“In the bathroom we found a gallon of mineral oil, half full. It seems as if our missing friend drank the stuff because Leikman didn’t. The contents of Leikman’s stomach still have to analyzed, but the coroner assures us that the effects of mineral oil are visible to the eye and he didn’t see them. Also in the bathroom was some hair the lab says came from the body of a human being. That’s as opposed to the face. Leikman bore no evidence of shaving his body, so we can figure it’s the roommate. Why is anybody’s guess, but we’ll know we have our man when we check his legs.”

“Sounds exciting,” Richardson said.

“Dan,” Leland said, “what did I miss?”

“The fingerprints,” he said.

“I was saving that.” Leland looked at Tanner.

“We had a break,” Tanner said. “Western Union had Leikman’s prints on file from the war. In the apartment were over eighty prints and fragments, and matching up, they reduce to seventeen different. Eight belong to Leikman and two are the landlady’s—they were on the front door and the door frame. We have seven left, so we’re waiting for the roommate.

“One of the seven is a fragment, a very small partial, that we lifted from the ash tray in the living room. It’s unique, with no brothers anywhere else in the apartment. We’re curious about this one, because it’s the only one of the eighty without brothers. In any case, it’s much too small to take into court and the lab says that any use we try to make of it would be poorly advised. That’s the way they put it. There aren’t enough points to work with.”

“Let’s not anticipate anything,” Richardson said.

“For all we know,” Schoenstein said, “it could be a toe. People put their bare feet—”

He stopped as the others stared at him. They began to laugh. They were laughing when the telephone rang. Richardson, red-faced, reached for it on the desk behind him. He raised his hand for quiet, but two of the men were laughing so hard they were coughing and getting out of their chairs. “Joe,” Richardson said. “It’s your wife.” To Schoenstein, he said, “We’ll tippytoe across that bridge when we come to it.”

Laughing, Leland went to a telephone in the corner.

“Seventeen, Joe,” Richardson called.

Leland pushed button seventeen and lifted the receiver. Richardson hung up. “Karen?” Leland asked.

“I wasn’t going to call until I heard the news on the radio. I was going to ask if you wanted me to bring some fresh clothes, but it sounds like a beer party in there.”

“I’ll explain it when I see you,” Leland said. “I didn’t call you so you could sleep. Don’t bother about clothes. I think I’ll get a break soon. For a little while.”