Show MURDER masquerade by INEZ HAYNES IRWIN copyright ices haracc ir irwin win I 1 service SYNOPSIS mary awry avery a widow who livet lives in the barker barbor town of mm mass with two negro maids sarah darbe and bessie liccie will williann ama write rites a m uc rips describing the is famous mou second head yn murder which occurred on her estate next to mary live mr and mrs peter stow who every year give a summer ade party one of the guests ol of this unction function li Is murdered nearby live dr and mrs mr geary and their married daughter edith and nd her busand b alfred bray doctor myron warden marden and his ti step granddaughter caro Pren prentiss a beautiful young girl who was born in france next live paul and lora eames and their heir daughter molly molly was engaged to ibbe the murdered man ace blaikie she bad bee been n e engaged to walter waller treadway who had been the murdered mans mana secretary but the engagement was ru suddenly d broken and be had bad left to town wn other neighbors neighbor are the fairweather ais sisters t ers flora a hopeless invalid and margaret A all I 1 I 1 but the latter two attended the masquerade marys marya eight year old niece sylvia sard is i visiting her for or the summer the wooded part parr of 0 maryt marys estate Is called the spinney in it Is a tiny log cabin near a stone wall is a tiny circular pond called the merry mere this is the day of 0 the masquerade and excitement is Is high mary decides to take sylvia who Is an unusually observant child caro prentiss Pre otiss and molly eames drop in during the afternoon soon blaikie doctor warden and bruce alexson a friend of 0 ace aces arrive molly is u impatient to leave and they all excuse themselves at the party sylvia identifies each of 0 the masked guests as they hey arrive ace comes garbed as julius caesar molly eames appears as a snow queen accompanied compa nied by a man io in armor whom sylvia identifies as walter treadway they dance together continuously caro prentiss and mar den dan arrive arrive dressed in revolutionary costumes costume the doctor wearing jeweled shoe buckles when the guests unmask ace walter and molly have disappeared when mary avery leaves the party a little tiler after two neither molly and walter or ace Illa blaikie ikie bad returned sarah darbe confides to mary that someone apparently apparent parent ly had bad spent the night in the little house and returns screaming she has found ace blaikie stabbed to death in the spinney mary summons patrick obrien cn chief of police who had bad been a schoolmate of hers and aces her manuscript recalls early impressions of ace how he be had been wealthy the mot popular boy in town how bow he be had bad gone to paris to study medicine became an aviator aviator in the world war returning to practice in in how he be was recklessly generous and the principal in scores of love affairs bruce bexson had come back from the war ith ace ile he was a lawyer a man of if private means and nd had bad got religion become a virtual recluse rec lusco SUNDAY continued 8 sobs died down suddenly she became her composed quiet self 1 I dont like to tell things about people she explained quietly 1 I never give away the secrets that my friends tell me and I 1 always keep the white peoples secrets I 1 ever mentioned what im going to tell you but to one other person mrs avery patrick said good guess Pat patrick I 1 put in 1 I told mrs avery saturday morning sarah said perfectly composed she told patrick the story of her discoveries in the cabin again sarah burst into tears now now dont tl think ank about it any more you go back to your work sarah and dont give this another thought you got anybody into trouble I 1 knew who it was au all the time 1 I would have told you patrick what sarah has just told you I 1 said after sarah had disappeared you see I 1 think of it yesterday the murder paralyzed my mind temporarily oh I 1 know have told me patrick dismissed my explanation in an offhand off hand manner do you know yet how ace came to go into my spinney patrick I 1 asked oh yes I 1 got that last night he went there to meet tony torriano the bootleg bootlegger gerl 1 I 1 said yes it seems that of course you know that for years ace has been spending money like a drunken sailor iles hes really been up against it lately ile he paid tony for months ile he owed him three hundred dollars tony went over to the blaikie house yesterday and I 1 guess he staged a pretty good scene sam was cleaning silver in the butlers pantry and he could hear tony storming way oil off there ile he got frightened and came into the dining room to listen he said that tony grew pretty violent in his threats he heard ace tell tony to meet him about half past ten in your spinney that hed have the money for him then and so you suspect 91 not a chancel chance just think it overt ive known tony all my life hes all right we went to school together ive played tag tops marbles baseball and football with him tonys as good as they come did you arrest him of no but I 1 told him to stick round because I 1 might have to arrest him and hes sticking kinc around who spent the night in my little house I 1 asked next walter treadway pat answered im as sure as I 1 can be that he did anyway he go AT home me that night somebody saw him and molly motoring early yesterday morning sarah guessed that I 1 said after a while our maids always know everything before we do outside a motor crunched on the driveway in an instant sarah appeared its miss molly mrs avery she announced 1 and mr treadway before I 1 could speak tell them to come int patrick said I 1 had not seen walter treadway jor ar over a year and yet I 1 did not look at him for an instant it was not the fact that molly came through the door first that held my attention on her it was something in molly herself it seems to me I 1 had never seen her look so beautiful molly swept into the room good morning aunt mary she called buoyantly good morning mr obrien surprisingly she came over and kissed me I 1 had a feeling that she had intended in that sweep of the room to kiss patrick too but thought better of it buoyancy in molly 1 and ace dead patricks answering good morning molly came together with mine like a chorus then still like a chorus we added good morning walterl walter 1 walter treadways Tread ways look had changed too I 1 have known walter treadway all his life like the stows and Eames rameses es the older treadways Tread ways are contemporaries and intimates I 1 always say that walter is handsome perhaps he is not really handsome certainly he is interesting es t ing ile he is very tall very slim blade like ile he has regular features and he be has beautiful teeth A quality in walters face always delights me something gay something not so much mischievous as puckish As a young boy he was a R W IT r k 4 A ile he said that tony grew pretty violent in his threats extremely shy that shyness dl disappeared of course with maturity but even as a young man he was quiet and reticent he had a charming sense of humor quiet and reticent too and well ill go back to that word puckishly yes walter is handsome As molly looked different walter looked different but his air showed a ster sternness almost an austerity st sit down child childrens childre nl I 1 ordered what can I 1 offer you at this hour of the morning coffee molly answered promptly your just famous coffee aunt mary loads of ill I 1 rang the bell sarah appeared tell bessie to make a big of coffee and serve it in herel im glad youve come moll molly Y patrick began at once and you too walter when I 1 got to your place last night molly your mother said that gone home with one of the girls shed forgotten which one so she get in touch with you and your people walter even know that been in I 1 told them that spent one night at least in mrs averys little house that 0 K X yes walter replied without any hesitation 1 I spent two nights there after a pause he volunteered thursday and friday night my apologies aunt mary im sure you understand 1 I do I 1 answered patrick made no comment on this byplay by play but why walter went on in an inquiring voice did you want to see me and why molly echoed in an indifferent one did you want to see me to get your patrick was beginning A blade of intuition cut through me oh you heard 1 I 1 wailed heard what they both questioned oh molly I 1 took it up molly darling weve got something frightful to tell youl you hollys face turned to marble my mo mother therl she whispered not your mo mother therl I 1 said swiftly acel ace molly questioned hes dead she answered herself instantly st ace is dead molly said this in a kind of solemn question a kind of solemn statement she stared at me I 1 could not speak I 1 bowed my head ace dead molly repeated ace dead why how could ace die ace was so full of life tell me what it is aunt maryl mary ile he kill himself tell me every thing 1 tell met mel she had arisen from her chair as she pleaded came speeding like a blown flower across the piazza to me As swiftly walter followed her he put his arm about her 1 I he was murde murdered redl I 1 could say it in no fuller phrase or in fewer words murdered molly screamed it walter pulled in a long hissing breath his wide eyes still on my face he drew molly close she dropped her head to his shoulders shoulder 1 deadened her hysterics there patrick swung in the body was found in mrs averys spinney yesterday afternoon ile he had been stabbed to death with the sword he wore at the masquerade doctor geary says he died about midnight 1 my godl god walter said in a stupefied tone As long as youre here walter patrick went on steadily 1 I want to ask you a few questions perhaps like to lie he do down for a while walter led her to a couch he seated himself beside her hollys handkerchief went up to her face she began to shake but in silence no sobs came walters a arm rm went about her 1 I must warn you both first patrick said that anything you say now can be used later in evidence against you walter looked with a fierce worship down into hollys face molly looked with a worship up into his ask us anything you want they said in unison you went to the masquerade walter patrick began in a knights costume armor coat of mail or whatever you call it yes what time did you get to the party oh a little after ten I 1 should say did you dress in the little house walter yes what time did you go to the little house friday night it was saturday morning by the time I 1 got there walter a answered n that is to say almost saturday morning it was just before sunrise patrick made no comment on this was molly at the party when you got here yes dyes did you dance with her often about a half dozen times what time did you leave A little after eleven perhaps before the unmasking yes did you go alone no who was with you mouy molly patrick turned to molly then you two left the party some time after eleven yes it what time did you get to the stow house molly A little after ten you left with walter yes 01 a what did you do when y you ou left th the e house we got into my ruri runabout about and drove about where did you drive Sa marshland marshland beach handsbury Hanes bury handsbury Hanes bury beach and what have you patrick turned his attention to walter how long walter would you say you were driving well we left the party for the sake of easy arithmetic let us say eleven I 1 was back in the little house about five that would make it six hours were you with him all that time molly yes did you see ace blaikie at the party walter ayes yes did iou speak with him no I 1 did you dance with ace molly yes twice did you speak to him not as ace blaikie we talked as the characters we represented he called me lea ice empress patrick continued after you stopped riding around walter where did you take molly to the marden housel what road did you take round to the beach and over the head in what room did you sleep in the marden house molly 1 I slept in the room with caro prentiss a big chamber at the front with two beds did you wake her when you came in 41 no she was awake she had ju just st got in herself she ask you where been she ask me but I 1 told told her that I 1 had been riding all night with walter 4 now abow patricks air became brisk we left you walter at the marden house tell me what you did then 1 I walked straight down to te the little house I 1 cut across cat park and got onto the path just back of mrs averys house and continued on to the little house took off your armor first I 1 suppose patrick suggested yes I 1 had already taken off the cape and helmet and hood when I 1 got into the runabout and put on a sweater but I 1 took the rest of it off then and went to sleep on the couch TO BE CONTINUED |