CHAPTER FIVE

The Shadow knew even as his feet left the rooftop that he was not going to make it to the other side. He looked down at the man he was pursuing that had leapt just before him.

The murderer was reaching out for the edge of the building across the alley, his arms stretched ahead of his leaping form. The man slammed into the opposite wall about four feet below the roof, rebounding off into space and plummeting toward the street below.

As time seemed to slow around him, the Shadow determined that he had leapt better than his prey, but that he still would fall about two feet short. He rolled forward in mid-air so that his feet were facing the rapidly approaching wall. As he connected with the unyielding surface, he launched himself off again.

He stretched out his hands and twisted in the air as he moved back across the alley and caught the fire escape railing on the floor below. As he pulled himself up onto the sturdy steel platform, the Shadow looked down to see the murderer's fate.

The man had fallen into a sitting garbage truck, unharmed. The Shadow shook his head in amazement as he watched his prey ride away laying on top of a pile of trash.

Margot was looking around the wrecked display room holding a large ledger when Lamont walked in. He was still wearing a cloak but was carrying the red scarf and brimmed hat of the Shadow. He saw that she was gingerly walking around the three corpses lying in the center of the room.

Margot looked up at him and displayed the book.

"This ledger is a catalog of all the contents of Mr. Barston's collection. I've been trying to figure out what was missing," she said. "Did you catch him?"

Lamont related the events surrounding the killer's escape. Even though he glossed over the dramatic leap from the rooftop, Margot still gasped with shock.

"It's a wonder you weren't killed!"

Lamont replied:

"The Shadow still has much too much to do to leave this earth so easily, Margot. Now, what have you discovered?"

Margot brought the ledger over to Cranston.

"I've found about three books missing, all texts of ancient philosophy or astronomy. There is also a jade figurine of a dragon that I can't find."

Lamont listened as she spoke, looking around the room. When she finished, he walked over to the wall on the left side of the entrance. He ran his finger over the painted surface.

"There is also a small framed object missing from here."

Margot stepped forward, surprised.

"Do you think it is same small object missing from the scene at the Embry's?"

"It is undoubtedly about the same size..." Lamont replied, seeming distracted.

"Do you think this is the same killer as the maniac who killed the Embry couple? That scene was so much more bloody and cruel than this one."

"True, but I believe that is only because our arrival interrupted the killer. The three swords lying near the bodies could indicate that he meant to perform the same cruel acts on these poor souls."

He turned and walked to a telephone hanging of the hook on the wall.

"We must inform Weston of these events, but we must also ascertain exactly what was taken from this room before he arrives. I believe this brutal crime was designed to disguise a robbery, just as the brutal murder of the Embrys was."

"Who would kill five people to steal books and picture frames?" Margot asked.

"Someone passionately interested in the books' content, Margot. Someone who was interested enough to kill for what was hidden in the pages of these ancient texts." Lamont hung the phone up, as if a thought had just occurred to him.

"Another commonality is the seeming lack of a struggle," he said. "Just as with the Embry couple, there are no defensive wounds and no sign of forced entry. We must determine how the killer or killers managed such a feat."

"Could it be someone who knew the Embrys and Mr. Barston?"

"Possibly," Cranston replied. "Or someone capable of gaining their confidence or of tricking them into letting their guards down somehow."

He paused thoughtfully for a long moment, then raised the phone again and dialed quickly.

"Hello? Commissioner, it's Cranston...I have found another crime scene."

Cranston gave the Commissioner the address. He paused, listening.

"Thank you for informing me. Margot and I will wait here until your men arrive."

Lamont hung the phone up slowly and turned to Margot. She grew apprehensive, knowing somehow that he had bad news.

"The police found another murder that occurred before the Embry's were killed. This is apparently the madman's third crime."