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Show The WEDDING MARCH MURDER by MONTE BARRETT CeMUtit. ltfSS. th ioM Morrill C-WNU C-WNU Kvr U . SYNOTS1S Wnltlntf In the inluiswr'n Miiilv, Jhn Franklin, tout to be m:u rit-tl to l-.na Cfiruwu.y, U M!iMc,l to death. Cm. 1 1 in Shipley, one of thw bruit-Miiauls, ts ob-irtoiialy ob-irtoiialy In a utnt of mix let y. IVter CHiMitcnn. ni'hst, ami amateur detective detec-tive of some note, with Soi k emu K il-d.iy, il-d.iy, of th New York polu-e. tenln th ortW-lM Invest trillion. The dan or used by th murderer Is found, franklin, hlle waiting, had many visitors, among them his mistress, (in aet ress, "t'hoo Choo" Trtitn; hi Intended wlfe'i father, Ambrose Carmody; her brother, Kylte; Pantel t'ullis, well-known poll-t poll-t to lan. and an unknown woman In a oluo frock, who hiul qua r re lei) openly with Krankltn. Ky lie Carmody a limits trying to etop the weddlns. after being be-ing Informed by Webster Spears that Pr a n k 1 1 n was 1 1 1 1 friendly w 1 1 h Choo Choo, despite his approaching marriage. mar-riage. Ktlday secures the dead nun's keys. Oa rd : k a n a ml Ktlday Interview Callis Shipley. She Is somewhat contradictory con-tradictory In her answers to questions, but the Investigators learn nothing of Importance. CHAPTER III Continued Twtor Aborn:ithy says she wasn't t' e woman tn blue that he saw," de-ciar. de-ciar. d the detective. "But he could t.- twisting the truth around a little b ' himself. This girl did." Pf :er hesitated on the running hoard c" tve car. "Webster Spears seems to fc ive had a lot to do with this," he ggested. "Kylie claims It was he nho told hint about Choo Choo Train. Miss Shipley supports this story. That being true, probably he was th man who sent Ambrose Carmody the anonymous telephone call. And he ' was Poris Oarmody's suitor, before Jim Franklin arrived on the scene. That seems to explain his motive. It Is obvious that he was trying to stop that wedding." "But he was never in the sacristy," Kilday objected. "He wasn't seen In the sacristy." Peter amended. "Let's have a talk with this fellow, Sergeant." Kilday puffed for a moment in silence. sil-ence. "All right." he agreed finally. "But later. There's one bet I'm not overlooking, which Is Just as important im-portant as this mysterious woman in blue." Teter showed his interest. "Dan Bullis," declared the detective laconically. The novelist whistled softly. "Big game!" he exclaimed. "Looks like they're all big game in this case." Kilday complained. "An' trail we take, we step on somebody's toes." It was true. The Carmody and Spears families were powers in the financial and social world. Callis Shipley's family had been equally important im-portant before she had been orphaned, some years before. Choo Choo Train was a stage celebrity. Nick Koyce was editor of the largest tabloid In New Tort Doctor Abernathy was rector of the city's most fashionable church and Daniel Bullis, who had often been called the king of Manhattan by a hostile press, was the undisputed political po-litical ruler of that broad turbulent belt of the city where vice was organised, organ-ised, allegedly under his protection. Nor had the newspapers overlooked this. Kilday bought all the late editions edi-tions available before he and Peter entered a cafe, and scrutinized each with painstaking care during his meal. "Topics says it was a woman and runs pictures of Choo Choo and the bridal party on the front page." he grunted once, pushing the tabloid across to his friend. "Nick Royce would," Cardigan smiled. "Find the woman ! That's the secret of his circulation." "He doesn't worry me," declared Kilday. "It's the World and Globe that sound ugly. It isn't exactly what they say, It's how they say It. The inference Is that the murder was political, polit-ical, and that we won't dare go after the man responsible. The fact that Jim Franklin was expected to be the next governor Isn't going to help me any, so far as the papers are concerned. con-cerned. They'll be on my neck. And the district attorney will probably have me on the carpet in the morning. Wait and see. He can't stand this kind of pressure." "Meaning Bullis. of course." "Nobody else. Mentioning Bullis Is like waving a red flag at every paper In town that doesn't belong to his party. The fact that he was one of the last persons to see Franklin alive has given these papers just the excuse they need. Peter, what made Jim Franklin the logical candidate for governor gov-ernor at the next election?" "The manner in which he handled the investigation of the magistrate scandal, of course. No one thought he would go after Bullis the wav he did, hut " "But!" exclaimed the detective. "That's the point. But he did. He went after Bullis hammer and tongs. !No one thought he would. It made him a popular Idol and It made Bullis his enemy. Well, there's our motive, if Bullis Is guilty. That's our next lead." "Then you don't think Callis Shipley or Rylle Carmody " "I don't want to think of them until I have o," dee'.ared the sergeant. "This is our plainest traj' if it doesn't pan out, I can come back to the others. Bullis was there, and his motive mo-tive was clear-cut." "And so was Itylie Carmody's He was determined to stop the wedding," Peter reminded him earnestly, "So was Choo Choo Train's. She was Franklin's mistress. She had a mo- t tlve for stopping the wedding. And the woman in blue whoever she. may have heen-lmd a motive for Mopping It. If she loved Franklin. That's the queer thing about this case. Might or nine people, that wo know of, had an opportunity to commit the crime, and it doesn't require much Imagination to find a motive for any of them." Kilday rose. "I'll take 'cm one at a time." he said. "And I'm going to start with Bullis. Coming?" "l ei's go," said Peter. Daniel Bullis was unexpectedly easy to find. A telephone call from the restaurant located him at his downtown down-town club where he usually dined, lie was still at table when Interrupted by Kilday's call. "Come on over. Sergeant." he Invited. In-vited. "I'll be glad to tell you what I know." But that seemed very little. "Sure I went to see him," (lie politician poli-tician said, after seating each of his guests. "How about a drink? Whnt will you have, boys?" They both declined. It was a matter mat-ter of principle with Kilday. It was Ids boast that no one had anything "on" him. Cardigan thought there was a shade too much hrco7y friendliness friendli-ness In the Invitation. It didn't quite ring true. "Well, you don't mind If I do," said Bullis, ringing for an attendant. "Fvery one to Ids own tastes, as the widow said, when she kissed the Jim, 'IT V VrO' r 1 A- ' A t? 21 "Sure," Said Bullis. "A Peach."- pig." The quantity of his booming laugh more than atoned for Its lack of mirth. He entertained his visitors with an anecdote, obviously Intended to reveal his ow-n Importance, as he waited for his drink. "And I told the senator," he concluded, con-cluded, " 'George, you're all wet.' " Peter was not Interested In what Bullis had told the senator, but he was Interested In the man himself, and welcomed the opportunity to study him. Daniel Bullis was a huge man, from the hairy hands that had engulfed Peter's during their Introduction, to the crown of his head, which seemed almost too ponderous, even for his massive frame. The wide leather chair in which he slouched was almost concealed by his bulk. One long leg was thrown carelessly across the chair-arm, swinging slowly, and blunt fingers drummed Incessantly against his knee as he talked. But It was that ponderous head, which dwarfed the wide shoulders, that fascinated Peter most. In spite of its size, or because of it. Cardigan was not sure which, there was something some-thing almost Infantile about the man's expression. The short, whitish blond hair, straight as a string, grew low on his forehead, and was imparted. It was not as though it had been combed, long ago, and forgotten, so much as though it had never known a comb. Eyebrows, there were almost none, and this heightened the wide Innocence Inno-cence of the man's blue stare, except when he laughed. Then telltale folds of flesh curled up beneath his eyes, revealing re-vealing an uncertain maturity. The mouth and chin were a direct negation of Bullis' other features, for there was strength written in the lean lips and wide sweep of Jaw. The drink arrived, and the politician drained half the cool contents of the long glass before turning again to Kilday. "Yeah," he repeated. "I went to see Franklin." He nodded toward a disorderly dis-orderly pile of newspapers by his chair. "I've been reading about It. So I wasn't surprised when you phoned that yon wanted to see me. Well?" He twisted In his chair. In order to face the detective. "Let's go. What do you want to know?" "First I want to know what you were so anxious to see Franklin about, Mr. Bullis?" "Anxious?" The politician weighed the word. "Well, I guess you'd call it that. I had to see him. I wanted to tell him what I thought of him. Why, I helped make Jim Franklin, and he knew it He'd still be unknown, If It hadn't been for me. That's why he was afraid to see me, after he turned ca me." "Afraid to see you?" Peter interrupted. inter-rupted. "What else would you say?" Bullis demanded contemptuously. "I'd been trying to get hold of him for three days. At his office, his home, his club, everywhere. Why, I've even been pag ing him over St Choo Choo Train's. Hut ho was dodging mo, "Well, I knew there whs one place he couldn't dodge me -tin church. So I went there, and I saw him." "What was It you were so anxious to see him about?" Kilday repealed his ipiesl Ion. Bullis compressed his lips Into a thin hard lino. "Huh," he grunted, "unci you call yourself a drlecllvo. Well, I'll tell you. Jim Franklin thought he was going to climb Into the governor's chair by sacrilli'lng a few old friends who put him where he was. I went there to toll him he'd never get near Albany, tinl 11 he was willing to listen to me. And I told hhn." "What did Franklin have to say to that?" "Ilo was In a tough spot, lie had to listen to mi". And he agreed with me, too." "You mean to say," Peter leaned forward Intently, "that you and Franklin Frank-lin came to an agreement, there In the church study? Hid you part friends?" "Sure." Bullis grinned with his month, but his eyes remnlned palely expressionless. "Jim saw his mistake, and wo parted the best of friends." "Just how did that come about?" the novelist Inquired curiously. "You weren't In a very friendly frame of mind, when you went there." The politician leaned back In his chair. "I have ways of making people agree with me." "So I see. I'm trying to find out Just what you had to say to Franklin, and what he said to yon, that caused such a sudden change of feeling between be-tween you." "You'll never know that," replied Bullis shortly. Again he picked up his hlghbnll glass, his attention apparently appar-ently riveted solely on the drink. "Then perhaps you'll tell us about the woman you saw there," suggested Cardigan. "There was a woman there, wasn't there?" ""Sure." said BulllR. "A peach. Jim always was a better hand with women than he was with politics." "Perhaps you could describe her." Kilday suggested. "Well." Bullis hesitated. "I don't know whether I could or not. She was a good-looker, and blond." "Did she have on a blue dress?" Inquired In-quired the sergeant. "I believe so. I'm not sure." Peter picked up the Topics, crumpled crum-pled beside the politician's chair, and held up the page of pictures. Choo Choo Train was pictured there. So was Callis Shipley, among the other bridesmaids. "Could you pick her out of that group, Mr. Bullis?" Bullis hesitated over the pictures. "I don't think she's there." he replied finally. "If she Is. I don't recognle her." The novelist had hardly hoped It would be as easy to identify the woman wom-an In blue as that, yet he was disappointed. disap-pointed. He continued the questioning. question-ing. "Was Franklin quarreling with this woman when you entered the room?" "Yes." "Do you know what they were quarreling quar-reling about?" "In a way I do. It seems that the woman was In love with Jim. and she didn't like this wedding business." "What did Ehe say?" "I don't remember everything that was said. I only remember that she was hysterical, and Jim was trying to quiet her. The only words I remember re-member are that she kept saying, 'You can't do this, Jim. You can't do 1L I'll ruin both of us, before I'll let you.' "Jim was glad to see even me, right then. He quieted the woman, and I told him I wanted to see him alone. She didn't want to leave, and finally Jim said. 'Go ahead and talk. She's all right.' "Later, when I was ready to leave, Jim turned to the woman again. 'Can't yon see how much trouble I'm In, honey?' he asked her. 'I'll keep my word to you, this time, sure. Just as soon as I get back.' The woman started to cry. 'If I could believe you, Jim,' she said, 'everything would be all right.1 "'Listen,' I says to her. 'give him a break. He's going to be married in five minutes.' "I don't remember all we said, but she finally agreed to go. and she left with me. We went out the back door. 'My car's here,' I told her. Til take you home.' "But she wouldn't let me. She had her own car, a green sedan. I know because I watched her get in." "What make was the car?" demanded demand-ed Kilday. "It was a Cadillac, I think." The sergeant groaned. "It would be. There are only ten thousand green Cadillacs in this town." Peter lighted a cigarette and studied Bullis thoughtfully, through its blue haze. "You could identify that woman. If you saw her again, couldn't you, Mr. Bullis?" "I don't know. Maybe." The politician politi-cian returned his stare coolly. "She made quite an Impression on you, didn't she?" This time it was Kilday who asked. The politician turned the battery of his expressionless eyes upon him. "I said she was easy to look at," he replied. re-plied. "But still you couldn't identify her picture in the paper?" The detective grunted his disbelief. Bullis once more examined the pictures pic-tures spread out across the front page of Topics. "You seem mighty sure it was one of these girls," he said. "What do you think?" "Newspaper pictures aren't alwn.c such good likenesses." the puiiticia. suavely replied. fro F.K r'.iNTi.viKP |