But the fact that such a door had existed did not rest solely
upon Mollie's testimony. From one of the "beat-ups" interviewed that
day, Kerry had succeeded in extracting confirmatory evidence.
Inquiries conducted in the neighborhood of Poplar had brought to light
the fact that four of the houses in this particular street, including
that occupied by Sin Sin Wa and that adjoining it, belonged to a
certain Mr. Jacobs, said to reside abroad. Mr. Jacob's rents were
collected by an estate agent, and sent to an address in San Francisco.
For some reason not evident to this man of business, Mr. Jacobs
demanded a rental for the house next to Sin Sin Wa's, which was out of
all proportion to the value of the property. Hence it had remained
vacant for a number of years. The windows were broken and boarded up,
as was the door.
Kerry realized that the circumstance of the landlord of "The House of
a Hundred Raptures" being named Jacobs, and the lessee of the Cubanis
Cigarette Company's premises in old Bond Street being named Isaacs,
might be no more than a coincidence. Nevertheless it was odd. He had
determined to explore the place without unduly advertising his
intentions.
Two modes of entrance presented themselves. There was a trap on the
roof, but in order to reach it access would have to be obtained to one
of the other houses in the row, which also possessed a roof-trap; or
there were four windows overlooking a little back yard, two upstairs
and two down.
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