Harrigan opened the drawer of a cabinet and fingered about till he found a small, round box of gray powder used for preserving fingerprints. He turned with this and saw that Drew had crammed into his side coat-pocket, a flat camera which the telephone girl brought to him. "Got flash lights?" asked Harrigan.
"Yes. There's some in the back of this camera." Drew slapped his overcoat. "I got everything, I guess. Remember about Delaney and Flynn."
The detective moved toward the door which led to the hallway where the elevators were. He turned as Harrigan laid a hand on his shoulder. "What's that sticking out of your other pocket, Chief?" asked the assistant-manager. "A paper, ain't it?"
Drew flushed beneath his olive skin. He pressed the object down with soft fingers. He turned and said simply:
"That's a picture of the girl in the case. Forgot I had it. Good-by!"
The door slammed as he strode over the white tiling and jabbed at an elevator button with his right thumb.
Swirled in wind-blown snow from the office buildings and wrapped to the chin with the collar of his overcoat, Drew plunged, with head downward, for the nearest subway station.
He caught an up-town express, and, after three grinding station-stops, he reached the Grand Central Station wherein was the telephone-booth to which the calls had been sent from the prison.
He made swift work of the matter at hand. Time was pressing. The booths, to the number of three in that portion of the station, were fortunately empty.
Going over the slot-box and the tiny shelf in the center booth, which bore the number "Gramercy Hill 9845" on the transmitter, Drew pulled the door shut and dusted all the nickel work and the polished surface of the receiver, with French-gray powder of superior make.
He took three exposures by aid of small flashes. He opened the door and allowed the smoke to escape. Pocketing the camera, after winding on a fresh film, he entered the booth for a second time and inspected its lower paneling for possible clews.
An oath, close-bitten and expressive, escaped his lips as he discovered a small hole drilled through the woodwork. He stooped and peered through this opening. It led to the next booth. It had been made with a long auger of quarter-inch diameter. Shavings lay upon the floor of the booth.