‘Cardoni came into Inspector Kelley’s office yesterday,’ said Fordney to his Criminology Class.
‘“I want to speak to you alone, Chief,” he said, eyeing me with frank suspicion.
‘“It’s all right. Go ahead,” said Kelley.
‘“I’ve got some information on the Curtis kidnapers. How much is it worth?”
‘“That all depends. Let’s hear the story.”
‘“They’re in one of my old buildings, down on the East Side. Three men and a woman. All you’ve got to do, Chief, is to take this, walk in an’ surprise ’em,” said our informer, tossing a Yale key on Kelley’s desk. “They rented a room from me about a week ago.”
‘“Sounds much too easy, Cardoni. I want something more definite than that. What makes you think they’re the kidnapers?”
‘“I heard them having an argument as I was doing some repair work in the hall. One of the guys threatened to squeal if he didn’t get a bigger cut. It sounded interestin’, so I peeked through the keyhole. They were sittin’ at a table in the middle of the room on which there was a stack of money.”
‘“Your story doesn’t yet show they had any connection with the Curtis kidnaping,” Kelley said.
“NO? Well, last night I heard them mention ‘Curtis’ several times. And that ain’t all,” continued Cardoni, with a triumphant air. “Here’s a code message one of them must have dropped. Well, Chief, how much do I get?”
“Get out!” hollered Kelley as he made a pass at Cardoni.’
