Show he it murder by MILTON right 1011 ly untim some CHAPTER 1 I K conal continued linued 17 ithane ou captain Cupta ln rankin hanlien ad 1 11 ale bt a film right sa s1 anay y As lie entered the room in ques it n lie ile too sensed the promise of ti uble lle viewing mr air pletcher ri etcher a aa harsh and he was vas angry at the same saine time bijie lie was uneasy as it if anxious an annl I 1 under a distinct lie ile agan without preliminaries ga git 11 lit t no tinie time to reflect ou on tile of his visit isit I 1 you have a pretty gool goo antion n tion why I 1 am here ran kin tie spike sternly I 1 lour our po us a di detective gives you no to annoy innocent people compel them thein to answer angier iou by in threats and trespass tn TI iante premises and search the bliem rias high handed conduct requires a satisfactory aln unless you nant ant tho the matter can carided led to bour superiors ais nag tits assault a bluff the detective asked himself by which III was this ass assault alt a bluff the do de asked himself by which mr fletcher hoped to hla his guilt mr air I 1 alicher hoped to hide his allt or was vms his indignation sin cere to judge as yet he met it the least hint of perturbation I 1 I 1 am not aware mr air fletcher that I 1 ve overstepped over stepped the bounds of my oil au hority I 1 he said evenly lou ou haven t As the lawyers wrath increased tie he outwardly be came more subdued 1 hat right had you in the first place to dig tress my wife ilfe just because she was wae in the vicinity of the university not content with that you questioned hr again last likht ellit and at my iny ou 0 n home too and you in timi dated her into letting you ex anidne my grounds and property oh lice le lizard all about your ac thirles tind and I 1 warn narn you to watch sour step or you 11 surely be in lot hot unter ft liter rankin ignored the threat who gme gave iou this information h hi in quiren sirs mrs fietcher ri etcher aes ics but not until nay my mix alix told roe me what he list lift tie he saw baw you and my rife afe together this hp he depoi ald to me and also mrs Ilet I 1 chers a indiscreet trip to the etsity 3 esterday when I 1 taxed tur lir she told me why she had jr re e t lure acre but she N as kind enough nt net to want ant to make you ana gruhle over oner what had happen PC ld il 1 innise use she was vas afraid mr air FIC teller abruptly rankin took hit and any eplan i tion fiust come colne from you it Is my illy duty dury to 0 follow up tip every trail connected connect td lording jordina murder aal in 1 3 joua OU a L orlou rlou sly involved ed 11 lie ile spoke harshly when men you and your wife both try desperately tely to cOl conceal leeal the truth from me I 1 must resort to more radical means to reach it her ber interest in the bo hoj nor her real reason for vis itin the college collee was in as harmless harmle sR as 08 boid d have me belle believe e I 1 rhe fhe la lavier er seemed gent Anely per IN flat are you talking about one would almost suppose bel believed leed I 1 tad como bitted the crime It that la Is e exactly N nhat hat I 1 do think dan you murdered stuart jor I 1 tile the detec detective decleaves de leaves tiNe s startling an emert balled to alarm mr hir fledel r but such was sas tits his concu alon that his anger evaporated evar orated for an 1113 instant he was nag at a loss for N ris gjoa d G d haukli I 1 he III at are you mad on wha di you make this ac auslin n I 1 i ieves heard anything 1111 r lidi ious in mv life llop antl produced the letter te le toh arm mrs I 1 letcher etcher the 1 i of nf his entire case against the er ilip is 14 a letter jour wife alfe wrote loui i Jord iii he stated ey healier het lier you know it or SYNOPSIS OF PRECEDING CHAPTERS stricken during initiation into mu alu nota botn signia fraternity stuart jorden jordan university student dies almost immediately rommy haukli philadelphia detective takes charte of the investigation an injection of conine is shown to hae been the cause of jordan ionian a death two students talph ralph buckley and walter randall andall ft figure in the investigation A prominent lawyer awyer edward pletcher ri etcher present at the initiation has also el gated hannine rankin hankin kin a attention A t larry palmer falmer was drugged by ralph buckley the night of the initiation and fl a key ot of the fraternity house stolen from rom him jordan has been paying ly lv check a month to some borna unknown berbon howard baeri menick ick jordan a uncle as aa his guat guardian dian had supervision of his hia conduct until he was twenty menty two years old when the boy boys a large fortune became tits his own dr arnold st t louis physic physician irin la in brought into the tha collins la is stolen from the university laboratory A letter to jordan from adward I 1 betchers letchers let chers young wife reveals that I ll letcher etcher has been suspicious of jordans jordan a attention to her on the night before the initiation the pled gees were taken to an isolated spot arid and abandoned to get home to is best they could the stolen pason palson Is found in the roon room of ned patterson a 4 st student u den t ra frankln n k I 1 n finds that on hla ab jordan telephoned from rt a farah farmhouse 0 use to mrs irs pletcher etcher ri wh who 0 came for him in an auto in pletcher ri etcher s roadster rankin finds a hypodermic needle involving ralph buckley Is secured rankin learns of a series of the ats in the fraternity house questioned concerning a watch he had pawned patterson admits the alie thefts ile he also aloo admits stealing the polsi n claiming he took it with the idea of 0 suicide walter randall la is forced to leave school on account ot of hla his health lie he has haa a doctors certificate explaining cloua cious actions buckley confesses the forgery of a a fellow student a name to a chock check ankin Is forced to eliminate buckley from the list hat of the burder suspects suspect not it was to recover this before it fell into ray my hands that to the post offlie office she he the belief in it that you are capable of such a terrible deed naturally blip t want you to learn how tier her imprudence In invoked voled you and first set me on your trail lie ile waited in silence while mr air er read the missive this time jie lie was rewarded by signs of the hand holding the le ie ter trembled and tile the lawyers eyes with increasing as aurance rankin pointed out as aa he lad had already done to mrs airs Ul fletcher etcher liow how it supplied tile tho motive for the crime the two occasions on which the lawyer caught her and jordan together As lie he listened mr air rl riet etcher chers s wrath flared agan but somewhat subdued by dismay are you dinus to suggett he de minded that I 1 killed jordan be cause ause I 1 su suspected my wife ilfe of being and having haning relations with him it went help you to lose your temper 1 the detective warned him smoothly nor to pretend you eren t persuaded of their guilty in I 1 dian didn I 1 t intend acquainting you with this eNide elden rief cp until I 1 was as ready to arrest you but as that w was as just a matter of hours you can realize your position t the lawyers feature grew slight ly pale but he replied scornfully that frighten me ran kin what you mistakenly consid er as adequate motive gives you no case in court you even get a warrant arrant on such flimsy ture I 1 perhaps not rankin hankla admit ted but I 1 have more proof of your guilt than that dont don t forget you had the opportunity to commit the erli throughout the initiation you lands were ere free to adminta ter t poison you stood close to the boy bov and marched around the chapter room just behind him and you will III find this to mr air Ilet cherl suddenly he placed on the desk b fore the lawyer the hypodermic needle discovered disco ered ira in the roadster which the city demist clemist had returned that morning but mr air I 1 if irtcher only looked at it to in wonder if he us acting his self control was as explain he queried puzzled puzzle 1 ha h its it a a hypodermic what ling has it got to do with rie ne it isn t by any chance the needle that thit thi th it t I 1 1 exactly mr air ri eicher etcher I 1 expect ed iou to it it the detec the interrupted grimly that s the weapon Nea poil which li ejected the pol son into jordans jordan s arl wrist st and nd I 1 found it while i blip searching your roadster last n night ight it was nag hidden in your dish board pouch 1 in my vir cir hait are you sa sai ing hankin I 1 ner baw ban I 1 it I 1 b before L fore in ri y life I 1 dont know anything about it it someone must have plant ed it jou ou lont dont suppose lse id hane left such incriminating evidence since tuesday where anyone anyon e t taking n king tile the car might hive discon er e d it I 1 boum aull hae pot got rid of it if the sery ery bernor of his denial lent a cincere ring arid and even Rs is tie he answered tile the argument nankin perceived its validity lm afraid that wont ont do mr air bletcher under udder the circumstances tile flie pouch would seem as safe a place of canceri concealment anent as any besides beside i you timp tampered ered with jordan s shoes biln mr air fletchers fletcherr Flet chers only deac tion to tile the cladge ft as perplexity tampered with ith ills his shoes he re understand what hat dont donl I 1 ou mean lou visited his room in tile the dor mi on oil 1 I iles I 1 ly morril morning ng to put thumb in the sol colfs 4 8 of R all 11 h his 1 S shoes only tile the murderer would do that and for one purpose to dig ting him i tile the initiation frim nil fill of w in wore ore the other ea similar towns ions it ans a 11 p precaution ret 11 ution to insure hed them I 1 1 I 1 neier the laiser klawier cried in alarm and bewilderment li just before you ou reached croft hall rankin ignored the protest inexorably the cleaning woman straightened out jordans rooms she put all his clothing away abay and she car can vouch as a witness that after iou ou arrived three pairs or of his fill shoes nare pre scitt scattered ered about removed from where she had neatly set I 1 hem but I 1 tell you they mere at al seady lying in the vestibule esti bule ilien I 1 ClIt entered cred I 1 almost tripped over them MOM all I 1 wanted canted was to have five a little talk with the boy I 1 felt that anin speaking would bould save him future trouble tile the detective shook tits head yet not finding him in he stated deliberately iou gave the charwoman a cock and bull story about being his uncle and got her to let you enter tits his quirt erg its itri hardly likely that some other person stole in unnoticed by her tn in ton ten minutes the time she quit them and opened the door to let you la in in ans answer r mr pletcher ailetcher spoke so BO extending his hands to td stress his argument that he be compelled rankin nankin s attention try to judge mv state of mind he requested when ithen I 1 called on jordin I 1 hart find just proved he wasi tile the chap who led fled from my m afes ife a bedroom at two fifteen that mom moin ing who nho was responsible I 1 be lieven for stealing her affections naturally she enjoyed youth and excitement sho she find always loved lobed living at a pace with which I 1 am unfortunately I 1 1 to keep up dut but though I 1 dont ba blime ame her I 1 wanted no repetition of the lent the boy threatened to disrupt my marital happiness and break up my home I 1 was mas resentful enough to wish him out of the way but murder was as f firth cst from my thought amazed that for all his shrewd ness the lawyer was so blind to his wife a shortcomings unless he be purposely glossed them ovel ran kin merely ached and how bow ene did you propose to get rid ot of him by bringing about his dismissal from the university that would probably pro bibly cause him to quit phila and go home hoine and again insure my pem penie e of mind and the integrity I 1 value in my house out but of course hn expulsion had bad to be subtly mamaed for sonic some other rea n than my grievance that would have reflected my own weak ness and necessitated necessitate a a public scandal flint waa why I 1 seized the chance to enter tits his roo rooms ri is to learn something about him it oc curled cuned to me I 1 might possibly Is scover some among tits his private effects to use ns its a weapon against him film but I 1 handled handle only his letters and papers I 1 assure you I 1 neither touche louche I 1 his shoes nor moved them into the vestibule by the 1001 one of the most i clr cir cuni frinces stances of the entre entire case had been the absence of mall to the brudent and ranking s voice was suddenly letters iou say that s strange I 1 found none when I 1 examined his blong belongings ings on wednesday no because I 1 t k them with mith me the lawyer explained ile he me member niber I 1 had to act rapidly and coolant read them there I 1 biln t dark eibl tile hie embarrassment of be tnt ini caught and on a hasty glance I 1 got the impression that they supplied the very proofs of his loose ness and immorality that I 1 want vant ed so I 1 pocketed thern them when the woman entered As it turned out I 1 was as mistaken but from what I 1 did it read I 1 gathered they were written by jordans jordan s mistress some woman with whom lie he had been living while nt at college this casual casually lv volunteered bs bit t totally acted intelligence brought rankin to the lie edge of his chair ills raN gantress ml otress tress you rou mean alif boy an and the writer ier hasing nn an hat did tie letters etters say to alp you such ao ado a arst my attention wag ag by a refe reference retice to the tact fact that they had shared an apartment together for some months mi bit pitcher related lie ile had evidently taken it for her for she him film of their pleasures pl ensures together and re iterated tier her affection for him seq sli seemed aeilous to rejoin hi him m after a separation and the tone of her messages nag is ing ns as if to conciliate him after some with ith mal other letters chich alo al o acknowledged mony money ile he sent tier indicated lie he IRS at school during their altair she mentioned the weekends as the only time he could get away to spend with tier her that meant their intrigue was clandestine and the arrangement secret while he ostensibly lived respectably at col lege tile the detective shook tits head so hefty that t sound at nil all like jordin he commented my inquiries suggest he was decent quiet and hell behaved quiet chaps are often the most deceptive leep tive the lawyer returned lind I 1 was only too ready 0 cred it the letters at the moment I 1 was too rushed to dasco discover er from where they came and alifi they were and I 1 could tit tell how long ago their co occurred it had find apparently ceased for the time being cut but if the boy had lived with fill this woman at any time tills this bear ibale at philadel hll ndel ehla I 1 had a weapon to cause his dismissal then how dow la Is it possible you keiu eie mis mistaken rhe facts seem to speak for themselves mr bir fletcher etcher Ul replied slowly th emphasis bechtl Be catl c they had nn an other interpretation mitch I 1 failed to consider the correct one lie paused tamely namely vint that instead of ills his mistress the uritta as tits his wife their nuptials bere cre a secret but even so the affair was nias en legal 1 I here rankin was before this revelation left him film lit fit brally speechless I 1 ills wife nife he finally goed 0 d tire are you positive ot 0 that I 1 have had bad no inkling before of her eNi existence stence from any source whatever Nhat ever but hes married ne erthelee erth elek i later in wy my I 1 studied the letters at my leisure and learned the situation I 1 ahey alluded several times to thir wedding Ned dIng last spring and she tried to w in him hack back by recalling the obligations tie he owed her as her husband ihms apart ment from |