That wasn't Malone's affair. All he had to do was take the first few steps and actually find the man. And perhaps psychology and pattern was the place to start. Anyhow, he reflected, he didn't have any other method that looked even remotely likely to lead to anything except brain-fag, disappointment, and catalepsy.
But he didn't have enough cases to find a pattern. There must, he thought, be a way to get some more. After a few seconds he thought of it.
At first he thought of asking Room Service for all the local and out-of-state papers, but that, he quickly saw, was a little unwise. People didn't come to Las Vegas to catch up on the news; they came to get away from it. A man might read Las Vegas papers, and possibly even his home town's paper if he couldn't break himself of the pernicious habit. But nobody on vacation would start reading papers from everywhere.
There was no sense in causing suspicion, Malone told himself. Instead, he reached for the phone and called the desk.
"Great Universal, good afternoon," a pleasant voice said in his ear.
Malone blinked. "What time is it?" he said.
"A few minutes before six," the voice said. "In the evening, sir."
"Oh," Malone said. It was later than he'd thought; the list had taken some time. "This is Kenneth J. Malone," he went on, "in Room—" He tried to remember the number of his room and failed. It seemed like four or five days since he'd entered it. "Well, wherever I am," he said at last, "send up some kind of a car for me and have a taxi waiting outside."
The voice sounded unperturbed. "Right away, sir," it said. "Will there be anything else?"