Show te TE A MARCH copyright 1131 1933 by ma th marrill co by MONTE BARRETT 8 berglu Berv arvie lu CHAPTER VII continued 13 possibly I 1 really answer yes or tio no the mans manner had grown less leas reluctant now have you ever seen this before fletcher lu in his palm cardigan extended the revolver found in the rectory garden the servant made no move to touch it no sir air I 1 dont know much about guns but this one belonged to mr air franklin I 1 surely youve seen it before 1 I know he had a gun sir air I 1 had never seen it I 1 think there must be some mistake lie ile probably kept it in a drawer in the bedroom or in his desk peter suggested it he had I 1 should have known it mr cardigan tile the man insisted ive never seen it before im sure theres heres been some som mistake peter rose abruptly all I 1 think lie be said but lie he paused with one hand on oil the door for a final filial question who has been here since yesterday evening anyone no sir air not since you left last night iles hes not telling us all he knows growled kilday after the door had closed behind them im sure of that the novelist agreed but why I 1 dont think F letcher fletcher had anything to do with franklins murder after all hes only a servant where would the motive be 1 I see a motive for webster spears at first declared the sergeant then lie he shook hta his shoulders wearily this case Is 3 giving we me the willies lie complained ill be suspecting you next well what do you think now there were no new leads there and ive got to see the district attorney right after lunch if I 1 dont have something be just too ball bad and yet tile the novelist answered slowly we know that the murderer carried franklins revolver to the church yesterday afternoon that in certain the simplest alm pleat sort of logic convinces us that it must ha have ve been one of tits his intimate friends no one else could have had access to it tile the gun roust must have been taken the past few days preferably yesterday if the crime had been planned far in advance I 1 find it hard to believe that the murderer would have chosen the church as the scene for his crime it seems clear that no one could have taken it without F fletcherr fletchers Flet let chers knowledge alno ledge and we e find him reluctant to talk lie ile had no motive so it must have been some one for whom he has a feeling of sympathy or regard some one he Is willing to take some risk to shield who could that be another woman eh ch kilday paused on the steps A former mistress that the servant liked better than lie did choo choo that sounds reasonable peter agreed or else it was a new mistress franklin never had the reputation of being exceptionally constant in ills his loves getting back to your woman tn in blue muttered the sergeant I 1 everything V ery cry thing leads back to her but then what about young SI spears ears what do you think of my t theory concerning him now its your question you answer it peter declared wearily ill admit youve built up a very convincing case against him it has just one flaw what could he have been doing with jim franklins franklin revolver they intimate t friends how could he have 0 obtained possession of it that so hard as you seem to think cattle shipley probably obtained it find ami passed it on to him I 1 agree with you on one point I 1 dont think the blow that killed franklin have been delivered by a woman but that let tills this girl out nor the woman in blue either if they were two different persons if we can call only prove this girl passed that gun on to spears well have a case pinned 0 on him that will convince any jury but the only man who can help us find her Is pletcher and he wont talk added the sergeant grimly theres one other chance cardigan disagreed with him the fellow to was positive hed never seen th the revolver before if he was telling us the truth perhaps franklin kept it at his office lets go and see le 0 milo dunbar admitted them to his p private r ly a te ollice office without delay 1 I hope you gentlemen have some progress to report lie he began after seating them according to the papers its beginning to look like a political crime if jim was killed over this magistrate investigation then the governor ile he sergeant kilday interrupted him bluntly 1 I dont think dan bullis had find anything to do alth ith it 0 icett possibly lily to shield I 1 th the lonii in ohp case ile HP bbl abbl has to to do that because that woman overheard his conversation with franklin it if he identities identifies her PRECEDING EVENTS IN THE STORY waiting in the mInt ministers study for his wedding to doris carmody Carmod yi jim franklin lawyer and politician to Is stabbed to death while waiting ho he h had ad many visitors among them hi his a mistress tresa an actress ct choo aioo moo choo train his in intended t ended w cifes I 1 fes fa father t her ambrose carmody her brother ryotei brylle daniel builds politician and an unknown woman in a blue frock sergeant lC lIday with peter cardigan begins an investigation brylle carmody admits trying to stop the wedding after being informed by webster spears that franklin was still friendly with choo choo despite his ap approaching pro aching marriage allday secures the dead mans keys cattle shipley pley a bridesmaid whose actions have appeared furtive Is questioned unavailingly an interview with dallis Is in also fruitless webster spears admits informing rylla ryll carmody of franklins relations with choo choo tor for doris Car modys sake in the hope of preventing the wedding pletcher flelcher franklins manservant man servant Is ia reticent and billo dunbar the dead mans law partner can shed no light on the murder choo choo admits her relations with franklin were to continue after his marriage six of the seven keys franklin carried are traced cattle shipley shapley pley again interviewed confesses previous deception she admits being in love lova with rylla carmody she can tell what she knows and its probably plenty but we think maybe we can find the woman without any help from battle good As I 1 told you yesterday if theres any way I 1 can help you there Is sir dunbar we want you to identity identify the revolver that mr franklin kept in tits desk drawer aello dunbar took the weapon kilday extended and examined it carefully im afraid I 1 cant be of much help on that score sergeant I 1 even know jim had a gun lie ile bought that two years ngo ago kladny pointed to the serial number stamped on the weapon we keep the registration of ail all 9 guns uns sold there cant be any doubt about that being his were anxious to find out where ho he kept it of course dunbar agreed jim could have kept a dozen guns gims in his office without my knowledge perhaps tits his secretary could help us ill sep see before he could touch the button on his desk peter interrupted him not yet he cautioned 1 I want to know something about his secretary first Is she young attractive the attorney shrugged passably so I 1 noticed ill call tier her and let you judge for yourself dont tell her who we are the novelist cautioned make some excuse to talk to her without mentioning the revolver it Is barely possible she may be the lady in blue we are looking for she certainly would have had an excellent opportunity to remove the weapon it it was kept in his desk the girl was called 1 I wish get me mr franklins file of unanswered mall miss wilson said dunbar 1 I 1 shall need it in straightening out his affairs not the girl in blue 0 obviously livious ly declared cardigan after she had left miss wilson was attractive and in tier her early twenties but was decidedly a brunette call herback her back mr dunbar lets ask her aboud about the revolver but the girl could not remember ever having seen the gun although she was familiar with franklins affairs and had frequent access to hla his desk when he Is out of the city she explained it Is often necessary for me to find papers in tits his desk im sure I 1 would have noticed it it the gun had been there it how about tile the safe only mr franklin and mr dunbar had access to the private see 11 I 1 but the girt girl could not remember ever having seen the gun alon of the safe it might have been there without my knowledge of course she admitted ile he might have hae kept it in tits his private drawer there dunbar volunteered the one you examined last night dut but he was the only person who could have taken it from there and your point to Is that some one else procured the gun without his knowledge that being true it have been there lie he must have kept it at hla his apartment cardigan that seemed to he tile the logical answer then fletcher must have seen the gun before must have recognized it but refused to admit it who was lie protecting how was the servant involved in the murder of his master the more he revolved the question in his mind the mote more certain peter became that the woman in blue was the key to the crime and that fletcher if he colt couil id be made to talk could reveal her identity lie ile could not share ICIl days conviction that the case against webster spears lacked only substantiating proof just like every other trail weve hit kilday complained as they headed back to io hla his office A blind alley dan and fletcher are the only two who can identity identify that woman for or us but neither one of them will talk well find her peter reassured him weve got to find tier her it seems to me that one way or another she supplied the moil motive ve for this crime kilday stopped and laughed aloud why I 1 think of that before he asked and then not waiting for the question on peters lips continued that sedan parked in front of spears last night was a cadillac and it belonged to callas shipley pley did you notice its color was it green no good declared peter 1 I had thought of that but unless builds was deliberately trying to throw us 0 oft it the track the woman in blue could not have been callis shipley pley you forget she never left the church a at t that time she returned to the front she was one of tile the bridesmaids and was in the church when the crime was discovered only a few minutes later the sergeant meditated on tills this right of course but did bullis tell us the arith li was there a green cadillac at all that may be a detail out of tits his own imagination simply to throw us oil off the track possible of course peter admitted kilday returned to his former theory of the crime after all he declared with much earnestness after all who do we know tried to stop this wedding webster sp spears ea rs idylle carmody too of course but his action was instigate 1 ed by spears both doctor abernathy and nick royce hoyce talked with franklin after the senior carmody left the study choo choo train was the last person we know of that saw raw franklin alive royce saw her step into the study with him a few minutes before tile the crime was committed and yet it seem possible that she could have delivered the death blow added to that we have the fact which she herself pointed 0 out u t she was known to bo be his mistress and she knew royce had seen her enter that room with him it seem reasonable to believe that sio she would have committed t the lie crime under these circumstances cumston cum stances ces she was too openly inviting suspicion to be contemplating a crime doctor abernathy was in the church we know that daniel brills had a motive but he evidently had left before ambrose carmody was admitted to the study of 0 course the detective admitted he might have returned later but I 1 hardly thina think so lie he too had walked in there openly and every one knew lie and franklin were enemies that the way lie he would have gone about it if lie he had had franklins revolver in his pocket and was planning a murder of all those we know to have been back there that leaves only nick royce cailis shipley and the woman in blue whether we want to or not well have to leave the woman in blue out of our present calculations because we dout dont know who she la Is As for royce what motive did he have and callis shipley the detective shrugged you know what I 1 think about tier her ashes lying why chyl to protect some one then it must be brylle carmody whom she admits she loves or webster spears who she says la Is only a good friend nevertheless we know that she visited him at his house last night although she d denies enles enies it peter the detective continued earnestly your theory in regard to the fingerprints finger prints Is a good one to follow concerning young spears you declared that the man mail who left fingerprints finger prints either cither know a crime was about to be com committed wItted or else lie he was waa a fool the same thing goes for the people who visited that room the person who visited franklin openly certainly know that a crime was about to be committed to do so only invited suspicion the man who killed franklin slipped in the rear door unseen and no one saw webster spears enter that study no one even saw him in the sacristy but we know he left the church just before the crime why im going to have him arrested without any further delay he had the motive he had the opportunity and he was trying his utmost to stop that wedding weve been blind not to see it from the first and callis shipley pley you cant arrest anyone for telling a lie all ive got on tier her so far first she tried to protect idylle carmody then webster spears but ive been thinking about that angle if this girl knows so much maybe young carmody Is in on the secret too from now on im going to have him shadowed CHAPTER vill VIII an unexpected appeal As A SIDE DH from ahw the arrest of web ter ster spears there were no new developments that afternoon the n newspapers aws papers of course made much of 0 f the arrest whatever else he had done the sergeant had placated the press and there seemed to be no doubt in his mind concerning spears guilt with peter cardigan it was different lets go back to st matthews he suggested as he be and aly were returning downtown its only a few blocks out of our way weve been over that place with a alne toothed comb the sergeant demurred theres nothing more to fand there nevertheless he be accompanied tits his friend for another visit to the scene of the crin crime iii except for one circumstance cum stance he had bad been correct that was the empty scabbard which had contained the knife with which franklin had been killed it still hung where peter had first erst seen it on the west wall of the rectors study just to the right of the door leading into the sacristy and about eight feet high on the wall peter whistled tunelessly as he surveyed the room his eyes finally coming to rest on the scabbard hm said peter then turning to his bla friend if spears Is guilty he said he be entered through the rear door we know that because there was some one in tile the sacristy all the time and we have been able to account for every one who came in the other way let us try to reconstruct the scene you move over to the rear door there now im jim franklin standing here in the door lead ing into the sacristy nick royce was standing out there this door Is open and my back Is to you im looking toward royce koyce now open the door sergeant just as quietly as you can the detective cautiously turned the knob there was no sound lint but as the door swung slowly back it creaked mournfully cardigan smiled sallied at least we know tile the murderer surprise franklin he declared but we thought so all along all right I 1 turn and see you standing in the doorway I 1 recognize you dont I 1 17 you dont think Frank franklin lia was alarmed by the sight of his visitor do you franklin knew webster spears was Kil days laconic rejoinder 1 I dont think the sight of him would have frightened him regardless of who it was peter re ter declared emphatically franklin alarmed we know that because nick royce his best man was wag only a few feet |