nolan returned to a chair in the lobby. not his usual one by the front door , but one in front of the coffee shop, that gave him a better view of the elevator. he was still curious about miss wilde's gentleman caller, although jake's reappearance and bernstein's acceptance of his story gave him no reason to pursue the matter. less than no reason, as miss wilde was just about the hotel's most "valued" and pampered guest. the gentleman caller was almost certainly long gone, but you never knew. some likely looking character might pop out of the elevator and it would be something he could scratch off his mental list.
nolan was irritated. he was irritated by being irritated. it wasn't just miss wilde, it wasn't just jake, there was something else in the back of his mind ... what? he took out a cigar and lit it. he almost wished farmer brown would appear, to provide a little distraction with his blather.
that was it! thinking of farmer brown reminded him of the farmer's and miss charlton's concerns about the escaped jewel thief, stanley slade. concerns nolan had brushed aside. assuring them slade would never come back to new york, let alone to his old haunt. of course they had answered with their detective novel stuff about the least likely thing being the most likely, because nobody would ever expect, etc.
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