Apartment of Frank Lombardo
5 March 1947
Charlie stopped talking. He hadn't said a word until they got there. After a few minutes, they arrived at the apartment. Charlie Crown led Herbie and Albert to his flat where he had Frank's keys. He had a big board in his workroom, which contained copies of keys of all the people in the apartment. He grabbed keys to Lombardo's flat and gave them to Herbie.
CHARLIE: Get out of my sight, detective. You have to return them afterwards. The person who will rent Frank Lombardo's apartment will need a copy of these keys.
HERBIE: Don't you worry, mister Crown. I don't think I'll stop by anytime soon at this apartment.
CHARLIE: Please, just leave.
Herbie and Albert left Charlie Crown's flat. They looked around the apartment and soon afterwards found Frank Lombardo's flat. Herbie gave the keys to Albert and said.
HERBIE: Would you be so kind, mister Fringe?
Albert opened the door and they both entered. There was a strong smell and mess everywhere.
HERBIE: It looks like that window hasn't been opened for days. We have to do something about that terrifying smell!
Albert stated.
ALBERT: I'll open the window up in the living room.
HERBIE: Walk through the entire flat and observe everything that might be interesting, mister Fringe.
ALBERT: Can I touch those things?
HERBIE: It shouldn't be a problem but I would recommend you to wear gloves. I always carry one pair in my pocket. Just in case.
Herbie took a pair of gloves out of his coat pocket and gave it to Albert.
HERBIE: Here you are. I'll grab a napkin. Either way, fingerprints won't really help us.
ALBERT: All right, mister Fox. Thank you.
HERBIE: Go through the living room. I'll check the Lombardo's workroom.
ALBERT: All right, mister Fox.
HERBIE: If you see anything really interesting, call me. I'll also tell you about my findings.
Albert nodded his head. He put on the white gloves and went to the living room. Herbie took off to the workroom. He opened the door and entered.
HERBIE: Let's see. A big dirty room with a table. Plenty of stuff lying on the floor. I don't think that Lombardo was a very tidy person. I wouldn't be able to work in a room like this one.
Herbie looked around more and he saw tiny papers on the floor. Most of them were some documents, but one piece of paper interested him. It was tickets from a cash machine with a word LOSE written on it. He noticed more losing tickets soon afterwards.
HERBIE: It's obvious that Frank had a gambling problem. He lost his money and couldn't pay the rent on time because of it. But how did he get the money eventually?
Herbie looked further and sat at the table. He observed each paper that was on the table. There were documents, utility bills, game tickets, telephone, and a typewriter. Herbie noticed one flyer. It was an advertisement of a jewelry store on the Lincoln Avenue. On the back of the flyer, there was a jewelry auction advertisement.
HERBIE: Did Lombardo have some intentions with the diamonds eventually? It wasn't his property.
After a little while, he noticed a letter from Daniel Greg on the table. He started reading it.
Frank,
Don’t do anything irrational with the money I lent you to pay the rent. You have enough problems already! You need to stop with the gambling. Your chances of winning are very slim, anyway. If you spend my money on the game tickets, I'll never lend you again! Don't tell Marge, but I found buyers for the diamonds. They offered me two million dollars for them. Can you believe that? Soon, I'll be a millionaire! All you have to do is to sign those papers I gave you earlier. You know about that statement in my mother's will. Since you're my future brother-in-law already, you can give me all the rights for the ownership of the diamonds. Dealing with Marge would be a lot more difficult. I hope that you'll be the wise one and that you will help me. We'll go 50/50 with the money. Can you even imagine what you can buy with that kind of money? See you on Friday. Pick me up at six.
Daniel
HERBIE: What have we got here? Not only did Daniel want the diamonds for selling purposes, but he also wanted to betray his sister! I suppose that Frank didn't agree with signing the contract. I can easily imagine the reason why he could murder Lombardo. He wanted permission, which he didn't receive. With the murder of Lombardo, not only would he be able to find another way to the diamonds, but also, he wouldn't have to share his money with anyone. That makes sense but it still does not look like the full story. I'll look further. Greg is on a thin ice, though. If I find evidence that tells about some connections with mafia, I'll arrest him immediately!
Herbie looked through the papers further. There were many letters. One of them caught his interest. On the envelope, there was only Frank's address and no signature or name of the sender.
Lombardo,
Boss wants to meet you and talk about some things. Come on Wednesday to the Riviera Bar at six o'clock. Come alone.
HERBIE: I have a feeling that Lombardo wasn't a saint, either. It looks like a letter from some mafia!
Herbie stood up and continued searching for objects and he found a magazine about gardening. There was an illustration of daisy placed on a diamond on the front cover. Inside the magazine, there was Frank's order for subscription of the magazine for the year 1948.
HERBIE: Lombardo and gardening? He can't even take care of his flat! Besides, there's no garden nearby! Is it possible that the murderer burglarized into Lombardo's flat before he committed the murder? It would probably explain the mess that's all around here, too. I think it's time to call to the Riviera Bar. I guess that poor Frank won't mind if I use his telephone. That cover is so ironical!
Herbie looked for a phonebook. He found one in the drawer of the table. He searched for the Riviera Bar's phone number and dialed it. A male barkeeper answered the phone.
BARKEEPER: Hello?
HERBIE: Good afternoon, sir. Detective Herbie Fox speaking. Can we talk?
BARKEEPER: Yeah, we can.
HERBIE: I have a few questions. Does the name Frank Lombardo say anything to you?
BARKEEPER: I'll be honest with you, no. But I think I heard the name Lombardo in this bar a few times. Are you investigating his murder? I've heard about it on the radio.
HERBIE: Yes, I do. Listen, you need to remember as much as you can. Have you seen a group of men with a man who was alone?
BARKEEPER: A group of men? I can see that every night here, pal. But as a matter of fact, I have. Their table was the one from which I heard the name Lombardo.
HERBIE: Do you know what they were talking about?
BARKEEPER: They were mentioning some debts. At one moment, they were talking about game tickets. At the other one, they were talking about utility bills. I remember that because they were talking loudly.
HERBIE: Do you remember anything more?
BARKEEPER: They all left together at about nine. That's all I can tell you.
HERBIE: Thank you for cooperation, mister...
BARKEEPER: Mickens.
HERBIE: Thank you for cooperation, mister Mickens. You have helped us with this information.
BARKEEPER: Do me a favor, detective. Catch that smug who committed the murder and make him pay!
HERBIE: Don't worry about that, mister Mickens. Bye.
BARKEEPER: Bye.
Herbie wrote down all the information he heard to his notebook. When he finished, Albert called him to the living room.
ALBERT: Mister Fox! Come here!
Herbie stood up and quickly went to Albert. He had an open box in his hands.
HERBIE: Have you found something, mister Fringe?
ALBERT: Look! In this box, there was a set of knives, which look similar to the one we found! It even looks like that exact size and shape is missing!
HERBIE: So my thoughts are true! The murderer did break into this flat before the murder! He searched the entire flat and then took a knife with which he decided to commit the murder! It all makes sense!
ALBERT: One question. Why are there no signs of violent entrance on either the doors or the windows?
HERBIE: That's a thoughtful question. Either the murderer owned the key to this flat or he had some serious skills with a lock pick. We only know about one person who owned the keys to this flat and that is Charlie Crown. I would say that it's improbable that Daniel Greg had the keys, but nothing is impossible!
ALBERT: What now? Have you found something?
HERBIE: I've found some interesting letters and a bunch of game tickets. I've even called to the Riviera Bar. It was because Lombardo got a letter to meet there. There was no sign of a sender anywhere. One thing remains, though. Lombardo did go to that bar and he knew the person who called him there! It looks like gambling had an important role in Lombardo's life.
ALBERT: So what are we going to do?”
HERBIE: I'm thinking. Do you have any ideas, mister Fringe?
ALBERT: Is it possible to find out something about the person who sent that letter?
HERBIE: That letter was written on a typewriter. That means we don't have a lot of options. It would be very difficult to identify that person based on the writing. In order to do that, we would have to research all the typewriter models. They all have almost the same type of writing. The only differences are on some particular letters. We don't have enough time for that!
ALBERT: What about going to the Riviera Bar?
HERBIE: That's unnecessary. I've spoken to the barkeeper already. We have all the information from that place. Interesting fact is that Lombardo left with those people in the bar. Who knows what for, right? They could have gone gambling. One thing just came into my mind. What about that Ash guy? Should we do the typical interrogation or act as civilians? We need to come up with a reason why we're visiting him in that case.
ALBERT: I think we should just proceed usually.
HERBIE: You're right, mister Fringe. Do you think that there could be anything more in this flat?
ALBERT: I don't know. Either way, I don't think so.
They both researched the whole flat again. When they couldn't find anything, they left, and got in the car. Herbie took a card of Malfred Ash and gave it to Albert.
HERBIE: Let's go, then. Do you know where his apartment is located?
ALBERT: I'll probably need to take a look around, but I do.
HERBIE: Step on it, mister Fringe!