Show The Fiction BEST ALIBI By Richard I 1 H. H Wilkinson Corner been MAX SANDERS' SANDERS home had LJ robbed of jewels valued at The jewels were kept in a awall awall awall wall safe behind a picture in Maxs Max's study which was located on the second floor of his Beverly Hills home Inspector Ray Beatty was assigned assigned assigned as as- signed to the case Leo MacDougal a police officer who had been O Minute summoned from from ceJ Fiction his beat showed Inspector Beatty the evidence that had thus far been discovered First there was a ladder placed against a window that opened into a second floor hall This window had been discovered open Inspector Beatty told MacDougal to summon all the servants Then he questioned them They all had good excuses Sid a secretary secretary secre tary had spent the night at the movies with a friend Edwards the butler had read in his room until until until un un- un- un til Mr and Mrs Sanders returned from a party when he admitted them It was right after that that Mrs Sanders went to the safe to replace the jewels she had 1 C 1 1 J 4 VA LI VUU U A gone Martha Greene the housekeeper had been in her room all evening Her room was located on the second second sec see ond floor She had gone down to the kitchen about 10 o'clock for fora a bite to eat and found Viola Matson Matson Matson Mat- Mat son the maid there with her boy friend Returning Martha had passed Edwards' Edwards room and seen Edwards Edwards Ed Ed- wards sitting by his table reading INSPECTOR BEATTY dismissed A the servants and went back to the study He examined every inch of it Then he went into the hall hal halland halland and examined that He also examined examined ex ex- the window and the ladder and the ground below the window It had rained a little the night before be fore and he found some footprints beside the ladder They looked like mens men's footprints Inspector Beatty sought out Sid Sic I He asked the secretary if ii r Max Sanders held business confer confer- In his H. v h sa tl I u J. eo that tha t he did The UThe chances are then that hes he's had occasion to open the safe when others were present present present pres pres- ent Its uIt's quite likely I want as complete a list as you yet youcan L can cans make me of all the people youve you've known to be in the study during the past month Inspector Beatty left Sid 1 making out the list summoned I MacDougal and went down the hall hail He entered one door after the next first knocking to make sure th the room was empty Presently he returned returned returned re re- turned to the hall ball bearing a pair o a of t shoes 1 Carrying the shoes he returned to the study and asked if U they were his shoes Why yes said Why Where did you Je jets get them Out of your closet I searched the closets of all the servants till I found a pair of shoes with some mud on the soles It was you who committed committed com corn the robbery Youre crazy That's a cockeyed cockeyed cockeyed cock cock- eyed theory The robber came carne up the thc ladder No uNo said Inspector Beatty only what you expected us to believe That's why y you u put the ladder there and left th the window open The robbery was committed before you placed the ladder there How do you know that You cant can't prove it I wont won't have to What I can cau prove is that no one came up the thc ladder It rained last night There was mud Theres There's mud on you shoes The shoes fit the footprints at the foot toot of the ladder Yet there is no mud at all on the rungs of the ladder If there had been I would have haw probably been fooled and not nol been sure that some one inside committed com corn the theft Besides you had the best alibi I checked with the theman theman theman man with whom you said you attended at tended the movie He broke down and confessed everything MacDougal was amazed Afterwards Afterwards After After- wards he said to Beatty I didn't know you checked with friend When did that happen It didn't said Beatty |