The door opened at that moment and Nick’s famous assistant entered. Even the inspector, who had seen him in many disguises, would not have known him but for Nick’s words.
“Well, Chick,” said his chief.
“Crazy Mag is our only direct witness, so far,” said Chick. “She is the only person who can testify that the woman came out of that house.”
“Did anybody see her go in?”
“No; that was where I had trouble. It seemed impossible that she should have got in without being seen.
“I found a lot of people who ought to have seen her, but not one of them remembered her. At last, however, I struck the clew.
“Helstone’s gang had a secret entrance. They had rooms also in a rear building. To get into that house they passed through an alley from the street above.
“No. 349 and this rear building are connected by an iron bridge intended as a fire escape for the latter.
“Their use of this bridge had begun to be noticed, and this was probably one of the reasons why they had to skip.
“At any rate, I’m convinced that the woman entered that way. She could have done it all right, whereas the other entrance was under somebody’s observation almost all the evening.”