he might be carrying on two characters successfully.
At his business and his home up-town he was known as Joseph G. Leslie—on Twenty-seventh Street he might be Mr. Lester. To tear the mask away and expose the truth was what brought the detective here now.
In the interest of justice he was bound to do this much.
Then again he thought of Lillian.
In his indignation he wished she could be there to face her husband when his guilty secret was laid bare.
It might seem cruel—so does the hot iron of the doctor when applied to the marks left by the teeth of an enraged dog, but it is done with kindness—heroic treatment saves one from something more terrible beyond. Perhaps, if faced by Lillian, Joe would break down and receive a shock that would last him all the rest of his natural life.
So the detective made up his mind not to betray his presence now if he could help it, but reserve the denouement to a later date, when it could be made more dramatic.
All he meant to do now was to secure certain evidence for future use.
The stairs, being carpeted, gave forth no sound when he began ascending.
He felt rather peculiar about this whole business—had this man been a stranger he would not have experienced this same uneasiness; but Joe Leslie—to think that he should be upon the track of his old friend, and with such a purpose in view.