Show MURDER masquerade by INEZ HAYNES IRWIN copyright haynes irwin imin service SYNOPSIS mary avery a widow who lives in the die harbor barbor town of ma mass with two negro maids sarah darbe and bessie williams writes a manuscript describing the famous second held head murder th arder which occurred on an her state next to mary live mr and mrs peter stow who every year give a summer ade ad e party one of the guests of this thi function i murdered nearby live dr and I 1 mrs its geary and their married daughter edith and her hus bus bond band alfred bray doctor myron mardan and his step granddaughter caro prentiss a beautiful young girt girl who was born in france next live paul and lora eames and their daughter molly molly was engaged to the murdered man ace blakie blaikie she had been engaged to walter treadway who had been the murdered mans secretary but the engagement was wa sud ud deoly denly broken and he had bad left town other neighbors neighbor are the fairweather sister flora a hopeless invalid and margaret all but the lat ter I 1 two we attended the masquerade marya mary a eight year acar old niece syma sylvia sard is her for or the summer ur omer the wooded part of marys estate is called the spinney spinner in it is a tiny log cabin near a tone stone wall is a tiny ci circular pond called the merry mere this is n the day of the masquerade and excitement is high mary decides to take sylvia who is in an unusually observant child caro prestiss Pre otiss and molly earnes eames drop in during the afternoon soon blaikie doctor marden and bruce bexson ll exson a friend of aces ac Cs arrive aeve molly is ii impatient to leave and they all n excuse themselves at the party sylvia syl v identifies each of the masked guests as they th arrive ace comes garbed as julius caesar molly eames appears as a snow queen accompanied compa nied by a man in armor whom sylvia identifies as walter treadway they dance together continuously caro prentiss and marden arrive dressed in revolutionary costumes the doctor wearing jeweled shot hoc buckles when the guests unmask ace walter waller and molly luve have disappeared when mary avery leaves the party a little after two neither molly and walter or ace blaikie had bad returned sarah darbe confides to mary that someone apparently parent ly bad spent the night in someone the L little atle house and returns screaming she has found ace blaikie stabbed to death in the spinney spinner mary summons patrick obrien chief ot of police bo be bad been a schoolmate of hers and ace aces her manuscript recalls early impressions of ace ac how he be bad been wealthy the most popular boy in lon how he be had gone to paris to study medicine became an aviator in the world war returning to practice in how bow he be was as recklessly generous and the principal in scores of love affairs bruce hixson had bad come back from the war with am ace he was a lawyer a man of private means and had bad got religion become a virtual recluse sarah tells patrick that someone bad slept in the little house the night of the murder patrick reveals that ace had gone to the spin tier cey to meet tony torriano his bootlegger to talk business he does docs not believe tony guilty he also discloses that walter treadway had been in m the little house meanwhile walter and molly come to marys house bouse unaware of the tragedy walter readily admits he had spent pent the night in the little house since he hid had come to town secretly molly and walter are thunderstruck thu ode ruck by the news of the murder they announce their marriage it Is learned that ace h had d been in financial difficulties tony torriano ra reveals ev eals to patrick that after he be left ace had bad remained in the spinney and that a woman whom he be did not recognize had bad come com th thre there re to meet him MONDAY continued 11 eames house patrick went on putting another square paul florence florence and molly accounted for the fairweather house next flora dying I threw in and margaret beside herself with grief I 1 we dont have to think of them at all patrick admitted next comes your little house with walter coming back after the whole things over to sleep if he had just happened to discover ace oh but perhaps its lucky he with ace and molly and him all mixed up in that love tangle given him a break then you come to my house I 1 took up the count with bessie an and d sarah I 1 heard a little voice talking to its doll as sylvia trotting briskly came into the room patricks eyes lighted up come over here young lady he ordered he lifted her up and sylvia snuggled down into his lap sylvia said patrick did you have brive a nice time at the party at the stows oh I 1 had the most beautiful time I 1 danced with doctor ace sylvia patrick asked playfully did you see anyone ahmone leave the stow house before the people took off their masks and then before sylvia could answer him and a little as though he regretted this whimsical impulse oh mary he exclaimed that reminds me he slipped sylvia I 1 down from his lap onto the floor run away he ordered in a gentle voice 1 I want to talk to your aunt it patrick had only put his question seriously to sylvia I 1 mean if he had listened to her answer how hor much we would have been spared what patrick asked me was mary what I 1 want you to do now Is to tell me all you know about myron marden and caro prentiss 1 I know a great deal about them I 1 said in a voice that to my disgust contained an acrid defensive note kote the loveliest kind if people patricka Pat that may all be true patrick agreed with me but what I 1 want to ID know now is what you know and ul il you know youre quite right patrick I 1 admitted humbly and im wrong well to begin with doctor marden has practiced in paris ever since long before the war caro was born in france and has always lived there this is her first visit how did they happen to come to Sa friends in boston recommended it to them 0 served as surgeon in the war I 1 believe yes no doubt about that I 1 suppose absolutely none how could there be b 7 in the first place doc tor marden is a gentleman and a thoroughbred im prepared to agree with you im only asking you have you any proof of the war record only doctor bardens Mar dens word I 1 answered and the fact that ace blaikie talked world war with him whenever they got together they were thrilling talks too patrick I 1 can tell you and when bruce hex son was there it was marve marvelous IOUs they never questioned the authenticity of doctor bardens Mar dens war record well all I 1 wanted to know patrick said well I 1 must be getting back to the P S thank you again mary for letting me spill everything to you like this all right patri patrick ck I 1 hope you do I 1 hope you come back tomorrow ill probably be bd back this afternoon patrick declared taking his hat oh one moment I 1 called as with his swift light boxers step he was hurrying across the piazza pi azza bessiea Bes sies a little worried I 1 think an and d ive been saying to sarah so that sarah would repeat it to fies bessie that I 1 think a woman could have committed this murder in point of fact im not at all sure hat do you think patrick A woman might that is provided she was big and powerful ive seen women golfers well a woman of the build of margaret fairweather for instance margaret might ills his breath died down the words dried on his lips ile he stood staring at me I 1 tood stood staring at him I 1 knew patrick was seeing the picture I 1 saw a big woman all in black coming down the path from the little house but I 1 am sure patrick did what I 1 did blanked that picture margaret fairweather had been in our class in school we had coasted skated picnicked together then patrick said ill be seeing youl 1 I repeated come any time you want presently I 1 got up and put on my hat strolled down the steps co put on my aly rial flat and strolled down the steps into the garden into the garden sarah darbe coming out of the garden with her bunch of flowers for the dining room table smiled with a pleased expression youre going out at last mrs avery she approved yes I 1 answered do you realize sarah that here it is monday and I 1 left this house since friday night 1 I know that mrs avery sarah declared earnestly and im glad youre youre getting away for a while I 1 wish you were lunching somewhere 1 I dont feel like that quite yet I 1 admitted in case anybody telephones I 1 shant be gone long I 1 walked down my sloping driveway to the main load at the road I 1 turned to the left toward the ocean eastward technically speaking my land runs to the beach bordering a road pretty with sumach dumach wild cherries wild grape and goldenrod golden roc I 1 turned up the head stopped at ai the first house I 1 came to tapped gently on the door with the old knocker neat in her summer print and a big all enveloping apron hannah hatfield opened the door hannah had been housekeeper in the fairweather house tor for forty years her ashen face is as expressionless onless as this sheet of paper and her dead pale eyes despite their furtive glancing never seem to change but perhaps hannah only reflects that strange mysterious quality which ever since they were young girls has laid its pall on the fairweather sisters good morning handahl Han nahl I 1 said oh mis averyl she exclaimed in what I 1 might describe as a full whisper to think of its being you how glad I 1 am how glad miss margaret will be to see youl what an awful thing to happen on the cheadl I 1 answered her hushed tone with one equally hushed yes awful im glad miss margarets in I 1 would like to speak to her it if I 1 may I 1 hope miss flora is not worse do you suppose she can leave her for a moment oh im sure sh will see you hannah reassured me how are you feeling hannah I 1 asked casually I 1 im m all right now but I 1 have b been een feeling all tuckered out why the other night the night of the murder I 1 was sitting up with miss flora and I 1 tell fell asleep in my chair I 1 slept like the dead I 1 must have slept for hours miss flora must have been sleeping too I 1 commented mechanically chani cally yes mis avery she was asleep when I 1 woke up will you wait in the living room mis avery or would you like to gc out on the piazza ill go out on the piazza hannah 1 I 1 seen the s sea a for two days I 1 made my way through the brond broad hall to a glass door at the back the panes of which the sun had transmuted into golden plates the fairweather house faces on the road but the living quarters look onto the sea the big glassed in piazza is really an extension of the living room what with its couches and tables books ana magazines crickets and reading lamps it was in in perfect order as was the rest of the house yet there lingered even in this atmosphere the intangible odor of invalidism medicines calub hot water bottles compresses cold and hot its sinister hush weighted it presently there cane came a step at my side oh margareti margaret I 1 exclaimed still in my hushed tone and springing to my feet how are you my dear and how is flora floras about the same margaret fairweather Pair weather answered and as for me im always well you look frightfully tired today margaret I 1 said and indeed I 1 was horrified at her appearance margaret fairweather is a tall big woman powerful I 1 might say broad broa d dered with big fire fine muscular hands only a few years before she had been our star woman ath lete tennis golf swimming she was even an expert fencer but when flora started on the long road which was to lead to her agonizing death margaret dropped every outside interest devoted herself to her sister id like to talk with you margaret could you walk a little way along up the head I 1 keep you more than a minute yes I 1 think I 1 can margaret answered taking thought floras sleeping opiate of course I 1 dont want her to hear anything that would disturb her we went noiselessly back through I 1 the broad hallway and out the front door I 1 ill U say its awful mar margaret garet I 1 began and no more ill say I 1 agree that its awful she responded and no more does flora know about ace I 1 asked as we drew away from the house no and never will it if I 1 can help it theres something particular you wanted to tell me mary 1 I wanted to talk with somebody I 1 answered a little evasively of course ive seen mattie and the gearas I 1 been to the rameses yet nor the tread ways its nice about molly anc walter margaret interpolated yes im very glad ive seen molly and walter but I 1 been to call yet 1 I of course but then I 1 call on nobody nobody expects it of you I 1 measured rea her people are wonderful about coming she said do they suspect anybody she changed the subject patrick obrien has just arrested tony torriano I 1 answered answered I 1 looked out on the rumpled rumple bauc blue green sea I 1 looked up to the smooth white gold sun margaret I 1 said im going to ten tell you something I 1 any right to tell it to you im breaking a confidence fi but the arrest of torriano is only a blind patrick does not think torriano did it at the moment it looks as though a woman did A woman margaret repeated lifelessly yes I 1 went on hurriedly a woman torriano met ace in my spinney they had had a quarrel that day over a bill which ace owed tony for months ace promised to pay him that night made the appointment to meet him there he did pay him and lony any got out at once but tony says that when he left ace he saw a woman coming along the path from down over the I 1 head A woman margaret repeated in her lifeless voice he say who she was ile he tell he see her face A bomani woman margaret repeated monotonously it be stran strange geif if it turned out that a woman murdered ace Blai blaikle klel luncheon was ready when i L returned sarah darbe had rung the bell for sylvia who in her accustomed swift bidd ability had come trotting up the path on the very wake of its echoes Hop estill was striding up and down my living room im glad you took a walk aunt mary he approved and now you must get out of the house as often as you can TO BE |