| Show 10 10 R GERALD BROWN FEATURES duke bt mccale eCale private detective Is instigating sti the tha murder of curt vallain IF aburt I 1 who was wa about to marry veronica e low heiress to thirty million dollars she ts the principal suspect ill mccale cale learns of it a deep plot to keep control of the great fortune in the family through a deal with Vallain court sharl shari lynn vallat ricourt former wife la Is shot to death ap apparently par allty to silence her someone ores fires a at f IlIc mccale Cale wounding him in the should shoulder th 0 r then veronica calls telling him that the police I 1 have arrested christopher storm noted architect and former suitor 0 of f ver Vero veronicaa veronicas n nicas cas mccali phones pollee police I 1 lieutenant leu tenant dun donlevy ev y in charge of tho the sa case se and asks him to hurry burry over CHAPTER XV the case was beginning to irk him badly not only was he not making progresso progress pro gressl he almost seemed to be going backwards we gathered in christopher D orm he began 1 I told you to tall him not orrest arrest him mccale interrupted adur ly his arm was giving him pain and besides that his thoughts were not encouraging he swears he shoot at you last night 1 I think he did did you let him go had to no real evidence and the lads too damned honest to suit me he came right out and admitted te d he was the one who was following Vallain court around the last lew few days how however evir said he had the itch either to get his hands on him and tear him to pieces or to get something on him that would influence veronica true to type dont you think rah rah rah this from rocky the officer gave him a cold stare before he continued oh quite darned it if he meet up with the glamour boy and have a heart to heart talk with him though val lain c ourt convinced him that he was going to do right by our gal so BO storm took himself oil off to his lawyers and like a boy scout signed aver over the love nest or whatever re a calls it very civilized I 1 knew au all that then why in the name of the father and the son did you give me that cryptic message just before you were last night why did you want me to put a tail on him because my good friend I 1 be I 1 gan to suspect that the lad a lot that ba has more than a glim p agatto mer asi to what this mess Is all about ut I 1 was sure that eventually his elephantine mind would hit on something important would he come to me with it tta oh ch no As you say the naive honesty of the lad Is amazing I 1 was almost sure hed start digging around by him self eu A dangerous game he pat ted his bandage 1 I wanted to avoid y another catastrophe i donlevy muttered to himself alm glumly instead of 0 that rocky put in they had I 1 th the e mark on you for the n next x victim b boss oss it won wont happen again the lieutenant said ive put a man on choh this house 1 oh lr lord s said duke ill humor coloring ring 11 his voice call all right you may not like it but he stays just the same he got up to go anything new besides that mccale inquired t not a thing unless you think t karen is the girl were after ive agot got a man on every last cite one of athern now she drew SOO from the ank this morning bank she did yes looks more like she was V going to pay blackmail again zahat lie Hs studied macales Mc Cales expression closely but got no visible reaction he shrugged well h he looked his chagrin glad to see soure breathing if you think of anything p yes macales Mc Cales eyes were far 1 1 away V k he finally persuaded ann to go scheme home she admit how fatigued ague she was until he callously shoulders Choul attention to the droop of her boulders hould ders ers and the dark circles under her eyes someone strikes down sybil aff at six rocky came in from the bedroom where he had jb been een getting some sleep he pulled the curtains over the dark windows mccale sat wrapped in thought aang moodily into the fire his 11 C clouded and grew bright s gain again and again as if his mind had preached preached out and just missed a very R illusive elusive memory memory Y youve auve got to go out tor for me J arock he said his voice packed p with excitement somehow you have got to get into the lynn girls at the Bays reuth bribe the officer icer if 11 theres one on guard or the desk clerk if there if the I 1 rooms are sealed up get in some way k iJ i wh What t d do 0 Y you u want there boss A list of the pictures over r the V desk in the living room ova just a e theres one missing inhere 1 cherell Wh erell U I 1 look tor for that one 1111 1 jont want it I 1 want the otti oth it belis eis if you rant cant get them out ni ke a list get back here as soon jake hyou fan an right you ars ari mccale was alone when the call came an hour later he lifted the receiver with his good hand to hear the frightened voice of adelaide bigelow Bl gelow mr macales Mc Cales residence in spite of the feverish anxiety in her tone she clung to the formalities right bight here miss bigelow gelow Bl oh im so glad youre up and about I 1 heard you had been injured 11 yes but im quite all right what Is it he was urgent its sybil ashes been attacked right here in the house I 1 am frightened what can it mean I 1 thought yes yes Is she 7 alive yes but unconscious A doctors here tell me Is it a bullet wound no 11 me mccale cale was surprised to hear this how was she hurt she was was struck on the back of 0 the head oh its so horrible I 1 suppose I 1 bother you but not at all keep calm im coming right over As he stood on the sidewalk waiting a shadow detached itself itsek from mccale unfolded a large black silk handkerchief the cold dark february night and walked toward him that you mr mccale yes officer or hello humphrey if id known it was you id have invited you inside long ago hell so you knew the office had a tall tail on you and me thinking it was a real mysterious job I 1 was given that tells me I 1 wasal t to bother you but to stick to your door like it was me mothers A taxicab to the curb and mccale got in he held the door open come on humph get a dusting from the lieutenant if you lose your quarry mccale gave the beacon street number as humphrey clambered in the big red faced officer settled himself with a sigh we going tor for a long ride mccale no just over the hill and I 1 cant take you in too bad the house Is full of beautiful women better belter let me come in humphrey gibed gabed you cant do your best work with that arm in a sling tie the murderer must be in the house you dont know rne me besides the lady im going to see is in a worse condition than yours truly someone tried to bump her oft off my illy god who Is it mats mata harl hari mccale laughed and lapsed into silence tor for the rest of the ride adelaide bigelow seemed changed like the house she was enveloped in tragedy to be sure briedy tr iedy had touched her life lie more than once in the last hours had crouched on her 0 own doorstep but now it had entered the very house the room it was this fact act that seemed to have shattered the last remnants of her courage she sat huddled in an armchair like a paralyzed person powerless watching death like a slow burn burning ng name flame creep toward her across the floor oh s she he said seeing him standing before her noticing his arm in its hamm hammock ock your arm arim I 1 knew of course you were hurt but oh i I 1 5 hould nt have called you her voice was dull hopeless im sorry I 1 had to come in my dressing gown but I 1 had no one 0 to o want to help me ITI dress I 1 was waste te the time it would have taken me to do it bi by myself I 1 hope excuse it of course when did it happen his tone was more like d a doctors than a detectives tec tives about five she must have lain there a good hour where in the attic an eyebrow shot up tip the attic what was she doing up there 1 I 1 I 1 dont know putting some things away or looking for or something perhaps 1 I guem guess who found her it flashed through his mind that someone must have known where she was would have had subtly to reveal her hiding place she recovered her senses after goodness knows how long she walked downstairs by herself veronica found her pacing up and down the ae hall on the third floor in a daze she she find her own room that was logical many people after being struck over the head regain enough of their senses to walk about automatically seeking help though still in a semi con condition she collapsed again yes as soon as we got her to bed and had sent tor for the doctor what prognosis does the doctor give she will probably recover but she may not remember things who hit her how it happened for a long time the police were quite nasty about it mr mccale I 1 they have insisted on a police nurse so that she may be questioned the moment she regains consciousness oh its awful awfully I 1 she reached out an old blue veined hand toward him like a distressed child her voice was empty drained what can we do mr mccale he shrugged away the pity that flooded his mind no time for or sympathy his business was not commiseration mise ration his mouth was grim his voice held no clemency no hope he turned with a violent movement striding toward the door 1 I want to see the attic she rose obediently mechanically in the hall she led the way some ot of the granite in her taking possession again she preceded him up the stairway dead eyes straight her fine drawn lips set in a firm line up the dark heavily carpeted stairways ol of the brooding house they went past the double doors of the drawing room where karen still played her macabre music up to the third floor where a policeman sat dozing before the closed portal of sybila room where death was hovering up the last flight darker and narrower than the others to the attic where murder had been perhaps only delayed miss bigelow pressed a switch and two yellow bulbs came into view dimly lighting the place A well kept attic came into focus shadowy but unlike most attics orderly no dust there no dark corners no cobwebs or broken furniture there were a few chests of drawers any number of trunks and antique baggage an old trunk had been pulled out un under der one of the lights tor for easier perusal it stood open there was a damp dame red stain on the bare boards where the blood had spilled from sybila wound mccale dropped down beside the trunk asking curtly the weapon the police took it awaya away a c chimney h m brick wrapped in a towel the towel was from the third floor bathroom miss adelaidel Adel aides eyes avoided the blood on the floor miss B belows voice came hollowly futility dulling it then it must have been oh it if it were riot not true but it must yes he said quietly it could only have been the murderer of curt Vallain court and shari lynn the person who attempted to remove me from the world last night here in this house surely you have known have su suspected s pecked miss bigelow that the murderer Is elther either one of your family or someone who goes and comes at will to and from this house |
