Johnston McCulley

“ Frisco Frank showed some fear. He was afraid of the police, though he knew that Detective Jim Merker had a name of being fair and just. He had heard that Merker was not the sort of officer to fasten a crime on a former convict just to obtain a conviction, as some officers did at times.
“Frank,” Jim Merker said, watching his man closely in the uncertain light that came from a nearby electrolier, and prepared for quick action if Frank turned hostile, “there was a murder committed to-day.”
“Murder? I—I never had anything to——”
“Don't get excited, now. Nobody is accusing you of croaking a man. ”

“ Jim Merker asked. “Grover Gadlan was an ancient enemy of yours. You rush into his apartment—the one that he had been trying to keep a secret—and a short time later you rush out again, like a maniac, wild-eyed, and you drive away like a criminal getting from the scene of his crime. Gadlan is found dead—and a revolver belonging to you is found beside his body. The old man who acts as janitor there saw you enter and leave, and he is pretty sure that you are the only man who went into Gadlan's apartment.”
“But, I—I——” Sloane stammered.
“There can be no question of an alibi. ”

“ Merker guessed that the revolver was the property of a Doctor Richard Sloane. He knew that Sloane and Grover Gadlan were enemies. They had been enemies for years, and the Granburg murder case had been the culmination of their hatred. Sloane had been a witness for the prosecution, and his testimony had wrecked the defense that Gadlan, the famous criminal lawyer, had prepared. Gadlan had even attacked Sloane in open court, and had received a heavy fine for contempt. ”

“ Merker informed him. “You would learn it in a short time anyway, when the extras come out. Grover Gadlan was found dead about two o'clock, in a little apartment downtown. He was shot.”
“Good heavens!” the clerk gasped, his eyes bulging. “And—and you think that Doctor Sloane——”
“I'm not thinking aloud,” Detective Merker reminded him, speaking in a sharp voice. “And I'll thank you to forget our little conversation, except the part about Grover Gadlan being dead.”
“I—of course I'll forget it, Merker. I'm wise. Gadlan dead, eh? The best criminal lawyer in the State!” ”

“ On a table in one corner were half a dozen kodak snapshots of Doctor Richard Sloane, left there as though somebody had been looking at them and had tossed them aside carelessly. Merker glanced at them swiftly and selected one that showed the doctor, his hat on, standing at the curb beside his roadster. He slipped the picture into his pocket and walked the length of the room and sat down.
Presently a young woman attendant emerged from the consultation room, followed by a messenger boy who carried a small package, to whom the girl had been giving orders. ”

“ Merker asked.
“A middle-aged man, sir, very prosperous looking, I should say. He looked more like a doctor than anything else. He was dressed in a dark suit, wore a soft hat and black shoes. He had a mustache, sir, and his hair was just turning gray at the temples. That's about all that I noticed.”
“Well, that will do for the present,” Merker told him. “Go back to the door, and don't talk to any of that crowd.”
“I'll not, sir.”
Merker watched the janitor go back down the stairs, and then he entered the room of tragedy again. ”

“ Physically, Gadlan Was more than a match for me, too.
“'Oh, no!' he replied, laughing peculiarly. 'I expect to die before you, Sloane. Rest your mind on that point. Killing you would be too easy, and it scarcely would be refined. I prefer refined torture in your case. And, if I killed you, they might send me to the chair for it, you see. ”

“ For more than an hour he worked. It was dark now, and the dinner hour had passed long since, but Merker did not think of food; he seldom bothered about regularity at meals when he was working on an important case.
And then, finally, long after the finger-print expert had gone home, he gave a grunt that expressed both surprise and satisfaction, got up from the desk, put away the finger-print cards, wrapped the revolver carefully, and turned it in to the property clerk, then hurried to the office of the captain, who had said that he would return after dinner. ”

“ The great puzzle Merker faced at present was how Grover Gadlan happened to be here at all, and passing under the name of Jones. It was evident on the face of things that Gadlan did some work here, and did not maintain the apartment merely as a rendezvous of some sort.
Steps were heard on the stairs, and the coroner's assistant and a physician came up. Merker knew them both and waved a hand in greeting.
“A puzzle,” he announced, in a low voice. “I've had a patrolman report to headquarters, but haven't received any orders yet. The victim is a prominent man.” ”

“ He is heavy on the dignity stuff, but he's got a warm heart. I know of several little kindnesses he has done. He's got a beauty of a wife, a son about seventeen, and a girl a couple of years younger. Great doctor, too—dandy surgeon. The only fuss he ever had that I know of was with Grover Gadlan, the lawyer.”
“What was that?” Merker asked.
“I don't know how it started, but they always seemed to be enemies,” the clerk replied. “The board of directors warned Gadlan once that he would have to curb his animosity while in the club. ”

“ You'll realize the solution but that will not help you. For no man will believe you if you tell the truth. They'll tell you that you lie, that you are attempting a poor subterfuge.'
“'In Heaven's name, what do you mean?' I cried.
“'You'll be calling on Heaven a great many times within the next few weeks, Sloane,' he told me. 'And you'll think of me—yes, you'll think of me! Your wife—your son—your daughter—— It will be especially hard for your daughter.'
“I was terribly excited by that time. Gadlan stepped forward and looked me straight in the eyes once more. ”

“ A number of witnesses had been summoned, and there was a gleam in the eyes of the coroner, who admired the dramatic and foresaw that there would be a sensation. The coroner had been listening to Detective Jim Merker for an hour, and he was going to conduct this inquest according to the plan Merker had suggested.
The jury obtained, the old janitor was called and gave his testimony. He described the finding of the body, spoke of Sloane entering the apartment a short time before and leaving in an agitated state, and identified Sloane positively. ”

“ Merker said. “I don't know the doctor very well. What kind of a man is he?”
“Fine man,” the gardener replied. “Good doctor, too, I've heard tell. Makes a lot of money, I reckon.”
Merker walked on up the street, and the inquisitive gardener returned to his labor. So Doctor Richard Sloane had come home at an unusual hour and in a state of great excitement, had he? Merker wondered for an instant if the doctor was preparing to take his family on an unexpected journey. If so, Jim Merker was there to prevent anything like that.
He walked up to the front door of the Sloane residence and rang. ”

“ Detective Jim Merker explained, watching the physician closely.
“But——”
“Listen to the rest, please, and then talk, if you feel like it. There was an immediate investigation, of course. I have charge of the case. The body was removed by the coroner's assistant. The circumstances point to murder. Grover Gadlan had his own revolver in his hip pocket, and it had not been fired. The weapon from which the fatal shot had been fired was on the floor beside the body, evidently dropped there by the horrified murderer. I have that gun in my possession, Doctor Sloane.” ”

“ The patrolman was on guard in the apartment, and the ancient janitor sat before the doorway, puffing at his pipe and dreaming in the sun. The tragedy did not seem to have impressed him much. Jim Merker took the kodak picture out of his pocket and showed it to the old man.
“Know this fellow?' he asked.
The janitor adjusted his spectacles and gave the photograph a single glance.
“That's him!” he exclaimed, exhibiting some excitement. “That's the man as visited Mr. Jones a bit before I found the body on the floor of his room.”
“Sure of it?” Merker demanded. ”

“ I must die to triumph, but it is worth the price.” Merker handed the letter to the prosecuting attorney; it did not take long to verify the statement that it was Grover Gadlan's handwriting. Mrs. Sloane, with a glad cry, had thrown herself upon her husband's breast, and his children were clinging to him.
“So Gadlan has failed,” Merker said. “Two things wrecked his diabolical plan. He should have polished that revolver, and then we wouldn't have found Frisco Frank's finger prints on it and guessed that Sloane hadn't taken it to the apartment. ”

“ I'm innocent, and held here while they get ready to slaughter——”
“We'll be working on the outside. Take it as easy as you can, doctor. I'll keep your wife informed, and try to comfort her as much as possible.”
“Like a rat in a trap!” Sloane repeated as they led him back to his cell.
His interview with the attorney had been overheard by Detective Jim Merker. It probably wasn't exactly legal or strictly ethical for Merker to listen to a conversation between attorney and client, but Merker belonged to the new order, and believed that anything was justifiable to get at the truth. ”

“ Gadlan discovered, early in his sophomore year, that he was the type of man who eternally runs in second place. In everything he was good, but not quite good enough to be a leader. He always missed the goal he sought by a scant margin, while some other man attained it easily. ”

“ He was the only man in the detectives' room at headquarters save the desk sergeant, who was busy with his reports.
“I said it,” Jim Merker grumbled. “A man of genius, such as your humble servant, is liable to go stale around this place. What have I been doing the past six weeks? Gathering reports from pawn shops and second-hand stores, investigating neighborhood rows, and pinching men for putting boxes on the sidewalks.” ”

“ And tell those people to stay outside!”
The patrolman shouted the order and pounded up the stairs, to follow Merker into the room.
“Did you take a look at him?” Merker asked.
“Yes—to make sure that it was a coroner's case instead of a case for the hospital.”
“Know him?”
“No; but his features seemed familiar.”
“I should think so,” Merker grunted. “Our victim is Grover Gadlan, the famous criminal lawyer.”
“The one that—that——”
“The one who handled the famous Granburg murder case—yes! Send for the coroner and report to headquarters right away. I'll get busy here!” ”

“ He turned back into the office and consulted the man at the switchboard and the captain of the bell boys. Almost immediately he was beside Merker again.
“He received a call from outside at three minutes after one,” the clerk reported. “He was paged, and the boy found him in the dining room. We can't tell where the call came from, of course.”
“Thanks for what you have told me,” Merker said.
“I trust that Doctor Richard Sloane hasn't been cutting up,” the clerk said, grinning. “He's rather sedate, you know.”
“Just what sort of a man is he?” the detective asked. ”

“ The important thing was the way professional men took it. As Sloane and Gadlan had been enemies, so now the lawyers and doctors were arrayed against one another. Prominent attorneys offered their services to aid the prosecution; prominent physicians and surgeons declared the arrest of Doctor Sloane was a crime, and announced that they would go to every length to see that he received justice.
It happened that this state of affairs helped Detective Jim Merker who was known to be in charge of the case. Merker said little the following morning when he reported at police headquarters. ”

“ Her name was Madalene. It seemed inevitable that a woman should bring about the climax. She was an attractive girl with a great deal of common sense, and dozens of men were attentive to her, but she seemed to prefer Gadlan and myself. ”

“ When you're ready for the inquest, just shout. The coroner will wait a reasonable time for you.”
Jim Merker left headquarters and engaged a taxicab, telling the chauffeur that he would be needed probably for half a day. Merker had several visits to make. He had a new idea now concerning the case, an idea so unusual that he almost was afraid to admit it to himself. He had received several telephone messages at his home that morning, two of them over long distance from a neighboring city of considerable size and importance. ”

“ Frank told me the story—how he had stolen the gun from Doctor Sloane's residence for Mr. Gadlan. I began wondering then why Gadlan had wanted his enemy's revolver.
“Then I made sure that Gadlan had decoyed Sloane to his apartment by telephone, as Sloane had said. The testimony of the drug clerk and the telephone operator shows that. I grew interested in the stories the specialists told me, too. And then I went to Grover Gadlan's apartment uptown, and to his office, and searched his papers well.” ”

“ Merker said. “And don't forget anything while you're telling it.”
“The gentleman was in there about fifteen minutes, sir—no longer. I thought that I heard high words once, but wasn't sure. Then the gentleman hurried down the stairs again. He seemed to be very angry. There was a terrible look in his face. He pushed people out of the way, got in the roadster and started the engine, and dashed down the street at an awful speed, sir.”
“And you remained right in the chair by the door?” ”

“ He said that he had visited two other specialists, and that their verdicts had been the same as mine, except that one of them told him he had about four months of life remaining.”
“Did he say anything else?”
“Yes. I told him that naturally I felt sorry for him. But he said that he was not afraid to die. 'I'll make capital out of my death,' he told me. 'I've got an old score to pay off!” ”