"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 117 - Vengeance Is Mine" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

CHAPTER VI

DEATH'S NEW BLAST

ALMOST at the time of The Shadow's departure from the Merrimac Club, a
stoop-shouldered man entered the glittering lobby of the Hotel Goliath. The
arrival was middle-aged, droopy-faced; his eyes seemed tired and his lips
painful. His hands had a floppy touch when he rested them on the marble desk
and asked for the key to Room 2549.
The clerk told the droopy-faced man that he could get his key on his own
floor. The Hotel Goliath employed the system of individual desks on each
floor.
The droopy-faced man smiled. He had forgotten about the upstairs floor clerk.
This was his first stay at the Goliath, in several months.
Another man had reached the desk just in time to hear the inquiry. This
arrival was Joe Cardona. Catching the mention of Room 2549, the stocky
inspector hurried after the droopy-faced man and overtook him at the
elevators.
Joe was prompt with his inquiry:
"You're Dudley Mook?"
The man blinked; then nodded. As they stepped into the elevator, Cardona
flashed his badge and stated his identity. Mook looked perplexed. Cardona
noted
it.
"You called me at headquarters, didn't you?" he queried. "I found a note
there, saying you wanted to see me. Dudley Mook, Room 2549, Hotel Goliath."
"No, no, inspector," protested Mook. "I never called you."
"The message said you could tell me something about George Zanwood."
Mook chewed his lips as the elevator rode upward. Then, in strained tone,
he stated:
"I knew George Zanwood. Years ago. I know very little about him. Nothing
that would interest the law."
"Maybe it would," supplied Cardona. "Anything about George Zanwood may
mean something."
"Come to my room then," suggested Mook, tensely. "Only, I cannot
understand who could have called headquarters."
Cardona thought he understood. Eying Mook, he decided that the tired man
had something to tell, and had, therefore, made the call himself. Afterward,
Mook had thought things over and become jittery. It happened frequently with
volunteer informants. Cardona decided that Mook would talk freely, once he got
started; would probably confess that he had called headquarters and lost his
nerve later.


THEY reached the twenty-fifth floor. The desk was just to the left of the
elevators; branching from it were several passages. Cardona saw the one that
led to 2549. While Mook was inquiring for his key, Cardona strode over and
took
a look along the short passage. It was deserted. The number, 2549, showed on
the