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Show BV &to C ERALDk BROWN S W.N. U. FEATURE! le, private detective, li 1 w'tddine presents at the 'ion. Hi iense. that old CgjdoW Is alrald of tome-.rious tome-.rious man theft. He meets .room lo be, Veronica and Utonrt, and Veronica'! moth-C moth-C t,,.r hrother and sister, Fflttorii While at a night f allalncourt In com-.jlob'i com-.jlob'i mger, Shari Lynn. Ha rt late, I newspaper man, that vallalnconrt Is bl I rtjnbler, and that he was S-rest ol Mrs. Stephen Blje-JJj, Blje-JJj, tin,,., according to rumor, le nie Veronica, ha concen- fishy. I wasn't pulled right off the tail, see? It was over a week before be-fore Stevey came in to pay up. We hadn't heard from him to the contrary, con-trary, so I kept on the job. But the blonde bombshell never went near Parecini's studio again. She must have backed down somewhere along the line." "They probably had a nice old-fashioned old-fashioned heart-to-heart talk and patched it up. My guess would be that she wanted to continue her studies with the idea of going on the stage, or something of the sort, bllt Stpnhpn r.llt hie tnni Hnum TTid "She meets me last night, shows me around, sort of impersonal-like. So far as she was concerned, I might have been the plumber's helper come to repair a leak. Very cool and calm, but burning up with something inside her. Acts all the time as if she's scared stupid but won't admit it If it kills her." Rocky poured himself a second cup of coffee and took a deep breath before he continued. "She went to her room early, about nine. I didn't see her after that. Veronica, the bride and joy," family probably wouldn't stand for it." "Yeah. Funny, isn't It? Not that either of them seem socially conscious." con-scious." "Your insight it amazing. They are both good family, but not quite as you say." "Well, whether you know it or not, Stevey was quite a gay dog once. Used to do a bit of chasing in the old days." "I don't doubt that, but I think he's in love with his wife." "Umm. Better to have loved, et cetera. He sure seems nuts about her." "Deeldedlv." 1H in ' OIAI'TFR VI Hfeait nothing, but thanks H, the Club and trudged K,eni IgW city, a sullen Mllnli his thoughts. L of an all-night lunch-Kdng lunch-Kdng through the murk Kjtnjlde. It was a dismal Bice, peopled with a few Reeli'stragglera. Bjtaurant door banged and Kted figure in a bedraggled hat slouched to the coun-B-e was something familiar Kback. Instinctively, Mc-K Mc-K rose to his feet to see, Ksvement was too late. Joe 'Kg him as he turned, tray He shuffled over and tat gnu," he said. "Well, all K in tails. I see. Excuse jou look as though you'd 'thrown out of the Ritz Hi von disguised as a ma- Kzrar'e-1 noncommlttnlly talk, huh? It Just happens Bel a dick myself, bud, so jovra In my bag of tricks the fact that you've Blobbing with the elite- -the tribe to be exact. What been having a soiree?" cd. Have you had a tall ricn, shamus. No. To be every agency in town knows ocked off the Bigelow job Hou do it? What's it all you give to know?" id I'm just curious." ht be worth your while.' Vl won't argue with you. Bo tell me or tell it to the rm indifferent now. What ne iooKea at Mccale to see wnetner he was amused by the play on words, "of the old lady she is that, isn't she? it sticks out all overstayed over-stayed home all evening, too. She was in the back library most of the time." "Did she look good to you?" "Oh, yeah, if you like the placid type. She had two visitors. Guess?" "I'll buy it. Don't play guessing games with me so early in the morning." "Well, the present and the past Glamour Boy Number One, and good old dog - like, ever lovin' Chris." "Oh. He Impressed you that way? Christopher Storm, I mean?" "Remember, I only got a short gander at the past and present crown princes, as they entered and left. He was the second one, by the way. Mr. Big came first." "Go on." "Well, I'd Just got settled In the silver and crockery department, when Johnny Weismuller comes swinging from tree to tree calling for his mate. Such a flutter they get into over him, don't they? The butler but-ler scuttled around after him as if he'd Just brought the fatted calf. Then the bride-to-be comes down the stairs in a flurry. But a flurry, I said. And he just tells her he's off to dinner with some friends. She looks at him with the trust of a bird fascinated by a python. You know 'What enormous eyes you have. Grandmother.' And off they go to the library." "I take it you didn't warm to Romeo." "Not me. Obvious as heck, don't you think?" "I don't know. The boy's got something. Just what is it?" "It's as old as the world, chief The Vallaincourt can Just make his eyelashes go boo." latter?" He made a slight it as if he were about to w go. lit, all right. I just thought soak you for a five. I lost i in a game tonight. The Stephen Bigelow called our get the low-down on you. tfternoon." I your office? To get dope Duke gave a raucous, dell. de-ll. "That's too darned fun's fun-'s the connection between It and Stephen Bigelow, I lid some work for him iid?" k" kind of work the usual?" ns the dame?" ife." 1 spine began to prickle 1 his sudden interest did too much on his face He too much on his face. One night late she came out with a middle-aged guy. "That's all of my little offering. Do I get the fin?" "Oh, sure. . . . Take it." He slid the money over to the big man. He had the exasperating feeling that he'd been cheated. He shrugged it away. McCale had set his alarm for seven-thirty the next morning. It had shrilled in vain. A feeble ray of sunlight flickered across his face as someone shook him by the shoulder. shoul-der. Shrugging out from under the none too gentle pressure, he blinked, yawned, and saw by the clock that it was much later. McCale began to dress as Rocky headed for the inner sanctum. It didn't take him long. His toilet completed, com-pleted, he went directly to the office windows to pull back the curtains m another dreary morning. He took the cup of coffee his assistant handed hand-ed him and waited until they sat Take tnat needle out ol your arm. He's in love with the girl." "All right. So he's in love with her." "What's your impression of the girl? You didn't show a great deal of enthusiasm." "I guess I don't like 'em quite so wide-eyed, chief. She's nice. You know what I mean nice and when you've said that, you've said every thing. Right out of a Mignon Eber hart novel, if you get what I mean Just beautiful and wispy and too dumb to take off her rose-colored glasses." Rocky had already settled for himself the fact that Veronica Bigelow Bige-low was both beautiful and dumb. McCale leaned back in his chair and smiled, for Rocky was a good guy, mostly amusing. Searching for the coffee pot. Duke's eyes slanted up quizzically at Rocky as he said, "Well, boy, what's the word on Christopher Storm, now that you've dusted everyone ev-eryone else off?" Wars Worth Km at ion lay not think it's worth the heie it is. About six go this Stephen Bigelow to s" Watkins. Wanted a Hi his wife. He didn't say it the boss figured it was livorco routine. I got the following her around to dubs She went out a lot trailed along for a couple Sh. 'd stop in at a lounge 'nd then, always met peo-ptw, peo-ptw, but never seemed to i inyone particular. Then !I followed her as far as building in Copley Square (lev;, lor boy couldn't place Hme where in the building '(r I'd wait and In a few M ccrne out alone. This 'two or three times a week light, late, she came out Male-aged guy. They went !1 h' ' restaurant around ter I tagged along It tethe old, old story to me." found out who the man Well, here's where the kUs apart. Hmm, I see ion't get paid off. He was Cher, name of Parecini. 'd foxy grandpa with a "or blondes, after all. We news over to Stevey boy. "ed if he didn't seem re-e re-e came in a week or so is 'o pay his bill. He told tfe had once shown great T 'he piano, but had lost ' n arm from nervous r arthritis or something. Sett";g back her old wal-tiowly wal-tiowly She'd been going bird for lessons, keeping " family for a surprise, said Now. how do you it." 4ink 't was the truth? Now. E' ite of the fact that it 'It- level, I think it waj facing each other across the desk, before beginning conversation. "Well," he said, between sips of the hot black liquid, "let's have your birds-eye or keyhole view of the goings on of last night." A Jittery Family, Thinks Rocky "Nothing sensational to report, boss, outside of a lot of nervous running run-ning in and out till about one a. m. I had a look-see at about everyone but the dame called Victoria. She'd gone out someplace to dinner when I got there and must have slipped in without my lamping her. if she came home at all." "No trouble with the servants?" "I only saw the butler. Very superior su-perior guy. He kept looking in the dining room where I was sitting with an eye on the door. I don't know whether he thought I was going go-ing to snitch some of the fingerbowls or sample the family bourbon. Anyhow, Any-how, he kept popping up at odd moments mo-ments until around ten-thirty. Say, what a parade of junk they've accumulated ac-cumulated " "Yeah. What do you think of the set-up? In general. I mean. Atmospherethat At-mospherethat kind of thing." "I may be wrong, but outside of the little old lady, they're a bunch of screwballs. She's okay A little jumpy, but for that matter, the whole caboodle ain't my idea of what I've been led to think of as calm, quiet, unruffled bluebloods. They're all as jittery as a hangover hang-over " "Definitely." "Well, here's Sve to your one that there's something cooking that's going go-ing to smell to heaven." "You've no taker in me." McCale grinned and lit a cigarette. "Smart, as usual. The old dame acts as though she was walking through a bad drca u but dotsn't dare wake up " Very aptly put ' Odd Goings On In the Mansion "J. P. Marquand has done him to a turn, on both sides and in the middle. More than once. That guy was born to the Yankee purple, has gone to the best schools, and never stepped out of line in his life. He may be a little shocked at the Bige-lows, Bige-lows, but they are Bigelows, aren't they? So they couldn't be wrong. Veronica has tossed him overboard, but would he say a word about it? Would he ride up in his Stanley Steamer and rush her off to the nearest Justice of the Peace before she makes a fool of herself? No sirree. It just isn't done by people in our set, doncha know?" "He did come to see her." "Oh, yes. Had a short confab with her in the library. I didn't get a chance to eavesdrop, of course, but I did see them when they said goodnight at the door. He had the most miserable little-boy-who-has-been-kicked expression on his puss when he kissed her good-by." "He kissed her?" "Don't let it throw you. It was just the old I'll-be-a-sister-to-you act. She sort of put her head up and he gave her a solemn brotherly kiss on the forehead before he went into the night like the last act of an old melodrama. I could have spit in his eye, the dope!" "My, my. You are taking this to heart." "Not so you'd notice it. Well, do 1 go on in the order of their ap-pearance?" ap-pearance?" he asked, a sour smile on his lips. "Oh. of course No offense, pal." Rocky waited a moment, looking at McCale skeptically, not quite sure he wasn't being made fun of. Then he resumed "L t's see First there is Mr Stephen. Ste-phen. Now there's a jumpy guy. i Surly wedded t. the bottle, too I (TO or. i ONHNI '" |