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Show Duke McCale, private detective, li in-VtstlgaUng in-VtstlgaUng the murder of Curt Villain-eourt, Villain-eourt, who was about to marry Veronica Blgelow, heiress to thirty million dollars. Moral obUIni torn Important clues from Snarl Lynn, VaUalncourt'i former wife, and from Victoria, Veronica's sister. sis-ter. Veronica the No. 1 suspect, l called again to headquarters. McCale questions the members of the family. Stephen, Veronica's brother, tells how be met Vallalncourt In Chiraco, when his sister, Victoria, was runnlnf around with the handsome adventurer. It was Victoria who Introduced Vallalncourt to Veronica. McCale considers this slenlf leant Stephen also reveals that he knew Snarl Lynn In Chicago. CHAPTER XII Td met her. We all met once or twice. But he divorced her, you know." He shut his mouth, and his brooding eyes half closed. He looked t McCale with an expression that laid at plainly as words could, "And that's all you'll get from me." McCale changed the direction of his next questions strategically and said with the suddenness of a catapult, cata-pult, "You were spying on your wife and Curt Vallalncourt at The White Abbey night before last, weren't jrouT" He thought he had exploded explod-ed bomb with that, but curiously enough, Blgelow was ready for it "No, Indeed. I just happened to be there. I saw them talking. What of HT Karen comes and goes as she pleases." "You didn't, then, suspect her, ay, of having an affair or some secret connection with him say something she wished to keep from you?" Blgelow laughed hollowly, the watchfulness gone from him, "Not at all, Mr. McCale." He accented the mister disdainfully. "Whatever gave you that absurd Idea?" McCale thought he has been lying ly-ing to me now for the last three minutes. These were the questions be was so sure I would ask first, the ones he was not sure he was ready for. And I, like a fool, have gone all around the barn, allowing bim to collect himself. He shrugged. "You haven't thing to tell me that might help the growing case against Veronica, then?" he asked, a reasonable barb In his question. "Nothing at all." Stephen rose, well aware that he had acquitted himself, In his own mind anyway, with some success that the Interview was over. He paused at the door. "Who Is next for the Inquisition?" he asked mockingly. "You might ask your mother to step In for a moment," McCale answered, an-swered, wrapped In sudden fury. "Sorry to bother you, Mrs. Blge-, Blge-, low," he said, somewhat disgruntled. Vila UV IIIUIUI V BISa v4 she sighed. "It's all so sordidly necessary." "Why did you go to the White Abbey the night before last?" he asked without preliminary. "Why, I-I wasn't there . . . I-" The unexpectedness of the attack made her forget momentarily her Dostevskl role. Quickly she sank Into a chair. "You were seen, you know," he went on. "Your altercation with your daughter-in-law and your entrance en-trance into the club." "I've got a right to go anywhere I want. As for my daughter-in-law, I often have to be a bit harsh with ber. She neglects my son." "But you were heard not to believe be-lieve her when she assured you that the man you came to see was not there." A hard, beady look came Into her eyes. Her face sagged as If the veneer were about to crack. "Did you see him?" McCale prodded. prod-ded. Sybil Admits She Saw the Shooting "I told you I did not go to that Is, I did go Inside the lobby, but decided not to go upstairs. I returned re-turned home." "You didn't see Curt Vallalncourt as you had planned, then?" "I tell you I didn't go upstairs. f aanf thera tA ftfftf me son. He had quarreled with Karen and I was afraid he had started out on a a binge." She said it very defiantly. McCale wondered what her answer an-swer would have been If she had not known already that he knew Stephen had been there. He felt he would get nothing of Importance from her now that she was back In the groove of the tragic role she was determined to play. "One more question, then." he said, to her surprise and disappointment. disap-pointment. "What did you see, yes-terday yes-terday afternoon, when you were In front of this house at the time of the murder?" The blow of It visibly staggered her. Again there was the automatic automat-ic reaching out for her gin as of sherry. sher-ry. She gasprd. Her eyes were filled with sheer terror. Her mouth grew slack. "Oh, no," she whimpered. "I was not there. I wasn't You're mistaken." mis-taken." His voice became hard, his look Insistent "You wore a gray raincoat" rain-coat" "ld- "Dotn MlM Adelaide Ade-laide and I saw you." "No, no she couldn't have. Sue didn't -hasn't-" "She would not tell you. You i know that. She has not admitted it even to me. But I saw you, Mrs Bigclow. I know it was you." He waited, tense, as she Dulled herself slowly together. She arose with cold determination. "Very well, then," she said at last. "I was going ta protect her. God knows why. I didn't actually see the shooting. It was foggy, slippery, slip-pery, you know. I have very small feet and sometimes lose my balance. bal-ance. I was picking my way. I had my head down when the shot came. I was so frightened and for a moment dazed. I didn't know It was Curt. I only saw a man stagger stag-ger a moment. He seemed to recover re-cover himself and walk on toward me. In my shock I stepped off the sidewalk and crossed the street. It was only when he fell to his knees on our steps that I knew something terrible had happened. It was then I saw Veronica running across the Common path. Veronica" she drew herself up majestically. "Why didn't you Immediately come into the house? I should have thought" "Oh, but I couldn't Don't you see?" She was Cornell now, loyal, "A hard nut to crack," was aU McCale made of her. misunderstood, rejected. "If I'd gone right In, everyone would have known, wouldn't they? I'd have had to say I'd seen Veronica. I couldn't do that-I couldn't." McCale wondered why, If she couldn't face telling it then, she was able to be so glib about it now. "I slipped down the other side of the street to the drugstore for cigarettes. I met Stephen there, you know or don't you?" "Yes. I have seen the police reports," re-ports," he said gravely. "Will you send your daughter in please?" She accepted her dismissal with the air of an actress taking a curtain cur-tain call. "You're making your farewell tour," McCale chuckled to himself, his mind busy with her treachery. You never would have guessed that Victoria had been up most of the previous night The circles under un-der her eyes were no darker than usual. She slunk In, her mouth the same Insolent gash of red. "A hard nut to crack," was all McCale made of her, as he smiled to himself. "Too bad you weren't able to find your letters In Vallalncourt's apartment apart-ment last night." he opened. She did not seem startled. She tossed her dark head. "Oh, you know that, do you? How did that get out?" "My assistant, who helped you search. He was quite smitten by your charms." "That ox." Her Hp curled. "So he works for you. He told me he was a policeman." "Well, he'd make a good one, at that." McCale chuckled. "You'd have recognized him if you'd been home the night before. He was on duly nere ail mat nignt. where were you, by the wny?" "That's my business." Those letters Could He Damaging "Perhaps it's mine. Or at least the police may want an explanation. explana-tion. Were you at the Vallalncourt apartment, by any chance?" "My little romp with Curt was over long ago." "Was It?" he asked quietly, hard bunches showing along his jaw "Yes. Who says It wasn't?" "The red wig you wore when you Impersonated your stepsister, Veronica, each time you went there." "You'll have to prove that." Her eyes grew hooded and he saw her hands tremble. His shot in the dark had been a good one. "Proof?" he said, smiling. "I don't ned to prove It It's self evident. . know a lot more about tho woman i Curt Vallameourt knew than you ir Imagine In your wildest dreams." A crooked little smile curled the ediirs of her mouth. "Uh. what does it matter, anyhow? any-how? We're all sunk I did want hose1 letters though. You know jvhat I think? I think you know .vhere they are. I think you could ct them for me. Why won't you .vork for me? I said I'd pay you .veil. I've got enough money." Her oyes were bright. "What good would that do?" She got up, turned her back to the window, and made a quick, pleading gesture. "Shari Lynn has them. She must You hinted at it the other night You can act as intermediary get your cut anything. Only I've got tJ have them." "Why?" She was impatient in her anxiety, boldly took another task. "See here" she came close to him, dropping her voice conspira-torily conspira-torily "you're working all out for Veronica, aren't you? Now listen. If those letters come out, it will put her in a worse spot than she's in now." "I'm sorry, but I don't follow you." "Oh, Lord. I thought you said you were a detective. Look. Veronica Veron-ica found out, somehow, that I had known Curt rather well. Don't ask me how. I don't know that. We had a whale of a row over It, but I denied it Do you see? Now, If they get her for his his death, and the letters are found, it will prove she was right. Don't you get it? It will give them a motive. If I can get them back, I can destroy them." He chuckled cynically, striking his hands together with a muttered exclamation. "No," he barked, "not really! Don't tell me, In all seriousness, seri-ousness, that you want to protect Veronica?" "Of course. Why?' "Because it Just occurred to me, being a detective, that if you had those letters you might just possibly possi-bly not destroy them. They make such a swell motive." He bowed. "Not only that my loyal young lady, but you seem to think as a matter of fact you're practically convinced yourself that Shari Lynn has possession of those letters. Suppose I tell you that the police have them safe under lock and key. Evidence, you know." "It's a lie!" "Yes." he said, "so far as I know. It Is a lie, but how did you know?" She shut her Hps together and just glared at him. "You may go," he said unconcernedly. uncon-cernedly. "I'll talk to your sister in-law next. See you at the inquest" in-quest" A few minutes later, the sound of the piano playing stopped abruptly. Shortly afterward, the door opened and Karen Blgelow came in. "I think," he observed, "that of all the Bigelows, you belong least of all to this house." "You mean, perhaps, that 1 am an acquisition ici us say an ornament?" or-nament?" - "Exactly. You can tell me more about them than anyone." "Oh, but I couldn't" She made slow, somnolent motion, not so much in horror or disloyalty as of deadly Indifference. "I think you can," he persisted. "Let me tell you what I know to be true. You all were acquainted with Curt Vallalncourt In Chicago at about the same time Stephen Blgelow Blge-low was, shall I say, rushing you into matrimony? You knew his wife, too, Sarah Llnsky, wasn't It the present Shari Lynn?" She was watching him covertly from under her long lashes. The Vgly Plot Begins to Show "I know you finally consented to marry Stephen," he continued. "I'll confess, I've wondered why." She shifted her positiun imperceptibly, impercep-tibly, placing her long white hands on her knees. "I had suffered all winter with a pain here." She touched her arm. "A nervous ailment I thought then that I would never play again. I thought" She had thought, of course, that she rould forget her music In the bosom of a rich social so-cial life. How wrong she had been. She found herself embroiled between be-tween a jealous mother-in-law and a lealous husband. She had with drawn, therefore, to her Nordic hauteur, until boredom and unhap-piness unhap-piness had driven her back to the keyboard to find that sheer necessity neces-sity enabled her to overcome her illness, forced her to play again. McCale stood very straight and still before the glacial Karen Blgelow. Blge-low. Her hauteur and boredom and complete indifference was beginning to get him. "Look. Mrs. Blgelow." he said very quietly, "1 know that Victoria knew Vallalncourt and that was still going on even after his engagement en-gagement to Veronica, and that he still saw Shari Lynn as well. I know, too, that you once had some connection with him, because you went to the White Abbey the night before last to buy hack some letters let-ters from Miss Lynn. They must have been old letters or Vallalncourt Vallaln-court would have had them and you would have had to deal with him. The fact that he showed surprise sur-prise when you made the exchange with his ex-wife proved that." "What else di you know?" she asked wearily, her voice toneless "Well-" he hesitated. "1 know that your husband also saw the exchange Did you know that?" TO DC CONTINCIDI |