Show r T Te Mystery Serial The irhe The Perfect Murder 0 By Baynard Kendrick ten at far Ca Captain s rb L tamo tats wr a C. C aetna a d Gerard Ir tier t aNI an W tUt randl u mote 0 producer Tom Torn at 1 I lilt ra let al L lIam lUrn- b d murdered In III Ward ard why actor wan to the p producer pra a r fI ft and d ear le b by I. I r I hl nf near V r titre r th that t be the w wa i Tk 1 meet V anre n tin lib h y y to rho her Into rt g J to flab e her Into v divorce UP HI lt nde 4 to hint ruta Paola another ere at the I u 11 idle Ut he ut 11 ear Anre b body dy lOG ea tul that find fIn II A that human car bot ard by the lit ro air hit fierce Dob Dober- Dober fo r tn the f CHAPTER JWO WO ID you call the police 1 Capt Capt- bm D' D DID n demanded when he f Dined Tom Ward Vard In the 11 U- brarA bru brar t A A few minutes s ago The dogs found nothing and I shut them up twin rain Ward put a highball in the captains captain's hand Its none of m my business ss the twin said soberly as he lie sipped fits Lt drink but I think I 1 can tell Yo you u what the police will want to knoW vr Sh Shoot Ward Wand swallowed heavily and wid lit JIt a fresh cigar 8 have hae an ide 1 said Maclain that for a night as dirty is i this Harry Vance was doing an awful lot of motoring around not hard to explain pod Ward He started up to Los Angeles and got as far as En- En when the car broke down The rhe filling station man worked on onIt II i. i It tine HO HarrY had something to t in a lunchroom He got up up- up the thead t ad four miles to La Costa and the themo imo mo motor or started kicking up again so soie he ie came back here and got hot my car He Ie was going to town to turn over some ome money to my attorney Harmon Harmon Harmon Har Har- mon Moffett Something urgent I suppose Maclain suggested s since I n nee ce it couldn't wait lt until morning Quite urgent Ward assured hun him dryly Moffetts Moffett's buying some lock hock for me which is on the rise The exchange opens at nine in New Nework York ork That happens to be five In In- e morning out here figuring daylight saving time Did you say Vance was taking some ome mone money the captain in- in Two hundred thousand dollars In Jn cash 7 IjES ES I said Mid Ward Vard In 1000 bills I fold some bonds in New York p Dune June inc Ward said and got cash fo or foi them Ive I've been hanging on to tot toI I a t block of or Soviet bonds and I held them hem too long The columnists h lose uve started clawing at so-called so Communists but Moffett advised in me to buy these bonds several years pin ago I What was It in A lo ked dispatch case chained ic t vh wheel el Moffett and Hue the only keys Was Vas it gone when hen you ou looked fa In a the car 1 asked Maclain I Certainly said Ward Vard He took look it up to Los Angeles to give to Moffett The telephone trilled in the corDer corner cor- cor ler ner Maclain's keen hearing caught the voice of the operator ing r a I Los Lo Angeles call A mans man's s Voice tolee clicked metallically f Something must have happened 10 o Vance Va Ward rd the voice said He Je He hunt hasn't t shown up yet and he phoned me almost three hours ego Igo Hes been murdered V Ward rd paid aid heavily Get down here in lour our ur car I 1 could have told toM he you never lot got t to Los Angeles said Captain Maclain Its Hs two hundred and fifty miles there and back He didn't have time GT HAMMER of ot the state police po- po po- po lice ce was a y youngish looking man in hi n his thirties Under an air of Candor Indor and poUter politeness ess he managed to o conceal t tho thorough h o r o 0 u ugh h working knowledge of procedure This Is a nasty mess Captain II H Hammer a m in mer e r began I Phoned headquarters when Mr aid ard rd told me here you were Thc They hd tad o some nice things thins t iff te sa say Y about a i l Jour our alit ability Have you any Ideas Ideas are merely Ideas ser ser- Leant vant as dangerous in a murder t I InveStigation as a year six bo boy Playing laring with a gun rt If It you have ay Y questions you'd like Ilke to ask I I Ill A PC be e glad to answer you How now many people here are as 7 he asked I U It i was Tom Ward Yard who vho ho answered lilts Si elta Gerard iw J Conklin Cruther Cruthers an agent Lc Lo an actress and i Maclain I Anyone Anone else t here the sert ser ser- leant wanted d to know I It ollins Rollins m my houseman and hi hIs s Freda reda da They have an aPart apart- went nent ent V off art t the he kitchen Then there theres s i. i nice hlee anc Ulce's 05 s 's wife Paula Theres There's i iP iU a leg P little U e job Ward Vard a added dried tell Paula Im rotten at at that son sor t t t thing I think Ill I'll lea leave ve it up t to o I Maclain got Cot u up p and Sch Huck e t In Hier mF j to his side ne n.e. Sergeant HamIn Ham Ham- stride t watched his long swinging sw ngn race ace as he touched s and under her guidance craned ed u u I the ine library T liE RE captain rapped o on n her door Nd d ted Who Nho Is ls It Paulas Paula's t liked asked M husky husk voice eau sleepily but the captain had guarded footsteps in room Oom before In the s she he spoke Its It Captain Maclain Mrs Vance I Once It wets Was a moment before she of liqUor the to door The heady hearly fumes said laId Struck the ca captain caPtai plain as ns she lou Come In r T thou thought ht at first Were a Harry but to the door he has a key J d The rhe captain w went eat inside Paula Ct room and led 1 a w unerringly w to toa a chair i Its serious said Maclain Terribly so Harr Harry The captain nodded I Oh cried Paula He always ys dr drove ve like a fool it It wasn't a up smash-up he told her steadily He was was stabbed to death in Tams Tam's car t Bare feet pattered toward the corner and a bottle clinked on a glass edge Silk swished on linen as Paula sat down So ISO she killed him said Mid Paula Vance and cut off oft her words as she swallowed The captain sat silent sorting the sounds in the room room May I have a a drink k too he asked after a time Im sorry She gave Jave a laugh which bordered on hysteria and the then pushed a glass Jass into hi his hand M MACLAIN got up found the wall waIl and followed it a few short paces paces to a bathroom door Water Vater ran sharply from a faucet The police poUce are going to ask questions Paula I hate her Paula said with such sudden force that pr pressed closer to her master Hate and liquor are a bad combination Maclain's tone was frozen There are only two other women in the house Paula and andI I dont don't think youre you're talking about Rollins' Rollins wife Neither will the DO- DO lice She was mad because Harry had her numb number r. r Why dont don't you go and question her the little murdering murdering murdering mur mur- dering fool Maclain stood up Ill Til keep them away from you as long as I Ican Ican Ican can Paula but Im I'm doing it for Tom Ward I happen to know hes he's fond of ot you and that he gave Harry his job on your account Thank you OU for nothing She began to cry Loletta C Con o n k 1 11 I n didn't kill Harry Maclain said stonily but you can make an awful mess of things for her If It you want to say she did He paused with his hand on the door knob better put away the cellophane cellophane cel cel- slicker sUcker you wore outside just now Its It's dripping on the bathroom floor Joor V V DICES DICES' came from the library and stopped when the captain entered Did you tell her Ward asked awkwardly Yes said Maclain taking taking taking tak tak- ing a sleeping draught She's quite hysterical 1 I hope you can wait until morning to question her sergeant Mr Ward wants wants' me to wait until his lawyer gets here before I tackle any of or his guests I told him everything I told you Ward said An inside job said Hammer Somebody that knew Mr Ward Vard carried a sheath knife in his car Lots of people knew that said Ward Wards Ive been on hunting parties in Mexico with Vance Cruthers Moffett and a dozen more The captain lit a cigarette under the sergeants sergeant's watchful eyes If robbery was the this motive then the murderer must have known that the money was there and if he knew it was there he knew why Harry Vance was going to Los Angeles probably true the sergeant sergeant sergeant ser ser- geant said Then why did the murderer wait walt until Vance got back without He the money Maclain inquired You dont don't know that he got hack back without the money the sergeant sergeant ser ser- sergeant geant declared disgustedly He started for Los Angeles but he couldn't possibly have reached there Right said the captain Mr Ward Vard and I decided that before you got here and even had It confirmed con- con firmed by Mr Moffett on the phone Where does that leave us 7 asked Tom Ward W ELL said the captain it leaves us here and there We Ve dont don't know where Vance went Consequently he may have gone any distance from right outside the the gate to the limit limit of a three three- e- e hour trip round-trip capacity of the car cal ar Sergeant Hammer snapped his fingers Great guns captain I hoped you'd make this clearer Instead of ot that youre you're muddying It up with tar The facts of a murder said Duncan n Maclain are always as black as tar Its ts not ot nice to sully a dead man but Harry Vance from rom what I can learn had an ey eye cye for women wom women n He might have been deeply involved with one He might t equally well wen have picked up an attractive at at- attractive hitchhiker er a mile miJe from here who shoved shored a gun in his tits side side and forced him to some place where the dispatch case was cu cut t loose from the wheel Still sun undo under the threat of death he might have been forced to drive back here an and was murdered when he got home Its too pat the sergeant said after alter awhile Im not accusing anyone Im I'm just thinking out loud like the captain was doing Bythe By Bythe B the same line of reasoning any an- body In this house might have hav killed Vance I think the murderer drove him hint back here said Duncan Mac loin lain But not nt at the point of or a gun un By the way Sergeant Hammer Hammer Hammer Ham Ham- mer if you'll hand me my raincoat raincoat raincoat rain rain- coat on the chair near the fire I have something which may mayor or may not be of Interest Continued d Tomorrow Copyright Baynard Kendrick I |