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Show COMING TO PRESTON SOON!' I Jerry said he didn't want to go out. Just back from a trip, he I wanted to stay at home with his I wife, but he went to admit the i callers. Pam returned to the bed- room to finish dressing, i Jerry begged off from going out : for cocktails or to dinner and Ben Wilson said: I "It's no use, Jerry. I know how you feel, but you are licked." He gave his wife, Jane, a stealthy look. She took offense at his remark re-mark and they would have started start-ed quarreling had not Stuart Blan-ton Blan-ton reminded them they were guests in someone else's home. "I know how you feel, Jerry," said Blanton. "It's all right with me. You tell Pam I'm In quaran- i tine with chicken-pox and the din- i ner's called off." "You're sure it won't put you ! out?" ! "Not at all I asked you because i at my party yesterday Pam said her cook was out." Jerry was surprised. "Pam -went ! to your party? Yesterday after-I after-I noon?" 1 "Yes " As she opened the door, the body of a well-dressed man fell fot ward. Pam, horrified, could no make a sound for some moments. Then she called in a small, uncertain un-certain voice: "Jerry..." "I know. Don't tell me. You forgot for-got to order scotch. Or is it ", A full-voiced scream frightened, the angered him so that he approached ap-proached the study door on the point of scolding her. At sight of her pallid face, her shakily pointing point-ing finger, he dashed past her. Then he saw the body. "Holy smoke! Holy... It's aU right, Pam. Keep calm. Keep very calm." He put his arm about her and led her to the telephone ir the foyer. In a shaken voice he notified the police that a man had been killed in his apartment... Lieutenant Weigand and Deteo-I tive Mullins responded to Jerry's summons. They found no papers of identification on the murdered man whose head had been bashed in. They proceeded methodically1 about their business, and Pani buried her face on her husband's shoulder. "Oh, Jerry, It's awful!...! Anri rr-ar wa'll iava t n flnri ci-im r mi t iiliruiHTg , ( . ' 1 A ;' i f ' - 1 rvi.-"- '" 3 Rill I "I'll nuJc him regret to his dying day that thti wasn't his dying day." other place to keep the liquor." Weigand suddenly confronted them. "You sure you never sav this man before?" "fhey were botli certain they never had. I "He was In your closet, wasn't he?" demanded Mullins truculently. "What of that?" asked Pam. "W keep all sorts of things in that closet. We don't know people -who go out and get themselves murdered." mur-dered." "Tell us exactly what you know about this murder," inter-posed inter-posed Weigand. "Go back aa far, as you can." "If you go back far enough It was probably mother " i "You mean to say your mother! murdered this guy?" Mullins Interrupted. In-terrupted. I "How dare you say my mother killed a man?" demanded Pam irJ dignantly. I "I didn't say it. You did," said Mullins. Jerry explained. "She's trying to say that all this happened because Bhe went to her mother's yesterday yester-day and I went to Boston." I Through his questioning Weigand learned the time Pam left tha Pi? si. & MRS. Adapted from the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Picture by LEBBEUS MITCHELL CAST OF CHARACTERS Panwla Nerth Oracle AftoK Carald r. North s . v William Post, Jr.' UMitonant Wtigand f J . . Paul K oily Carol Brant '.. i i oOrfoart JanoWiloon ? jfr Virginia Ony Loul Brerex . -T T .js Xom Conway Arthur Talbot fe- J A A Fallx Braaaart Stuart Blanton K .ST Stuart Crawlord Ooorga H.yltr j?- i '. . PorfrrHall "It's a figure Carol had on exhibit at the Danbury State Fair a portrait bust of herself. her-self. It's kind of futuristic, fu-turistic, but I told her I'd bring it to Louis." She explained to Jerry that Carol Brent and Louis Brerei were very much in love and wanted to get married and that Carol's husband hus-band wouldn't give her a divorce. She did not confide in Jerry, however, that Carol wanted her to try to persuade Stanley Brent to do so, nor that she had tried twice to get Brent on the phone to plead with him. At an opportune Chapter On Instead of finding his wife Pa-,mela Pa-,mela at the Grand Central Station to meet him, an attendant shouted through the call system that Gerald Ger-ald North was wanted at the sta-ition sta-ition master's office. His wife had left a call there for him. He phoned to the number, but the drug store gave him another, the florist till another number. Finally he located Pam at tha police station, i She was charged with striking an officer, but she maintained that ahe was only showing him that ahe did know enough to signal with her hand when turning her car In the street when he had expressed ex-pressed doubt of that fact, and that the striking was accidental. "You can have her for fifty dollars," dol-lars," said the Desk Sergeant, "and If you haven't got the money, we'll , ail chiD in. Go and cet her. Pete and watch yourself." "I have the money. Is my wife all right?" "That's funny! I was ust going to ask you tha same thing." He waited until Pete returned with her. She was followed by two panting, disheveled policemen loaded down with bundles. He went to her asking: "Pam, are you all right?" "I'm all right There's the man who needs your sympathy." She pointed to the Desk Sergeant. "I'll make him regret to his dying day that this wasn't his dying day!" "Please, darling " "I'll show him that American womanhood can't be bullied and heckled as long as I'm created free and equal! I'll take this case to the highest court in New York City. And then to the Supreme Court in Washington. I'll take it to the President himself and hen to his wife!" "Come along!" urged Jerry. "I've paid your fine." At length, still threatening the unfortunate Desk Sergeant, she let him take her out to the taxi in which he had hurried hur-ried from the station. Pam watched her husband covertly cov-ertly as, almost concealed with parcels, he eat silently in one coi aer of the cab. She sidled towards him. " . 'I can't blame you a bit, darling. dar-ling. You ought to be mad at me. You ought to hate me . . . But I wish you wouldn't." "A fine homecoming!" he burst out.- "Mysterious phone calls! Everybody Every-body telling me not to worry. And all the time ..." But suddenly he relented, freed himself of parcels, pulled her to his side and kissed her. "Love, my dear, is one of the mysteries . . ." But there are some things that even love can't stand, as Jerry discovered dis-covered a short time later when Pam ordered the driver to stop at a curio shop in the window of which was displayed an old cigar store Indian. I "Jerry, what a lovely knick-knack! knick-knack! I've always wanted an Indian! In-dian! He'll just match the new furniture I am going to get when I do the place over in early American." Ameri-can." I "You can't have him. Get this clearly, Pam: the day . he comes lnto our house I move out!" I In Waverly Place Pam stopped to leave a present for the artist-inventor, artist-inventor, Louis Brerex. She had picked It up In Danbury, returning from her mother's, for Carol Brent. apartment, the train that Jerry took, the name of the friends who nad called. A "plainclothes- manj came up with the janitor, Buano In spite of his desire to aid Jerry, Buano'a story was damaging toi him. Weigand quickly dismissed! him and resumed his questioning of Jerry. He had been in his of flee at four the previous day, ha' told the Lieutenant, and his secretary sec-retary and any number of employees em-ployees would coroborate that statement. state-ment. Weigand was non-committal and finally asked if there was. anything else he could think of. "Not a thing... Oh, yes. I'm sorry. sor-ry. I forgot to tell you that after we came home we found a gold compact on the floor. It's on thi . . . Pam, that's funny. I saw you place it here." "I took it into the bedroom. I'll get it," said Pam. She returned with a silver compact that Jerrj recognized as one he had given her. At his amazed expression, she said: "Why, darling, can't you tell the difference between white gold and silver?" Weigand looked suspiciously at them, but soon took his departure. "Pam," said Jerry, "if you've got a sound, innocent reason for what you did, you've got to tell me about it, so I'll know what to do. Otherwise Other-wise we're in for serious trouble." "I'll tell you everything then. It goes way back . . ." She stopped and he prodded her verbally. Tb doorbell buzzed and she brightened with relief. "How can I tell you with someone at the door?" He went and opened it. The caller was a Fowler brush agent. Jerry sent him away. Pam called him back. "I want to see you. I need a new broom a special kind. Brown. Have you a broom made sort of thin?" "Fibre brooms? Yes, ma'am We're the only firm that has fibre brooms patented. We also have tooth brushes, kitchen brushes, flocr mops '" "Just brooms, please." "Furniture mops, patented " Jerry interposed roughly. "Pam I've got to know the truth." "Please, dear, this Is very Important. Im-portant. I want a broom, not a stiff " With a muttered yell, Jerry sprang at the broom agent. "Got out of here! Do you hear? Get out before I kill you!" Don't mtsj Chapter II of -challenging murder mjstsry. Printed In O. S. A. Cowrliut 1W3 by Low'i lug. I moment, however, aha confided secretly to Brerex that Brent had never called her back as she had asked his secretary to have him do. "The only thing that worries me," said Brerex, "is Carol. She's get ting desperate. And she's counting on you, Pam." "I'll do what I can, but It's awfully aw-fully difficult on account of Jerry. He hates getting involved in in this kind of thing..." When they reached the apartment apart-ment house, Pam went up ahead while Buano, the Italian janitor, helped Jerry bring up her parcels. Buano, somewhat mysteriously, hinting that Jerry probably did not want his wife to know, said that the next afternoon after Mrs. North had left to go to her mother's, he had heard Jerry come in. He had been called, he explained, to the Clarks' apartment just below Jerry's, and there he had heard the fight in Jerry's apartment, followed by a cry, and a fall that shook the Clarks' chandelier. Jerry asserted that he had not returned to the apartment that he had been in Boston. But Buano did not believe him. With sly nods and winks, he assured Jerry he would not tell on him not even that he had pounded on the door of the Norths' apartment and that Jerry would not answer. "It must have been Pam's cat you heard," said Jerry. "Yep. Sure. Pete he Tery smart cat. So smart he can speak English Eng-lish like I hear outside your door. Anyway, Mrs. North, before she go away, bring Pete down for Mrs. Buano to keep for her. So it must have been another very smart cat." Jerry was rather amused at the janitor's thinking he had returned and had a fight, but was concerned enough to ask Pam if she had returned to the apartment after she had left to go to her mother's. Pamela said she had not. While Pam was changing her clothes, Jerry hung a futuristic picture that had been among the parcels she brought home. Getting Get-ting off the chair, he saw a gold compact on the floor. He had never seen it before and Pam said she hadn't either. They were still discussing dis-cussing it when the door bell buzzed. "Good heavens! Four-thirty!" cried Pam. "That's Stuart Blanton and Jane and Ben Wilson. They've come to tako us to Tompldns for cocktails and to Stuart's for dinner." din-ner." She placed the compact on a table. A loud shriek from Pam sent them scurrying to the bedroom. Ben Wilson Btopped at eight of the gold compact, stared at it as though stunned. Then he put It in bis pocket. "Someone has been In this room while we were away!" Pam cried. "My hand glass was on the dressing dress-ing table right side up and it was on the wrong side of my powder box, and now it's on the right side and that's the wrong side." To Blanton's amazed exclamation, exclama-tion, Jerry said: "Don't try to understand her just at first It takes time," "Yes, the wrong side Is the right side," said Pam. "And nobody but a burglar would put anything on my dressing table on the right side. I never do." "Wait a minute," said Jerry, and hurried into his study and tried the drawer in his desk. It was locked. He opened it and examined the contents before returning. "The drawer hasn't been fooled with. Still, you may be right. Buano said he heard someone in the apartment." apart-ment." Pam threw her arms about Jerry. Jer-ry. "I'm frightened!" "Whoever it was is not here now, Pam. I'm afraid, Stuart, we are in no mood for cocktail parties." "Of course not. And don't bother about coming to dinner," said Blanton, Blan-ton, going towards the hall. Jane Wilson followed him, but stopped as she caught the burning eyes of her husband, still standing by the table, staring tensely after her. "What are you sore about now?" she flared. "What's happened?" "I don't know yet," replied Ben as he slowly followed her to the foyer. "Feel safe now?" Jerry asked when he was alone with Pam. She kissed him, murmuring assent. "Pam, did you go to a party at Stuart Blanton's yesterday afternoon?" after-noon?" "Yes, I did. I'd given him my lobster recipe. I wanted to see if he'd ruined it, and he had." They went into the living room. Pam screamed again. "The window! win-dow! It's open! I closed it when I left!" ' "So now it's open. Is that any reason ... Great Scott!" cried Jerry, collapsing In a chair as he re- membered Buano's story of a fight' and the foil of a bodv in his apartment. apart-ment. Frightened at his expression, Pam ran to the liquor closet In Jerry's ftu&jr. ' |