"Might 'a' been any o' the tenants here."
"Yes, but she smelt a violet perfume that both she an' I noticed in the apartment. My hunch is that the man an' the woman were comin' from my uncle's rooms."
"Would she recognize them? Rose, I mean?" asked Sanborn.
"No: it was on the dark stairs."
"Hmp! Queer they didn't come forward an' tell they had met a woman goin' up. That is, if they hadn't anything to do with the crime."
"Yes. Of course there might be other reasons why they must keep quiet.
Some love affair, for instance."
"Sure. That might be, an' that would explain why they went down the dark stairs an' didn't take the elevator."
"Just the same I'd like to find out who that man an' woman are," Kirby said. He lifted his hand in a small gesture. "This is the Paradox Apartments."
A fat man rolled out of the building just as they reached the steps.
He pulled up and stared down at Kirby.
"What—what—?" His question hung poised.