Show he MAY DAY AY ERY by OCTAVUS ROY COHEN col light bv 11 hov cohnn fh CHAPTER X continued 14 she did not indulge in dramatics she merely sat feat very still and her ber body seemed to get cold ns as lee ice site alio stared at the huge figure opposite met look for look anti and she searching the moonlike fact face for a vestige of reassurance saw nothing but grim gilm honesty then she gasped you think larry killed him 1 I cant say that miss peyton tie lie amended gently 1 I do believe that lie he lied when he sat said thayer was alive when he be left and now I 1 know why hy why then to shield you tie lie had just learned your secret lie ile knew probably that you had amm le L e n to see thayer and if lie he kill thayer then lie he found the body when lie got there and thought you had done tt it its a situation ns its old as romance but at any rate it was a pretty fine thing for him to do because by ills his own admission thayer was alive while lie he was there which makes it certain that lie he must have done the killing lie ile coul dut do a thing like that even in a light fight it you Is that is eliat a question mr or a statement tile the big man smiled slightly 1 I dont know do you 1 I kill hill him hanvey rose and shook his head this aint any cinch miss peyton if im to believe what I 1 hear you kill him and neither did larry welch it almost looks like if IE I 1 carry the investigation far c enough D ough ill tind out he aint dead suddenly he started forward im miss pyton I 1 mean to c rack crack tiny any bum barn jokes honest c st I 1 im ilia just a d d blundering jackass out in the courtyard of the jail john reagan turned admiringly ea to his companion ill hand it to you jim youri youre a marvel but how in h 1 1 do you do it ohl oh 1 I 1 dunno john shooting square with em maybe and maybe its because they look me over and decide im so dam stupid I 1 understand a lie if I 1 heard one hairim and now what do you think john welch or miss peyton neither snapped reagan heagan it was max mas vernon just like I 1 said at first it happened this way and ill bet a nickel on it tony peyton peylon went there just like she said then vernon went to thayere Th ayers room and killed him not meaning to kill him when he went in maybe but doing it in a fight larry weld welch gets there a little later and finds the body thinks tony did it it pulls the hero stuff what do you think or of that 11 sounds Sunds reasonable commented J jim m guardedly anyhow I 1 reckon there aint any obJect objection lou to lettin welch and miss I 1 ss peyton out ont t on therena bond is there none whatever agreed reagan lie he rubbed the palms of his hands together 1 I 1 feel like were getting somewhere at last so do I 1 grinned jim Flan flandey vey the tiling thing I 1 ara am puzzled about Is this where CHAPTER XI gazed at the gray walls H HANVEY 0 of f the jail and nodded ns as thou though h having reached a startling conclusion 1 I believe our next move john Is to have a talky talk with mister maxwell vernon V arnon good L lord ord I 1 1 has it taken you all this time to think nt t that uh huh my brain was never strong on speed reagan was earnest quit kid din in jim why did you leave this palooka paljoka for the last because I 1 wanted to hear what everybody else had to suy say from what you tell me vernon Is lying high wide and handsome and I 1 wanted to form some idea about nhoun what was t truth th and what sensible enough lets go vernon was tans seated on his cot tie he had doffed coffed coat and tie and his shirt was waa open tit nt the throat ills long ion black hair was somewhat tousled and his chubby face wore an expression of belligerence ills ilia whole manner even before a word was spoken was combative jim seated himself and smiled lazily at the prisoner lie he felt rather sorry for the boy fat good na aured easygoing easy going doing and now suddenly enmeshed in a tragedy which he coull nt quite understand jims voice vo lee came soothingly things Ti lings been happening pretty fast aint they son fernon looked up sharply what things 0 oh h plen plenty 1 I dont know what you mean shull I 1 sure you do 1 I 1 anything to say mr hanvey well lell what do you know about that I 1 risked asked you iou anything ani thing have 1 1 no but 11 listen to me son answer rue one question what Is it ft did you kill pat thayer vernons Ver eyes closed lie ile pulled himself together with a visible ef fort no then I 1 think you better talk to me plain and honest of course if you did kill him film the best tiling thing you jou can do Is keep your mouth shut now what say you ion 71 nothing im not going to talk A right I 1 aint t gonna i argue with you lie ile reached inevitably for the golden toothpick swell new car you iou got son vernon was nas stonily silent swell car repeated IIan Ilan vey sure wish I 1 could own one like that but I 1 go buy one just after id hid had a row with another man 1 I t row with anybody no not even pat thayer wai max was trembling boyishly he was struggling to keep actual tears from his eyes ees youre you re trying to trap roe me I 1 I 1 know I 1 and im I 1 m not go ing to say anything not anything at aall up to you son but sup pose you tell me this what happened between you and thayer in the fraternity house day before yesterday somewhere about one in the afternoon in the fraternity house nothing happened you went to ills his room you no aw stint son 1 you know doggone dog gone good and well you went to pat chalers Th alers ayers room now why dont you tell us what happened 1 I go near hla his room cried vernon harshly 1 I went to my own room and changed my clothes and then I 1 left the house I 1 never saw thayer for a moment all the time I 1 was in there jim shook tits his big head 1 I hate to see you fighting me son when im trying to help lilie like h I 1 you arel arc I 1 youre try like alke H I 1 you arel youre trying to mix me up in pat thay ers ens murder ing to mix me up in pat thaders Th ayers murder im trying to get the truth does that mix you up no but just before you went to the fraternity house you and thayer had bad et a bin big row on the campus you who says so BO several people and also there aint much question that you were pretty sore at him now I 1 ask you this why 1 I 1 had bad reason enough I 1 thought he was my friend ive been buddies with him for two years iles hes been winning all my money at cards I 1 guess I 1 would have been a dumbbell nil all my life if I 1 got sore at him over something else stealing your girl for instance max looked up tip sharply and became boyishly dignified 1 I id really rather riot not talk about that angle of it mr air Ila hanvey he sald gently As you say vernon but when this other thing happened you getting sore what then 1 I started thinking for the first time lime and I 1 began to sapped supped that it oil all just accident that Thay er had been nice to me so long as I 1 had but the minute I 1 went broke tie he lost interest in me and started going with that Is doing tiling to make me sore and it struck me that it was queer he had always won at cards ohl oh I 1 I 1 was stupid enough but I 1 waked up all at once arid and you got about as mad as s you ever had been in your life you wont to thaders Th ayers room tit in the frat c kiil ty lion house so 1 I did not I 1 I 1 you before I 1 never wont went near benr tits his room so you ion did I 1 thought maybe mabe remembered hint you were mistaken anyway Any ny you ion were sere in the house nt at the same time lie he was after awhile you ou left there hurriedly with alth a bundle under your arn arm 1 you ion what was as in that bun dle die vernon max was nervous his pudgy hands were twisted together and ills pies eyes roved helplessly around the little room A a stilt fault of clothes clot lies tile the one I 1 sidd said I 1 changed I 1 was taking it to the marland tailoring company for alteration and clenning cleaning good now were cl clearing up parts ot otie uie mastery 11 jiro jim turned to reagan Itei igan suppose you check up on oil that john lust just phone that company and make sure they have the suit stilt will you sure reagan started to rise but max vernon stopped him the boys eyes were round with fear and beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead never neer mind he said hoarsely the clothes are nut there you take anke them N IN nn n no 11 where are they 1 I 1 I 1 dont know I 1 guess 1 I 1 I lost them you sure are an unfortunate young man mail murmured jim los ing a good suit stilt of clothes that way well anyway after losing that suit stilt you drove on up to steel city you ion vernon hesitated then he nodded yes alone maxs cheeks were pasty yes alone and when you got there you tra traded dedin in your car on a new one you and paid the difference i of twelve hundred dollars in cash where did you get the money 1 I had it I 1 got it from thayer ile he owed it to me 1 I see jim beamed approval that clears up another mystery you and thayer were really friends ull jle he loaned you the twelve hundred dollars just like it was was nothing eh lie ile gave I 1 U to me lie ile owed it when did he give it to you ver non when you went to ills room 1 I told you I 1 go to his room 1 I see I 1 guess he sent it to you by special messenger or something never mind that though hut but there la Is one thing I 1 want to know how did it happen that there any floor rug in the car you traded when you got to steel city again that hunted haunted light in maxs eyes 1 I dont know anything about any floor rug 1 there one in your old car 1 I dont know geel gee I 1 you sure are a forgetful guy now what about that knife sir air reagan showed you an hour or so ago that Is yours it yes where did you get it in sicily ive traveled a lot and ive always collected queer weapons 11 did you have it in your hand fit at all day before yesterday no do you know it Is the very knife with which thayer was killed 1 I 1 know knot what sir mr reagan said you knew it on your wall w where here you always kept it you 71 no not I 1 how was I 1 to notice that one of the things was gone and I 1 kill pat thayer mr hanvey I 1 swear I 1 dancey spoke softly admitting that vernon why did you get mixed up in the robbery of the marland national bank max stood rigid for a moment then sank down on the cot lie he burled buried his face in his hands 1 I have anything to do with that either cither mr IIan vey honest I 1 0 0 0 the two detectives faced each other solemnly in trie wardens office will you tell me why reagan asked when you had vernon on tl alu L run you chase him you knew he was lying you sure john sure and the more questions I 1 asked the more lies he was gonna tell well ill say this for you jim IIan lian vey you seem to rock along with all the delicacy of nn an elephant but d d it if you learned a heap about this case what foi instance inquired interestedly in the first place its it cinch that max vernon killed pat thayer you think so yo sure dont you burned it if I 1 know john I 1 say for sure anyway theres still a lot of loose ends reagan changed ills tactics ilo ile pointed nil all ne cusIng finger at llan hall vey anyway jim you think till nit tie lie was mixed up lu in flint bank robbery dont youl the fat nian man reflected for a moment then nodded yeli reh I 1 do anti and that exulted rengen la is the first definite admission ive gotten out of you yet jim smiled 1 I nm am dumb aint 1 I jolin john suppose you tell me just how low you think this murder happened just boetch things over will you so BO anke their proper places in my mind good enough reagan whipped out his bis notebook find consulted it may arst eleven thirty tony peyton runs across her husband making love to the kid sister ot of the man sties crazy about big row sore and tony desperate fifteen minutes later after sties blies gone ivy welch and pat thayer meet max mas vernon thayer has been trimming vernon for two years and the kid has just got good and wise because thayer went too far when he copped maxs girl another quarrel willie while that Is happening tony peyton Is a warning larry welch that his sister Is in trouble and telling him why at half past twelve pat thayer gets to the fraternity house and goes to tits his room five minutes litter inter max vernon comes in III lies iles sore as a goat and when the two kids on the veranda tell him thay ers in his room he says lie he dont give a d 1 n maybe lie ho then jim but dont forget that lie had found out where thayer was and ho he had just quarreled with the man over it a girl vornon vernon goes to his room lie ile has been broke and worried some way lord knows how hes entered into a deal with somebody to rob the marland Natio national nill bank lies iles nervous and desperate ile he decides to go and havo have it on out t with thayer right there thayer Is a bigger man and stronger and so vernon grabs that stiletto off the wall to have it handy bandy in case trouble comes Alean meanwhile whilo tony peyton has come in to warn pat he be must lay off ivy welch I 1 believe every word of her story of the visit she bents it and right cafter she does vernon goes into thaders Th ayers room and talks cold turkey to thayer thayer probably starts at him and the knife cuts his jugular vein ver vcr cockeyed cock eyed scared ne he bents beats it back to his room and pitches the knife into the corner of his clothes closet then he changes ills his clothes because the suit he had on when he killed thayer thaler was all covered with blood which Is why he never went to that tailor at all then he heats beats it to take part in that bank robbery he gets to the bank corner just about two during the robbery the stick up man Is shot while max mas Is driving him ne he bleeds all over the back of the car so vernon gets rl rid d of his bloody suit and the floor rug then lie he takes his share of the hundred thousand berries that copped from the bank he trades in his old car rind and Is fool enough to think hes got a good alibi but a couple of minutes after he sets foot in his room at the fraternity house the man on duty grabs him and calls me aint that a good case jim the big man nodded slow elow approval durn near perfect he applauded i only how com thayer was alive alavo when larry welch got there at two 11 II 11 snapped reagan ile he thayer was dead then but larry knew tony had been there and ho be know anything about max vernon so he thinks tony peyton killed thayer and shields her cinch aint it hanvey was silent for a moment then looked up brightly you do with all the stuff vernon lied had in his pockets when he was arrested right here want to see it yeu 11 five minutes later reagan returned to the room he spread ou out t on the table the contents of ver vcr pockets a handkerchief a fountain pen a notebook several visiting cards a fraternity pin a bunch of keys le less ss than two doll dollars rs in silver a packet of cigarettes and a box of matches hanvey tumbled fumbled with the collection this all john he have a wallet yell yeh reagan flushed its in a special box in the wardens safe nothing in it but some money mow how much two hundred and ten dollars ill get it never mind 1 jim was holding the lie bunch of keys in ills land this look like a new key john TO BE CONTINUED |