Show legram eram Serial eria r 1 Shoot to Kill KillBy By Dan Keene Read Rd ea a new mystery serial complete every week in the Telegram CHAPTER V tORY THUS FAR FAIL Matt aU 1 detective retained I i. i gave to locate his HeIt He J. J baffled rd by booze boon and It inn elements that m menace n cc Cordovan estate held In Inor pace ae r daughter her 18 18 year old for or came across the theof theof of f Gwen and a n young young- army arm t f Mike Uke n In a rJ juto soto They had been clop- clop The coroner pronounced death cleat t but Matt Iatt noticed rigor hid bid et G Gwen's wens wen's corp corpse e and she heo he was dead Mad at least leapt an nn More the crash lie He speeds speed to town to-n to consult Harry Harrya a s newspaperman and learns tr-acy tr ncy partner Harry Barry has after an nl- nl u. u ctt plea i pt and run accident occident Mercer Mercers Si t s would would-be killer In n harry Harry's s 's sal JUti al aI room and hurries off to to fo avoid old Inspector jUi police There he Is held upS up 1 a S 'S voice cut through the j Hold it Mercer Just Mice like you are It I asked if it itu u wall vIII fl right If I switched on theBe the j He Be said it was There were i pee d f them Mason rason and Lord ua shad jj guns gun in their hands Teapot got the key out of Harrys Harry's aft t when hen you slugged him I dropped out Lord admitted Uger was genuine What are II to pin on Joe And e b you ou got him lit jilt down at my desk without i ig i l told I could One of ot you tit t have ha a rd hesitated pulled a pack I j his pocket and tossed It on the gun in his other hand leaving my belly Itt it lit the remarking that ht there was some mistake jit st time that I had seen Joe gors being in their presence a at t Parisian o rot t give e us that Lord Lor d tied std Harry tipped your hand handa a he barged into the joint join t jg to know why one of us usI I called you up representing wires lives to be this guy Hares Hare's secretary Start talk- talk What are you trying to pull Then Ilea you ou did slug Harry fa fit roughed him some Mason tW coed But Bat you di didn't nt make the phone CiU know we didn't wasn't No I te It lying didn't nt sr I said I never even fight of you Ou lads lad in that connect i t I spread my good and bum In ns w on m my desk And I dont don't w rw what's whal's happened to Joe How Howg 5 g has he been missing and m n where 1 oth loth fah chewed that over l Weve had our disTe dis- dis Te t. t ts But have I ever er lied to HUM Masai Y was Ras as forced to admit i iMoe Moe I told them I 1 just came a M Mercy cy hospital where some- some 7 T tried to finish h the job that boys Os b began tegan gan tried to finish it iti i 1 fi i knife Lord boomed Why n aid ud been wondering that tours oun I opened my bottom t drawer er and tools tool out a bottle If either shoot give me thee thet the t e Ihry Etory or get out of here 1 tM a drink while they talked ret fer r between them and decided ll S me as much as they knew atory went I I II any AFTER Harry had hadt r t Into the Parisian accusing d wf making the phone call and I Ig g to know why Connors had hada a Gwen's bad check and had I rat cit to see Hare himself to tot opt t what was cooking When act t t returned in two hours I I c a and Lord had followed ved him fw to Robe be told by Hare that after rig for fur the bad check Con- Con IUd left for my office with the i J rM ref intention of beating my I Ib d 2 told me that Hare had Ind in- in d them he had told Joe ConI Con- Con 1 I that at t. t I had phoned him and t p Identified Connors t short mort stocky Y man who had P a a. slug at mc me ion a l said So we checked quarters found out that had been been issued Sued and Ii a J Joe fails to show u up we In that thal you snagged him But rat t t shoot hoot at you believe me hun him I did believe him that ay that I saw the picture was running a on Joe Job and myself But tell me wad d anyone have made that It call WI from J the Parisian yone ne bi 1 Mason 1 a s son o n shrugged pct's a phone booth in the airs 2 bar ar 1 t 1 they ey could have picked up one of Joes Joe's hats at the same time He said that could be Joe being very careless with his hats Then it was Hare for my money I told them But I wouldn't begin gin to know why he should want to snag Mag Joe I looked from their guns to my phone Harry Gold is phoning Cairo in ana an a attempt to smell out Hares Hare's background background background back back- ground and it could be that his calls call's gone through Lord lArd said for me to call him Gold was biting his nails waiting for the call You named it it Matt tatt he crowed Boy what a story Hares Hare's a former English colonel allright all allright right cashiered some years ago Since then and up until the time he ic married Gwen he made his living living living liv liv- ing as a con man and transAtlantic transAtlantic transAtlantic trans- trans Atlantic gambler He always worked with an older man who would seem to answer the description description tion of one posing as 88 his butler He did have a blond girl friend by the name of Stella But she is supposed I Ito j I Ito to have died some months before Gwen wen and Hare were married I said I guessed that sewed it up except for a few details But Gold protested youve still got a a. hole in your case big enough to drive a tank through I just got one of the Cordovan lawyers awyers out of bed and he swears s that hat there is no way that Hare can get his hands on any of the estate other than what is left from this years year's allowance Im Im headed out to work on that now I told him I I I I i I WHEN FT HEN I hung up Lord and Mason had holstered bolstered their guns Well We'll tag along Mason said I greed agreed that was vas fine with me and slipped lipped my spare gun in my hoister holster A siren was wailing by the time timet we ve reached the street and I told them hem that we had better use their car ar as 88 Inspector Haig Halg was probably probably ably bly burned up because I hadn't stuck tuck around Mercy Dawn DavIl wasn't far away The big gates of 2 17 were closed and locked The wall was too high to climb limb I told Mason to drive the car up upon upon on n the sidewalk close to the wall walland walland and nd we could use ulie the top of at the thear car ar as a ladder It wasn't a perfect arrangement but it worked And the he jump on the other side wasn't too oo bad the ground being springy The house was built in an H. H The middle and left wings were dark So o were the upper floors But light streamed out onto the lawn from the he open right wing French windows win- win dows Somewhere a girl was crying as though her heart would break I had told them what had happened happened hap- hap ened in on our way to the house louse and Lord wanted to know if J it were the dead womans woman's daughter daugh- daugh ter er who was Wa crying I said I Imagined I imagined it was I also said that I wanted anted to talk to her if possible before we went to work on Hare it t being just possible that she could furnish the missing pieces y of f the puzzle Then Mason lason coughed and the stopped abruptly A window window win- win I dow ow was vas opened or closed on one of ofie the ie upper floors We Ve froze close to the 10 house I tiptoed across a flower bed to tone toone toone one ne of the lighted windows The little blonde who had popped me with the silver flask was stretched out ut on a chaise longue sipping at at atthe I Ithe Ile the le flask flack There was no one else in inie inthe inthe the ie room I tapped lightly on the glass lass then stepped out where she could see me i She opened her mouth to scream stream saw aw who I was and said wanly Hello man I asked her If Hare wore were home She he said that he was not Then I wan want t to talk to you I told old her walking into the room She he stood up weaving slightly My mothers mother's dead she told me That that's That that's where hes he's gone Down to bring her back She buried her face on my der er I patted her back glad that Sherry herry couldn't see meI meI mer me I r like you she repeated her herrack crack rack of that afternoon I r like you too I told her Now pull ull yourself together S OHE HE wanted to know who Lord and nd Mason were I introduced them themas as friends of mine When she had quieted down I asked her who was home She said that hat she was wa alone Hare having taken aken Dawson with him when they had ad left for Then Lord described Connors to her and asked her if she had seen him She Sho bobbed her head and told Sec See Page rage 19 Column ColumnA x MYSTERY SERIAL Continued d from Page rage 3 him between sniffles He was here tonight about 8 He and Mr Hare quarreled dreadfully But I couldn't hear what it was was' about because Mr Hare came out in the hall and told me to go to tomy tomy tomy my room I looked at the boys Lord wondered If one of us hadn't better open the gate from the inside and move the car it being a dead that there was someone inside the grounds I said I thought it was wise and started for the window but the kid caught at my arm Dont leave me Please He wont won't be home for hours He just called up from there about five live minutes ago and wanted to know if you had been here looking for him Hes wise that youre you're wise Mason observed I picked up the stitches of my myown myown myown own knitting by by asking the kid if her relations with her stepfather stepfather stepfather step step- father had been friendly She said she didn't know him very well wen her mother having left lefther lefther lefther her In Spain while she had gone on to Cairo In fact she never even seen him until she had returned to Chicago the month before after having been abroad since before the beginning of the war I said In other words you were 12 when you were home last Twelve going on 13 she cor cor- And HAnd while I guess Mr Hare married mother for my money like all the others did he heis heis heis is an improvement over the countI count I asked her if he had ever tried to get her to sign any legal looking looking looking look look- ing papers A few fe she admitted It only takes one I told her I hesitated to tell ten her that I believed believed believed be be- that Hare and his g girl girlfriend girlfriend rl friend had m murdered her mother I decided to spare her that but Lord upset the apple cart with the best intentions You watch what you sign sign And you watch your step kid he warned her The way that Mercer Mercer Mercer Mer Mer- has It figured out this hIs guy Hare and his g girl rl friend Stella Stena did away with your mother And yo you may be nex next on his listS list S SHE HE burst out weeping again and buried her face on my der You wont won't let him hurt me will you Mr Mercer I assured her that I would not but she leaned on her flask for a take double-take only to find it w was s empty In that cabinet she sniffled to Mason Hand me a bottle please There was only one left rye Mason uncorked it and handed it to the girl She poured herself a stiff slug then remembered her manners Excuse me Wont Won't you gentlemen gentle gentle- men join me 1 None of us refused I downed mine looking at the little blonde and thinking If you OU were my kid Id I'd put you on a buttermilk diet Mason and Lord had a second drink I said wed we'd better run in inthe inthe inthe the car I I Check Mason said He tri tn tried d to get to his fe feet f and and- couldn He looked at his glass a swift scowl twisting his lips His hams inched up toward his gun only p II drop to his lap as his head lolled back against the cushion Lord raised himself to his feet stood wavering a moment the then theft 3 crumpled to the floor I I shook my head to clear it bus busa b ba but buta a hundred B were roaring l in in my ears The tI floor or of the room was tilting i iI I looked down dO at the girl beside me She was watching me he hey her lips drawn back from her teeth her eyes cold and calculating I knew how Hare meant to in herit I knew whom I had he heard sobbing I knew a a lot of of thIng things But it looked like Id I'd learned the too late t I Copyright Popular Publications Publications' |