"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 041 - The Killer" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

disappeared. The Shadow's keen ear had detected the arrival of the man from the taxicab.

With a soft swish denoting his quick turn in darkness, The Shadow headed directly toward the door of
the apartment, into a little entry that connected the door with the living room.

Seemingly, The Shadow had gone to the one spot where discovery would be certain when the others
entered. Such, however, was not the case. As the door of the apartment opened inward, The Shadow's
tall form slipped behind the moving barrier.
JERRY HERSTON entered. He turned on a light in the entry. A single ceiling lamp showed the faces of
Herston and his companions. Harland Mullrick and Pascual joined the man who had entered.

"Shut the door, Pascual," ordered Mullrick, speaking in Spanish to his servant.

As the menial reached forward to obey, Jerry Herston opened a door at the side of the entry. The edge
of this barrier overlapped the large door which gave entrance to the apartment. Hence when Pascual
closed the door through which the arrivals had come, the figure of The Shadow still remained unseen.
The silent investigator was behind the door which Herston had opened.

"Here's the clothes closet," remarked Herston. "We can hang our hats and coats in here. Get the things
out of the way."

The Shadow had anticipated this action. Boldly, he had chosen the entry as his hiding place. As Mullrick
and Pascual hung up their hats and coats, Herston waited. He heard Mullrick speak to the Mexican.
Pascual responded and entered the living room. He found the light and switched on the illumination.

"Just an old Mexican custom," remarked Mullrick, with a laugh. "It will do well in New York, too. I
always send Pascual in ahead of me to make sure that the place is empty."

Herston grunted understanding as he hung up his coat and hat. It was plain that Herston recognized some
reason for caution in Mullrick's actions.

As Mullrick entered the living room, Herston turned to follow him, and with the same motion swung the
closet door shut. As Herston reached the living room, The Shadow's tall form moved after him; then
stopped as it reached the archway between the entry and room. Here, from a new vantage point, The
Shadow could remain unseen.

IN the light of the living room, Harland Mullrick and Jerry Herston seated themselves and lighted
cigarettes. Neither man observed the long streak of blackness that extended from the entry across the
carpet of the living room. That patch of ominous darkness was the only visible token of The Shadow's
presence.

The opening statement of the conversation came from Jerry Herston. It was something in the nature of a
query, although Herston took the answer for granted.

"Everything went well, I suppose," said Herston. "When you wrote me that you were coming back from
Mexico City, and wanted an apartment here, I figured you had made out as you expected."

"Yes," returned Mullrick suavely. "I am more interested, for the moment, to learn what you have been
doing in New York."