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Show t ......ii..........m) THE WEDDING MARCH by Monte Barrett O Copyrlpht, 1933, by the Bobba-Merrlll Co. WNU Service. SYNOPSIS "Waiting in the minister's study, Jim Franklin, about to be married to Doris Carmody, Is stabbed to death. Peter Cardigan, novelist, and amateur detective detec-tive of some note, with Sergeant Kil- day, begin the official investigation. Franklin, while waiting, had visitors, among them his mistress, "Choo Choo" Train; his intended wife's father, Ambrose Am-brose Carmody; her brother, Rylie; Daniel Bullis, politician, and a woman In a blue frock. Rylie Carmody admits ad-mits trying to stop the wedding, after aft-er being: informed by Webster Spears that Franklin was still friendly with Choo Choo, despite his approaching marriage. Kilday secures the dead man's keys. From Callis Shipley, one of the bridesmaids, Ry lie's friend, the investigators learn nothing. An interview inter-view with Bullis is fruitless. Webster Web-ster Spears admits informing Rylie Carmody of Franklin's relations with Choo Choo, for Doris Carmody's sake. In the hope of preventing the wedding. Fletcher, Franklin's man-servant, is reticent. re-ticent. An interview with Milo Dunbar, Dun-bar, Franklin's law partner, and search of the dead man's office, reveals nothing noth-ing of importance. Choo Choo admits her relations with Franklin were to continue after his marriage. She says she visited Franklin at the church because be-cause a telephone message from Fletcher Fletch-er told her to come. Fletcher denies calling the actress. Six of the seven keys Franklin carried are traced to their respective locks. ' CHAPTER VI Continued 13 "I'll hurry, Sergeant. I just came back to tell you that the Shipley girl is here. She Just arrived." "Why didn't you say so, instead of standing there like an idiot?" the officer offi-cer grumbled. "Show her in." He laid a newspaper over the grisly exhibits on his desk. Callis Shipley glanced Inquisitively from one man to the other. As before, Peter was struck by her beauty, not the least appealing thing about it being be-ing that the girl seemed utterly unconscious un-conscious of it. She wore it, Peter thought, with the same charming indifference in-difference which she probably attached to the perfection of her costume. Peter was usually shy of women, particularly particu-larly beautiful women, who never seemed to forget their own loveliness. But he felt instinctively that this was the sort of girl who could be a good comrade. Her blue eyes were made for laughter, in spite of the gravity of their present expression, and, he admitted it reluctantly, she stirred his sympathies, just as she had before. In the duel that was to come, he knew that she, not Sergeant Kilday, would claim his partisanship. That very partisanship put him on his guard against her, yet he could not control con-trol it. "You sent for me?" Peter noticed the slight tremor of her hands, but she quickly clasped them in her lap, where they might not betray her. She was frightened, then. Kilday deposited his cigar in the tray, careful not to disturb the ash, watching the girl shrewdly, all the while. "Miss Shipley," he began deliberately, deliberate-ly, "you didn't tell us the truth, last night, about your ride home from the church with Rylie Carmody. Later you admitted it. Why?" "I told you. I I had jumped to conclusions concerning what had happened. hap-pened. I was worried. I was afraid of involving Itylie, because I was sure he was innocent. I realize now, of course, that was very foolish, but at the time I was frightened." "Frightened? You mean on Rylie's account?" "Yes." She hesitated, as though reluctant at making this man her confidant, con-fidant, and then explained, "I have already al-ready told you that I love Rylie. We are to be married this fall." "Let me see," the sergeant appeared to be summing up the evidence in his own mind. "You knew Rylie didn't like Franklin he telephoned you yesterday yes-terday that he couldn't meet you because be-cause he had to see Franklin he told you he had discovered that Franklin was having an affair with this actress, Choo Choo Train, didn't he?" The girl nodded. "And so when Franklin didn't show up and the wedding was postponed, you jumped to the conclusion that Rylie had had something to do with it. Am I still right?" "Rut I dou't think so now. I know Rylie couldn't have had anything to do with it. Why, anyone who knows Rylie knows he couldn't have done such a thing." Kilday nodded grimly. "That's what you say now, but just the same, you admit you thought he was guilty, at first, in spite of the fact that you tell us you are in love with him. You can scarcely expect us to have more confidence con-fidence In him than you have, can you?" Callis Sheplcy clenched her fists. "Aren't you overlooking this? The very fact that I am in love with him was probably responsible for my fears. .Women are apt to be hysterical, sometimes, concerning some one they ' love." Peter, listening, mistrusted the statement state-ment This girl, he thought, would be the last to grow hysterical. She was proving that now, in her defense of Rylie Carmody. The sergeant shrugged. "How many times did you visit the sacristy yesterday?" yester-day?" was his next question. "Once. I've told about that." "And you saw no one but Nick Royce? You never saw Doctor Aber-nathy?" Aber-nathy?" "No. Mr. Royce was the only one there. Mr. Franklin was in the study. We spoke to him, through the door, but I saw no one but Mr. Royce." "Now, Miss Shipley," the detective permitted a smile to soften the lines of his face as he leaned forward engagingly, en-gagingly, "what made you so sure that a murder had been committed? You were out in front. You only heard Doctor Abernathy's announcement that the wedding had been postponed. There was nothing said about murder. And yet, when Rylie took you home, you told him that Jim Franklin had been murdered." "You must be mistaken. I never told him that." 'He says that's what you told him," the detective insisted. "No, he told you I said something terrible had happened. I never used the word murder and neither did he. Later, after Rylie returned to the church and discovered what had happened, hap-pened, you asked him who told him about it. He said that I did. He referred re-ferred to the fact that I had told him something had occurred to stop the wedding." "How do you know what he told me?" Kilday demanded. "He told me." "When?" "Last night." "Oh, you two have been getting together to-gether on your stories, have you?" The girl's teeth gleamed where they bit, momentarily, into the scarlet of her lip. "That's a crude way of put- "Oh, You Two Have Been Getting Get-ting Together on Your Stories, Have You?" ting it. Naturally, we discussed everything that had happened, as soon as we saw each other." "Naturally," agreed the detective. "Now, Miss Shipley, I want to ask you concerning that remark you overheard Webster Spears make as he left the church yesterday. Just what was it he said? Please use his exact words, as nearly as you can." "I'm afraid I don't, remember exactly what he said. I was quite excited, you know." "Not then, you weren't," Kilday contradicted con-tradicted her. "It was his remark that caused you to get excited, remember?" "Well, he asked where Rylie was." "He said something else, didn't he? You told us last night." "Did I? I don't remember." Her eyes widened in apparent surprise. "Huh," the sergeant grunted. "Don't try that on me. You told us Spears said, 'Where's Rylie? If he were here, there wouldn't be any wedding.' " The girl appeared to reflect on the statement. "I'm afraid you're misquoting mis-quoting me, Sergeant Kilday. Or perhaps I misquoted Web. I'm sure that isn't the way I meant to say it. As I remember, Web said, 'Where's Rylie? We can't go on with the wedding until he gets here.' " "Oh," the detective was elaborately emphatic. "So that was what he said, eh? Quite a bit different from what you told us last night." "Yes," the girl agreed, too eagerly, Teter felt. "If I said anything else last night, I must have had it twisted." "And so," Kllday's manner had turned gruff, "that little remark got you so excited that you ran all the way around back to find Rylie. The wedding was about to start and you left the rest of the party to start a search for Rylie, just because Web Spears wondered where he was. Huh uh. That Isn't what he said, young lady. Y'ou've already told us this remark re-mark was what got you excited." "Remember, I was already worried about Rylie," the girl amended. Kilday ignored this. "I don't suppose sup-pose you've seen Webster Spears since then, have you? Perhaps he suggested suggest-ed that you make this change in your story." "No," declared Callis firmly. "I haven't seen him since he walked out of the church yesterday." "What is there between you and this Webster Spears? Ever been In love with him?" She shook her head emphatically. "Never. I've known hini all my life. We've been good friends, that's all." i "Never had an affair with him before be-fore you fell in love with Rylie Carmody?" Car-mody?" "No." She frowned impatiently. "And how about Jim Franklin? How well did you know him, Miss Shipley?" Teter could not be sure whether the girl's surprise were real or feigned. "I only knew him very slightly," she retorted. "The first time I ever met him was after he was engaged to Doris Carmody." The sergeant digested this In silence. Then, abandoning his cigar, he extracted ex-tracted a cigarette from a smooth silver sil-ver case and offered one to the girl. "Will you have a cigarette, Miss Shipley?" Ship-ley?" "No, thanks." "Have a look at the case, anyway, won't you? Perhaps you can tell us where you have seen it before." The girl examined the case carefully. care-fully. "I'm sorry," she said, handing it back. "I don't think I can be of any help. I've never seen It before." Peter thought he detected a note of relief in her voice as she added, "It isn't Rylie's. I'm sure of that. He carries one which I gave him." Kilday placed it carefully back on the desk. The finger-prints on that case soon would be a matter of record. "And now" he turned again to the girl "you may as well know that you haven't deceived me, Miss Shipley. You say you haven't seen Web Spears since he left the church yesterday. yes-terday. I know that you were at his house last night. You were there when we called, and he denied it. "Yesterday you attempted to deceive us about riding from the church with Rylie until you discovered that we knew the truth. Now you try the same trick again, but it won't work this time, either. "I'd advise you to come clean. What were you doing at Spears' house last night, if he doesn't mean anything to you? Why have you changed your story regarding what Spears said as he left the church? Are you ready to tell me the truth now? "Just who are you trying to protect in this affair?" Kilday demanded. "Rylie Carmody or Webster Spears?" "There is nothing between Webster Spears and me," the girl retorted angrily. an-grily. The flush of her cheeks almost matched the cherry shade of her lips. "I'm not accustomed to being talked to in this way." "I'm not used to having otherwise charming young ladies lie to me, either," the detective replied ironically. "Are you going to answer my question?" ques-tion?" The girl was silent. "All right, I'll answer it for you," declared Kilday. "Webster Spears Is the man you're trying to protect now. Last night It was Rylie Carmody. And I'll tell you why. "Last night you knew that Jim Franklin was murdered and that Rylie Carmody had sworn to stop the wedding. wed-ding. You knew that, because he told you so, when he phoned you that he couldn't meet you. You were afraid he was guilty because you hadn't seen him at the church at the time the crime was committed. He had probably prob-ably told you about his quarrel with Franklin, back there in the study. He had the motive and he had the opportunity. oppor-tunity. You had a right to be worried about him. And so you deceived me, or tried to, about riding home from the church with him, because you didn't want us to suspect that he had been anywhere near there when Franklin was killed. It never occurred to you, then, that Webster Spears was Involved. You were only thinking of Rylie, and so you told us what Spears said as he left the church. "But after we left you last night" the sergeant sat hunched forward in his chair, his relentless glance never moving from the girl's face "you found out, somehow, that Webster Spears was the murderer. I won't ask you how. I wouldn't expect you to tell me the truth. But you found out. And now you're just as anxious to protect pro-tect him as you were to protect the man you told us you loved. What's the answer? What is Spears to you? Why should he have wanted to kill Franklin? Was it because he was still in love with Doris Carmody himself? him-self? That's what I thought at first. Now I'm not so sure. Perhaps he was telling us the truth when he said that was all over now. Perhaps you're the one he loved. And," here Kilday thumped his knee significantly, "I'll find out, Miss Shipley. You've already discovered that I know more than you think I do. If I were you, I'd about decide that now was the time to tell the truth all the truth. What do you think about it?" "What do you want me to tell you?" Callis Shipley asked quietly. "I want to know what there was between be-tween you and Jim Franklin?" The girl stiffened. "I want to know why you're protecting protect-ing Web Spears and what you were doing at his home last night I want to know why you have attempted to deceive de-ceive me, not just once, but several times." He paused, looking at the girl expectantly. "I've told you that I only knew Mr. Franklin very casually. Webster Spears and I are good friends, nothing more. I believe I was more than frank," declared the girl angrily, "when I told you that I am in love with Rylie Carmody. After that, the rest of your questions are in very poor taste, to say the least." "And that's all you have to say?" (TO BE CONTINUED.) Afrikans' Language The Afrikans language is making headway in Africa. It was developed by the Dutch at the Cape from their own tongue, English nnd native lan gunges. |