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Show The WEDDING MARCH MURDER by MONTE BARRETT Copyright, 1933. by the Bobbs-Merrlll Co. WXU Service. SYNOPSIS Waiting in the minister's study, Jim Franklin, about to be married to Doris Carmody, is stabbed to death. Peter Cardigan, with Sergeant Kilday, begins the investigation. Franklin, while waiting, had visitors, among them hia mistress, "Choo Choo' Train; his intended in-tended wife's father, Ambrose Carmody; Car-mody; her brother, Rylie; Daniel Bullis, Bul-lis, politician, and a woman in a blue frock. Rylie Carmody admits trying to stop the wedding, after being Informed by Webster Spears that Franklin was still friendly with Choo Choo, despite his approaching marriage. Kilday secures se-cures the dead man's keys. From Cal-lis Cal-lis Shipley, one of the bridesmaids, Rylie's friend, the investigators learn nothing. An Interview with Bullls Is fruitless. Webster Spears admits Informing In-forming Rylie Carmody of Franklin's relations with Choo Choo, for Doris Carmody's sake, in the hope of preventing pre-venting the wedding. Fletcher, Franklin's Frank-lin's man-servant, is reticent. An interview in-terview with Milo Dunbar, Franklin's law partner, and search of the dead man's office, reveals nothing of importance. im-portance. Choo Choo admits her relations rela-tions with Franklin were to continue after his marriage. Six of the seven keys Franklin carried are tp.ced. Callis Shipley, again interviewed, confesses previous deception, but nothing new is elucidated. CHAPTER VII Continued 16 The novelist puffed thoughtfully on his cigarette and studied the man before be-fore him through the pale cloud of expelled ex-pelled smoke. "You're very careful how you word It, Fletcher," he observed. ob-served. "I notice you say nothing about any women who may have been In love with Mr. Franklin, regardless of how he felt in the matter. It isn't always easy to break off a love affair with a woman, even for a person of Jim Franklin's accomplishments along that line. Perhaps there has been a woman answering this description who has called here recently?" "Not not that I can recall, Mr. Cardigan." "How about phone calls? Has any woman been calling here repeatedly, In the past few days?" "There have been many calls, of course," Fletcher faltered. "But I couldn't tell you who they were from. Miss Train, yes, and Miss Carmody. If there have been others, I couldn't say who they were." "But there were others?" "Possibly. I really couldn't answer yes or no." The man's manner had grown less reluctant now. "Have you ever seen this before, Fletcher?" In his palm Cardigan extended ex-tended the revolver found in the rectory rec-tory garden. The servant made no move to touch It. "No, sir. I don't know much about guns." "But this one belonged to Mr. Franklin Frank-lin ! Surely you've seen It before." "I didn't know he had a gun, sir. I haj never seen it. I think there must be some mistake." "He probably kept It in a drawer In the bedroom, or in his desk," Peter suggested. "If he had, I should have known It, Mr. Cardigan," the man insisted. "I've never seen it before. I'm sure there's been some mistake." Peter rose abruptly. "That's all, I think," he said. But he paused with one hand on the door, for a final question. ques-tion. "Who has been here since yesterday yes-terday evening? Anyone?" "No sir. Not since you left last night." "He's not telling us all he knows." growled Kilday after the door had closed behind them. "I'm sure of that," the novelist agreed. "But why? I don't think Fletcher had anything to do with Franklin's murder. After all. he's only a servant. Where would the motive mo-tive be?" "I couldn't see a motive for Webster Web-ster Spears nt first," declared the sergeant. ser-geant. Then he shook his shoulders wearily. "This case Is giving me the willies," he complained. "I'll be suspecting sus-pecting you, next. Well, what do you think now? There were no new leads there, and I've got to see the district attorney right after lunch. If I don't have something. It'll be just too bad." "And yet," the novelist answered slowly, "we know that the murderer carried Franklin's revolver to the church yesterday afternoon. That Is certain. The simplest sort of logic convinces us that it must have been one of his Intimate friends. No one else could have had access to it. The gun must have been taken within the past few days preferably yesterday. It the crime had been planned far in advance, I find It hard to believe that the murderer would have chosen the church as the scone for his crime. It seems clear that no one could have taken It without Fletcher's knowledge, and we find him reluctant to talk. He had no motive, so it must have been some one for whom he has a fooling of sympathy or regard some on he Is willing to take some risk to shield. Who could that be?" "Another woman, eh?" Kilday paused on the steps. "A former mistress, that the servant liked better than he did Choo Choo." "That sounds reasonable." Teter agreed. "Or else it was a new mistress. Franklin never had the reputation rep-utation of being exceptionally constant In his loves." "Getting hack to your woman In blue." muttered the sergeant between drafts on his stogy. They had halted on the front steps of the apartment. "Everything leads hack to her. Rut then, what about ynung Spears? What I do you think of my theory concerning concern-ing him now?" "It's your question, you answer it," Peter declared wearily. "I'll admit you've built up a very convincing case against him. It has just one flaw. What could he have been doing with Jim Franklin's revolver? They weren't Intimate friends. How could he have obtained possession of it?" "That isn't so hard as you seem to think. Callis Shipley probably obtained ob-tained It and passed it on to him. I agree with you on one point. I don't think the blow that killed Franklin could have been delivered by a woman. But that doesn't let this girl cut nor the woman In blue, either, if they were two different persons. If we can only prove this girl passed that gun on to Spears, we'll have a case pinned on him that will convince any jury. "But the only man who can help us find her is Fletcher, and he won't talk," added the sergeant grimly. "There's one other chance," Cardigan Cardi-gan disagreed with him. "The fellow was positive he'd never seen the revolver re-volver before. If he was telling us the truth, perhaps Franklin kept it at his office. Let's go and see." Milo Dunbar admitted them to his private office without delay. "I hope you gentlemen have some progress to But the Girl Could Not Remember Ever Having Seen the Gun. report," he began, after seating them. "According to the papers, it's beginning begin-ning to look like a political crime. If Jim was killed over this magistrate Investigation, In-vestigation, then the governor " "He wasn't," Sergeant Kilday Interrupted Inter-rupted him bluntly. "I don't think Dan Bullis had anything to do with It, except, possibly, to shield the woman in the case. He probably has to do that, because that woman overheard his conversation with Franklin. If he Identifies her, she can tell what she knows, and it's probably plenty. But we think maybe we can find the woman wom-an without any help from 'Bullis." "Good. As I told you yesterday, If there's any way I can help you " "There Is, Mr. Dunbar. We want you to Identify the revolver that Mr. Franklin kept in his desk drawer." Milo Dunbar took the weapon Kilday Kil-day extended, and examined It carefully. care-fully. "I'm afraid I can't be of much help on that score. Sergeant. I didn't even know Jim had a gun." "He bought that two years ago." Kilday pointed to the serial number stamped on the weapon. "We keep the registration of all guns sold. There can't be any doubt about that being his. We're anxious to find where he kept it." "Of course," Dunbar agreed, "Jim could have kept a dozen guns in his office without my knowledge. Perhaps his secretary could help us. I'll see." Before he could touch the button on his desk, refer Interrupted him. "Not yet,'' he cautioned. "I want to know something about his secretary, first. Is she young attractive?" The attorney shrugged. "Passably so. I hadn't noticed. I'll call her, and let you judge for yourself." "Don't tell her who we are," the novelist cautioned. "Make some excuse ex-cuse to talk to her, without mentioning mention-ing 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 re-move the weapon If it was kept In his desk." The girl was called. "I wish you'd get me Mr. Franklin's file of unanswered mail. Miss Wilson," said Dunbar. "I shall need It, In straightening out his affairs." "Not the girl In blue, obviously," declared de-clared Cardigan, after she had left Miss Wilson was attractive, and in her early twenties, but was decidedly a brunette. "Not unless she wore a wig," Kilday added. Peter shook his head. "Not with her coloring." he declared positively. "She couldn't pet away with it. Call her back. Mr. Dunbar. Let's ask her about the revolver." But the girl could not remember ever having seen the gun, although she was familiar with Franklin's affairs, and had frequent access to his desk. "When he Is out of the city," she explained, ex-plained, "it is often necessary for me to find papers In his desk. I'm sure I would have noticed It, If the gun had been there. It wasn't" "How about the safe?" "Only Mr. Franklin and Mr. Dunbar Dun-bar had access to the private section of the safe." "He might have kept It In his private pri-vate drawer there," Dunbar volunteered. volun-teered. "The one you examined last night But he was the only person who could have taken It from there, and your point is that some one else procured the gun without his knowledge. knowl-edge. That being true, it couldn't have been there. He must have kept It at his apartment, Cardigan." That seemed to be the logical answer. Then Fletcher must have seen the gun before, must have recognized It, but refused to admit it Who was he protecting? pro-tecting? How was the servant Involved In-volved in the murder of his master? The more he revolved the question In his mind, the more certain Peter be came that the woman in blue was the key to the crime, and that Fletcher, If he could be made to talk, could reveal her identity. He could not share Kilday's conviction that the case against Webster Spears lacked only substantiating proof. I "Just like every other trail we've hit," Kilday complained, as they headed head-ed back to his office. "A blind alley. Dan Bullis and Fletcher are the only two who can identify that woman for us, but neither one of them will talk." "We'll find her," Peter reassured him. "We've got to find her. It seems to me that, one way or another, she supplied the motive for this crime." Kilday stopped and laughed aloud.' "Why didn't I think of that before?" he asked, and then, not waiting for the question on Peter's lips, continued. "That sedan parked in front of Spears' last night was a Cadillac and it belonged be-longed to Callis Shipley. Did you notice no-tice its color? Was It green?" "No good," declared Peter. "I had thought of that, but unless Bullis was deliberately trying to throw us off the track, the woman In blue could not have been Callis Shipley. You forget she never left the church at that time.' She returned to the front. She was one of the bridesmaids and was in the, ch.urch when the crime was discovered, only a few minutes later." j The sergeant meditated on this. "That's right, of course. But did Bullis tell us the truth? Was there a green Cadillac at all? We have rea-son rea-son to believe he Isn't anxious for the woman in blue to be found because she could reveal what passed between him and Franklin during that Interview." Inter-view." "That's possible of course," Peter admitted. Kilday returned to bis former theory of the crime. "After all," he declared with much earnestness, "who do we know tried to stop this wedding? Webster Spears. Rylie Carmody, too, of course, but his action was Instigated Insti-gated by Spears. Ambrose Carmody was In the front vestibule of the church. That fact Is pretty well established. es-tablished. Both Doctor Abernathy and Nick Royce talked with Franklin after the senior Carmody left the study. Choo Choo Train was the last person we know of that saw Franklin alive. Royce saw her step into the study with him, a few minutes before the crime was committed. And yet It doesn't seem possible that she could have delivered the death blow. Added to that, we have the fact which she, herself, pointed out. She was known to be his mistress and she knew Royca had seen her enter that room with him. It doesn't seem reasonable to believe that she would have committed the crime under these circumstances. She was too openly Inviting suspicion to be contemplating a crime. "Doctor Abernathy was In the church. We know that. Daniel Bullis had a motive, but he evidently had left before Ambrose Carmody was admitted admit-ted to the study. Of course," the detective de-tective admitted, "he might have returned re-turned later, but I hardly think so. He, too, had walked In there openly, and every one knew he and Franklin were enemies. "Of all those we know to have been back there, that leaves only Nick Royce, Callis Shipley and the woman In blue. Whether we want to or not, we'll have to leave the woman In blue out of our present calculations, because be-cause we don't know who she is. Ai for Royce, what motive did he havel And Callis Shipley," the detectlva shrugged, "you know what I think about her. She's lying. Why? To protect some one? Then It must ba Rylie Carmody, whom she admits sha loves, or Webster Spears, who sha says is only a good friend. Nevertheless Neverthe-less we know that she visited him at his house last night, although she denies de-nies It "Peter," the detective continued earnestly, "your theory In regard to the finger-prints is a good one to follow fol-low concerning young Spears. You declared de-clared that the man who left fingerprints finger-prints either didn't know a crime was about to be committed, or else ha was a fool. The same thing goes for the people who visited that room. The person who visited Franklin openly certainly didn't 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. un-seen. "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. "That's why I'm going to have him arrested, without any further delay. He had the motive, he had the opportunity, oppor-tunity, and he was trying his utmost to stop that wedding. We've been blind not to see It from the first" "And Callis Shipley?" "You can't arrest anyone for telling a lie. That's all I've got on her, so far. First she tried to protect Rylie Carmody, then Webster Spears. But I've been thinking about that angle. If this girl knows so much, maybe young Carmody is in on the secret too,1 From now on I'm going to have him shadowed." (TO BB OONTttCraDJ |