“Do you know him, Nick?” questioned Mallory, with sharper scrutiny.
“I do not.”
“Or suspect his identity?”
“No.”
“What do you mean by Nordeck’s having been peculiarly unfortunate?”
“In that he has been repeatedly cheated by his confederates out of most of his share of the plunder,” Nick explained. “He has been an easy mark in that respect ever since his wife died, something like a dozen years ago. She was a shrewd Englishwoman, but thoroughly unscrupulous, who looked after his interests and handled his money. Since her death, however, though he is known to have had a hand in numerous profitable jobs, Nordeck has been hard up most of the time.”
“Through having been victimized by his confederates?”
“Exactly. He now fights shy of trusting them, even.”
“You got all this from Darby Moore?”
“Yes. I had an interview with him on the day he died. I know he told me the truth.”