Show MURDER masquerade by INEZ HAYNES IRWIN Copy copyright richt ines baynes irwin irwia Se gerylee Ser rylee vict THURSDAY continued 19 39 i and then drina demoyne died the newspaper accounts ot of her career aie said that she had been marr married but once to an actor allan banks this was before the war they said aid that once the two separated separate d for a few years but were never divorced subsequently acy came together again and lived together until miss demoyne died she left him all her property I 1 have in rny my possession banks affidavit that he be never was divorced from drina demoyne ace had mistakenly thought he committed bigamy in but drina demoyne had actually committed bigamy in marrying him that changed the whole complexion ot of affairs caro was no longer illegitimate that is provided ace blaikie had married no other woman she was the heir to his estate then caro who has a flattering way ot of confiding everything to me told me that molly eames did not want to marry ace blaikie BIa ikie that she he did not love him that she actually loved another man walter treadway 1 I 1 received the affidavit fr from om drina demoines De husband on friday morning friday afternoon as you remember mrs avery ace blaikie BIa ikie bruce bexson and I 1 stopped here for a cool drink that was about two in the after noon oon my granddaughter and molly eames were here they left just before we did when I 1 got home caro had not arri arrived A few minutes later however she came in in she had been riding around and around the head in hollys car molly told her that ace blaikie was insisting that she elope with him that night after the masquerade he was apparently putting the screws on her I 1 felt that the time had come to act that I 1 must act instantly but I 1 wanted advice I 1 called bruce bexson on the telephone and asked him if I 1 could come to the camp to talk over an important business matter that had just come up I 1 drove over there at once and told him the whole story how did it affect him patrick interrupted he was horrified profoundly shocked I 1 may say for he too had known eleanor dacre although naturally this was the first time he realized that she was my stepdaughter he spoke touchingly ot of her great beauty and goodness ee be advised me to go at once to ace blaikie and have the thing out we nye went at once to dr Blai kies house bexson had dropped him there on the way back in mr reasons Hex Rex sons presence I 1 repeated the story ace blaikie was utterly discomfited ed I 1 felt au all the time that the only thing he w was as chinkin thinking 9 ot of was that this might interfere with his elopement well in the end he said that he would reveal his marriage and would acknowledge caro as his daughter I 1 asked him tt if he would draw up a will making full ull provision for her lie he answered that he was an engaged man and begged time to think the matter matte r over I 1 replied that I 1 would give him birn a little time ultimately he asked me if I 1 would meet him in mrs averys spinney at a quarter of eleven that night and wed have little talk then I 1 left and you say bruce bexson was present during this talk yes iid did mr leave with you no he stayed where did you go from there 1 I went directly home tell me about your conversation wit hAce blaikie BIa ikie it was comparatively brief but it ik was from my point of view satisfactory blaikie said that he had bad decided to make announcement in the newspapers that caro was his daughter within three days he said eaid that he would leave her the blaikie BIa ikie house and a suitable income did you make any reference to his proposed elopement with mol ly eames no tor for caro haa told me only that evening that she was sure molly was making up her mind to marry walter treadway have you told me everything now doctor marden patrick asked after a long pause everything I 1 believe FRIDAY all ali that night I 1 kept going over and over doctor bardens Mar dens story I 1 kept going over the talk I 1 had had with patrick after he left caro aces child I 1 could not accustom myself to that shining signal light in my mind for how glad I 1 was I 1 find it hard to say I 1 had grown to love caro As to my conversation with patrick my tired mind concerned itself only with that last part of it which occurred after doctor hardert had bad gone well marden seems to be the third to meet ace that night torriano is out as a suspect unless he came back margarets testimony fixed that margarets out too loo unless she came back mar aeils testimony fixed that but s comp to save marden hes got no alibi and hes got a grand motive you mean you think he and ace quarreled and he killed ace 1 I dont think that I 1 dont think anything im only thinking what a jury will think im a detective tec tive I 1 dont think walter killed ace I 1 dont think torriano killed him I 1 dont think margaret margare t did it nor that marden did in fa fact c t patrick went on 1 I wonder if I 1 im im not licked when patrick appeared friday morning lie he looked for the first time haggard 1 I close my eyes last night he admitted by crimins cri miny mary I 1 hate to lie down to this thing however im giving myself until tomorrow night it if I 1 dont get anything by then IU ill see the district attorney and admit im licked I 1 came over here well I 1 dont know why I 1 came over caro and flop estill are playing tennis I 1 said vaguely merely by way of 0 conversation that seems to have become a pretty close friendship in less than a week patrick commented ashes only seventeen I 1 pointed out to him Hopes Hop estill lill is still in college iles hes a nice kid patrick went on and so is shel she id like to see them he did not finish patrick had seated himself in tho the hammock his head back he closed his eyes for a moment sympathetically I 1 kept silent perhaps he would drift off to sleep but into the silence came sylvias voice patrick opened his eyes at once his smile brought back all the life to his face come here sylvia he called lets have a little chin together sylvia came out oui onto the piazza I 1 remember thinking what a charming figure she was she was wearing one of the little smocked shocked sleeveless frocks a pale yellow out of which stuck her amusing little brown sticks of arms there were big yellow ribbon bows on the ends of her tight braids and she carried the eternal dorinda belle also in yellow now young lady tell me what youve been doings I 1 was glad of the respite both for myself and patrick I 1 left them together I 1 went inside and busied 14 e J 37 11 bruce alexson has just committed suicide myself at my desk I 1 was looking for a list of books it had occurred to me that I 1 might drive patrick over to the library and see it if I 1 could get one ot them from outside I 1 could hear sylvias little voice and then I 1 and after that and then I 1 remembered that I 1 left dorinda belle and so I 1 gunned I 1 and I 1 found dorinda belle all cold and wet from the dew and 1 I put her to sleep on the hammock and she got ot all warm again sylvias little voice ticked on and on patrick seemed very silent for an interval then suddenly I 1 heard the hammock chains creak as he arose through the window I 1 saw him put sylvia down then he came into the room I 1 was still rummaging on the desk going through one pigeonhole pigeon hole after another just as striding across the room in what even with my back to him seemed a new eagerness he reached my side mary he salt 1 I feet feel like going for a ride would you like to take me off in your car somewhere curious patrick I 1 answered it seems almost like a case of mental telepathy I 1 was thinking just at this moment that the best thing I 1 could do for both of us was to go somewhere in in the car I 1 thought id go over to the library and get a book out patrick was standing behind me while I 1 still bent ben over the desk found the list of books what a strange color dinkl ie commented 1 I never knew you to use green ink before no I 1 never have used it before I 1 made this list out at bruce hex sons sona camp and I 1 used his fountain pen you know hes a great student the day I 1 went to break the tha news of aces death to him I 1 felt that it might soothe him a little to talk about books hes a tremendous reader you know hes one of those people who is full of lore he likes curious out of the way books lets go patrick exclaimed and I 1 fancied there was a sudden impatience in his tone presently we were spinning across the causeway any preference er ence I 1 asked patrick idly when we came to the crossroads lets go over and see bruce H bexson e ason patrick suggested he must be over the worst of that cold hes a wise guy I 1 have half a mind to lay the whole story before him and ask h hs advice I 1 turned to the left in the direction of the camp patrick seemed to have recovered his animation ile he talked steadily all the time well ile he might for never had spawned a more perfect da lan dorous warmth of middle august with a sky a sheet of melting blue loaded with argolies argosies argo sies of cloud in the air the brisk smell of and the pungent odor of tansy once in a while a tree or a bush waved a fleck of autumn coloring blackberry bushes by the road showed fine black clusters of fruit milkweed was breaking and puffing into milk white silk goldenrod everywhere in all your travels mary avery patrick asked me once have you ever seen anything more beautiful than Sa no never Pat paris pans is not more beautiful florence is not more beautiful rome is not mora beautifully full fall venice we both laughed and abando ed our thesis when we got to the end of the lane which led to the cleared area about the camp patrick said would you mind waiting here alone for a few mu mary there are one or two things id like to talk over with bruce alone its man talk I 1 would not mind your being about but i i think hed be more comfortable if you there of coursel I 1 agreed theres no reason why I 1 should go inside at all I 1 can sit here until you come out oh well not necessary patrick insisted he climbed out of the car I 1 was returning to them the library elinor wylies aylies the orphan angel idly I 1 opened at the first page my eyes dropped onto a phrase in the second paragraph which still re echoed in beauty in my mind the aerial composure of a cloud I 1 I 1 closed the book over this morsel 1 my eves on patricks retreating figure I 1 rolled it figuratively speaking over and over on the tongue of my mind and yet my eyes followed patrick noting subconsciously the alertness of his graceful springing step I 1 remembered I 1 recalled that ace blaikie had always used in regard to patrick a word that he had picked up in the south ji mAculate I 1 could never get from ace quite what meant it seemed to indicate a vague combination of slenderness strength grace and style I 1 remember noting how fresh patricks khaki uniform always looked the camp was singularly quiet ordinarily at the sound of an automobile either adah or berry or r both appeared at the door neither ei appeared today perhaps they were working out back it seemed to me that I 1 saw a flutter of curtain at the window but to this day I 1 cannot be sure yet bruce must have looked out to see who was coming but very clearly I 1 heard just as patrick was nearing the house the sound of a shot that sound did not perturb me instantly I 1 jumped to the conclusion that berry had killed one of the noisome starlings on which we were all warring but apparently patrick did not think of starlings starlin as tor for instantly he broke into a run As I 1 have said before patrick had always been an all round athlete and he could sprint with no tremor of apprehension I 1 watched him pull open the piazza door rush over the piazza and into the house I 1 sat there idly waiting and idly watching the sparkling plane of the ocean I 1 cant remember how many moments went by not many but presently patrick appeared came twining running toward m me I 1 must have realized suddenly that he was ghastly for afterwards my hands ached from a terrific grip on the wheel when patrick was within speaking distance he called mary bruce bexson has just committed suicide he killed ace blaikie I 1 remember only a frightful sense of weakness and a swirling darkness into both came patricks voice dont faint maryl mary for gods sake dont faint bowl now I 1 need youl you I 1 faint when patrick in what seemed a series of leaps reached the car the blackness had disappeared the weakness had gone lie he killed himself when he saw me coming patrick announced grimly his confession lies on his desk it bagins 1 I killed ace blaikie now get back home at once mary I 1 dont want the reporters hounding you again ill walk slowly back bach 0 o the cabin and telephone the PS that will giff you five minutes start TO BE CONTINUED |