| Show Telegram Telegram M Mystery Serial i A Ta Taste te for Cognac By Brett Halliday Read Mead a new mystery serial complete every week v in in The Telegram 11 1 th Shaine n story tau the nil rrt If Fr nr r i. i bar I. I a a enDie rot ro- ro Monet 26 tn In botU Die t pe hrand r Renaldo chafer IR Ie 9 que ra thug W kl and d I report to to tofI fI e frn owner that the thed wan man who has HU been murdered d i him Mm the comae I Shat and ar to U In on him when a Ii er knock knork on the then dicer door office office Shayne ne hn ne and the Ita 1 tot O. O JO go on with the he torn torn ory CHAPTER TWO HAYNE drove out Bisca Biscayne ne blvd d and turned right tight on He e drove slowly to th thed the Kd d of the street and stopped his Jar f r against a low stone barrier the Light glowed through two fend undo und heavily glassed windows inflow in flow square stone structure at left left Shame tried the knob and the theor ther or r opened inward easily Shayne in the doorway and tugged this Js left earlobe and looked ate at e man lying huddled in the riddle of the bare floor die fHe was dead I E fJ A A framed big-framed man his face was ny and emaciated His ankles rere ere tre wired together and wired wire tad d cut deeply into his wrists Shayne e knelt knel beside the body ce ee fingernails had been torn m om m his right hand His body aa as warm enough to indicate that eath each had occurred only half an our ur or so before 1 Shayne went through the dead ui uita ns s 's pockets He found nothing lit ta tl a newspaper clipping and thein the thern orn rn in stub of a bus ticket The Ther r ket had been issued the pre pre- ous rious day trip round-trip from Miami o Homestead a small town on the orida erida i Keys clipping was a week old tom from the Miami Herald It was PAROLE GRANTED HAYNE started to read the thet t tem tern m then stiffened at the sound fa ti a. a car stopping outside He thrust rust the clipping and ticket t tub b in his pocket KHe He got out a cigarette and lit it Wew lew l w out the match to look up uplifted Ith lifted brows at the bulky figure of Detective Chief Will try atry in the doorway i Gentry strode forward and at the body A tall white white- aired iced ired man hurried in behind the let He wore an immaculate immaculat e white bite linen suit suil and his features feature s re sharp and clean He stopped d it t sight of the body and said Oh 0 h y God is heGen he he- he Gentry Gen ry knelt by the Ule dead ma mad mand man n nd d asked Shayne in a tone o of f asual sual interest U you pull pul 1 this t his f fingernails 7 Its Captain Samuels th the e haired hite-haired man said I 1 knew must have happened t tIra to o ira im Chief when he wasn't here t to o keep his appointment with me I If f felly 1 ly Id I'd called you earlier tt t are you doing here 7 entry's eyes bored into Shayne's t HERE was the light click o of f heels eels outside and Myrna Hastings Hasting s 3 me in breathlessly from the rear rea tr r id d d of the hall haJJ You dont don't nee need d I to o cover up for me Mike sh shed she ic e ed led out Oh Ohl Its It's Chief Gentry nt It 1 muttered I I dont don't t Dont you OU remember me mc tyma yena laughed Timothy Rourke ce e me to you in your o oIce office otI of ot- f f- f Ice fice I e today I do feature stuff fo for r New York syndicate Id I'd heard hear rd bout Captain Samuels about hi his is s and all years ago So S o I. I asked ed Mike to stop for a minute te C night and well and well that's how it ff Why didn't you tell me that 7 Pentry entry growled at Shayne I 4 think he had some idea of protecting me Myrna laugh laughed ed You see I didn't to tom tell 11 m m why I wanted to stop an and and nd d hen when he found the dead ma man m ui fell eli ell I guess maybe Mike thought ht knew something about it I t. t Wasn't that it darling darling- St She h e to Shayne i Y f Shayne look took her arm tightly He aid Come on and led her o out oute ut it the e door r c Neither either of them said anything n ng they were in Shayne's car c ar r leaded back for the boulevard rd- rd d' d en Myrna leaned her he head ad his shoulder and said I d in the trunk compartment o of pour our car Then I slipped in th ti tio the e louse ouse o use while you were searching ing ng e body I was In to the rear he bedall bed hed- ed- ed d nt in all the time and when i I ward eard you getting the third deree de de- ree rte I knew you didn't want to t te te teM tell ell M e truth and I thought Id I'd bet betler ter to tick puck my oar in It How lOW did you know the Co capIn cap cap- ap- ap p- p tins Ins In s name about him being sh ship ship- lip lip- eked J Myrna chuckled I found a an P Id d log-book log by his bed bed She pi pat pat- mt- mt t- t Fd ed a large suede handbag in her fP p. p Ive got the book in here Shayne braked suddenly in out onto of an apartment building on le e riverfront Ii I I live here he told her and ent ent toward a side entrance Hastings went with Em Shayne tossed his hat o on jn a 1 nall all hook ook a and went into the kit kitch itch ch n P Without a word or a gla glance glanc ance r Myrna Myma Tie soon came roe back from rom th the hen en with two ounce four-ounce wine wim asses th sea seis and two tumblers fl fillet filled lied 1 ice ce water He walked past r ranged the four glasses i in n E a uie w on the table and filled the E th glasses ne nearly to the b brin brim rim w 1 co cognac nac Shayne lit a cigarette and spun the match away into a corner then got the purloined clipping and bus ticket stub from his pocket He laid the stub on the table and read the thc short clipping aloud It was an AP dispatch from rom Atlanta Georgia It n stated that John Grossman suspected prohibition era racketeer racketeer racketeer rack rack- sentenced to federal prison in 1930 on income tax charges from Miami Florida had been released re released released re- re leased that day on parole Grossman Grossman Gross Gross- GrossI man announced his intention to I tutee take a long vacation at his fishing lodge c on the Keys Shayne Shayn said slowly I remember Grossman He was one of our big- big time bootleggers with a select clientele willing to pay plenty for high class imported stuff Like Monet cognac hats it all about Mike Myrna leaned forward eagerly SHAYNE S HAYNE hesitated then admitted admitted ad ad- m You deserve a break Youre You're in it now because you lied to Gentry and hell he'll probably discover discover discover dis dis- cover you lied He began at the beginning and related what had happened in Renaldo's office And this is real prewar cognac cognac cognac co co- Myrna lifted her glass and her voice was incredulous Monet 1926 Shayne said flatI flatly What makes you and Renaldo so sure theres there's more cognac where that first case came from 7 I imagine it was just a hopeful hopeful hopeful hope hope- ful hunch on Renaldo's part And AndI I r wasn't sure until I found this clipping indicating a connection between b the captain and an ex- ex bootlegger Would it be sufficient motive for murder At a hundred dollars a case Shayne made a derisive gesture A A note C-note for two dozen bottles of Monet is peanuts today That's what got Renaldo so excited It shows the captain knew nothing about the present liquor shortage and market prices It could reail retail re re- re- re t taU tail for twenty or twenty-five twenty dollars dollars dollars dol dol- lars a bottle properly handled to to- d day ay Myrna Hastings' Hastings eyes widened That would be about five hundred hundred hun hun- dred d red dollars a case Shayne nodded morosely If Grossman had a pile of it cached away when he was sent up in 30 he mused that would explain why it stayed off the market all this time But Grossman would know what the stuff is worth t today oday He shook his head angri angri- angrily ly It still doesn't add up And if the captain knew about the cache and had access to it all aU the time why wait until a week after Grossman's parole to put it on the market Did you notice the condition con con- d of the captains captain's body he asked abruptly I 1 s shuddered Ill Til never forget it it He looked said Shayne harshly harshly harsh- harsh ly Jy like an advanced case of malnutrition mal mal- nutrition Who Vho was the white-haired white man who brought the police 7 Guildford Hes He's a lawyer here Very respectable He p poured 0 u red himself another drink and demanded Wheres that log-book log you mentioned She reached for her handbag fand and unsnapped the heavy gold clasp She drew out an aged hinged brass-hinged leather-bound leather book with SHIPS SHIP'S LOG stamped on the front in gilt letters Shayne opened it and looked at atthe the leaf fly inscribed Property of Captain Thomas Anthony Sam- Sam April 2 1902 Shayne turned the log-book log up- up side-down side and shook out a a. yellowed yel- yel lowed and brittle newspaper clipping clip- clip ping from the Miami Daily News dated June 17 1930 There was a picture of a big man in a nautical uniform with the caption SAVED AT SEA The news item Stem gave a dramatic account of the sea rescue of Captain Cap- Cap tain fate Samuels owner master and sole survivor of the auxiliary launch Mermaid lost in a tropical cal hurricane off the Florida coast three days before the captain was rescued by a fishing craft He had stayed afloat in a preserver life for three days and nights W W T T HERE asked Shayne Shame was edthe the book when you found it In uIn a small recess in the thc rock dewall wall at the head of his bed The bedding was torn up as though the room had been hastily searched and the bed was pulled away from the wall Normally the wooden headboard of the thc bed must have stood against the wall hiding the recess Shayne began thoughtfully flipping flip- flip ping the pages of the log This secures to be a complete compete account ac- ac count of Captain Samuels' Samuels voyages voy voy- ages from from from- The rin ringing ing of his telephone in interrupted in- in him The voice of the clerk on the night desk came over the wire The laws law's on its way up to your you L apartment Mr Shayne You tol told d name me once I was to call caB you you you- Sha Shayne nc said Thanks Dick and hung up He whirled o on Myrna and directed her tersely better get out Through h the kitchen door and down the fir tire fire I escape Take your two glasses t to 0 the kitchen and close the door behind be- be hind you Key on a nail by the outside door 1 Continued Tomorrow Copyright by Brett Halliday y |
