“For some reason, his death was desired by a person so sure of his invulnerability that he not only contrived death for the old man, but also sent an announcement of Silas Harshaw’s demise.
“The same person desired the death of Louis Glenn. Again, he arranged that death and sent a message.
“Now, our big brain, as you term him, has arranged the death of a third party — a death scheduled to take place last night.
“He has again posted an announcement. He refers to the third person as T.S. We have not yet discovered the actual death of T.S., whoever he may be.
“Has the big brain, as you call him, contemplated more killings? Perhaps. We shall ascertain that fact later on. But I have given you, in compact form, the vital points that concern the deaths of Silas Harshaw and Louis Glenn.
“I have also considered the possibilities of a third death — which concerns a man whose initials are T.S.”
“That’s a clean-cut theory,” admitted Cardona. “It rings clear, professor. But where does this other killing figure into it? What about the man who got away after he killed the fellow?”
“Cross-purposes,” replied Roger Biscayne. “Some one had the burglary motive. He came in through the window. He entered a trap. He was shot and killed.”
“By whom?”
“Well,” said Biscayne slowly, “I can only believe that there were two men who entered the window. They might have been working together.
“Why one should kill the other is more than I can fathom, at present. It seems quite creditable that such purpose may have been present.
“You have the fact that one man died while the other escaped. He had to battle the police to flee to safety. He simply abandoned the window as a method of escape.”
“Then you think that this is a separate affair?” Cardona queried.
“Absolutely! It doesn’t fit in with the other progression, at all. Harshaw and Glenn were eliminated by cunningness. The murderer has remained completely hidden.
“Why should he have suddenly changed his method and performed a bold, reckless slaying?”
“You’ve got a clear idea of it, professor,” said Cardona. “It’s all right, from your standpoint, because you’re working on these crimes like an observer. But I’m running up against the hard facts that we meet in all police work.
“I can’t go ahead and forget this last shooting up at Harshaw’s. It’s a crime, just like the killing of the old man.
“It may be doubling my work, and making me go two ways at once, but — I’ve got to solve it!”
“Certainly, Cardona,” interposed the commissioner. “We appreciate your position, and you may rest assured that I have already gained a first-hand impression of your efficiency.
“I have the utmost confidence in you, Cardona. While you are handicapped with these necessary details, Biscayne is able to study these problems from an advantageous position. I trust that he will be able to offer you valuable assistance.”
“Thanks, commissioner,” said Cardona warmly. “I’ve got flyers out, trying to get some dope on this fellow who was killed at Harshaw’s.
“He isn’t an ordinary crook, but I’m going to get his record, if he’s got one at all. There was a telegram that came in from St. Louis to-day — telling about a burglar and yegg that got away from them out there.
“Max Parker is the bird’s name. They’re sending a man out to see the body. Other calls are in from Buffalo and Atlanta.
“They’re taking care of all that down at headquarters. But in the meantime, I’m figuring on this T.S. angle. I want to know what those letters mean.”
“The Shadow,” suggested Biscayne, with a smile.
A QUICK gasp came from Cardona. The detective glanced toward Commissioner Weston. He noted a stern look upon the commissioner’s face.
Cardona picked up the letter on the table.
“I’m going to give this to the reporters,” he said. “They’ve been demanding to know all about these killings. I kept the notes quiet up until now.”
“Do you think that advisable?” questioned Weston.
“We’ve got to consider the newspapers,” declared Cardona. “They want to know what’s going on. There have been three mysterious deaths.
“If we let them know that we’ve got letters and have traced them to the Redan Hotel, it’s going to work to our credit — and that may prove to be an advantage. Especially, since we are watching the hotel and making no bones about it, now.
“We’re going to nab the sender if he comes around the place.”
“What will you tell them?” asked Biscayne.
“I’m going to stick to my theory,” said Cardona deliberately. “Harshaw was the first; Glenn the second; the third may be the man that was killed night before last.
“You don’t agree with that last point, professor, and I’m not rejecting your opinion. You think the real T.S. should have been killed last night. Well, he wasn’t, so far as we know now.
“If you’re right, the killer may have missed out on the job. If I let the newspapers play up the T. S; angle, we may get a tip-off from some fellow who has those initials.
“In other words, I’m going to play it safe all around.”
“Without mentioning The Shadow,” said Weston dryly.
“Right, commissioner,” agreed Cardona. “I’m working the way you ordered. I’m not going off on any wild trail.
“You say The Shadow is my weakness. All right, sir! If I get The Shadow on my mind, I’ll talk it all over with Professor Biscayne.
“There’s nothing I’d like so much as to have a keen fellow like him looking into The Shadow stuff. It would help me a lot, I’ll tell you.”
“I think that the statement to the newspapers is an excellent idea,” declared Biscayne. “I still persist in my theory that the third killing — if there was one — took place last night.
“I believe that the dead man in Harshaw’s apartment is apart from the regular series of crimes.
“That makes me all the more in favor of the newspaper statement. The murderer — whom Cardona has called the big brain — will have no knowledge of my theory if he reads the newspaper accounts.”
THE noon editions carried accounts of Silas Harshaw and his inventions; of Louis Glenn and his brief trip to New York; of the mysterious notes that had announced three deaths.
What did the initials T.S. mean? That was the great perplexity. But Cardona did not mention the name of The Shadow.
Secretly, the star detective believed that Roger Biscayne had struck upon a real idea. Cardona believed that the murderer had picked The Shadow for his third victim.
It might be that the unidentified man killed at Harshaw’s was The Shadow.
It might also be that The Shadow, himself, had slain the man who had tried to murder him!
If so, it was The Shadow who had escaped. It was also possible that The Shadow, himself, had mailed the third letter, the next night, as a bit of irony.
For The Shadow invariably mocked those who sought to frustrate him.
Cardona also was almost convinced that Professor Biscayne had gone wide in his theory that these murders must follow a regular progression — forty-eight hours apart.
No news had arrived of the death of a man with the initials T.S.
The detective felt that the killings were over. It remained to solve the crimes — to apprehend the true murderer, unless the hand of The Shadow had already performed that task.
Cardona was anticipating some new break that would lead to the solutions.
The break came at one o’clock, just as Cardona was about to leave for the commissioner’s office.
The telephone rang. When Cardona lifted the receiver, he was rewarded by an unexpected report from an uptown police station.