The strangers scuttled out and left them alone. Lennox looked through the glass panel into the control booth where a group of people soundlessly shouted and gesticulated. He rapped the microphones with his knuckles. "Are these live?" he asked. "Control, can you hear me?" There was no response. He took Gabby by the waist and lifted her onto the piano, then leaned against her knees and, halfway between fury and confusion, blurted out the story of the letters. He opened his gimmick book and showed her the message scrawled in by a person named Knott. "The Quaker, the blonde and the knot," Lennox said. "It's filled in now. The knot is a person. Mr. Knott ... a murderous lunatic who knows me. Maybe it's like you said this morning in the park ... an enemy for something I don't even remember doing. But he's an enemy all the same. And I was with him the night before Christmas." "You don't remember being with him?" "No. But we must have been together. He left a line for me in the gimmick book ... a little love note to let me know who to expect Sunday." Gabby nodded. "It's a charming situation, isn't it?" Lennox said. "There's a man named Knott. I don't know him, but he knows me. First he writes me. Then he sidles up to me Saturday night and leaves a personal message where he knows I'll find it sooner or later. He hates me. He wants my guts cut out. I don't know why, but I don't have to know. He's got his own crazy reasons. All right, I'm going to find him before Sunday." "Find him? How?" "I'm going to backtrack on my trail. I'm going to start at the bar where I got plastered with Avery Borden Saturday night. I'm going to start remembering and keep going until I find friend Knott. After I've had a few words with him, you can come and bail me out." "I don't think you should. It's Sergeant Fink's job." "I'll do it myself," Lennox said stubbornly. "If I louse it, I can always go crying to Fink, but I'm not crying yet. I've got Fink to fall back on, and Sam, if he can only remember where he saw that writing. But that comes later. Right now will you let me out of our date tonight? I want to call Borden and start backtracking now." "No, I won't," Gabby said. "I'll go with you." Lennox shook his head. "I'll go with you," Gabby insisted. "I can help." "Not in this." "You'd be surprised the way ladies can help. Anyway I don't want to bail you out of jail. You need a keeper." "Listen," Lennox said. "I was dirty drunk that night. God knows what I did. God knows where I went. I don't want you finding out things about me. This Knott could turn out to be something so filthy that I--" The control booth door burst open and banged against the wall. Grabinett stood in the doorway, blinking hideously. Lennox stared at him and then into the booth. The group inside was watching the scene with intense interest. One man was bent over the control panel fiddling with the Gain knobs.