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Show VVVWWVI The May Day Mystery By Octavus Roy Cohen Copyright by Octavu Roy CVhen. WNU Servlo. AAAAAAAAl CHAPTER X Continued 16 "Just tills: Thayer was alive when Larry Welch went to see him. Larry saw the ring and knew what It meant. He had It out with Thayer and killed him. Then he took his sister's ring off Thayer's finger, because he knew if he left It there It could be traced back to her. Am 1 right?" "Durned If I know, John. But whether you are or not, you sure sound reasonable." The Marland Jail bulked forbldding-ly forbldding-ly against the full moon of a perfect May night Citizens of Marland were proud of their Jail: of Its staunch concrete con-crete walls, of Its marble portico, of the heavy Iron bars which proclaimed to an erring world that It would do well not to err here. Jim Hanvey stood at the curb and commented In complimentary fashion on the building, thereby bringing a thrill to the heart of the local detective. detec-tive. Then they walked through the big gates and thence to the warden's office. The big man was to have access ac-cess to the prisoners at any time. The warden conducted the two men to the little room which was occupied by Antoinette Peyton. She rose as they entered: a trim, womanly figure In a dark blue dress. She showed signs of the strain: there were faint circles under the eyes and It was plain that she was making an effort to remain calm. Reagan Introduced Intro-duced Hanvey and all three seated themselves. "You understand. Miss Peyton," said Hanvey quietly, "you don't have to talk If you don't want to." "I have no objections to talking," she answered calmly. "Good. 1 shall have to ask questions ques-tions which might he kind of well direct. Is that all right?" "Yes." He liked her cool, quiet, straightforward straight-forward manner. It was as though she had nothing to hide and nothing to fear. The big man reached for the golden toothpick and clicked It open. It seemed Impossible for him to talk unless his pudgy fingers were busy with that ghastly Instrument "I'm not going to waste your time with a lot of silly questions. Miss Peyton. I reckon I could start at the beginning and check up with you on all the things I know already Just to see If you'd tell me the same story. But I won't" "Thank you," said Tony gratefully. "I'm only going to ask you about those things that nobody else can tell me." A broad, encaging grin split Jim Hps. "That's fair enough, ain't It?" "Yes. . ." She found herself warming to this big man. He seemed honest: genuinely, deeply honest "I know," continued Jim softly, "that yon overheard a sort of love scene between Mr. Thayer and Ivy Welch. You butted in, and a general row followed. It don't matter Just what was said. The point Is that you and Thayer and Ivy were all sore, weren't you?" "Yes." "Now the first Important thing Tve got to find out Is this. Miss Peyton: What was your relationship to Pat Thayer? What I mean is : What right had you bawling him out for making love to another girl?" Tony's face flushed, and, for an Instant, In-stant, her eyes flashed. She answered an-swered rather coldly: "1 think you're presuming a good deal, aren't you, Mr. Hanvey?" "Xo ma'am. Honest, I ain't as dumb as I look. I know there was something some-thing between you and Thayer. Maybe May-be It was Jealousy maybe something else. But it's awful Important that I find out." "Whv?" "Because If I don't know the truth, I've got to figure things my own way. You see, that's a sort of link In the chain that's got to be welded . . . and one of the most Important things Is what there was between you and Thayer." "I don't see. . t ." "I'm sorry If you don't" pleaded Hanvey, "because It ain't helping nobody no-body for you not to tell me the truth. Even If I know the truth It couldn't hurt you any worse than having me think things. Tha.t is. unless you really real-ly killed him yourself " "Good G d !" "I didn't say you did. But listen. Miss Peyton: Put yourself in my place. What do I find out : You run across Thayer making love to a pretty little blond. You give him thunder and it's clear there'3 something between be-tween you. At the end of that interview inter-view you're threatening each other. Then n little later you walk straight up to Thayer's room in the fraternity house arid a litrle while after you leave they find him dead Could the real truth hurt yon mii' h worse than that?' Tony roso and walked tho length of her cell. Then she stood In front of Jim Hanvey and gay.ed Intently Into his round face unci kindly gray eyes. "I feel that I should speak frankly. I I have a hunch that you're not trying try-ing to trick mo." "Thank you kindly, ma'am. And you've got mo right : I swear you have." She bit her lip, then spoko sharply. "You are wondering how I dared to go to Mr. Thayer's room In the fraternity fra-ternity house when I knew It would start tho whole campus gossiping, aren't you. Therefore you know 1 had a good reason for going there?" "That's It, Miss Peyton. Because no matter what you went for, or what happened after you got there, It was a cinch that you were going to start the whole campus talking." "That," announced Tony bravely, "Is precisely why I went there." "To start gossip?" "Just that." "Why?" "So the truth would come out, and when It did, Pat would be forced to let Ivy Welch alone." "The truth? What Is the truth. Miss Peyton?" Tony did not evnde. Her answer came In a firm, cool voice: "I am Tat Thayer's wife I" Jim blinked and fumbled for his toothpick. There was an audible gasp from John liengan. And then, as they "What Right Had You Bawling Him Out for Making Love to Another Girl 7" listened In stupefied silence, Tony told in a level, emotionless tone of how she had happened to marry Pnt Thayer and of what had occurred since that time. When she finished she seated herself, limp and frightened. Suppose she had done the wrong thing? Suppose . . . her eyes quested quest-ed hungrily for Jim Hanvey. He seemed so comfortably friendly. There was something In his solid calmness which compelled one to avoid evasion. One gathered that he Instinctively knew truth from falsehood; that he respected the former and despised the latter. The girl took a deep breath. Her brain told her that she had erred; instinct said that she had done the best thing. "And so you see," she said, after a long pause. "1 had to protect Ivy. I knew Pat Thayer was married but she didn't." "1 see. . . . And. of course, you were not Jealous, were you?" "Of him?" She gave a short. 'bitter 'bit-ter laugh. "He is dead now and this may not sound well: but I despised him." "That explains a good deal. . . ." It was as though Hanvey were talking to himself. "Of course, no one could be expected to guess that you were Thayer's wife. And nobody else knew it, did they. Miss Peyton?" "No. . . ." The color flooded her cheeks. "You mean: Not then?" prompted Hanvey. Reagan's head jerked up sharply. He saw the girl start with surprise. He saw her cheeks blanch. Then he looked curiously at Hanvey. The big man seemed totally disinterested. He was gazing fondly at the gleaming toothpick apparently unmindful of the vital question he had asked. Reagan Rea-gan had Just concluded that Jim didn't even know what he had stumbled upon when Hanvey repeated his question In a quiet, conversational tone: "Even Larry Welch didn't know then that you were Thayer's wife, did he?" And now Tony Peyton was defiantly on guard. Her tiny fists were clenched and she was sitting forward tensely. "No." she said sharply. "He didn't know." "But," suggested Jim, "you told him a few minutes later, didn't you?" "Who says I did?" "Gosh 1 Miss Peyton I didn't say anybody said so. I was Just asking: that's all. And please don't get all worked up. You'd think I was trying to trap1 you. I ain't: honest, I ain't" "But you said " "1 Just suggested that you went straight to Larry Welch and told him the truth. Ain't that a fact?" "I think I'd rather not discuss It any more. Mr. Hanvey. I'm afraid I've already al-ready said entirely too much." Jim didn't argue. He rose ponderously ponder-ously and bowed with a queer courtliness. courtli-ness. "That's all right. Miss Peyton. I promised you I wouldn't try any police tricks on you. and I won't. I'm trying to help, not hurt, and 1 can't help unless un-less I get the truth. But I ain't advising ad-vising you to tell me a thing you don't want. So me and Mr. Reagan will say rnucn obliged and good night" He moved toward the door. Iteugan, Inwardly seething at llanvey's stupid Ity, followed reluctantly. As J I in opened the door, tho girl poke. "Wnlt. I'leitse." "Yen, MInn?" She faced them bravely. "I suppose I'm a fool," she said. "But I believe I can trust you. If you don't mind staying a little longer, I'll be glad to tell you Ihn whole truth." F.ven yet Hanvey did not press his advantage. Iieagan was fighting to restrain his own Impatience and meeting with little success. Here was the big chance: an opportunity to gather Important facts from a woman who had been locked up for two days anil was willing to tnlk. But Reagan was a good sport If he didn't understand llanvey's slow, friendly, ponderous methods, ho could at least follow them since he himself had offered the case to the fat man. They seated themselves once more and Tony spoke In a brittle voice. "What Is It first, Mr. Hanvey?" "We-e ell, suppose we start with your visit to Larry Welch. What did he say when you told him you were married to Thayer? Was he sore?" "No-o. I wouldn't say that exactly? The thing seemed to shock him." "Old he say anything about Beelng Thayer?" "Yes. He wanted to go right over, but I begged him not to." "Why?" "Becnuse I wanted to see Pat first." "For what reason, Miss Peyton?" "Because . . , well, there's another an-other detail we left out. Larry was quite determined that Pat should not go with Ivy nny more. I had a right to seal his lips about my marriage to Pat, but I had no right to say that he shouldn't keep him from going with Ivy. So I asked him not to go over until I had seen Pat myself." "Why?" She met Jim's kindly eyes levelly. "I was afraid." "Of what?" "A fight. Pat Thayer was a big man. Larry Is perhaps more powerful. power-ful. So far as I know, Mr. Thayer was not a coward, and no man can very well permit another to order him away from a girl without well, without with-out resenting It" "1 see. . . . And why were you afraid of a fight?" "Because of the scandal," she answered an-swered promptly. "Larry Is an Instructor In-structor here. He Is about to enrn his Master's degree. It wouldn't have been nice. . . . "You weren't afraid of any serious results that Is. physical results?" "No. Of course my sympathies were all with Larry, and I knew he could handle Mr. Thayer." Jim focused his eyes on the toothpick. tooth-pick. "You are In love with Larry Welch?" Her cheek grew white, but she did not evade. "Yes." "Does he knew It?" "Yes." "How long has he known It?" "I think he has known It for a Jong time, but I didn't put It Into words until until day before yesterday." "I see. . . . Day before yesterday Larry learned that a married man was fooling with his kid sister. He learned that you could not marry him because you were married to another man the same man. He learned of the petty blackmail which Thayer had practiced on you. It makes a rather damning lineup, doesn't It Miss Peyton?" "Yes. And I've told it to yon straight because I believe Larry is Innocent." "I hope so. . . . Now would you mind telling me what happened when you went to see Thayer at the fraternity fra-ternity house?" "I went there with a definite object In mind, Mr. Hanvey. A girl cannot visit a man's room In a fraternity house without starting all kinds of gossip. gos-sip. I told him that I had done that so I would have no choice but to announce an-nounce our marriage. You see, I felt that 1 could spike his guns that way." "For what?" "So that he'd have to drop Ivy Welch or else she would drop him. And that would make "It unnecessary for Larry to Interfere." "You were still afraid of what might happen between Larry and Thayer?" "Yes and I regretted having told Larry. But things happened so fast and I had been under such a strain for so long a time. . . . I I Just wanted someone to talk to." "While you were In Thayer's room . . . ?" "He was furious, of course. We quarreled bitterly. I suppose I was as angry as he was. And then I left" "Where was he when yon left, Miss Peyton?" "Standing near the dresser." "Alive?" She caught her breath sharply. "Of course. . . . Surely you don't think . . . ?" "I had to ask you that Tm sorry. Did you know that Larry Welch has been arrested?" "Yes. . . ." She spoke almost In a whisper. "Do you realize that everything you have told me serves to Incriminate him?" Ves." She flung her head back. "I don't believe the truth can hurt anybody. I know Larry didn't do It, Just as I know that 1 didn't I've told the plain, straight truth, and that's all. It's what Larry would have me do." "It Isn't what he has done." said Jim softly. "He hasn't been honest with us." "lie couldn't be. He gave me his word that he wouldn't tell anybody I was Pat Thayer's wife." (TO BE CONTINUED.) |
