In this chapter, we learn that Detective John difool is a "licensed private investigator" and that he is a member of the "class" of detectives. He tells us that his attackers are "masked men, and faceless mysterious" , and that suicide alley is a direct drop straight down to "the great acid lake" . He says that his fatal plunge into the lake triggers a "usual wave of suicides" and adds that he knows the identity of one of the attackers. Detective John tells us how he came to be a part of this plot. He explains that he was working as a waiter in a restaurant when suddenly the cops stopped him and asked him to come to their station for an assignment. He asks to be taken to the "red carpet" of the crime scene.