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8 at w wt t wm M 4 i N Relaxing g In the lovely gardens garden's of the Gordon Taylor Hyde home at Tenth avenue are officers of the Authors club dub distinguished lit literary literary literary lit lit- group In the city Left to right are Mrs Hyde vice press CHAPTER 23 Jeff smiled fetchingly at the woman Oh he saidI didn't know Mr Ashley had a wife I I didn't either said the wo wo- manAre manAre man Are you his sister then Hell no nol I aint related I wouldn't be My names name's Baum- Baum er cr You must've rang the wrong bell Jeff snapped his fingers in in disgust Yeah I must have What a dope okay Ashley lives on the top floor She inspected me over Jeffs Jeff's shoulder I 1 knew Philips Philip's door when I saw saw it There was a knocker on onit onIt it shaped like a tiny black cat Jeff marched right past it and started climbing climbing- another flight ofa of Steps steep a and n d narrow Panting I followed h him i m. m He pushed open a door at the top of the stairs a and nd pulled me through it after him We stood in the shadow of a chimney on the gravel roof Jeff I What are we doing here He moved to th the edge of the roof and looked down Were using the fire escape That would be it and that would be Ashleys Ashley's window Jeff you cant can't You get 10 years for that Not if U you catch a mur mur- derer But somebody will call the police Or take a shot at us Who We looked around over the adjoining roofs There was no one in sight but a little littleboy littleboy littleboy boy with big unhappy blue eyes He was leaning on the parapet across t the h e In his hands was an enormous homemade homemade home home- homemade made kite He was waiting rafting for some wind Hey Kid Jeff said pointing to the fire escape is this the way to Perry street I dont don't know the little boy liard Hell tell his mother on us oT Jeff eU and My mother isn't home homel See Haila Lets Let's go I 1 didn't feel quite like it J Jeff f the window wont won't be open It would be if U you hadn't said that I eased myself down the iron steps gingerly after Jeff until we stood on the balcony outside outside outside out- out side Ashleys Ashley's window Jeff put his hands against the pane and turned his head to me me Cross all your all your fingers Haila I I did Jeff oTeff pressed upward nothing happened Jeff said The little boy said helpfully The next one to it is open open We looked and he was right but it wasn't on the fire escape The sill was a good three feet fro the from the rail of the fire escape No Jeff I t said kill yourself Dont be a sissy the littleboy little littleboy littleboy boy shouted Jeff grinned at me See I g got t to He managed it very easily That made me the sissy Jeff opened the window on the fire escape and helped me in Ashleys Ashley's apartment was a large sized edition of his dressing dressing dressing dress dress- ing room as scrupulously clean and astonishingly neat considering considering considering consid consid- ering the amount of knickknacks knickknacks knickknacks knick- knick knick- knick knacks he had amassed and as assiduously assiduously assiduously as- as arranged E Eve Every v er r y square inch of flat surface was buried under tiny figurines in interra interra interra terra cotta and ivory ch china na animals mostly cats little snow scenes in crystal balls cactus plants in painted hand-painted pots and an assortment of ash ashtrays ashtrays ashtrays trays and boxes that ran the gamut Adopted England As Native Land LandI t tI I stood there staring about me helplessly I looked at Jeff he was smiling and shaking his head The government should plow this room under Find what yo you want and lets let's get out of here Jeff Im I'm ner ner- As a cat Please Jeff I went to the window and ana looked down Perry street Jeff started opening drawers I thought gj pI el- might as aswell aswell aswell well cooperate I opened a door it was a closet kitchenette I went into the bathroom a tiny almost infinitesimal room with dubonnet and white monogrammed monogrammed monogrammed mono- mono towels hung tidily over the tub Between it and the lavatory wedged was a red bathroom scale In the medicine cabinet nestling nestling nestling nes nes- behind a bottle of Listerine Listerine Lister- Lister ine the I found three white tablets tablets tablets tab tab- lets the size of aspirin Jeff Jeff JeffI I called When he stuck his head in the door I held out a tablet to him Look Yeah Yea the same as I found in his dressing room I dont don't want them He was examining some kind of electric electric electric elec- elec elec elec- vibrating contraption with avid interest Dont be stupid Jeff w well we'll ll have them analyzed They may be morphine Jeff went back into the living living liv liv- ing room I followed him We both stopped There was the sound of steps on n the stairs They came briskly down the hall and halted before the door I l' looked hooked frantically at Jeff The door swung open a and n d Ashley closed it and slipped his keys into his pocket before he saw us His expression changed from startled surprise to indignation indignation indig indig- indignation nation then to fury Hello Jeff said Ashley looked at me SnoopIng Snooping Snoop Ing again His lips were compressed compressed compressed com com- pressed into a a. a thin prissy line This is unspeakable I wish I hadn't caught you Im I'm not riot up to a vile situation like this I couldn't talk I would have given anything to have been in ina a concentration camp any place some place else Ashley I dragged Haila Halla into this Jeff said Im the snooper snoop snoop- er and Im I'm sorry Sorry Dont Don't be ridiculous Im trying to solve a a murder murder mur mur- der that partly justifies my intrusion in in- in Youve You've been holding out on me that completes the justification And on top of that I apologize Do you forgive forgive forgive for for- give me and can we be friends and have a little chat How charming you are Mr Troy Philip sneered How did you get in here Did that fool janitor r f dent Mrs JosephF Joseph F. F Merrill president Mrs I. I E. E Willey secretary and Mrs Arthur T. T Burton corresponding secretary Club activities activities activities ties will begin in mid T Telegram Legram Fiction Made Up to Kill KII By KeLley Roos koos We didn't see any janitor We crawled up through t the h e plumbing Jeff sat down on the arm of a chair and pulled a pack of out of pf his his' pocket Ashl Ashley y opened the door Now if you dont don't om mind i n d please leave I start started d toward the door but Jeff stopped me Ashley glared at us he was shaking So was I. I I wanted to torun torun to run But Jeff still hadn't moved from his chair Ashley where were y you o 0 u born Was it London Some of left Ashleys Ashley's face and caution took its place No Portsmouth Portsmouth Hmm Is that near S Salt lt Lake City What are you driveling about About where you were bor born i. i And reared Did you know a family named Young The Brigham Youngs Please stop trying to be funny Or a family named Blanton There was a daughter Carol Blanton Oh so that's it Yes said Jeff So you better better better bet bet- ter answer my questions Ill I'll be more open minded th than n Pe- Pe p Pe terson I 1 doubt that But yes Iwas I l' Iwas was born in Salt Lake City I adopted England as my ply native land for purely professional rea rea- sons It was advantageous We know about that You seem to know a gerat deal But I left Salt Lake City when I was was before Carol Carol Blanton Blanton was born And Ive I've never been back since Now get out of here I 1 wont won't stoop to talk to a pair of thieves who pretend they're trying to solve a mu murder der and Ashley Had to Jo Keep His Figure I I couldn't keep quiet any longer I thrust the three white tablets I had found in the bathroom bathroom bathroom bath bath- room before Ashleys Ashley's eyes What about these these Youre You're going to be very ery embarrassed Mr ASh Ashley ey if il they turn out td to tobe be e morphine And what about your own sneaky tactics Ducking Ducking Ducking Duck Duck- ing us and pussy-footing pussy around Radio City For the last time get out of here Ashl Ashleys Ashley's ys y's face was ugly Instinctively I stepped behind Jeff If Mr Ashley wont won't talk Haila tail a I will I know the answer answer answer an an- to the mysterious mission at Radio City And the tablets tablet Ashley clenched his fists and started toward Jeff Jell who glided around in back of men and spoke to Philip over my shoulder The answer is Ls lar Fat Obesity That mid mid- dle-aged dle spread Philip wilted and looked as if he were about to burst into tears An actor must keep that schoolgirl fig fig- ure Those are reducing tablets In Radio Radia City on the same floor as Vincent Parker Is the emporium emporium emporium em em- of Madame Somebody In the bathroom note the scales the reducing ma ma- chine In that closet is a girdle for every day of the week No wonder our friend raised a rumpus rumpus rumpus rum rum- pus when you borrowed his tablets at the theater You might have discovered what they were and ruined his A small Oh was all allI I could manage Its nothing to be ashamed of Ashley You son It Ashley started to say Uh Jeff waggled a finger at him Ashley turned his back and stamp stamped d to the window I caught Jeffs Jeff's eye and motioned toward the door I wanted to get out of there Ashley Jeff s said aid a i d you shouldn't let your pride make suspicious people like Haila think youre you're a murderer He pivoted around to Jeff His voice was loud with righteous anger He was his old pompous pompous self Now are you satisfied r Now will you leave before I have you thrown out by the police police police po po- po- po lice I wont won't touch you you nauseate me Well go in hi a second Quietly Jeff said As soon as you explain explain ex- ex 1 plain this He held held heldo o out t a small slip of paper that Where did id you find that In your desk Ashley whitened Youve been in my desk How con- con of you Jeff read from the I IOU f O 0 U five hundred dollars Signed Carol Blanton How do you account for that Ashley Ashley looked uncertain for a second then gave a little le deprecating deprecating deprecating depre depre- cating laugh He went to one of his porcelain boxes and got himself a Oh that that he said I must tell you about that Yes you must Jeff said To be continued |
