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Show i ...By FREDERIC F. VAN DE WATE-R "r pretense aside It was good to throw P"? at last and speak my thought Miss Ferriter." I went on, " HeTfted a hand so sharply that 1 "Mte,.. he said, and I t now that he was wholly candid, is to be kept out of this tragedy If I have to go further than-chivalrous perjury. She has suffered more than enough, already." His emphasis threw me out of my stride for an instant All right," I told him You gave Grove a key. Let it go at that. I hope when he opens up h. tells the same story. You gave him the key. How does that explain his presence in your flat last night at the time of your brothers-suicide?" brothers-suicide?" .... He smiled at the stress I laid on the last word and that made me angrier. an-grier. "It doesn't," he said. "No one knows why he was there-except, possibly, poor, old Everett." "Your sister knows," I laid, tingling. tin-gling. "Maybe you do, too." "Are you," he drawled.' "trying to be offensive?" "It's no effort," I assured him. "Everett committed suicide. No doubt he had his reasons. He left the note they found on Grove. No doubt you know what it means. Grove is that way about your sister. That's why he had a key. He's in this jam on her account while I felt better when I reached tne Morello and entered under the wistful wist-ful eyes of a half-dozen evening newspaper men, none of whom I knew, but I found when Eddie Hoyt spoke to me that my nerves were raw and mv temper hair-trigger. "Lissen, Dave," he begged, as he went with me to the elevator, "you don't think this young Paget really done it?" "No." I snapped. "Do you? He blinked at my violence. "No offense," he said earnestly. "Only, Dave, if there's anything I can do for that old lady, I'd do it if I went to jail for it. See? She's been real good to me. Remember that willya? There's something phony pho-ny about this hull thing. I can feel it, Dave." "You're telling me?" I asked as he let me off. Eddie nodded toward the Paget door. "This here Ferriter, the one that s left," he whispered, "is in there now. He come about a half-hour ago. Fineman tells me his sister took on when they blew in and heard what had happened kinda historical. They didn't stay here last night." "Now that's funny, isn't it?" I jeered and pressed the Paget bell. "Not to me it ain't," said Hoyt, ducking back into the car. Annie let me in and motioned me into the workroom. Miss Paget, the maid said, was busy, but she'd see me in a few minutes. I sat down CHAPTER XIV Continued 15 "May I point out," Miss Agatha asked politely, "that Everett Ferriter Ferri-ter also had access to that machine and a latchkey to this flat?" Shannon did not seem to hear her. He said: "I'll be taking that typewriter along, too. Miss Paget. We've found your nephew's fingerprints on the keys and space bar. He it was who used it last I'm sorry but we're taking him in, for further questioning." question-ing." Still holding her aunt's hand, Al-legra Al-legra felt with the other for a chair and sat down. Miss Agatha moved ever so little. Her head lifted. A quiet, more impressive than bluster, was in her voice. "Just one thing. Captain Shannon. I'm the oldest living member of the Paget family. It has influence in New York." Beneath his breath, the policeman mumbled something. Miss Agatha went on: "That is not a threat, though you may think so. You're wholly within with-in your rights in arresting Grove, but" the fine old head, the precise pre-cise voice went a shade higher "but if you maltreat my nephew, if you step over any single one of his legal rights, if you or any of your tribe lay a finger on him while you're 'questioning,' I shall see to it that more than a finger falls on you, sir. C"''S you A voice behind Lyon cut through my angry speech and checked it "Would you mind," it asked, "stepping a little aside, Mr. Ferriter? Ferri-ter? I thought you had gone." He obeyed. Miss Agatha sat behind be-hind him in her wheel chair. Her bleak face daunted Lyon who was as nearly ill at ease as I had ever seen him. "Yes," he stammered, "I should have gone some time ago," and without further glance at me, hurried hur-ried down the hall. The door slammed. The old lady turned her head and looked at me and again I marveled at the resilience of her crippled body. Not even the plight of her beloved nephew had dulled her eyes, or shaken her voice. I was still too angry to read omen In her regard. "I gather," rhe said, "Mr. Ferriter Ferri-ter has been railing you he gave Grove that latcfAey." "I can gather,''' I snarled, "that he's willing to crucify a silly kid for the sake of Ioiis's good name "I ve lived," Miss Agatha enaea, "more years in New York than I care to confess. If you misuse your authority, I shall misuse my influence. influ-ence. And never," she added, with an oddly mirthful puckering of her eye wrinkles, "think I haven't got it." The bell rang as she ceased, as though her words had smitten some Invisible bull's-eye. Shannon's face softened a trifle. He looked at her with respect and an unwilling trace of amusement. "Miss Paget," he began, "you're a" I think he intended to compliment her but he was interrupted. A ruddy-faced, elderly gentleman, slightly slight-ly out of breath and more than a little ruffled, entered. He put on black-corded glasses to glare at Shannon and me and then beamed through them at Miss Agatha. The old lady gave a slow smile of triumph. tri-umph. "Tertius," she said, as though he were a late comer to a reception, "this is very good of you. Captain Shannon, this is Senator Groesbeck, my attorney. I think I can leave if any." My violence seemej to soothe her. Her face softened a lii'I. She said dryly: "I'm glad you're so itrenuous, David. Something has happened that Allegra and I want to ask you about." I was so dumb that her words heartened me. I thought that they were going to ask for counsel and I forgot my recent wrath. Perhaps that sacrificial yearning I had felt in Allegra's presence wasn't so idiotic idi-otic after all. I might yet serve her. "I'm grateful to you both," I told Miss Agatha. Again, she gave me that puzzled stare. I thought she was going to ask a question but she turned her head instead and called: "Allegra." I heard the girl come down the hall. Something made me faintly uneasy. I forgot my qualm when she entered the room. I got up. Worry had hardened her. Her face was white. Her eyes endured mine so indifferently that I wondered if this rnnlH ho ihn oii "That is not a threat, though yon may think so." and stared at the four dim circles on the desk top where the typewriter had stood. I thought of Lyon and of the voice I had heard unless I were screwy issuing from the booth at Mino's last night. Could it have been only last night? Was it really yesterday afternoon that Lyon and I had fenced? I found myself sitting straighter. That broken epee point had not been accident. The plan had been to kill me while Everett searched my room and removed damaging evidence. What evidence? I groaned and heard Lyon Ferriter come along the hall. He was a shade more gaunt but his smile was cordial and his easy drawling manner fitted him like a long used glove. Once more, his voice and appearance overthrew my suspicion so violently that I found myself offended by his poise. "Good morning," he said. "I didn't expect to see you here." "Or I you," I answered. Grove safely in your joint care." I acknowledged introduction to the Senator who seemed to regard everyone ev-eryone but Miss Agatha with the justifiable suspicion of a corporation counsel who had been hauled out of bed into a murder case. Then I said: "I'll be going now, Miss Paget Good night." "Thank you, David," she said and looked at me hard. I ducked my head toward Allegra, Alleg-ra, barely meeting her eyes. I think she started to follow me to the door, but her aunt, whose hand she still held, stayed her. As I departed, Miss Agatha called after me: "Nine o'clock tomorrow, David. Or rather, today." She was not one whose purposes were lightly thwarted. CHAPTER XV Shannon and his prisoner had drawn the reporters away from the Morello. An empty taxi stood at the curb. I recall little of my ride home. I knew, as I got out of the cab, that I was out on my feet. I would not have thought of Cochrane and of what the new tragedy meant to him, and me, if I had not seen the telephone in Mrs. Shaw's hall. I hesitated and then called the Press. I got Jerry. I could not match his elation. He had reached the Morello Mo-rello just after I had entered. Duke, he confided, had been angry at my reticence. Cochrane now was waiting wait-ing word from the Press man at headquarters, whither Grove had been taken. I told him briefly what I knew, withholding only my foreknowledge fore-knowledge that Grove had had a key to the Ferriter flat, nor did I cite that apparently disembodied voice I had heard at Mino's. I was too weary to be discreet otherwise. The ache in my bones had crept into my mind and clogged my tongue. When I had finished, I heard Coch-rane's Coch-rane's chuckle. "We'll hang it on the town again, Dave. I'll meet you at noon tomorrow tomor-row in that beanery near the Morello. Morel-lo. I have tidings to impart, my lad. They'll interest you." I wondered, as I pulled myself upstairs, whether anything ever could interest me again. I slept so soddenly that when I woke, I had all the symptoms of a hang-over except ex-cept the memory of revelry. Coffee eased my head and food ballasted my uneasy stomach. I read, as I ate, Cochrane's deft story in the Press. I wished that he had been a shade less authoritative concerning con-cerning what had taken place in the Paget apartment, but it was a well-handled yarn, scrupulously fair as far as young Paget was concerned. con-cerned. He was -still held as a material ma-terial witness. Which meant, I knew, that, so far, he had not talked. I had kissed a few hours ago. She was immune to my smile; she was deaf to my greeting. She looked from me to her aunt, who gave a prompting nod. In Allegra's clenched hand, a paper crackled. Her voice had the same impersonal sound as she asked, looking straight at me again: "Do you know a man named Lawrence Law-rence Duke?" I could feel it coming. I knew now that it wasn't just anxiety for her brother that had bleached and hardened her. There was sweat In my palms and my voice sounded hoarse to me as I said: "Yes." Allegra gave her head a quick little lit-tle jerk and unfolded the paper she held. "I don't," she told me with quiet scorn, "but he writes on the letterhead letter-head of the Sphere: 'Dear Madam-ferhaps Madam-ferhaps you are unaware that your escort of tonight is a reporter on the Press in disguise.' " Miss Agatha asked: "Is that true, David?" an,l " " BOes'" 1 her and there was a sudden dullness in e clever old eyes. I had no time to explain for Allegra said and her voice cut: r 'You have been stealing my aunt s generosity and m,-fr,er! "No," I said. PressT" "e B rCPrtcr e "Only on probation," I .alri hat and coa, The my A stool pigeon " Posely a'rfurned'rr who had not stirred ABalh- '( IIF. COSTt,li;Dj He frowned and shrugged his wide, stooped shoulders. "No," he agreed, lowering his voice, "I made an error in coming. I don't think there's anything in the etiquette book to fit just this situation. People can hardly be normal in such circumstances. circum-stances. I've taken enough on the chin in my time to fortify me a bit, but lone" his voice softened as he spoke of her "is all apart again." "I can understand that," I told him. He nodded. "Of course you do." He paused and I felt his further words were a belated retort to Miss Agatha Paget. Pag-et. "After all, we are the bereaved. Poor old Everett I can't Imagine why Grove " He overplayed his hand. For the first time, I thought I caught the faint sound of duplicity in his speech. His martyred air irked me. I felt my brain light up and was canny enough to wait an instant curbing myself, before I said: "I can't imagine that Grove did it." Lyon looked at me quite carefully and then shrugged again. "Fortunately," he said, "this time my alibi is endorsed. I only know what the police, and witnesses say." "Sure," I answered, "and I don't suppose you can imagine how Grove got a key to your flat?" If that reached him, he did not show it. He seemed to be thinking of something that his long brown face quite hid, before he said: "That is not true. I came here this morning to tell Miss Paget that I would make affidavit that I gave Grove that key." "Which," I told hiir. "comes under un-der the head of chivalrour perjury." |