Silsam
"Let us say," suggested The Shadow, "that the circle represents secrecy. That is why the victim was so completely enmeshed. Someone sold Silsam on the necessity of keeping his gem purchase as private as possible."
Farrow nodded. He recognized that Silsam's name typified the others who had been robbed and murdered before him. The circle applied for all. Silsam stood as the latest example.
The Shadow drew a second circle, below and to the right of Silsam's. Within it, he placed the name: Shark
Meglo
No comment was necessary. The circle represented Shark's hide-out, the measure of protection that kept the killer safe from capture. Moving the pen to the left, The Shadow drew a third circle. "This surrounds the master-criminal," expressed The Shadow, in a sibilant tone. "Possibly you can suggest the sort of protection that he would choose."
Farrow hadn't thought of it in that fashion. It struck him instantly that he had missed a vital point. Yes, the supercrook would need protection of his own. Something different than the measure he had used to hold victims quiet and keep Shark hidden.
"He would need a strong position," said Farrow, slowly. "One that would enable him to divert the law's attention from -"
Farrow stopped. The Shadow had started to fill the circle. Before Farrow's eyes appeared the finished name, within the third ring:
Madden
Henshew
The chart told its story. Henshew, holder of the jewels, placed them with dupes like Silsam. His own persuasive advice - the very sort that had impressed Cardona - caused victims to keep their purchases confidential. That plus Henshew's high reputation. Next, the gems were seized by Shark; finally they came back to Henshew. The chain of circles was complete.
As if to prove The Shadow's analysis, the top circle faded. Its ink had dried; in that state it disappeared, for the fluid was the sort that The Shadow used in sending special messages.
For a final touch The Shadow made a new circle where Silsam's had been, but left it blank.
Shark's circle vanished. Henshew's followed. Only the ominous blank circle remained at the top of the page. It represented the mesh that would soon involve a new victim. The Shadow crumpled the paper before the circle faded. Farrow was awed.
"Do you think" - his question was a trained one - "that Henshew will dare to attempt the game again?"
"If he does," returned The Shadow, "his move will be a daring one. His boldness is his greatest strength."
The Shadow stepped away. He was gone, in the blackness beyond the lamp's range of light. Farrow heard the soft close of the apartment door. He knew that The Shadow had set forth upon a new mission.
A WHILE afterward, The Shadow arrived in a room that was almost totally darkened. Only the bare outline of windows was visible. A tiny flashlight flicked. It showed articles of furniture and finally reached an alcove; where it centered on a closed writing desk. Beyond was a bookcase built in a niche.
The Shadow was in the living room of Henshew's apartment.
The bookcase was far different from the flimsy one that The Shadow had seen at Shark's transfer place.
Its structure, however, had points in common.
Carefully, The Shadow removed volumes from their shelves. He found a panel, of solid feel; but The Shadow's probing fingers discovered the spring. The panel clicked open.
The Shadow's flashlight shone into the space that had so recently held Henshew's hoard of tainted gems.
As before, The Shadow was greeted with a barren discovery.
The hiding place was empty.
The rear wall of the space was solid. There was no need for transfer here. The fact that gems were missing was a link with Henshew's own absence. The scheming supercrook had begun new operations earlier than The Shadow had expected.
Tonight, Henshew had gone somewhere to make another sale.
That bore significance. It indicated exactly what The Shadow had predicted: a bold move by Henshew. It meant, too, although Henshew was keeping contact with the law, he had found a chance for new operations.
Where, under such circumstances, had he found a dupe who might be handled yet kept under full control? A wealthy man whose trust he had obtained? Some person whose very position would be a protection for Henshew?
The Shadow knew that Henshew would have to play his cards cunningly. He would have to be ready with a perfect explanation if the police learned that he was handling a large jewel sale. Those very angles gave The Shadow a likely answer.
Audibly, hidden lips softly phrased the name:
"Michael Chanbury."
Though Chanbury was chiefly an art collector, he had talked gems with Henshew - according to reports at Farrow's. A sale to Chanbury could be explained by Henshew, if Chanbury mentioned it. Henshew would lose little for he would receive cash for the jewels.
If Chanbury kept the sale confidential, as Henshew hoped, the way would be clear for new robbery. If Shark Meglo murdered Chanbury, the law might not suspect a robbery at all. Shark had a grudge against Chanbury.
CLOSING the cache, The Shadow worked on the writing desk and unlocked it. He found Henshew's tools and other items, which explained the crook's practice of altering gems. Chanbury had seen Silsam's jewels; the ones that Henshew showed Chanbury would not look the same.
The Shadow closed the desk and locked it.
In the desk drawer, The Shadow found some odd mountings that Henshew had not used. Before he could lock the drawer, there came a sound from the apartment door.
Thinking that Henshew had returned, The Shadow risked leaving the drawer unlocked. He faded to a corner past a half-opened closet door.
It was not Henshew who entered. The man who came into the room moved clumsily through the darkness. He lowered the window shades, used a flashlight to find the wall switch. He turned on the lights. The Shadow saw a stoop-shouldered man who had a wan, prying face and quick, nervous eyes.
He knew the fellow from description.
The man was Jim Tyrune, the private detective.
Tyrune had unlocked the door with a pass-key; and that marked the limit of his lock work. He tried the writing desk, but couldn't open it. Finding the drawer unlocked, he made a note of its contents in a memo book.
Looking around the room, he checked on everything. He eyed the bookcase suspiciously, but did not disturb it.
Tyrune paced the floor to put down measurements, but he did not come close to The Shadow's hiding spot. Finally, the dick turned out the lights, raised the shades and blundered out through the door of the apartment.
As soon as he was gone, The Shadow locked the desk drawer and followed. He trailed Tyrune down a stairway and out through a rear door of the apartment house.
Tyrune stopped at the nearest corner and paced about, hands in pockets. He kept peeking through a drug store window, to watch a big clock on the wall. At last, he looked for a taxi and saw one coming along the darkened side street. Tyrune stopped it, only a few yards from a darkened wall space where The Shadow stood.
The Shadow heard Tyrune give an address to the taxi driver. The dick added:
"I'm not in a hurry. Take your time getting there."
The cab pulled away. The Shadow's laugh was whispered, after the taxi had gone. Tyrune, himself, had supplied the link that The Shadow wanted. The address that the dick had given was that of Chanbury's Long Island home.
The Shadow was right. Henshew had gone to Chanbury's. But in Michael Chanbury, the smart crook was due to find a man much different from those whom he had duped in the past. Like The Shadow, Chanbury had seen through Henshew's game.
The Shadow could foresee the trapping of Madden Henshew; and Shark Meglo with him.