The Sheridan Road Mystery | Page 6

as I sent him back after he had
turned in this report. He may have found out something more by now
than he could put in that quick report."
"Chief," said Morgan, as he thumbed over the typewritten sheets in his
hands, "you say there has been a murder committed here. With this
tenant, Marsh, and a patrolman, getting into action so soon after the
shot, a body couldn't possibly be moved out of the house-- certainly,
not without leaving some trace."
"Well?"

"How do we know there was a murder?"
"We don't know--positively," returned the Chief. "But we're not going
to take any chances. Even if there wasn't an actual murder,
SOMETHING OF A CRIMINAL NATURE WAS PULLED OFF IN
THAT FLAT LAST NIGHT. What it was, we're putting up to you to
find out. Go to it, Morgan! So long!"
CHAPTER III
INVESTIGATION
Leaving the Detective Bureau, Morgan stopped in a restaurant on
Randolph Street for a quick lunch. From there he walked over to State
Street and took the motor bus for the scene of the singular event which
it was now his duty to investigate. A half-hour later he dropped off the
bus at Lawrence Avenue and Sheridan Road. A few steps brought him
to the Hillcrest apartments, where he found Tierney waiting on the
front steps for him.
"The Chief telephoned me that you would probably be here about this
time," said Tierney, after acknowledging Morgan's greeting. "I was on
the job last night, and did a little investigating this morning, so the
Chief thought you might want to talk things over with me."
Morgan nodded. "All right, let's go up. Can we get into the flat?"
"Sure," answered Tierney. "We put a temporary padlock on this
morning, and I have the key."
Without further words the two men climbed the stairs to the apartment
on the third floor. Tierney unlocked the padlock and they went in.
Inside the entrance hall of the apartment, Tierney turned to Morgan.
"I suppose the Chief has put the case entirely in your hands, so it's up to
you what you want to do first."
"We had better go into the front room here," answered Morgan, "and let

me get a line on things. About all I know so far is that somebody
THINKS a murder has been committed."
"You can't make much out of things as they are, that's a fact," assented
Tierney, as they moved into the front room. He dropped into an easy
chair close at hand, and pushed his cap back on his head, while Morgan
went to one of the front windows and ran the shade to the top. Seating
himself where he could get the full benefit of the light from the window,
he drew out the typewritten report and read it over carefully.
"This is your report, isn't it, Tierney?" he inquired, folding up the sheets
again and replacing them in his pocket.
"You bet; and I put into it every damned thing I know," asserted
Tierney. "And that's mighty little," he added. "This is the most
mysterious case I ever saw."
There was a pause while Morgan drew a pipe from his pocket and filled
and lighted it. Then settling back in his chair, he looked at Tierney.
"Got any theories?" he asked.
"No," replied Tierney. "I haven't any theories--but I've got a couple of
suspicions."
"Well?"
"One," continued Tierney, "is this flat across the hall. Murphy-- that's
the man on the beat who heard the shot and investigated-- Murphy
noticed that in spite of all the racket we made breaking down the door
last night, no one in that flat showed any interest. I tried to get in touch
with them this morning. Nothing doing. Either they weren't home, or
wouldn't answer the bell."
"That looks bad," commented Morgan. "You mentioned in your report
that you talked with the janitor. Did he drop anything about them that
you didn't think worth while putting in the report?"
"The janitor simply told me that a man and his daughter lived in the flat,

and that he thought the man was away a good deal; so he supposed he
must be a traveling man. They have always seemed to be quiet people.
He has never even seen them have any company." "That's suspicious,
too," declared Morgan. "Normal people usually have SOME company.
Is that all?"
Tierney nodded.
"Now," prompted Morgan, "you said you had another suspicion."
"You bet!" exclaimed Tierney, straightening up in his chair. "That guy,
Marsh--underneath here."
"'Great minds'," laughed Morgan. "I sort of focused on that man myself
after reading your report just now."
"Well, here's the way I look at it," explained Tierney. "When ordinary
folks hear fighting and shooting in the middle of the night, they
generally stick their heads under