Show A G ERALD RA BROWN W NU duke duk e bl mccale eCale private detective Is investigating lestig vesti gating ing the murder of curt vallain con court rt who was about to marry veronica veronica ag Elg low clow h heiress iress to thirty million dollars mccale extracts some damaging admissions from sharl lynn singer and former wife of Vallain court later victoria V veronicaa veronicas Vero ero n nicas lea s sister rister calls at his office and asks ASIs his help jo in r some let I 1 from apartment meters tells fell he her t that ithe the letters are not in the apartment but b hints ants that sharl shari lynn may 1 1 y have them because of clr chr cun Is I 1 11 evidence the ph p police H believe that veronica ais Is the murderer mccale does not nat think so se but has not yet formed a con conclusion us ion T there b ere are many contradictory d c tory clues CHAPTER XI the telephone was ringing insistently e mccale rolled over opened one eye swore and finally grabbed the extra pillow bundling it under his head ile he tumbled fumbled with the light snapped it on lifted the telephone of off its cradle M mccale c cale speaking he growled rocky boss where are you corner of aspinwall opposite the Vallain court den t you tell me to keep a lookout 1 oh yeah all quiet all quiet now listen boss long about five this morning mor in I 1 all ali right what happened at five 11 ve 0 ic lock sleep still hugged him tightly and there was an unreasonable barb in his voice okay okay key around five a girl showed up with a key to the val lain court ron day who was it hold on to your hat now it was victoria bigelow gelow Bl victoria bigelow surprise jerked him wide awake uh uh she was alter after some letters letter s of hers she said well well victoria had certainly had a busy night he thought the place was clean like you said ald no secret panels either I 1 that Is I 1 finally helped her hunt for them go home and grab yourself some grub and shuteye shu teye said mccale get here about one im going to be busy this morning at eight forty five he called ann marriot on the telephone to her cool hello he said good morning this Is your boss oh good morning dar boss anything important im on my way in about five minutes no hurry in tact fact this Is just to say you might shop tor for an hour if you want to and then do an errand for me I 1 want you to drop in on sharl shari lynn suite 1802 and pray what shall I 1 use as an excuse for or dropping in as you say dont tell me youre sending me along to smooth the way for you a more subtle approach so to speak no and comedy enough fo tormod rinow my girl he grew serious 1 I saw her myself late last night tor for that matter you rat id like a line on how she Is this morning you know sad gay expectant pec tant ask her tor for her autograph anything to get in talk about Vallain court if you can without being thrown out that all yes just a checkup check up to satisfy a point been nagging me ashes fairly transparent it ought to be easy oh yes indeed it sounds too too easy all ali right ill do my best see you when about noon here bye sweet he dressed leisurely and carefully ile he felt like a twentieth century warrior going forth to civilized hattle hattie he knew that to solve this problem he had first to break down the buttresses of tradition that surrounded the Bige lows he knew he was up against something that even the overestimated awe or it if you will majesty of the law could not upend he had to break down that smug superiority which was so secure C in the belief in its own intelligence that it made its own rules as it went along ile he rather pitied them momentarily and smiled wryly at the pure cynicism of his own thoughts sybil becomes implicated on impulse he dialed police headquarters and asked tor for donlevy after a slight delay the curt incisive voice of the lieutenant came through donlevy here mccale lieutenant oh sure not out yet hunting the foul criminal on the way id like to know what the bigelow women were wearing when they came in yesterday outside of the green thingamajig veronica sported of course I 1 mention that no well heri here it is victoria an oiled silk affair yellow karen a black velvet suit black cape sybil a light brown raincoat that help uh uh it was sybil then who walked away into the fog you think so she claims to have been at the drugstore not tor for my money 1 I kind of think not that net family its almost impossible to get them to admit anything 11 ell II one another what ive had a devil of a time and got nothing so tar far get less very likely now had a chance to compare notes notes there was a pause then donlevy said almost cheerfully 1 I guess veronicas veronicaa Vero nicas our girl you really think so the lynn womans comans evidence will P put t the finish on it oh mccale pondered over that for a mo moment ment then decided to add id keep a sharp watch on the lynn woman why Don levys interest was Imme immediate 1 I would all 11 now duke you must have a reason why be mysterious ill drop in to see you later in the the day okay by all means mccale dropped the receiver onto its cradle an emotion of concern crowded his mind and he sighed a sigh of sheer desperation his brain seemed dulled inactive depressed there was something there something that would make it clear it w waa evading him until he could grasp it he must blunder along w without help without even the confidence of the ones he was trying to n help elp damn the medieval reserve of such people anyway ilk L v I 1 I 1 I 1 I 1 1 I want those letters do I 1 get them the police commissioner had come and asked a few pertinent questions stayed barely an he hour ur and departed at eight the district attorney had attempted to bully the police in charge as well as the suspects he had left at eleven in a huff buff the body had been removed to the morgue and laboratory for or fuller examination lieutenant donlevy and his squad had finished with the preliminaries the hungry press had been thrown a bone to nibble on men had been sent to vallain courts apartment to look over papers and belongings for a possible clue the orderly hubbub of official procedure was over tor for a time at least the night had been quiet the quiet of nervous exhaustion perhaps but quiet then at nine this morning a plainclothes man had interrupted breakfast with an urgent request tor for veronica he was politely insistent that she must come at once to the office of lieutenant donlevy for or further questioning she was not to be alarmed it was a matter of routine but miss adelaide agrees to macales Mc Cales plan the library was dim and still and only the sound of a plano piano being played in the drawing room upstairs came through the opp oppressing 9 quiet as adelaide bigelow finished her recital of events and looked at mccale sadly mccale did not speak for or a minute the weight of his senses closed down on him like a stone he wondered idly whether it was the gloom or the helplessness in the old ladys voice that caused this feeling of utility futility he wondered why karen bigelow was playing the liszt preludes so passionately siona slona tely those romantic things so richly interlaced with religious mysticism A strange woman karen but merely more obviously strange than the others only the woman before him resigned determined with great courage seemed to belong in that house her voice brought him awake again with a start what are we going to do she asked 1 I think he answered that I 1 may be able to see a little urther further get a little more than the police were able to that Is if I 1 can gain their confidence if you will ask them to come in he rose as she got up smiled and added one by one it if you please it might be easler easier that way to trap them I 1 suppose she murmured surprisingly why of course lie he bowed the smile leaving his lips he felt the subtle antagonism leap between them then she came over to him impulsively putting a thin patrician hand on his sleeve forgive me she whispered its only that I 1 am so upset I 1 know how things must be from now on I 1 see a whole way of life disappearing before my eyes an empire slipping away I 1 know that below the surface things have not been what they seemed for a long long time he interjected keeping tho the pity carefully from his tone of voice tor for he knew that this she would not have yes yes you wont need me again she spoke as it if that would be abhorrent to her no it Is better that I 1 do my dikiy work alone he smiled once more as he watched her leave the room he stood by the fireplace staring moodily into the ashes of last nights fire until he heard the door open and close behind him when he turned he saw stephen bigelow standing irresolute and nervous in the gray morning light it was clear as he sat down in the chair opposite mccale that he was completely shaken although it was no doubt partly hangover mccale intuitively sensed that not a little of it was due to the tact fact that he was on his own A complex lad this one he thought riddled by complexes he had seen enough of stephen to know that in spite of his high nosed arrogance he was lost without the support of his wife and silly mother he pondered as to which one of them had been clever enough to send him in first so that either or both could expertly deny any break he might make in a business like way mccale mccal ile said 1 I am willing to take the police 10 report of your actions yesterday afternoon verbatim however im more interested in something that may not seem relevant to the murder it if you will only have confidence in me I 1 can assure yo you U it will ill probably go no further I 1 ask it entirely in the hope of helping your foster sister veronica out of a ticklish situation I 1 know of course that you are eager to be of any assistance possible to her oh quite the answer came readily enough mccale studiously ignored the contemptuous curve or of the lips that accompanied the remark very well then id like to know if you had known curt Vallain court before he became engaged to veronica what you know of him what you thought of him to be exact how for instance did it happen that he came so suddenly to this city to be taken up immediately by your family id welcome anything you can tell me he saw relief come over stephens face relief that the question was not the one he had feared stephen smiled a thin than upped lipped uneasy sm smile ile 1 I met him in chicago he said calmly about six years ago victoria was running around with him I 1 had gone there for a couple of months just to renew a few old acquaintances anyone in particular stephen tells of 01 his chicago trip no ills his hands shook a little as he fumbled tor for a cigarette and lighted it just a couple of fellows I 1 had known in the navy at one time you see things were not very well pleasant at home I 1 ran away and joined up I 1 made a few friends while I 1 was in the service I 1 corresponded with them from time to time after I 1 got out we are not a particularly happy group mccale en tamille famille so to speak so when things got boring again and er a little squawky I 1 decided to hop out to chicago and visit a chap who had since married and done dona quite well tor for himself sort of run away again Is that it macales Mc Cales grin was sardonic he thought as youve run out on everything unpleasant since you were a kid I 1 can bet well I 1 suppose you could call it that you took victoria with you no she came to fetch me back as it were all Is forgiven you know that sort of thing victoria had met curt in some of her wanderings de rings I 1 had met karen by then and want to leave until there was an understanding of some sort between us we stayed almost a year until I 1 married her vicky corresponded with Vallain court tor for a while alter after she came home it was she who finally got him here ran ban into him by accident in new york or something and she brought him along for a visit he just stayed all he settled back in the chair a little less jangled as it if a job had ad been done and rather well done mccale settled back in his chair a and nd looked at stephen bigelow with unconcealed disgust then he decided to try a shot in the dark and see what it would hit ot of course you know that curt Vallain court was married at some time in his lively career oh ob yes ile he was stephen admitted completely oil off guard to sharl shari lynn sarah linsky to you bigelow blurted then bit his lip realizing the trap you knew her too TO BE CONTINUED |