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Show v .v A ftf r ti s r i s M M A fcr v; a' : 4Kb 1 b liv i, h : t H 1 H iviAn, r,: - - 0?cafifed bu. . y - .-fb.om thl . .jr T.HAL5E.Y RAINES ' (V.ETRO W7'MAVEIUio , a that she must be with her when . she awoke. But Selma was not asleep. She was cowering in a corner of her dressing room. "They're going to arrest me, aren't they?" she said. Nora reassured her. "I didn't kill him," went on Selma, Sel-ma, "but David thinks I did. You i must go to him." She put her arms about Nora, pleadingly. "Tell him no matter how things seemed, I didn't have anything to do with it." Nora wanted to say she had an engagement. That it was hardly expedient ex-pedient for her to go to David'e in the middle of the night. But she could not withstand the look in ! Selma's eyes. : "I'll go there," she said, kissing I her softly. , , David was surprised when Nora rang the bell. She could not tell, by looking at him, just how much he knew. "Don't you know whet's happened?" hap-pened?" she asked. "Why, no," he answered, masking his feelings. I Abrams swung around to face Dancer. . "And where did you go? he demanded. de-manded. i "Out to get some air," said the I other sullenly. "What city ordinance I does that violate?" I "I go with him," volunteered Lum Kee. "Go my car-. We drive around." "Driving around!" Tried Abrams in biting scorn. "The place full of .people on New Year's tevc and you two go out driving around!" He ! paused for emphasis. "Phooey!" Dancer, apparently looking for an ash tray, had been edging toward a side table. Suddenly he bent down. His hand darted out and in a flash the room was plunged in darkness. "Stay where you are!,; yeilcd Abrams. But nobody did. Two shots rang out. Then came the sound of smashing smash-ing glass. A door was-banged open. There was scullling in the dark, shouts, cursing, general confusion. And a moment later the telephone began to ring. Nick located the instrument in What Has Happened So Far: Vowing that he will retire from detective work, Nick Charles arrives ar-rives home with his wife in San Francisco. But he is immediately drawn into a hunt for Ro bert Landis, whose wife Selma is Nora'3 cousin. Robert, found at a Chinese cabaret, slips away with Polly Byrnes, a singer there. Be keeps a rendezvous with David Graham, Selma's former suitor, who has promised him a cash payment if he will agree to a divorce. Then he hurries home for some belongings before re joining Polly. Selma, failing to bar his way, follows him as he leaves, taking a revolver from her room. A short distance from the house she comes on Robert, lying in the snow, dead. Chapter Two Selma's mind was numbed and ttlank as she stared at the inert form before her. She did not know she was holding a pistol In her hand. She was unaware of the screech of brakes as a car came to an abrupt halt at the curb. David Graham peered out. He stared at her in the poor illumination illumina-tion afforded by a corner lamp. He leaped out, while his roving eyes took in the jjin and the prostrate body. ... "Selma!" he cried,' shaking her by the ;arm.. J'Selma! What, happened?" hap-pened?" "He was going away," she answered, an-swered, hardly conscious of her words. "I tried to stop him." David shivered. He turned away from the body, then put an arm about her. "Listen, Selma." he said, "you're going back to the house. You've never been out. Understand?" She nodded in a bewildered way. He pushed her in the proper direction. direc-tion. "Hurry!" begged Dave. "Run as fast as you can!" Jumping back into his car, David made for tho waterfront. He sought a deserted spot. Then he got out and with one sweep of his arm cast the pistol far into the water. There was a splash. An answering cry from the left. David leaped back and drove away wildly .... i ( ' "-' ' t , i ' ( i ' 1- ' ; - v ' . ' f - ', , - "I I v l , I ' '. - . A ' 1 J ( V-M 1- ' " " , '" v ' ' I ' 1 f ' , , Nora held up the f . paper and started to ' ' r 1 ' ' read it aloud, but i --i ': part of it had been ' ! - -: ! chetved up. I don believe she ever tried th J," sSd Nick, highly amused. He spotted Nora in the cell, but pie criod, running tion" he , said sternly. "You're not going jo drag mo into any moi CaShe hesitated .He turned away ia assumed indifference and lighted a Cif right." she said finally, "I PsSpPng into Lieutenant Abrams-office Abrams-office with Nora, Nick found both Selma and David there. Selma had already explained why she sent Nora to David's apartment Tearfully Tear-fully she told David that the gun she was carrying had never been fir"Oh, Selma, forgive me," said David. "You see, I wasn't positive. That's why I took it" "Of course I forgive you, she said. , , , "Just a minute," interrupted Abrams. "Maybe he believes you. He's in love with you. I've got to have something more. Where's the gun? I've got to see that, Mrs. Landis." David looked from one to the other, his face bitter with self-reproach. "Oh, Selma!" he cried. "What have I done? I threw it away. Down at the waterfront." Abrams scowlingly looked at Selma. It was evident he thought' the whole thing a frame-up. He turned to an officer. "Swear out a warrant for the arrest ar-rest of Mrs. Landis on suspicion of murder!" ho ordered. Nick and Nora were asleep on their feet when they got home, but Nora decided she wanted some scrambled eggs, and Nick dutifully staggered out to the kitchen to prepare pre-pare them. Suddenly there was a crash of breaking glass. A stone had been thrown in the window. There was a note attached to it. Asta, barking fiercely, was the first to reach the message. He seized it in his mouth and it was only after Nick and Nora had crawled on the floor for five minutes that they were able to corner him. The crumpled note read as follows: Mr. Phil Byrnes alias Ralph West is an ex-con and loos married to Polly in Topeker three years ago. He lives at the The rest was torn off. "Bad Asta!" said Nora, shaking her head. "Naughty dog, swallowing a clue like that!" Nick called Abrams, then toppled into bed to catch as much sleep as he could before the lieutenant should arrive. Fortunately Abrams had found out where Phil lived. It was a dingy rickety building on Turk StreotJ The clerk at the desk was used to customers having trouble with the police. He barely looked up at Nick, and Abrams as he admitted that there was a Ralph West in room 212. Abrams had two detectives with him. He placed one at the front, one at the back exit, then climbed the stairway with Nick. They paused before room 212. "Telegram for Mr. West!" sang out Abrams .trying to change his baritone voice to a youthful soprano. sopra-no. There was no answer. Abrams knocked twice. No reply. Nick reached over and turned the knob. To the surprise of both te door opened. Just enough light filtered through, the window so that they could sea a figure sprawled across the bed. It was the inert, lifeless form of Phil. He wore the same clothing in which he had last been seen at the Lichee. His distorted features and the blue mark around his neck showed that he had been strangled to death. 183G Loew's Incorporated (To be concluded next '.cccl&) "Robert was killed," Nora told him. ' Studying his face out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of a shadowy form outside the window. She leaped up. "Look! she cried. "Outside! It's the brother of the girl Robert was with tonight!" Nora dashed for the window. David rushed to the front door. As he flung it open a plainclothes man stepped in. He pointed a gun at David, then turned to Nora. "Trying to get out through the window, eh?" he snapped. "I'm not trying to get out," said Nora, when she could recover her composure. "There was somebody out on the fire escape. He's gone now." "Well, you'll be gone in a minute," said the officer, his lip curling in sarcasm. "I've been trailing you ever since you sneaked out of the Forrest house." "You don't understand," said Nora. "I'm Mrs .Nick Charles." "Yeah?" said the other in obvious disbelief. "Well, we'll go down to headquarters and talk that over." Nora was speechless, David was white and furious. But they had no alternative except to obey. Back at the Lichee, the forces of the law had swung into action. Lieutenant Abrams and two assistants assist-ants had lined up Dancer, Lum Kee and Polly, while Nick sat in a corner cor-ner of the room silently imbibing the remains of a highball. "Listen, Miss Byrnes," insisted Abrams, "are you sure you took Robert Landis to his home?" "Of course," answered Polly. "Just like Dancer told me." the dark. It was headquarters on the wire. "Dancer just made a getaway," he said caVmly. "Tell the boys to pick him up." With the help of a cigarette lighter someone found the electric switch. The lights blazed on again. The place looked as it had been hit by a tornado. Chairs were overturned, over-turned, broken glass strewn about, pictures knocked down. Polly and Lum Kee were in the grasp of a policeman at the door, but Dancer was not visible. A now idea had entered Abrams' mind for he turned to Polly and accosted her roughly. "Look here," he said, "I want a description of that brother of yours." "What're you picking on Phil for?" asked Polly. "Maybe Mrs. Landis Lan-dis killed her husband. Maybe she found out he was going away with me. Maybe she knew about David Graham giving him those bonds." As Abrams motioned to one of his men to take Polly and Lum Kee into custody, the 'phone rang again. Nick answered. "What's that?" he said puzzled. "All it sounds like to me is that you picked up my wife in some man's, apartment. Says her name's Nora .She's probably a phoney. Put her in the fish tank till I get there." The "tank" was a big cell reserved re-served for, the feminine trade. Business Busi-ness was good tonight. A burlesque show had just been raided. "Are you looking for the young lady that did the fan dance?' asked the motherly-looking matron who escorted Nick down the corridor. Back at the Lichee, Nora had become be-come worried about Robert and had decided to call Selma. Dancer, watching her every movement, put a hat check girl in the single 'phone booth and told her to stay there. I Then he slipped out of the building. After a long wait, Nora appealed ap-pealed to Nick for help. He sized up the situation at a glance. He got Aunt Katherine on the wire and spoke to her just as Dancer, face flushing with anger, came in the doorway. "Once a gum-heel always a gum-heel, eh?" said Dancer. Nick listened on the 'phone a minute, then put down the receiver. "I don't like to be critical, Dancer," he said slowly. "But it doesn't look right when you and your partner and your prima donna don-na all go out at the same time." "What are you driving at?" asked Dancer. "Robert Landis has just been found dead," said Nick. He dialed police headquarters, while Dance.r stood staring at him. When Lieutenant Abrams, a fat-alistic fat-alistic but very determined young man, arrived at the Forrest home, he found himself unable to get past Aunt Katherine. She did not consider a homicide an excuse for cross-questioning the servants, and she declared that Selma could not be disturbed. This statement was confirmed by Dr. Kammer, Selma's Sel-ma's physician, who said he had given his patient a sedative to quiet her greatly overtensed nerves. ner-ves. That was the way things stood when Nora arrived. She urged Abrams to hurry and join Nick at the Lichee. Then, defying Aunt Katherine, she climbed the stairs to Si'Ima's chamber. She insisted |