Show I 1 murder masquerade BY chez inez haynes irwin copyright rats haynes irwin irwia service SYNOPSIS mary avery a widow who lives to la the harlor harbor town too of mass mail with to fo negro negra maids sarah darbe and bessie williams writes a manuscript describing the famous second hed head murder which occurred on be her estate next to mary live mr and mrs peter stow who every year give a summer masquerade party one of 0 the guests of 0 chii unction function it is mor murdered dered nearby live dr and mrs sir geary ceary end and their married daughter edith and her her bus bind alfred bray doctor myron marden and nd his hi step granddaughter caro prentiss a 1 beau ticul yount young girl who was born in france next bere iere I 1 lire paul and nd lora eames ind and their daughter molly holly molly was engaged to the murdered man ace blaikie BIa ikie she had bad been engaged to walter treadway edwy Tr who hid had been the murdered murdered mans secretary but the engagement was suddenly broken and he had bad left town other neighbors are the fairweather sisters misters flora a hopeless ss invalid and margaret all but the litter two ar attended tended the masquerade marya mary a eight year old niece niece sylvia sard Is visiting her for or the summer unifier uni nier the wooded part of marys estate ii Js called the he spinney za la it Is a tiny log cabin near eat a stone atone will wall is a tiny circular pond called the merry mere this is the day of the mas and excitement is high mary decides to take etke sylvia who is an unusually observant child caro prentiss and molly eames drop io in during the afternoon soon ie doat doctor or warden and bruce bletson a friend of aces arrive molly is ia impatient to leave and they an all excuse themselves at the party sylvia identifies each of the masked guests 11 as 9 they arrive ace comes come 9 garbed abed as julius juliua c caesar lesar molly eames appears as a snow queen accompanied compa nied by a man in armor whom sylvia identifies as walter waller treadway cadway Tr they dance together continuo continuously udy caro prentiss and mar den dea arrive dressed in revolutionary costumes the she doctor wearing jeweled shoe buckles when the th guests unmask ace walter end and molly have disappeared when mary avery leaves the party a little after two neither molly and walter or ace biankie had returned sarah darbe confides to mary that someone apparently parent ly had spent the night in the little house houm sylvia finds a shoe buckle in t the be spinney and mary drops it into a jewel box and forgets forged it sarah walks down to the little house and returns screaming she has found ACT ace blaikie stabbed to death in th the spinney mary summons patrick obrien chief of police who had been a schoolmate of hers and acca acas her manuscript nanu maou script recalls early imbres dona of ace how he be had bad been balthy eal thy the most boac popular boy in town how he be had gone to Paris to study medicine became an aviator to ia the world war returning to practice in how bow be was recklessly generous and the print principal apal in ia scores acores of love affairs afT airs bruce bexson had come back fro from inthe the war with ace if H was wa a lawyer a man of private means and had bad got goe religion become a virtual recluse and ad was regarded as aa queer SUNDAY 7 I 1 remembered hearing the clock strike four before I 1 fell asleep that night but once asleep I 1 lay like a log for perhaps an hour afterward I 1 remembered that early in the morning just after dawn I 1 awoke with a searing thirst gradually I 1 pulled myself up out of bed and staggered to the bathroom on my way back to bed I 1 paused to look out the window A grayish tog fog covered the landscape trees blurred shadowy through it like foliage collige in a faded photographic film yet motion caught my dead eyes down below eberg ing from the spinney I 1 saw but 1 I must not anticipate here for what I 1 ganv saw made but a fleeting impression on my sleep clogged i conscious consciousness nesi still bemused I 1 fell into bed and into another deep slumber I 1 for got entirely what eisaw I 1 saw it was sylvias little voice which next awakened me I 1 come get in bed with me my pett I 1 invited Sher snuggled down close beside me putting dorinda belle between us on the pillow did you have a nice time with aunt mattie I 1 asked oh yes aunt mary aunt mattie hattie put a little pitcher of cream in frohe fro hf 4 of my plate just for me what tim edid aunt mattle mattie and uncle peter get home last night c 1 I dont know caddie put me and dorinda belle to bed before they cama came 11 and ad so you did not see aunt mattie and nd uncle peter until this ignoring morin g it 4 no they came into my room and they hugged me and kissed me oh I 1 almost forgot aunt mattle mattie told me to tell you that she wanted to come over to see you after bi breakfast as soon as aa possible I 1 reached out and touched the bell sylvia I 1 said putting my arm about her and drawing her closer do you remember how you danced with doctor ace at the masquerade Spar sparkles klei gathered in sylvias tyes eyes oh yes I 1 rem remember emberl 1 he I 1 couldrey Could ret guess who I 1 was he tried and he tried and he tried but he 11 doctor age ae has gone away I 1 said io to her hes gone away for a long long time bat I 1 want you to remember as long as you live how h 9 w he looked and how kind he be has always been bean to you promise ne me you wont forget him oh ill never forget doctor f ace sylvia vowed easily enough r she he did not ask me where ace had gone sarah came in with my tray now run downstairs to the piazza I 1 bade sylvia and dont leave it without asking me sarah did not seem herself the deep umber of her flesh still showed a quality 1 I hope you feel better this morn mom rung ning mrs avery she said 1 I feel rested sarah but you dont seem so very spry 1 I feel that were all under suspicion pi cion nl sarah commented somberly everybody on this head we women as well as the men I 1 made myself smile we dont have to worry sarah I 1 reassured her nobody in this household 11 has to worry doctor geary says that doctor blaikle blaikie was murdered somewhere about midnight probably before we all have alibis and then sarah it seems to me very unlikely that a woman could have committed this crime how could id a woman have stabbed a cou m man n so tall and big as ace baal kie A woman chos big enough and mad enough mrs avery can do aneti anything ling will you call mrs stow at once sarah I 1 asked and tell her that im dressing now and to come over here as soon as she wants yes mrs avery 1 I suppose been on the telephone everybody every boston papers per I 1 s tried to get you but I 1 said you were still sleeping right sarah dont let anybody get to me today except long distance of course theres a stack of telegrams mrs avery ill look at them later I 1 bathed and dressed swiftly went downstairs almost instantly mattie mattic stow came into the living room from the hall we kissed then stood off and stared appraisingly at each other you look as washed out as I 1 do maryl mary mattie commented if I 1 lookas I 1 feel I 1 said you look all of that mary its the most horrible experience of my lifetime sometimes I 1 feel as though id never get over itt it horrible I 1 could only helplessly echo what time did you go home mary I 1 can remember so little clearly I 1 described our movements S sylvias y I 1 via s and mine in detail peter and I 1 dressed at the bray house mattle mattie said we left our place at about half past eight and got back at about ten naturally we never left the house again nobody left the house but she stopped suddenly it was her own thought dogging her words that had caught her up of course ace left before the unmasking because we never saw him again mattie glided swiftly on yes I 1 saw him go it puts an end to our masquerades mattie ended lif lifelessly el essly 1 I could never give another one the telephone buzzed instinctively I 1 arose but before I 1 could get the extension on the piazza I 1 heard sarah at the hall telephone I 1 took up the receiver patrick OBrIe OB As voice said this is the chief of police speaking can I 1 talk with mrs avery this is mary patrick I 1 broke in oh how are you this morning mary patrick asked well I 1 slept after a while I 1 answered it was a tough break mary happening on your place I 1 called up to ask if I 1 could come to see you for a few minutes im at joe gearas Ge arys 1 I know have to be here all the time patrick dont even bother to telephone come whenever you must if im not at home sarah will take care of you mattie is here im glad of that I 1 lantto want to see her too mattie and I 1 continued to traverse the vicious circle of our memories of the masquerade until patrick arrived ive put in quite a night he said checking up on a crowd of over a hundred people all of them in masks macks is no small chore and I 1 get at mattie until they came home from their drive but fortunately I 1 had a gcoy detail on second head peter and I 1 were so tired yesterday mattie explained to me that we wanted to get away from everything even from the servants peter eat at a hotel he said it if he heard another strain of jazz so I 1 put up a basket supper and we picnicked by the roadside we drove about until long after dark I 1 think it was about ten before we got home who told you I 1 asked the maids peter called up patrick at once and we got together immediately how did you check up patrick I 1 asked well first with matties list then there were six coppers on duty here that night I 1 had told them to keep a sharp lookout look out I 1 was afraid somebody might try to crash the party between them I 1 got a pretty definite idea of who came and when they left first of all though last night I 1 went from house to house on the head and sewed up everybody here that was easy everybody but the fairweather girls went to the masquerade and they leave their house flora of coursed course and margaret but as a matter of routine I 1 had to get a statement from all of them even margaret fairweather their alibis look waterproof doctor mar den says that he left fairly early about one because he was tired he went home and went to bed his granddaughter miss prentiss says she looked into his room when she got home at dach and he was asleep the glary bray crowd we went mt home together the jamses oh by the way that reminds me mary I 1 taken your story yet I 1 must do that now did you go to every house on my list patrick mattle questioned rising every one patrick answered tersely 1 I detailed a man to sit down at the telephone and call them up he told them that id get there sometime during the night it was four in the morning when I 1 checked off the last you ought to look more tired than you do mattie commented oh I 1 take a swim before br breakfast ak patrick said in his offhand off hand way im always in pretty good condition a good thing 1 com commented ment mattie youre in for a long stretch of hard work patrick unless this thing is cleared up up pretty soon youre telling me patrick answered with a wry smile have you anything to go on yet mattie went want on listen you girls patrick declared ill tell you what ive got because we three have been friends ever since I 1 can remember and at present its pretty nearly nothing there any fingerprints i asked no the state fingerprint finger print expert has looked everything over he says that the murderer must have used a handkerchief or gloves when he stabbed ace and when he straightened him out cut but could he have stabbed him without ace realizing he was going to do it mattie demanded because whoever lie he was ace thought he was a friend mattie sighed she came over and kissed me call on me any time old thing first of all mary patrick began briskly when we were alone tell me what you did the night of the masquerade gee ive left my pencil at the PS he turned to my desk took up my fountain pen wrote a few words dropped it in favor of a pencil I 1 gave him a complete and circumstantial cum account of my movements from the time I 1 dressed until I 1 returned to the house with sarah arah at two 1 I think I 1 have a watertight alibi patrick I 1 concluded a little drearily because I 1 scarcely left the corner where I 1 sat the whole evening yes I 1 even afe fe my supper there I 1 think any number of people can testify to that well mary patrick assured me my irish intelligence seems to tell me that you kill ace now will you ask the maids to come in I 1 rang the bell sarah appeared sarah I 1 explained mr obrien wants to ask you and bessie a few questions sarah and bessie appeared in the doorway bessie looked worse thin than sarah sleeplessness had ironed the dimples out of her face it had set into an ashen mask patrick was extremely gentle now girls he began ive got to ask you a few questions I 1 dont want you to get frightened theres no suspicion of you whatever but of course to keep the record straight I 1 have to know exactly what you did the night of the masquerade sarah spoke first of course we know that mr obrien she declared with a catch in her voice weve expected that question us and were all ready patrick took bessiea Bes sies story first straightforward working all day at the stow house returning to the house once to prepare my luncheon the whole evening at the stow house again returning with sylvia before sarah and I 1 came homo home what time was that patrick asked just twelve bessie replied she looked unhappy you may go now bessie patrick permitted gently and thank you youl bessie disappeared noiselessly patrick turned to sarah now you tell me your story sarah story of course dupil duplicated bessiea Bes sies so far as it concerned what happened in the daytime she had gone with bessie over to the stow house and returned only to prepare our dinner had helped sylvia and me to dress and then had gone back to the stow house she stayed there until I 1 left at two returned to my house with me yes exactly what all the other girls say of you patrick reassured her ile he smiled at sarah very few could resist patrick OB smile it brimmed with a kind of elfin roguishness I 1 noticed sarah did not return his smile suddenly patrick shot at her are you sure all sarah you something else to tell me answer was conclusive she burst into tears now dont get frightened my girl patrick soothed her 1 I knew you spilled all of it not pull yourself together and tell me m your story in your own on wa way y nobody suspects you of anything n g TO BE CONTINUED |