Show e WEDDING MARCH MURDER by MONTE BARRETT I 1 Copyright lOU by br the Dobbs Morrill Co 00 CHAPTER I 1 Death in the Study Something had gone wrong The on the left left Cardigan did nut not know her name then glanced 1 III t ard hesitantly The procession 11 ed Its solemn march marchA A stir sUr or of uneasiness ss as somehow tr to the crowded pews T J here was a vague bustling through throughout throughout out the church polite muffled yet there lIke the restless whispering or of leases Jel cs esen een e en audible against the ma majestic jestic organ tones of Wed din ding March Peter Ieter Cardigan sensed It from his pew deep In the nave or of the church and smiled at the fancy tancy he thought had betra betrayed ed him What could bE wrong His no mind pictured the many many ser Ices conjured from the corners orners ot of the world orld by Carmody we e to Insure the perfection or of de- de detail tail which had been the herItage of Carmody brides since New York was young It had h seemed strange to Cardigan for Jim Franklin to be marr marry mg ing Am Ambrow brow Carmod Carmody's s 's daughter But then Jim Jini h d Ir id been a stranger to him for seventeen e enteen years When Peter R rn 11 knew him Jim Franklin had been beena a 8 soung oung attorney just out ot of law layIng the first foundation of bf his career reer In the hard bard experience of the police courts Peter without Ing II It had bad been la laying Ing some foun stones or of his own In those days s for that w as as when he was a police J and before beCore he had become famous as a writer ot of best selling mys mysteries teries as well as for the occasional Et lying of one In real life Ufe That was seventeen years ago Now Jim Franklin was marrying Doris Carmody It If there was as anything to these newspaper stories he would be bethe bethe the next governor or of New York too RIdiculous to think that anything could be wrong And yet the lion Ion was scarcely moving now Doctor Abernathy rector ot of St St Matthews Matthew's stood by the choir steps and wondered Everything had gone off well at the rehearsal What had happened now no Where was the bride bride- bridegroom groom The rector was troubled about the I quarrel he had witnessed In the sacristy ty too What an odd settIng for a Quarrel I The sacrIsty or of a church just before a wedding Too he be had tried to question the strange woman who had bad quarreled With the bride bride- bridegroom bridegroom groom For a moment hIs suspicIons had been aroused But pshaw Frank FranklIn tin lIn was nIl all right Nothing like that could happen to DorIs Carmody The generosity of her ancestors had made this fa fashionable old church possible No there could be nothing wrong Things like that t happen to people peo- peo jle like the The suspicion with whIch the good doctor had h mo me regarded that scene had flIckered brIghtly for a moment and andas andas as quickly died But not died either dIstrust with whIch he had re- re regarded re that quarrel was recalled sery ery vIvidly now What should he have hwe done Notified the brIdes brIde's father He had thought of that and yet yet- yet yet-n hat could he have saId The circumstance of a quarrel was not sufficIent to que ques lion the proprIety of a weddIng at least where there was no question or of morals invoked No the rector re- re there was nothing he could leave lave done Callis Shipley was worried orned What bad happened to Jim Franklin Where was Nick Royce Callis was as the first bridesmaid on the left At the re- re rehearsal rehearsal the brIdegroom and the best man had entered at notes of o I the organ and waited at the choir steps for the procession slon that mo mosed moed ed slowly down the aisle Why hadn t she thought to see tr if he were there before she started She had been a third of the way do down don n before she realized he was missing Se sec seconds seconds sUpped slipped past and still he did not come Cams Callis glanced back hurriedly rest or of the procession was falter lag too marking time almost Why dIdn't he come She suddenly realised she ss ns as afraid id Where Carmody What had Web Spears meant Some Something Something thing terrible had happened I She kne knew v It It If she only oDly could have found Rylie Ry Rylie lie Outside on Carmody avenue a po Beeman pushed back the curIous throng that salted alted to glImp glimpse e the bride A I And Jim Crank n He Hell 11 be the next gO governor too have to keep moving Miss raid the officer The pretty woman In blue struggled through the jostling crowd Doris Carmody was thinking ot of Web liter Web Spears whom she had known nIl all her life ure whom she might even now have been marr marrying If things had turned out only a 8 little differently Why had Web walked out of the church without remaIning to tc toBee Bee the wedding What had he said about her brother That he would have stopped the wedding That was rl ridiculous Wasn't Rylie right there In the church But Dut the girls gIrl s thoughts ne neer er lIn ha lIngered on her brother With bitterness they reverted tp Web DIdn't he that she had always been fond of him too His father and hers had bad ben been partners just as their fathers had been before them Just Justas as Web and some day y would be And Web had walked out Before Defore th the ceremony DorIs ed the lump that rose unbidden In her ber throat She glanced about fearful lest It a telltale tremor had re resealed her hurt pride But ut no one had noticed lIer IIer father beside her muttered something under his breath Had something gone rong Half V down the aisle she could see her bridesmaids Why did they walk a Il so l She thought of Jim Franklin hn hat was as he like me really She If brides ah ays felt so strange to toward ard the men they were goIng to marry many Sometimes he looked so old Yet he was as only elliteen scars cars older than she Lots of gIrls men much older than that was no real bar to love And he heas as going to be bethe bethe the next net governor She was proud of him And she loved him too She felt sure of that Oh why didn't they hurry What was as wrong rong with Ith Dad Dal a Ambrose Carmody was proud of the slender gracefulness of his daughter daughter- proud of that Carmody look 1001 she had I 1 here was something about the hell ell bred sleekness of this gathering that was as soothing to his sense ot of the fitness ot of things Other of th the cIty changed ch even Wall Street had Its ups and downs but the Carmody and their friends went on like like-like old St St Matthews Matthew's Itself It him to remember that his grandfather had contributed the land on which thIs church stood ills father ther had married hIs mother here He had waited it that th altar for tor a young oung bride tn in white white him himself himself self not so many years ago What were they the waiting for From his position In the vestibule he peered down the aisle It seemed that the r 1 4 11 i i Hes Dead brIdesmaids had halted baited near the half halfway halfway way mark muk No not halted but they might as well base e Too slow wrong He asked one ot of the u ushers hers a young man with a vacuous vacuous ous expression slOn waiting for the brIdegroom sir Waiting Why should they walt wait Where Is he Tell him to step up Hes In the sacristy s sir Weve We've no way to tell him Ambrose Carmody e eyed cd the young man sharply In hIs office tires the learned to find a way ay Then tie he they weren't erent In his office Tins TIllS was DorIs wedding I Cant Can't you dash around and jog him up he suggested In a tone far more suave ve than his e expression The young disappeared out the vestibule Doctor Abernathy waited impatiently at the choir steps The organ org was repeating the march more slowly Iv now as the puzzled nl organist t endeavored ored to catch the rhythm of the pro procession procession cession without success ThE church was whisperIng with Where previously only a few hid rJ sen sensed ed something amiss nos no noall all were uneasy In the vestibule some one tugged at Ambrose arm Well 1 The be old mans man's nerves sere er on edge Then he noticed the strained n hite look of the youngsters 8 face and for fol folI I lowed him out to the steps wrong he canted anted to a ask l didn't the boy speak Rut But he said nothing Suddenly he knew he was afraid to ask SomethIng Something-something tent ihle has happened Mr Carmody Ambrose nodded In a way It was wasa wasa a relief to know Inow the Franklin young man hest over the I words has haq been killed Doctor Abernathy told me to tell you lIe s ld you'd better r get Doris home Killed I Ambrose's brain echo echoing ing dully killed Rut But the force of the blow had numbed him Ills feet teet fumbled with the steps and he groped hits his way to his daughters s side We re going around back he told her But Dad Dad- Dad Then she read the shock In hIs fare face and follo followed ed him He met the usher still on the steps Wheres R lie he asked I want him to take his sister home AgaIn he turned to his d Poor little Doris I lie He found himself groping for words to tell her herShe herShe She spared red him that What Is It Dad Jim Jim-he's not hurt or any thing That s seemed med to relle e the tl aln Yes he said Jims hurt Doris Ill I'll have to get you home Ill I'll t sea P after s back bacI therE We 11 find R Ry lie Ill He II 11 take lake you home No I want to go to him The girl hurried her fathers rathers dragging steps You cin t-do t anything my dear Its It's too late for that Ambrose gripped his daughters s arm In gently firm fingers fing-els Hes dead DorIs dId not cry then She was too dazed for that And It seemed to her that she he had lenon leno n from the mo ma meat her rather father had come to her In Inthe inthe the She was as conscIous for Cor Corthe forthe the first time of the curious throng outside I 1 s ant to go to him Dad she re- re repeated re- re repeated Fifteen n hunch hundred ed wedding guests sat stunned In their pc pews s 1 hey hey seemed uD to believe Doctor Aber s statement What did he say Tell me again the woman beside beshle Peter Cardigan n sought ot of the astounding news new The wedding has been postponed Peter told her and made his way to toward ard the door At first the novelist had no thought but to hurry away aay ahead nhe of the crowd Now he hesitated Something serious must be wrong After Arter all Jim Frank tin and he h d been friends In the past Perhaps he could be of some service ne He followed ed Carmody and his daughter Into the sacristy In time timeto to hear him ask How did It happen Where Is he In In the study replied Doctor Aber Abernathy Abernathy nathy lIe He hesItated looking at the gIrl who was as to have been a bride Hes he's been killed he faltered ed Murdered Cardigan followed the stunned group Into the rectors rector's study They had need or of him here Sprawled led on hIs back beside the rectors rector's desk was the brIdegroom Jim Franklin A limp hand still clutched at the desk leg His other arm was flung across the rumpled rug A sod sodden sodden den staIn crept across his vest and darkened the sIlken lining ot of hIs cut cut- cutaway cutaway away HIs collar torn loose on one side curled grotesquely awry grim symbol of the mans man's last struggle Doctor Abernathy gazed In horror at the body on the floor BesIde the desk stood Nicholas Royce noyce Pett Peter r had kno known knon n Nick In Inthe inthe the old nes days Now NIck was managing editor of Topics the tabloid wIth the largest circulation In New ew York lie had been the dead deadman's deadman's mans man's best was friend to have been his best man manNick Nick Ick nodded at Peter In recognition I 11 call the police he said When did this happen Doctor Abernathy found his vOIce at last About five minutes ago I should judge Nick Mck replied with ah one hand h oser oer the transmitter tr Then he got his connection and reported the crime to the police before g g again to the rector I followed ed J you ou to the door he con continued against the desk easily as though unconscious of the dead deadman deadman man so near at hand nd I left the thedoor thedoor door ajar and kept my eye on you so sowe sowe we d I know now s hen to start st In Jim was Vas behind me In the entrance nce of the stud studs I thought I heard nothing un unusual unusual usual I never realized re anything was wrong until the Wedding larch Harsh be- be began began gan Then I said s All set Jim but he never answered me When I turned to call him again the door from the sacristy Into the study closed I thought that was strange str but I still t suspicIOus Not until I trIed the door and found It locked Of Of course then I knew something was wrong I ran around the out outside outside side to the rear door It was open I found Jim like this But But why hy didn't you let us know demanded Ambrose Carmody who had h left his daughter with Ith members of the family In the sacristy and entered the room luring Ro Royces Royce's ces ce's recital We had no Idea what was as wrong We were In the mIdst of the wedding march march- the girls sere ere half way down the aisle no Royce ce shrugged about that he confessed I was busy busy- phoning Phoning Ambrose Carmody's Carmod s 's s hite lifted Into question marks PhonIng Yes I I hen you vou had h dy notified the police Doctor Ab Abernathy put In quick quickly ly 1 Why Why-It There sis lS a trace of a smile around the corner of Royces Ro ce s thin lips as he glanced toward to Peter I wasn't phoning the pollee he said The The story You mean youve you've notified the news persi p pipers Carmod s 's tone was angry Not the ne Royce denied my newspaper llave Have you ou lost your mind the old man flared We it 11 keep the thc newspapers pers out of this You don t know your ne Nick Royce replied softly They ere interrupted by the dis distant tant snail all of a siren far don do n Car Carmody mody a avenue but gro grossing Ing steadily louder The four Cour men In the room paused to listen lIcten Peter watched Nick Royce ROYle sho ho turned his head listening to the banshee notes ot of the approach approachIng log Ing polite car T 1 hat is the voice of trouble he said suld From now on this Is every everybody's body's bod e secret Outside patrolmen ho before had h kept the curious moving on were now holding back a s crowd Michael Kilday himself serge tnt mt of the homicide bureau sas as the first to push puch his way Into the study Behind him film follos follo ed the medical examiner Three 1 more es one bearing n a camera completed the party Peter KIlday recognized his friend and associate on other ca cases What happened tTo rO BD an |