Show ak APARTMENT 23 by CARLTON JAMES service COBURN the MRS ten dents wife herd heird tb i scream ft lien she came up tj t tie the second floor to air out be ie corridors 4 it was a wo comaris womans maris scream high etched filled with milt the fright ti sudden frudden shock mrs coburn turned and ran back to 3 slie she knocked but there was wa no BO sp onse so 0 o site she produced tier her pass ys and lot let herself in 1 then mrs Colit irn screamed too throng gh the lie bedroom door slie she c could ee the fl figure gure of 0 jane victor a e bruni ru ni jed heap on the fluor floor ferond pe Fe yond lying allied ni bed u was uis is rod victor tier iier husband lbs be sheets and the pillow case were ramson up and down the corridor cori idor doors dooh bere rere copenh g an and d cur curious ous laces faces peer r j ri g out ut k the wife had tile had ense enough enogh to close tile the koor but they could tell by mrs co bofis face that something pretty ter abl ible had happened when the police arrived in response 1 0 mrs coburne Co burns frantic they fund b lind the corridor full of excited curl carl ins people j lic lieutenant u of detectives Detec tiros cary jenns jenins mici was in charge n officer outside the door arid and canie came lane arle victor told her story in a it trembling Ter terrified rifled voice 1 ito the he apartment accompanied by r slide officer mcbride and Detec the tle rlue ru esdale sdale mrs mr s coburn was alone in the living jioia t in there mrs coburn said nod in ailward til ward the bedroom lie droom enkins and Trues truesdale daie crossed to je e bedr bedroom oom and disappeared I 1 giside Insi ile mcbride remained alith mrs coburn seemed an eternity the door opened and truesdale arus iu i si his licad head out its murder mac net doe doc walton I 1 1 bere here for or the N own a P hy y tb the time doe doc walton arrived tb t hey ey ad carried mrs victor to the bivin living bom and laid tier her on the cobelli couch there he I 1 had partly recovered recover Ld and was as at I 1 them hew wildly the hedw medical 1 cal ian afi I 1 worked norken bier over her a while and kintly announced that she could it s I 1 jacye victor told lold her story la in a trem ing terrified teril filid voice it amount I 1 in 11 only a few words were dighe had wakened about an hour haur ago U up and turned to pick her almono alom rh the foot fostof of the bed and seen the bod 6 oil jabin I 1 then she had looked at st her husband nd d the sight of him lying there had ade I 1 her it r weak and sick and she had tinted Dete i detective alve truesdale made a sound chill ahls plainly t expressed his in s in Inthe tile matter A nice 1 ce little yarn he be began but likin turned on him F shut hut up truesdale the lieuten it nodded to doe doc walton and the lina and truesdale followed him itla i cis into the bedroom lie droom 41 goihl rn over will you doc jenkins turned to his subordinate TrueS iu iTale tha ts juist the reason byyoure py youre oure still stilla a lousy detective and it a lieu lieutenant lena nt shooting off your ai ali u like that T truesdale u le looked sullen and resl resent il 1 apell you cant can tell me she at ilc plain as the th nose on your youri face all 11 right what did she do it with jugular elu has beer been cut ats akre wife is guilty there must be cwi toa e bort bort Zif ealion about ahey began a earcle of the room ich B ch object bed chairs fing table bureau burea ii desk waste iskot yit 1 acie were 1 1 1 kone goue L I 1 ave over r carefully i they 11 ay into the bathroom and looked looked we ere too td truesdale leaned from the alie open ired dow near the foot of the bed and red at the ground below A y tle time their investigation aas as 1 doe doc Walto Waltor nihad ishad finished his r howl HOW longs h he e been dead doc elkins asked between our and five hours Trues dalai made tile the same derisive ini his throat dead alne well well well 1 rid wife Mf just ejust lay there abedi with him all that rime and vet er knew knew labout about it jenkins turned on yes lea you foot fool just what did ippen pain youre I 1 aan aln if 17 fellmy insanity has got a e ants job abac title youre still ci 0 lity lay detective ne lie turned to wal iu oci do tile nie a favor go 00 out anil ears vielor it tier her husband wa was yen ien to nightmares if he slept andly adly youre a medical man she lesa less frightened and more apt to tel ie truth I 1 want to know badly walton hesitated it was a mile little on out or of his bis line but a moment later late he complied when lie returned jenkins was casually leafing lea fins through the pages of a book truesdale alc was seated heated near a window moodily smoking a cigarette ret t e well asked walton nodded yes res your guess was right moreover im convinced she was telling the truth good jenkins glanced glance d scornfully toward truesdale now inow doe doc what kind of ft a weapon would you S sly say ly caused the vo bound und why some sharp pointed instrument rosl possibly bly a knife but not a knife no most any sharp pointed instrument ment could jime made such it ft hole bole A penell pencil perhaps A cry sharp pointed pe pencil nIl M waltons nimons brow puckered atter after a moment lie he said slowly why yes I 1 g guess a p pencil enell could have done it if it were ere driven mith etli considerable force and held at the right abig angle truesdale clug laughed hed scornfully vencil pencil chos got kot the lilt pencil lie he taunted 1 I have you thickheaded thick headed copper jenkins removed a B ion long allow and pointed pencil front ills his pocket it was stain stained a dull red bool 1001 that oer doe doc and tell me it if the stain is blood tie ile handed tile the pencil to walton and turned to truesdale sdale that pencil its as lit in the lie wastebasket truesdale why you find it it was you aiho examined the basket Trues truesdale cl ale stood up all angrily rily rese resentful n t lint but jenkins turned away from froin him most probably it Is blood blond walton said d Iti glit ht Jeril ins dris the pencil and turned to the daik see tills this lie he said elking up the book look through it true dale find that severa several i passages passage sare are penciled in the center of the bouk book near the slip of pa paper per used to mark victors place where re lie he left oil oft reading last night he be want to pencil passages for truesdale Truc sdale growled you know JenI jenkens s said ald and then he went on victor was lying in bed reading and marking passages lie he roust must have got sleepy laid the book on in the desk and turned oft off ills his light rie ile forgot about the pencil which he had laid beside him on tile bell bed during the night lie had a nightmare and tossed around some somehow the pencil got placed upright probably leaning against ills his pillow during one of its his nightmares lie he s sat at bolt upright came don again with considerable sid sh erable lerable force right onto the sharp point of the pencil the lead pierced his jugular ile he probably gurgled some but not loud enough to wake his wife as she was wa used to his sleep balki talking n unconsciously lie he grasped the pencil in lils his hand jerked it out and flung it from him it landed in the waste wastebasket basket but the woun wound d W was as ope open a and he be quietly bled to death could that be possible docs doc doe doc walton had been staring with wide eyes it could not only be possible he said but it sounds to me like a very logical explanation truesdale closed the book with a ban bang so what lie he said so youre still a lousy detective said jenkins and grinned |