two o'clock in the morning
And then from the distance came a shot and then another and another . She leaned forward and spoke to her own driver . `` Go on to Elmhurst , '' she said , `` and then come back to the city on the St. Charles Road . '' It was after two o'clock in the morning when the Lizard entered an apartment on Ashland Avenue which he had for several years used as a hiding-place when the police were hot upon his trail . The people from whom he rented the room were eminently respectable Jews who thought their occasional roomer what he represented himself to be , a special agent for one of the federal departments , a vocation which naturally explained the Lizard 's long absences and unusual hours . Once within his room the Lizard sank into a chair and wiped the perspiration from his forehead , although it was by no means a warm night . He drew a folded paper from his inside pocket , which , when opened , revealed a small piece of wrapping paper within .