"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 006 - The Death Tower" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

Now Clarendon had appeared; had explained that he was a criminologist; and had partly taken Burke
into his confidence.

That was not surprising to Burke. He realized that his mysterious benefactor was a man of intuition.
Clarendon must know that Burke could be trusted.

There is a spirit of loyalty that governs every experienced newspaperman. Clarendon had evidently seen
it in Burke.

Sitting at his desk, the ex-reporter reverted to the Wilkinson murder. He examined some of the clippings;
then laid them aside, and taking paper and pencil, began to jot down rough ideas.

Granting that Chatham's note for thirty thousand dollars was a forgeryтАФ what did it signify?

The possession of a forged note by Seth Wilkinson might have been a sufficient reason for Chatham to
kill the man. Yet that note was dated at the time of the murder!

It could have been made out by no other than Chatham himselfтАФ unless Wilkinson had forged it in
Chatham's presence.

Burke had another thought.

Perhaps Chatham had actually signed the note, but had disguised his normal signature. Perhaps Wilkinson
had observed the difference, and had mentioned it to Chatham. That might have led to the murder.

But why had Chatham left the false note in Wilkinson's study?

Burke's hand was busy as he thought. Almost subconsciously, he was writing the figures 30,000 all over
the sheet of paper.

Now he was placing dollar marks in front of the figures on the sheet, and was repeating, half aloud, the
words: "Thirty thousand dollars."

"Quite a bit of money," said a voice beside him.

Burke nearly toppled from his chair. He looked up, a startled expression on his face, to see George
Clarendon standing near him. The man was smilingтАФ that strange smile that Burke had noticed
yesterday.

GEORGE CLARENDON sat down in the other chair, and Burke waited for him to speak. The
ex-reporter was usually alert; hence he marveled at the way in which Clarendon could arrive, unheard
and unseen.

"This case puzzles you," said the visitor.

Burke nodded.

"I am not surprised," said Clarendon, "because it has been puzzling to me. Yet I am beginning to form a
theory. I take it that you have no theory of your own."