Show bj 91 rin W CHAPTER IV THIS THE THUS todd mckin zon bon georgina wyeth anil and small daughter barby were visiting hr lac ing to solve tho the murder ol of adeline till CHAPTER XV THE TY HE pause was a bit too long youre oure searing scaring us horace said eaid smiling and leaned forward to pass her a cigarette 1 I certainly mean to on the contrary you know I 1 should never bring this up again if you both seemed so willing to talk about it todd coul dat help being interested and of course I 1 no N nh good why should she feel ambit assed except that it as s the first time shed interfere fl georgine georgina took a deep breath iphy h she sail said bluntly did neither of you suggest that tha miss might have taken her own life the cousins sat and looked at her their silence was not quite that of persons dumfounded dum founded by a new idea but there seemed to be calculation in it she thought she must begin to fidget before horace finally spoke how ayou figure that his eyes were large laige behind the spectacles giving him a benign look with gilbert acting the way he did 1 I think gilbert felt guilty but not because hed done anything because he done anything she began to sketch her idea watching their faces intently not a muscle moved in either but something grew in mary helens eyes was it relief when she had finished they were silent again for a moment horace took it up you want an academic discussion hm him okay she get the because if somebody brought it to her the two exchanged a swift dance a lee 1 I used to provide it for 0 boa ail all right horace said and guess es you stock stocked e d the lag bag mary helen ampoules and tablets that right mry mary helens voice was weighted with reluctance ye es then georgine georgina said why miss adeline adelane have stolen it ive had the impression that susie always in the room during the doctors visits what if he left the bag on a chair and went to wash his hands bands and miss simply reached over and got herself a tube of ane stuff V mary helens forehead wrinkled though her eyes remained wide and candid but that would mean she said slowly that would mean such terrible carelessness y on whose part her cousin inquired johnnys of course I 1 have anything to do with it Did nit you check the supplies P 1 ies well yes to the extent that I 1 renewed them when he needed them but id never have thought to ask how come there was an ampoule missing or a tablet or two I 1 took it for granted always that hed used em am himself sure you would but look here mary helen youre not married to the guy any more but look horace was visibly excited now he checked the supplies himself lets say once or twice a week or even every day when he came in from his house calls he ml might ht just have failed to miss one tablet balet at a time and when aunt adeline died if there was the least suspicion in his mind that his negligence had helped her to kill herself lie he did his best by suggesting the autopsy any blaming of himself he did after that would have to be la ia private if the man insisted on investigating hed be a fool ARY HELEN turned her MARY M head hea ad her look at him had wie the quality of applause W 1 I quite mean to she began and at the same moment the folding doors slid back with a dramatic squeal have 3 you ou all quite quita finished with ray my reputation said dr john crane in a towering rage the doat doctor or closed the doors behind him and moved into the center of the room his bis eyes fixed on the cousins his long face seemed pinched mary helen stirred uneasily settling the collar of her smart plaid dress dont you glare at me johnny she said 1 I was SW standing iding up for you though god knows why I 1 should come on johnny horace tan abald said be fair to her she 11 ay w all right you did I 1 heard as I 1 came in and not by putting iny my ear against the i door you were broadcasting to anyone who stopped stepped into the hall im sorry horace muttered but youve got to admit its not beyond the bounds of possibility and rd id never have said bald it outside I 1 the house no the dark eyes were red rimmed with anger just insinuated it all what makes you think I 1 hand out a it T the h 0 donee seemed to point to gilbert X t 11 ain leabo d yaa hurbai hui band d 1 bot ny vi bial member ol of the family fanelly could copit I 1 have acca guilty A letter sent lent to by ufke dyke dodds todds nephew had been opened and few insinuations of my own owna that scratch on your arm might have healed up before anyone else noticed it but it caught my eye while you were bending over your great aunts aunt s bed five minutes before she died horace gazed up at him literally open mouthed that scratch on my arm A frushone fre fresh shone one said john crane grimly painted alth merthi your sleeve hid it insinuations a said a I 1 d horace blankly then suddenly he began to shout with laughter great god johnny what are you driving at you think I 1 came around and had a regular fight with aunt adeline and poisoned her by force all in silence and she scratched rn my arma man man all right forget it horace he said skip the whole thing I 1 dont get enough sleep dr crane georgine georgina sald bald 1 I m afraid this was all my fault I 1 did not think ahead far enough when I 1 wondered if miss t have committed suicide it seemed so logical at first and so so convenient rn W 0 more money for that the judge said angrily ahe HE doctors look at her was 1 courteous but none too warm 1 I see well mrs wyeth youre right it would be convenient to believe that if you want to think that there was something unnatural about her death that Is ia an opinion he said bitingly in which you seem to share I 1 cant blame you for the suicide theory in a way sines since nobody seems to have told you that miss suffered no pain was greatly interested te in life and it had ad no reason for wishing to die moreover said dr crane impaling her with a look she had made up her mind to outlive her brother if she could he was still very weak himself after that bout of pneumonia and was by no means out of danger hed had a sinking spell that afternoon can you imagine that grand old woman deciding at that moment in ent that it was time for her to fade fa de out of the picture pi 1 c ture horace and mary helen gave each ther other 0 a swift glance quite unreadable 1 I suppose not said georgine georgina weakly then all he turned away turned back it the door to say without meeting her eyes keep that little girl of yours in bed and quiet julet for at least abnot another her day you d be taking a grave risk if you moved her now goodby good by horace and mary helen rose and followed him out you might almost say they slunk but their attitude was as nothing to the way georgine georgina felt continued to sit alt in agthe GEORGINE the sitting room viewing with distaste the jar of pampas pampa grass and her he r preceding downfall with the family which was worse she really say A car drew up and the judge of all people proceeded ded to make a clamorous ec entrance trance the loud voice boomed through the hall 1 I want to know the meaning of this preposterous letter you wrote me mary helen really grandfather the mean meaning ought to be plain a enough and why you write an answer if you were going to say no because what I 1 see I 1 in n your eye she afraid of him in any case georgina Georg lne reflected in a moment they would tho the drawing room doors slid she hoped more imore money for that the judge said angrily you got it coming coining anyway my girl part removed todd believed it contained valuable information but bat oi as dk was an on army it b sible to secure this information for or some ome time perhaps too latoi late but for a damn fool gamble and then the doors did close georgina Georg lne tiptoed to a seat much relieved she had promised todd to stay right here his experiment would have no value if she moved to another room now if the judg and his granddaughter would only keep their voices to that indistinguishable murmur during the next ten minutes she was uncomfortably conscious that the voices across the hall were rising the judge spoke harshly like one who holds a material whip hand but not a moral one not out of me no young lady place not good enough for you where you belong wild goose chase all right all right its what I 1 might have expected but I 1 thought id glye you a chance the judge came out into the hall with ponderous haste at that moment georgine georgina heard a car drive up behind the house there was no mistaking the sound it was todd returning she moved cautiously toward the dining room planning to head him off if the judge were staying but ho he was not yes said georgine georgina softly to todd who had just come in the kitchen door 1 I heard you thought you would theres a rise and dip in the lane there you carlt cant get over it without using the gas and what does that prove nothing much except whoever r came ame in that back way came on oa foot he look discouraged though WELL WELL if its your last night vv TT said mary helen brightly at dinner lets have a game of bridge horace you dont have to go right back to the store do you 7 now nell you can leave the tha dias dishes for a while A fine idea said mr mckin non unexpectedly ho he wants this too georgina thought and ill have to follow his lead but bridge of all things A bubble 0 of wild helpless laughter was swelling within her and when he cut out for the tha first rubber ho he looked like the tha proverbial cat with feathers on its whiskers he melted from the tha room sa s1 so 0 unobtrusively that she sha doubted if the other three noted his absence he was gone now into the dusk of the hall and a door opened and closed softly she know whether thosa faint hollow sounding footsteps increasing and then diminishing were his or those of nella who had just left eft the room while horace herace examined the dummy she had laid down georgine georgina felt her lips curving in a nervous sort of grin as she looked at the intent faces of the cousins at the rose painted china globe of the lamp that shed its light on the tha shiny surfaces of 0 the cards the cards shot shot helter over the table and the tha lamp r rocked as mary helen leaped to her feet they were all standing glaring insanely at each other for a moment upstairs mary helen gasped Se second corid floor somewhere the three of them were out of the room before the echoes of that sliding crash and the wild yelp that had preceded it had died from their ears horace and mary helen were in the enclosed side aide stairway bending over someone who lay there todd georgine georgina said on a breath of agony as she reached them pushing them aside nella was col coming a ing slowly up from the first flo floor or a hand over her heart todd said georgine georgina urgently urgent lyp kneeling beside him where he lay sprawled on the stairs nella had already s slipped lipped away as silently as she had come from the lower floor her voice rose ring him again please keep on ringing nging its urgent the last match flared dodds todds eyes were open he was looking at georgine georgina his hia whisper just reached her ears im okay but dont let em am know it As the match went out one eye closed in a meaningful wink but what happened he doing here horace demanded returning with an immense immenga first aid kit he also had a student lamp on an extension cordt cord and now shone this into the supposedly unconscious face 1 I dont know im sure said georgine georgina feverishly but he hes ia hurt he ha must be the doctor ever coming its no distance at all from the house oh ob dear oh dear todd speak to me mel she was overdoing it a bit judging by the suppressed quiver that ran through his body A uttie little water down his neck hurt him at all she told herself vengefully and gave the cloth an a n extra squeeze there were more voices in the lower hall the doctors and another flat and nasal 1 I declare I 1 was just comin up the side walk when I 1 saen seen johnny shoot up to the front and comi coma bearin u up these stairs w TO 0 BE CONTINUED CONTIN |