The Shadow 111 by Maxwell Grant

Author:Maxwell Grant
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CLOSE beside the desk, The Shadow studied the set-up of Ruthley’s perfect crime. It looked like suicide; it would pass as such. The opened desk drawer was an excellent touch. Any ordinary investigator would have decided that Adam Woodstock had reached into it to bring out his own revolver.

Keys shone from within the drawer. The Shadow plucked them up, examined them. He saw the strong-box; went to it and unlocked it. Stooped before the metal container, he began a search for planted evidence. He found it. The very items upon which Ruthley banked so heavily were the ones that won The Shadow’s immediate suspicion.

The letters from Beezer Dorsch were pointed. They referred, in crudely veiled words, to a “job” that would be done as ordered. That meant the death of Dunson. One note spoke of “D,” declaring that he would be no trouble. The Shadow left these letters where he found them.

Woodstock’s signed statement explained still more. It gave The Shadow immediate knowledge of Ruthley’s double-edged plan. The public would fall for the idea that the half million “excess profit” represented Woodstock’s own harvest; but The Shadow knew its exact significance. That money was graft, paid back to Stephen Ruthley and the fake reformers who ran the present city administration.

Woodstock’s corporation would have to disgorge the sum from its own funds. There would be a new contract; new graft, managed by Mayor Elvin Marclot who would raise his hands in amazed horror when he learned how Woodstock had tried to “swindle” the city of Westford.

One detail of the statement caught The Shadow’s eye. The paper was slightly shorter than a usual typewriter page. Holding the paper to the light, The Shadow examined its texture; he saw its odd, wavy-lined watermark: the letter “W.” It was a special bond paper, that Woodstock had evidently ordered direct from the manufacturers.

Approaching the desk, The Shadow found other paper in the drawer. It was of the same bond; but the sheets were of normal length. Placing one blank sheet in Woodstock’s typewriter, The Shadow tapped a few keys to observe the peculiarities of type and ribbon color. He saw at once that Woodstock’s statement had been typed upon this machine.

Comparing the big shears with the statement, The Shadow saw how its lower edge had been clipped. He noted that the space was very slight below the line that bore Woodstock’s signature. The Shadow laughed softly; he had gained an inkling of how Ruthley had induced Woodstock to sign the statement.

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