II i ii a 5 1 f y s S. S S. S SVAN VAN DINE DIME AUTHer f Tat Wl MURDER HURD CASt CASE THE STORY THUS FAR Margaret Odell Is found stran gild finger er print are found fO In the apartment but Va Vance e better believe Skeel had been IHen hiding ina In Ina a closet w while l the strangler did his work The thin thing that battles baffles police pollee la h. th the aide side door to the al alley ley which had been bolted on the tM Inside IMide the night before re Co-re lend and n l was U found the same aaroe wa way In the morn morn- lag Ing Dr Pr and Cleaver all an lie He about their ther where where- about aboul the night of the murder who had c called ned on the girl had tad rushed back to her door at 1 the sou sound ml of a s a. ler scream m. m but halt had been n reassured that everything was all aU right Then Thea Skeet Skeel Is found Cound rn strangled led alter after he had bad promised to tell who murdered marder the tho girl Heath Je Jeup up but Vance Yance promises to demonstrate ho how Skeet Skeel could have havo entered and nd J left tt through the side aide door and left It bolted on Oft the held CHAPTER Vance anee b shepherded us cue cornmeal ceremoniously to chairs chair and cock cocked his eye ye at the tho sergeant You will be I so good as to r rest lt and ami until you hear me knock at atthe atthe atthe the side Ide We door Then come tOmEi and open It for tor me He Ue went a 10 toward the arch archway Once more I personate the departed Mr Sk Skeel J so 10 picture me again In en grande grand sarto sarto dally radiant The curtain its ns- tends He bow bowed and stepping from the i room reception Into the main hall disappeared round the the corner i loto to the Mar r p f ayr f. T r Heath shifted his hili J position restlessly rest rest- I If lessly Jy and nd gave Markham a q questioning ques es troubled Win Will he pull it Jt off ft sir do you think All U jocularity had bad gone out of or his hi tone I I I cant can't nt are e bow how Markham wa was f g. g IT if IN he n dots though It will knock the chief underpinning from your theory of or Jessups Jessup's guilt gult Im not worrying declared Heath neath Mr Ir Vance anee knows s a a. lot Jot he hes lOt gut Idea Ideas But Dut how In hell hell hell- He lIe w. w was I Interrupted by a a. loud knocking on the We aide door The th three thre of ot us UJ sprang up simultaneously N I and hurried round the corner cor cor- corner ner of or the tb main hall haJJ The rear pasy pas pas- was empty There was vas as no door or a aperture of oC an any kind on either aide side of or It ft t. t It consisted of oC two 9 0 1 e blank walls valls and at the end occupying occupying almost Its entire width was tyas as the oak door which led to the court Vance ance could have hae disappeared only through that oak door And tho the thing we all aU noticed at once once once- for Cor our eyes had Immediately sought It was It-was was the horizontal position tion ion of oC tho the bolt handle This meant that hat at the door was bolted Heath was wax not merely astonished aston uton he lobed he was dumbfounded Markham Mark Mark- han ham halted abruptly and stood staring down the empty passageway passageway passage passage- c. c WA way aa as Jt he saw a a. ghost After a a. momentary hesitation Heath walked Mo the door doM But nut he did not open It at once He lie went down on his knees s before beCore the lock Jock and scrutinized the bolt carefully Then he took look out hi his pocket knife and In Inserted inserted In in- the blade Into the crack be between between be be- twe tween tD the door and the casing ensing The point halted hatte-d against the Inner molding and the edge of the blade scraped upon the circular bolt There was no qt question estion that the hM heavy oak casings and moldings of oC the door were ere solid and well fitted and that the bolt had been securely thrown from the Inside Heath He however was as still suspicious sus IUS and grasping the doorknob doorknob door door- knob he tugged at it r violently But nut the door held firmly At t length he threw the bolt han die dle to a vertical position and opened the door Vance was standing standing stand stand- ing log in the court placidly smoking and Inspecting the brickwork of oC the allt alley wallI wall walk I I sa say aay Markham he remarked heres a a. curious thing This wall d d' d ye Je know mu t be very ery old It wasn't built In these latter Jatter efficiency The beauty beauty- loving mason muon who ho erected Jt laid the bricks In Flemish bond Instead of the or funning Running or Stretcher Stretcher- bond of ot our own restless age And up there thero a bit be bit be tainted pointed toward the rear yard yard la la a How How- lock and checkerboard pattern Very Vry neat and very W pretty pretty more more pleasing even enn than the popular English b Cross CrOoN bond And the mor more mortar tar joints are joints ro all an V Y Fancy I Markham was wa fuming Damn Dmn it Vane Vance Im I'm not buM build Ink c brick walls wall Whit What hat I want to know H le how boW you got ot oat out here and left kit the tho door bolted on the inside la Oh that tha Vane Vance out Id his bI ret and entered re-entered the die building I merely made mad de u use U of ed abit abit a m bit of ot clever elever criminal It Its lIs nr very simple like Ilke all an t truly at- at ef f. f appliance oh oh Alm simple l. l 1 be beyond be- be 41 yond rood word word- I 1 blush at t Its simplic it ity Observe He lie took from hi his hb pocket a tiny pair of or to th the end of which wax was a. a tle l a piece Ic of or purple t twin ln about bout four feet fut long Placing the tweeters tweeter o or over r the vertical Ik bolt han han de d he h. turned them a seer verj 1 alight ht angle anal to the left and then ran lh the twin under th the door so that about a foot of It pro projected over Or the sill ail 11 st Stepping into to OM lb court be close the Ibe cloe door r. r The twe ra still atm held th the tha handl ha a to a. in a t end and the string extended straight to the tb floor noo ar ari l disappeared disappear d under the door Into t th the b. court oun Th The t h. h of f Hs UI watching the thAt bolt with Ta attention Slowly the U string be- be b brant rant ram taunt aun as a. Vane Vance trend gently pull T U upon On t the loo lime phi and ana b then the do downward began be AH K stow stow- low lowly 0 I ly but bul sung sorely 1 to t twit tutu tit u. IM bolt bott ban Ie When th the bolt had bad been throw n nand nand nand and the tho handle handl was wat in Ja m a horizontal position there ther earns a alight ht j Jerk rk Jerkon rk on nn the The n. tweezers I. I r. r were re dl n t d from th the Ow handle bolt and fen feH nol le aly to 10 th the carpeted floor Then an a th the thing string w was p pulled fr from m without th tM the IW tweeter dump dump- dl disappeared pared un under Jr the crack k between Men the boU bottom m of or th tit the door mind and aad t. t the edit am Childish what hair commented Vane nN when hn teeth Heath bad had let t him In n too toe Isn't It It And yet sere Her leant grant nl dear Shale how hoer the derea Ton Tony left fa b. b Ut last Monday None Mon f Oft day night lilt But let lets let's tn KG into th the IN lady's ladys eM and rn fit ten tell you yog a 1 ee that t lit Mr 11 S I hat from Mcrae Mt Al prom promenade nad t ae Jr be at jV Mss hit 0 and id lest lea 1 is It ire jrr trey cr for a JI w W 10 string demanded Markham Irritably Irrl tably tabb when we were seated sated in th the theOdell Odel Odell living I l didn't think It up at all dont don't donty y y know Vance Vane told him carelessly selecting a a. with annoying deliberation It Jt was Mr Ir Skeels Skeel's We Idea Ingenious lad lad oh eh what t Come come Markhams Markham's equa was wa at last Jast shaken How can you OU possibly know that Skeel Skeet used this means moon of ot locking himself I IJ out T I J 1 found Cound the little apparatus In his hI evening clothes yesterday yesterday- mornIng morn morn- ing What cried Heath tn You took that outs outa keets keet's room yesterday e during the search Starch without saying anything about it I ferrets Cerreta had after niter Oh Oh only your OUI passed passe it Jt b by In fact I didn't even look Jook at the gentleman's clothes until un un- un- un til your OUI experienced searchers had Inspected Inspect d thorn them and the wardrobe door Y 1 see Jlee Sergeant this little was stuffed A away J In M one of or the pockets of Skeels Skeel's dress dreu waistcoat under the thesler silver case Ill admit I went over his evening evening eve eve- I ning suit rather He lie wore It t y kno know on the night the Jad lady i departed this life lite and I hoped to find some slight indication of or his hi collaboration in the event When I found this little eyebrow I hadn't the slightest Inkling ot or Its H. significance And the tho purple twine attached to it bothered me frightfully frightfully fright fright- Cull fully dont don't y know I could see nee that Mr Ir Skeel didn't plucked his eyebrows and even en If It he had been bees addicted to the practice Wh Why the twine Th The tweezers are a delicate little gold affair Just affair Just what the Margaret might have hae used and last Tuesday Tuesday- morning I J noticed a small lacquer tray eon I taming similar toilet accessories o on her her Ur Ure table table Ing-table near the Jewel But case n Bt t that wasn't all ail He lie pointed to the little vellum ellum waste basket the escritoire In which Ja lay a large crumpled mass malS massof massof of h heavy v paper I 1 also noticed that piece ce of or discarded discarded dis dis- dis carded paper wrapping stamped with with- the Hie name of ot a a well known Fifth Avenue novelty shop and this on on my wa way downtown down down- town I I dropped in dropped In at the shop and learned that they make a practice of ot tying trim up their b bundles with purple pur pure I Ipie pie twine Therefore I concluded that I ISk Sk ei had n the tweezers t and the twine front from tills this apartment during during dur dur- ing InK his visit here that eventful Now the question was Wb Why should he have e spent his hll time time tying strings to to eyebrow puckers I 1 confess with maidenly modesty modest that I couldn't find an answer t But nUl this morning when you ou told of arresting Jessup and the rebelling of or the Ute side aide r after Skeels Skeel's departure the fog tog lifted the sun aun shone the birds biros began t to sing I became suddenly mediumistic medium medium- medium I I. I Iliad had bad a a. J psychic seizure The whole modus operandi operand came to 10 me mea meas meas I as a they say say In In a flash t tl II told you Markham old thing thInK U it would take spiritualism to solve Ol this C case cae It I TO TC BE DE CO CONTINUED