Show t LD BROWN anu features ww tr w my dulce duke Alc mccale Cale private detective li Is i guarding the wedding presents present at the man mansion slon lie senses that old bliss adel adelaide la afraid of loine thing more th bian a n thelt theft in a conversation with bliss bigelow he be learns that sh ib 0 I 1 li 8 her bonsen content t to softy now that eliat she he give gave her elect veronI veronica cals marriage with handsome curt ballal as the she has hai discovered that he I 1 Is a fortune orti ine hunter and ralo rahe lie he will control the entire family fortune ol of ill thirty arty million doll dollaris arii there are arc several cress cro c current in the family she sha tells telli mcca mccale to while they are talking and looking out the window they hear a shot and see etc two women hurry burry away the one in green runs toward the park CHAPTER vill VIII she stopped running when she bhe reached it for a moment he thought lie he saw someone eme else some one in a gray raincoat walking steadily away into the tog fog lie could k not tell whether tt it was a n man or a woman forthe for the gray of the coat dissolved the figure into a mere blur it only struck him ns as odd that the figure did not turn or falter or come nearer it lust just walked sedately was the only word away there was something terrible in J 0 i the unruffled walk because dire directly otly r across from it and below where they peered out something quite p awful staggered one hand to its f chest tho the other groping out blindly it was a man tall wide it a dark shadow of agony seeking to climb the degelow stairs i the doorbell pealed sharply a ring of sheer despair i miss bigelow and mccale in a single movement ran out of the drawing room macnie reached the 1 stairs first tumbling down them 1 two three ata at a tune time Th the ebell bell was ringing now steadily a shriek as 1 though someone leaned heavily Y against it the butler king camo came out of the back hall a sour look on his face but mccale was already wrenching open the door A light went up in the hall as the startled manservant pushed a a button for a moment no ono one seemed to be there the door gaped wide and black then from around its edge a bulky object slid stumped slumped to its knees lunged inward then out flat curt Vallain ourt turned his hii exquisite head once ope opened ned his ago nihed eyes once mouthed a word before he died 11 veronica he mut muttered fored thickly before hla his he heart art bubbled up into hla his throat it was then that thai adel adelaide ald a gelow dropped down beside him cradling his head in her lap her tired old hands smoothed arnoot hed dark silky buky curls out IV of his eyes j A miss gilow gasped ti the lie police mccale said curtly but ho he may bo be dykinga doctor im sorry he looked deep into her eyes autho but tu is dead 01 ile he closed tho the door on an the night shutting it out with the incredible thoughts which seethed through his mind ho barked an order to t the he butler necessary action taking over i his bra brain inand and body tor for tho the next few minutes leave the body just as it ta Is he cautioned adding a police re qui rement tor for ho be saw a look of dismay on miss nige Bige lows face ace she was still sitting numb and stricken on the carpet beside the body the butler hadlis hod hla hands pressed tightly against his diaphragm while perspiration a prelude to tain nausea stood out on his tore fore head i get some brandy man mccale spoke briskly and got get the pollee police department on telephone walt wait a minute call devonshire 1212 une Una ask for or donlevy chief ot of homicide the tha old man moved slowly perhaps it you can sir 11 ho he began no better you mccale grasped miss Bige lows elbow in a reassuring grip we have less than six minutes at tho the roost hebald he said sald before the department or ft 01 least a squad car will be here where con can wo we have a min ute to talk alone alond I 1 the library she he said nor her voice I 1 it stronger ronger mccale slips out j ahead of 0 the police A 1 I want your help he began si and rushed on tor for he lived in the I 1 world as it Is and know knew that were there were things he might coif do it she could remain a little while outside the po lice orbit im going to be out of here before the police fir arrive rive please lie he held up his hand you must understand this there may be some way I 1 can lesson lessen the pub publicity licit y this case is bound to obstruct stir ir up borill don think I 1 mean to obstruct justice im irn bot that kind of detective but rt you must understand that once the police come coine into this you will have no peace your tour privacy your i home y your our very lives will be ripped lr 0 wide de open i 1 I understand tier her face was bleak j i ile he went on rapidly it if I 1 I 1 am here when the police arrive I 1 will be tied led up for or hours maybe with the preliminary investigation it if I 1 am not I 1 can perhaps discover something eor before they do I 1 know donlevy chief ot of detectives I 1 can talk to arn tomorrow muff 0 do o Is get a head start I 1 want for instance to I earch Vallain courts rooms where does did he live W ui Fens road but what shall I 1 tell the police tell them I 1 left that you do not know why yes ai lie glanced at his hl wristwatch two minutes to go now miss bigelow gelow Bl I 1 mu must st ask you to tell me quickly what you saw from the window upstairs just before the shot f she closed her eyes and let a shuddering breath escape her lips her hands clasped and unc unclasped lisped nervously lie ile thought she might faint she opened her eyes suddenly y tense staggered but determined at first there was only curt coming up the steps from rom the path that cuts across from charles street the old voice was pained and hushed 1 I knew it was he from away off lie ile always swaggered sort of and never wore a lint hat there was also a a woman coming along the outer walk that comes over the hill from rom park street A women woman in green yes in green she looked frightened there was someone else in a gray coat and hat corning coming along deacon beacon street toward the 71 TIT x A tall wide man seeking to climb the bigelow stairs house I 1 see very well the person was almost directly inder under the window and I 1 was concentrating onon curt on this side of the street 4 yes 4 whoever it was had crossed the street then for or the ligure figure had been on n tho iho opposite side when mccale looked that someone must have been almost ot at the door when tho the shot was fired the murderer man or woman he ha snapped 1 I 1 I tell I 1 was watch ing curt I 1 told you but the lint hat you said the figure had on a gray raincoat an and d a gray hat surely you could recognize the sex from the hat im sorry I 1 was watching curt yes go on 1 I just cant remember what happened bened then curt rind and the woman in green almost met at the gate but he was a little ahead I 1 thought he turned his head to look at her im not sure thenia then The nIm I im sorry its all confused there was just the shot hot I 1 closed my eyes I 1 think then you were behind mo me and idid edid notice someone the woman in green I 1 believe running oft off into the fog bog then she went to an old battered desk that stood in 4 corner of the room pressing Pres qIng a spring that opened a secret drawer she sha took out a small envelope from rom which she shook a piece ot of paper shari lynn lyent tells her story llyoyd be better ater have this she spoke almost furtively and added it if the house is searched be bound to find it he took it over to tho the light and saw it was the merest corner off the edge of a letter when en you control the ilia dough your promise to me lover win bo be ours es els to crime ila iia ha thia Th lit then ho he said straighten ing up alls Is what really sent you to me i yes she murmured aa 1 I found it in the drawing room grate jt it was surety surely a noceto note to curt lie he must have tried to burnit in tills this house you see how it proved almost all my suspicions yes ile he returned the fragment to td its envelope slipped the envelope into his inside pocket no time tp lose cowf the woman in green had red hair she he ha asked coldly she bile looked tor for a moment down into on an abyss of sheer terror 11 II dont know she tattered altered 1 I was looking at ai curt disappointment and wrath lashed flashed across his ht eyes was as quickly gone lie he only said courage then ill see you tomorrow she put out tier her hand aid 1 if 1 X 1 I as if prompted to explain away his disillusion in her A long moment passed she turned to the tha fire ile he went out there was no one in the hall the body of curt Vallain court lay long and dark and lifeless halt half in hall half out of the light thrown by the scones on each side of a console table mccale stopped by the still stil form avoiding a puddle of con congealing congeals geall ng blood ile he licit and noticed that hat t cu curt rt had been shot a little above the heart at close range as a if someone had walked up to him a and nd let him have it it was a miracle lie he had managed to get up the steps to the door A less virile person would have dropped dead in his tracks ile he frisked the body until he came upon a key ring that held a number of keys satisfied that one of these must bo be the key to the dead mans apartment he rearranged the cloth I 1 ing ng walked to the door eased it open and slipped out he was hardly across the street onto the paths of the common when the sirens started wailing and tearing te up deacon beacon hill at park square mccale hopped into a cruising cab which put him down at Fens road in six minutes flat despite the increasing drizzle and the traffic congestion of that time of day four thirteen was a big hu hunk of concrete and stainless steel he stopped before Vallain courts apartment and listened carefully his bis q ear ar to the door after hed entered ente lie he stood completely botill testing the silence that hung heavily about him A wide doorway at his right gave entrance to a large living room ile he stepped toward it soundlessly the quiet of the place was disturbing tur bing it was the intense pregnant quiet of fl a room so recently occupied that the effluvium of that occupancy still hung in the air there were two doorways in back and a littleto the left of him as he stood motionless in the center of the carpet not ot a board creaked or a pin dropped but the hair on the back of his head stood up warningly moisture beaded his palms ht he swiveled swivel cd slowly expecting anything A woman stood in the first doorway tall dark voluptuous she lounged white faced breathless in a peculiarly familiar attitude hooded discontented eyes looked steadily atea dlly at him iler her face was so white she seemed all lipstick in the glare of so many lights if U she had had a cigarette in that mouth memory tugged at mccale and he knew it was sharl shari lynn she wore a dark green wool dressl who are you he said huskily she moved slowly toward him eyes wary for a moment he ignored her you ayou were a tool to come directly here he said then apprehension widened her eyes for a moment bringing out dut pecked lines in her face she sat down unsteadily ona on a chair and ran nervous fingers through dark dyed hair ashes seared scared mccale thought he perched perilously lowthe on the arm of the empire sofa shaking gout out a cigarette from a pack directly into his mouth in one motion he spoke over the lamo clarne of his lighter curt Vallain court lies has just been shot watching her closely he was certain thatis that it news to he berthat her r that she already know knew who are you a dick I 1 kill him you were there she was guarded now her eyes narrowed and she clutched the gloss glass with shaking lingers fingers youve got to prove that copper im not the police then who are you yott what are you doing here what Is this a shakedown ile he shook his head im it i vate dick I 1 am however investigating curt Vallain courts murder dirt s apartment yields vo no clues chies curiously she seemed relieved ile he soon found out why A crafty look slid into her eyes she almost smiled listen then im not saying I 1 dont iknou curt has been killed ill even admit maybe I 1 was near enough to have seen it done I 1 9 you information as to who did it mister im listening but make it quick I 1 want to frisk the place before the cops crawl oil all over it she understood the necessity for speed spee dand and went on hurriedly 11 1 1 I 1 was up hero here having a couple of drinks with curt before he ha went to the wedding rehearsal I 1 decided to wait until he got back ile he was adne a long timeteo time too long i 1 grabbed a cab and got out at the music shop near park square I 1 was paying oil off the taxi when I 1 saw curt cutting across across the path to deacon street you followed him she bile hesitated a moment a look of doubt coming over her face as if she were not sure of saying the right thing eliat pause made a lot of difference in macales Mc Cales calculations ti ons TO BE CONTINUED s aea |