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like a goon! That s what happened.
He said,  Cyn, listen to my story. I got off the bus after he did and followed him into the lobby. I used
the old heel-and-toe getting into the elevator and swung behind him when he faced the front of the car.
When he got out, I hung back, then fiddled around, half in and half out, asking the operator simpleton
questions, and giving him long enough to get clear. When I turned the corner he was just disappearing
into 1310. He never spoke to me. He never saw my face. I m sure of that.
She was looking white, but all she said was,  Go on.
 When you go in this place there is a long glass partition on your right, with benches built up against it.
You can look through the glass and see the jewelers, or jewelsmiths, or whatever you call  em at work.
Clever good salesmanship. Hoag ducked right on in and by the time I passed down the aisle he was
already on the other side, his coat off and a smock on, and one of those magnifying dinguses screwed
into his eye. I went on past him to the desk he never looked up and asked for the manager.
Presently a little birdlike guy shows up and I ask him if they have a man named Jonathan Hoag in their
employ. He says yes and asks if I want to speak to him. I told him no, that I was an investigator for an
insurance company. He wants to know if there is anything wrong and I told him that it was simply a
routine investigation of what he had said on his application for a life policy, and how long had he worked
there? Five years, he told me. He said that Hoag was one of the most reliable and skillful employees. I
said fine, and asked if he thought Mr. Hoag could afford to carry as much as ten thousand. He says
certainly and that they were always glad to see their employees invest in life insurance. Which was what I
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figured when I gave him the stall.
 As I went out I stopped in front of Hoag s bench and looked at him through the glass. Presently he
looked up and stared at me, then looked down again. I m sure I would have spotted it if he had
recognized me. A case of complete skeezo, sheezo . . . how do you pronounce it?
 Schizophrenia. Completely split personalities. But look, Teddy 
 Yeah?
 Youdid talk with him. I saw you.
 Now slow down, puss. You may think you did, but you must have been looking at two other guys.
How far away were you?
 Notthat far. I was standing in front of Beecham s Bootery. Then comesChez Louis, and then the
entrance to the Acme Building. You had your back to the newspaper stand at the curb and were
practically facing me. Hoag had his back to me, but I couldn t have been mistaken, as I had him in full
profile when the two of you turned and went into the building together.
Randall looked exasperated.  I didn t speak with him. And I didn t go in with him; I followed him in.
 Edward Randall, don t give me that! I admit I lost the two of you, but that s no reason to rub it in by
trying to make a fool of me.
Randall had been married too long and too comfortably not to respect danger signals. He got up, went
to her, and put an arm around her.  Look, kid, he said, seriously and gently,  I m not pulling your leg.
We ve got our wires crossed somehow, but I m giving it to you just as straight as I can, the way I
remember it.
She searched his eyes, then kissed him suddenly, and pulled away.  All right. We re both right and it s
impossible. Come on.
  Come on where?
 To the scene of the crime. If I don t get this straightened out I ll never sleep again.
The Acme Building was just where they had left it. The Bootery was where it belonged, likewiseChez
Louis, and the newsstand. He stood where she had stood and agreed that she could not have been
mistaken in her identification unless blind drunk. But he was equally positive as to what he had done.
 You didn t pick up a snifter or two on the way, did you? he suggested hopefully.
 Certainly not.
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