cked at his last known address,
earlier this morning, before we got the final check on the blood type.
This guy left the rooming house he was staying in--checked out two
days ago, just a short time after the girl was killed. I figured that
looked queer at the time, so I had two of my men start tracing him in
particular. But there's not a sign of him so far."

I untensed myself. "O.K. What's his record?"

"Periodic drunk. Goes for weeks without touching the stuff, then he
goes out on a binge that lasts for a week sometimes.

"Name's Lawrence Nestor, alias Larry Nestor. Twenty-eight years old,
six feet one inch, slight build, but considered fairly strong. Brown
hair, brown eyes. Speaks with a lisp due to a dental defect; the lisp
becomes more noticeable when he's drinking." He turned the page of the
report he was reading from. "Arrested for drunkenness four times in
the past five years, got off with a fine when he pleaded guilty. He
molested a little girl two years ago and was picked up for
questioning, but nothing came of it. The girl hadn't been physically
hurt, and she couldn't make a positive identification, so he was
released from custody.

"Officers on duty in the neighborhood report that he has frequently
been seen talking to small children, usually girls, but he wasn't seen
to molest them in any way, and there were no complaints from parents,
so no action could be taken."

Lieutenant Shultz looked up from the paper. "He's had all kinds of
jobs, but he can't hold 'em very long. Goes on a binge, doesn't show
up for work, so they fire him. He's a pretty good short-order cook,
and that's the kind of work he likes, if he can talk a lunch room into
hiring him. He's also been a bus boy, a tavern porter, and a janitor.

"One other thing: The superintendent at the place where he was
staying reports that he had an unusual amount of money on him--four or
five hundred dollars he thinks. Doesn't know where Nestor got the
money, but he's been boozing it up for the past five days. Bought new
clothes--hat, suit, shoes, and so on. Living high on the hog, I
guess."

* * * * *

I thought for a minute. If he had money, he could be anywhere in the
world by now. On the other hand--

"Look, Lieutenant, you haven't said anything to the newsmen yet, have
you?"

He looked surprised. "No. I called you first. But I figured they could
help us. Plaster his picture and name all over the area, and some