“Then,” Merlini continued, “you came back immediately to ring the front-door bell. You said Drake had called you, partly because it was good misdirection; it made it appear that you were elsewhere when he died. But equally important, it gave you the excuse you needed to break in and find the body without delay—before Rosa Rhys should regain consciousness and see that the room was no longer sealed!”

I hated to do it. Merlini was so pleased with the neat way he was tying up all the loose ends. But I had to.

“Merlini,” I said. “I’m afraid there is one little thing you don’t know. When I smashed the door open, I heard the paper tape tear!”

I have seldom seen the Great Merlini surprised, but that did it. He couldn’t have looked more astonished if lightning had struck him.

“You—you what?”

Elinor Drake said, “I heard it, too.”

Garrett added, “And I.”

It stopped Merlini cold for a moment, but only a moment.

“Then that’s more misdirection. It has to be.” He hesitated, then suddenly looked at Doran. “Lieutenant, get the doctor’s overcoat, will you?”

Garrett spoke to the inspector. “This is nonsense. What possible reason could I have for—”

“Your motive was a curious one, doctor,” Merlini said. “One that few murderers—”

Merlini stopped as he took the overcoat Doran brought in and removed from its pocket the copy of the AMA Journal I had noticed there earlier. He started to open it, then lifted an eyebrow at something he saw on the contents listing.

“I see,” he said, and then read: “A Survey of the Uses of Radioactive Tracers in Cancer Research by Walter M. Garrett, M.D. So that’s your special interest?” The magician turned to Elinor Drake. “Who was to head the $15-million foundation for cancer research, Miss Drake?”

The girl didn’t need to reply. The answer was in her eyes as she stared at Garrett.

Merlini went on. “You were hidden behind the screen in the corner, doctor. And Rosa Rhys, in spite of all the precautions, successfully produced the apports. You saw the effect that had on Drake, knew Rosa had won, and that Drake was thoroughly hooked. And the thought of seeing all that money wasted on psychical research when it could be put to so much better use in really important medical research made you boil. Any medical man would hate to see that happen, and most of the rest of us, too.