but outside of the stories of
these two men, and the discovery of a blood stain on a rug in a
supposedly empty flat, not another thing has been found. The body is
missing, and there is no trace of how it got out of the flat or
where it is now. Here is a report of all that we know so far. By the
way, your partner Tierney made this report. He happened to be on the
job last night, so I told him to stick to it."

The Chief handed the typewritten sheets to Morgan.

"You will note," he went on, "that the man on beat heard a shot at
about 2 A.M.; that he met a tenant from the house who said that he
had heard sounds of a struggle, a shot, and something like the
falling of a body. The police found the flat locked, and after they
broke in could find no one on the premises. Nothing was upset, and
there were no signs of the struggle, said to have taken place.
Another peculiar thing is that the police even overlooked the
bloodstain until the tenant who had heard the shot called their
attention to it. Tierney tried to get some more details this
morning, but you will find from his report that none of the other
tenants admit hearing the shot; that the tenant in the flat across
the hall was apparently not at home, and that the janitor says the
people who rent the flat in which the trouble occurred, have been
away all summer. The only really definite information of any kind
comes from this one tenant, Marsh."

"You'll probably find Tierney at the flat, 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 sce