There may have been some one else here, but they don't seem to know about it downstairs. People go in
and out of this apartment house pretty freely. We do know that Hendrix had some business with a man
named Legira, but there is no telling if Legira was here or not.
“At any rate, this fellow, Powell, came to see Hendrix. We haven't got any dope on when he came in,
either; they're careless downstairs. Shots were heard, just before nine o'clock. They might not have been
noticed, but the receiver was off the hook of the telephone and central heard the shots.
“Central made a call to police headquarters and another to the apartment house. When I got here with
my squad, we met a couple of men who had come down from this floor. They had been beating at the
door, but hadn't been able to break it. We came and crashed in; the killer got out the window.”
“At what time was that?” asked Cranston.
“Nine twenty-five,” replied Cardona.
“Did the murderer leave any evidence?” questioned Cranston.
“I'm coming to that,” said Cardona. “This man Cody called up from the Baltham Trust Company. He
seemed to have something on his mind. He came up here at our request.
“He told us that Legira, who is a consul from some country called Santander, came in to see him, at the
order of Hendrix. It was Cody's business to give certain funds to Legira. Now, here comes the important
part!
“Cody was to hear from Hendrix before nine o'clock. Hendrix was killed before nine o'clock, so that
may be why Cody didn't hear from him. Cody figured the best thing to do was to locate this fellow,
Legira, but I found out he was worried only about his own affairs, and he couldn't tell me much more
beyond the fact that he had delivered the money to Legira.
“I wanted to see some connection between Legira and the murderer. As soon as I figured the time
element, I saw that it didn't work. The murderer was here at nine twenty-five; Cody tells me that Legira
was at the bank at nine thirty.”
“The murders were committed before nine o'clock, were they not?” asked Cranston.
“I thought of that,” said Cardona, “but it doesn't mean anything, because the murderer was still here when
we arrived. One man did all the shooting— we're sure of that—we've got his gun, right here on the
desk.”
CRANSTON reached forward to pick up the gleaming revolver. Cardona stopped him with a gesture.
“Don't touch it,” said the detective. “There's finger prints on the handle. That's the one clew we have to
the murderer. Finger prints; they're on the gun; they're on the neck of Jermyn; they're on the window
sash. Now, what I want to get is the man who made those finger prints.”
“What about Legira?” asked Cranston, coming back to the original subject.
“I've waited to see you about him,” said Cardona. “The man is a consul, and I haven't found a thing to
implicate him in any way. The only suspicion is that Legira might not have wanted Hendrix to call Cody at
the bank. That's why I want to find out more about Legira's affairs, before taking any action. What can
you tell me?”
“What I say,” declared Cranston, in a low careful voice, “must be treated with absolute confidence.
Hendrix had full authority to deliver certain funds into the hands of Alvarez Legira. I was concerned with
those funds. Like Cody, I should like to be sure of their safety, but I cannot see how they connect Legira
