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Show the "P iff IF TlOirl 1TB " WEDDING MARCH lli-IJ iTClLJICfi ; c!,5r""t- '"rr-"'" By MONTE BARRETT CHAPTER VI Continued v 11 "Well, he asked where Rylle as." "He said something else, didn't 5? You told us last night." "Did I? I don't remember." Her I pes widened In apparent surprise. I "Huh," the sergeant grunted. Don't try that on me. You told us pears said, 'Where's Rylie? If he ere here, there wouldn't be any edding.' " The girl nppeared to reflect on le statement "I'm afraid you're Misquoting me, Sergeant Kilday. Or rhaps I misquoted Web. I'm sure lint Isn't the way I meant to say It J.s I remember, Web said, 'Where's .tylle? We can't go on with the Redding until he gets here.' " . "Oh," the detective was elaborately elaborate-ly emphatic. "So that was what he aid, eh? Quite a bit different from chat you told us last night." "Yes," the girl agreed, too eager-y, eager-y, Peter felt. "If I said anything ;lse last night, I must have had It :wisted." ' "And so," Kilday's manner had urned gruff, "that little remark got you so excited that you ran all the vay around back to find Rylie. The vedding was about to start and you eft the rest of the party to start a search for Rylie, just because Web Spears wondered where he was. rluh uh. That Isn't what he said, roung lady. You've already told us ;his remark was what got you excited." ex-cited." "Remember, I was already worried wor-ried about Rylie," the girl amended. Kilday ignored this. "I don't suppose sup-pose you've seen Webster Spears since then, have you? Perhaps he suggested that you make this :hange in your story." ""So," declared Callis firmly. "I haven't seen him since he walked mit of the church yesterday." "What is there between you and 'his Webster Spears? Ever been in love with him?" She shook her head emphatically. 'Xever. I've known him all my life. We've been good friends, that's ill." "And how about Jim Franklin? 'I Want to Know What There Was Between You and Jim Franklin?" How well did you know him, Miss Shipley?" Peter could not be sure whether the girl's surprise were real or feigned. "I only knew him very slightly," she retorted. "The first time I ever met him was after he was engaged to Doris Carmody." The sergeant extracted a cigarette from a smooth silver case nnd offered of-fered one to the girl. "Will you have a cigarette, Miss Shipley?" "No, thanks.", "Have a look at. the case, any way, won't you? Perhaps you can tell us where you have seen it before." be-fore." . i - The girl exami.neti the case carefully care-fully "I'm sorry," she said, hand-lt hand-lt back. "I don't think I can be " anv help. I've never seen it "ore " 'eter thought he detected a note relief In her voice as she added, f isn t Rylie's. I'm sure of that. A carries one which I gave him." Kildiy placed It carefully back i the desk. The finger-prints on Suit case soon would be a matter if record. "And now" he turned ligaln to the girl "you may as well know that you haven't deceived me, Miss Shipley. You say you haven't seen Web Spears since he left the church yesterday. I know that you were at his house last night. You were there when we called, and he denied it. "Yesterday you attempted to deceive de-ceive us about riding from the church will Rylie until you discovered discov-ered that we knew the truth. Now you try the same trick again, but it won't work this time, either. "I'd advise you to come clean. What were you doing at Spears' house last night, If he doesn't mean anything to you? Why have you changed your story regarding what Spears said as he left the church? Are you ready to tell me the truth now? "Just who are you trying to protect pro-tect In this affair?" Kilday demanded. demand-ed. "Rylie Carmody or Webster Spears ?" "There Is nothing between Webster Web-ster Spears and me," the girl retorted retort-ed angrily. The flush of her cheeks almost matched the cherry shade of her lips. "I'm not accustomed to being talked to In this way." "I'm not used to having otherwise charming young ladies .lie to me, either," the detective replied ironically. iron-ically. "Are you going to answer my question?" The girl was silent "All right I'll answer It for you," declared Kilday. "Webster Spears is the man you're trying to protect now. Last night It was Rylie Carmody. Car-mody. And I'll tell you why. "Last night you knew that Jim Franklin was murdered and that Rylie Carmody had sworn to stop the wedding. You knew that, because be-cause he told you so, when he phoned you that he couldn't meet you. You were afraid he was guilty because you hadn't seen him at the church at the time the crime was committed. He had probably told you about his quarrel with Franklin, Frank-lin, back there In the study. He had the motive and he had the opportunity. op-portunity. You had a right to be worried about him. And so you deceived de-ceived me, or tried to, about riding home from the church with him, because be-cause you didn't want us to suspect that he had been anywhere near there when Franklin was killed. It never occurred to you, then, that Webster Spears was involved. You were only thinking of Rylie, and so you told me what Spears said as he left the church. "But after we left you last night" the sergeant sat hunched forward in his chair, his relentless glance never moving from the girl's face "you found out, somehow, that Webster Spears was the murderer. mur-derer. I won't ask you how. I wouldn't expect you to tell me the truth. But you found out. And now you're just as anxious to protect pro-tect him as you were to protect the man you told us you loved. What's the answer? What is Spears to you? Why should he have wanted to kill Franklin? Was It because he was still in love with Doris Carmody Car-mody himself? That's what I thought at first. Now I'm not so sure. Perhaps you're the one he loved. And," here Kilday thumped his knee significantly, "I'll find out, Miss Shipley. You've already discovered dis-covered that I know more than you think I do. If I were you", I'd about decide that now was the time to tell the truth all the truth. What do you think about it?" "What do you want me to tell you?" Callis Shipley asked quietly. "I want to know what there was between you and Jim Franklin?" The girl stiffened. "I've told you that I only knew Mr. Franklin very casually. Webster Web-ster Spears and I are good friends, nothing more. I believe I was more than frank," declared the girl angrily, "when I told you that I am in love with Rylie Carmody. After that, the rest of your-questions are In very poor taste, to say the least." "And that's all you have to say?" "There's nothing else left to say," retorted the girl. "Now may I go?" Kilday scowled. He was evidently evident-ly at a loss as to how to proceed further with his questioning. "All right," he declared reluctantly, "you may go, but," he repeated the Instructions In-structions he had previously given Webster Spears about remaining within reach. "We'll probably want another talk with you, later," he added. . .. The minute the girl had left, hi'. assistant annOunce'2 tile arrival of. Daniel. Dili's. The sergeant's surprise sur-prise was apparent as he looked up at .the politician whose bulk filled the doorway. "Come In, Mr. Bullis. What can I do for you this morning?" Bullis smiled with his lips, while his eyes darted Inquisitively about the room. "You sent a man for my finger-prints," he declared. "Why?" "Finger-prints?" Kilday affected not to understand. The politician eased himself Into a chair which creaked under his weight "Oh, your man didn't Ink my fingers. But he was very anxious that I take a cigarette from one of those polished cases of yours. I've heard of them before." He studied the detective thoughtfully. "I don't smoke cigarettes, Sergeant," he added. add-ed. As though to emphasize his point he bit the end from a fat black cigar. "I wouldn't be surprised but what I'd left several finger prints In the study of that church. Sergeant," Bullis went on evenly. His pale eyes had come to' a focus on Kilday but there was no way of reading the expression behind that gaze. "It would be odd If I hadn't. I was there, you know. I don't make any bones about that." Again he paused. He gave the Impression Im-pression of choosing each word deliberately. de-liberately. Peter found himself weighing them for any hidden significance sig-nificance not at first apparent, but could find none. Evidently It was only the man's manner. "It's funny," Bullis rumbled on, "we've both been around this town a long time, but we'd never met before. be-fore. Of course, I had heard about you, Sergeant, from time to time." The sergeant smiled. "I'd heard a great deal about you, too, Mr. Bullis." The politiclau nodded. "I guess you have," he said. "Most people do. And you'll hear more of me. I intend to hang around a good while longer." It sounded like a challenge. Peter saw the sergeant stiffen. "Now about those finger-prints," Bullis' voice had again lapsed Into a monotone. "You know I was there. What do you expect them to prove?" "Possibly nothing," Kilday declared. de-clared. "It's a means of identifying every one there. Often finger-prints provide us with a .means of elimination. elimina-tion. By identifying those persons we know to be Innocent, we have left only those of the person who Is guilty. The simple fact that there are finger-prints of an Individual In that rooro doesn't convict that person." per-son." The officer faced the politician politi-cian sqiiarely. "Not that I'm making mak-ing any promises, you understand." Bullis nodded silently. 1 "Above those finger-prints," the I detective continued. "You say my man didn't get them?" "I don't smoke cigarettes," Bullis repeated. The sergeant extracted a cigarette case from a drawer of his desk. "As I've explained, it's largely a matter of form, but I'll need samples of yours, Mr. Bullis." The politician made no move to take the case. "I don't like fingerprints," finger-prints," he said. "They're too-permanent too-permanent I've already told you I was there." "Did you have a revolver, Mr. Bullis?" The politician's eyes betrayed a flicker of Interest "No." "Did you see a revolver in that study, or handle one?" "No." "Well, I have to Identify a thumbprint thumb-print on a revolver. You've nothing to', worry about, apparently. Besides," Be-sides," he added smilingly, "this isn't a permanent record. These specimens can be destroyed, after we compare them." Bullis still hesitated, then, taking the cigarette case, he pressed his fingers against It deliberately. "I'll depend on you, Sergeant," he said. "I'll confess I don't like the idea." That was all. With only a nod to Peter, he lumbered from the room. The sergeant puffed meditatively after Bullis'. departure. "What do you suppose' "was on his mlnd?-There's mlnd?-There's something worrying him, Peter. He didn't seem Tvorrled when I mentioned the revolver. He knows we couldn't '"have anything else on him, but he's bothered. Can you figure It out?" "It may be Just as he says," the novelist pointed out, "a natural aversion to being finger-printed. Remember, if you can judge the man by his reputation, he's had a great deal to do with the underworld. under-world. That would explain such an aversion." With the aid of Kilday's polished cigarette cases, the finger-prints of : most of those under suspicion had already been collected. The sergeant ser-geant himself had obtained those of Choo Choo Train, Callis Shipley and Daniel Bullis. The men who had been dispatched for the others had returned by now, and the work of attempting to Identify the five sets of prints found in the study, together to-gether with the thumb mark on the revolver, had begun. In the Bertlllon laboratory, each print had been photographed after careful preparation. Then the work of matching began, each whorl and line of a print serving as a guide to the Identity of the person making mak-ing It. On a flat desk In the center of a room whose walls were lined with pictures of criminals whose Identity had been established in this very way, lay a number of square white cards. In a second orderly pile were the negatives of specimens collected by the detectives, from the suspects. A clerk armed with a reading-glass was attempting to match the prints In the two piles. "One set has already been matched," declared the sergeant ne handed Peter two cards, clipped together, and pointed out the means by which the specimens had been Identified. "Nick Royce," said the sergeant He read the label attached at-tached to the card. "'Finger-prints found on the telephone and on surface sur-face of desk.' H'm. Seems to bear out his story, doesn't It?" "So far, nt least," agreed Peter. The officer Indicated a vacant chair for the novelist and drew one up for himself. "What luck are you having with the one on the gun?" he Inquired of his assistant "That's the most important one." Silently the man handed him another an-other clip of cards. Kilday Inspected Inspect-ed them earnestly, and then passed them on to Peter. "The thumb-print matches these prints found in the study," he said. "Now we have only to find which one of our suspects left these prints." Reaching among the specimens, he selected those of Webster Spears. He made no attempt to conceal his eagerness as he compared com-pared these with the print on the revolver, but after only a moment he looked up, frowning. "Not Spears," he said. He next tried specimens of Rylie Carmody's finger-prints, with the same disappointing result. He slammed the cards Impatiently upon the desk. "What do you think of that, Peter? If neither of them is guilty, what was the girl trying to protect them for? Unless," a light dawned on his face, "h'm 1 Perhaps It was herself she was protecting." But Callis Shipley's prints did not match: the one on the gun, either. The work progressed with slow care. Neither Callis Shipley's nor Choo Choo Train's prints could be identified with any of those found in the study. This disappointed the officer. He stared at one of the cards In perplexity. "I'd have sworn that these were a woman's prints," he said. "Small and slender. slen-der. Of course, they might belong to a boy or a small man." His tone was doubtful. Nor did they find any prints which corresponded with those of Rylie Carmody and his father. Apparently Ap-parently neither had left any marks In the study. "Odd," said Peter. Kilday raised his eyebrows. "I mean that I'm more suspicions when a man leaves no fingerprints," finger-prints," the novelist explained. "1 have always felt that the guilty man, or the man who knew that a crime had been or would be comr mitted, took precautions agaii.ot leaving finger-prints which might later identify him. The person who scatters finger-prints about either has a clear conscience or is very foolish. I don't think we are dealing deal-ing with the latter class here." "Then how do you explain the print on the gun?" demanded Kilday. Kil-day. "That's what I asked you a bit ago. I can't explain It. I'm not even trying to, yet." The work went patiently on. None of the other prints would match. Of all those found in the room, only those of Doctor Abernathy, Nick Royce and Dan Bullis matched. As for the others, Ambrose Carmody and his son, Rylle; Choo Choo Train and Callis Shipley had none of them left prints. Of the two unidentified sets, one were those Kilday had been so sure were made by a woman. The thumb-print on the gun had been Identified with prints found in the room, but not with those of any of these persons under suspicion. Kilday puffed thoughtfully, his attention at-tention apparently centered on tho blue clouds that encircled him. "Two sets still unidentified," he mused aloud. "One of them apparently belonging be-longing to a woman, but neither Callis Shipley's nor Cnoo Choo Tra'n's. That would be our woman in blue. (TO BE CO ."TIXUED, |