Treasures of Death by Maxwell Grant & Walter Gibson

Author:Maxwell Grant & Walter Gibson [Grant, Maxwell & Gibson, Walter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Espionage, Fiction, Thrillers
ISBN: 9781608771592
Amazon: 1608771598
Publisher: Street & Smith
Published: 1933-12-15T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER XIII. CARDONA'S TURN

To Detective Joe Cardona, the murder of Compton Salwood brought unusual complexities. When he had set out for Salwood's shop, Joe had believed that he was visiting a madman. He could see no connection between the interior decorator and the manuscript that had been supposedly stolen from the home of Shattuck Barliss.

The sight of Salwood's dead body; the forms of five dead and wounded mobsters on the floor of the front shop; the quick escape of one man through the window-these were factors that were quite as important as they were baffling.

When definite facts were concerned, Joe Cardona was the man to follow them. What the detective lacked in deductive reasoning, he possessed in proclivity for action. When morning had arrived, Joe appeared in the office of Inspector Timothy Klein and laid a full report upon the desk.

"Tell me about it, Joe," suggested the inspector.

"There's a lot to tell," declared the detective. "I've talked with young Barliss and I've found out a connection with Compton Salwood."

"Barliss knew him?"

"No; but his uncle did. Salwood redecorated the library for old Shattuck Barliss. There's a chance that a real manuscript was stolen there and that Salwood knew about it."

"A good start."

"That's not all. I followed the lead and called up Wendel Hargate. He told me, when I questioned him, that Salwood had fixed up his place also. He was rather gruff about it; seemed annoyed because I called. But it's possible that Salwood could have known about something phony up there, too."

"You searched Salwood's shop?"

"All the way through. No missing manuscripts, though. It's tough to figure just how Salwood stood. Maybe he was a crook; maybe he knew what crooks were doing. He was scared when he called me. He had reason to be."

"What about the mobsters?"

"Sooky Downing's crew. I've questioned them. They don't know anything. The only one who was in on the know was Sooky, and as luck would have it, he was one of the two who was killed in the fight."

"Then the man who escaped-"

"Is unidentified. It was like this, inspector. Sooky was ready to sell his gang to the highest bidder. Some fellow made a deal with him, so the wounded gangsters tell me. They went to Salwood's and barged in through the window. Sooky told them to keep their rods tight-no shooting was the order.

"But Sooky spotted some guy inside the place and started the trouble himself. The rest of the crowd pitched in. They got theirs; and some one knifed Salwood in his office."

"Then what about the man who escaped?"

"That's just it. Maybe he murdered Salwood. He may have been the guy who battled Sooky's mob. On the other hand, I'm wondering about the fellow who hired Sooky. Two of the wounded men say they think he was along. The third isn't sure about it. None of them know who the fellow was anyhow."

"You landed there after the fight?"

"Yeah. That's what makes it more puzzling. Who let me in after I rang the

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