Show ge gentleman a in by channing pollock chaanine Chann ch annine lne bullock service CHAPTER XII continued 22 was the third caller you or morano and then I 1 remembered two things morano took the to philadelphia to check on those fingerprints finger prints ile he ve done that it if hed known kelly was dead the house bouse was dark and silent when morano got to sixteenth street ile he thought kellad gone to bed and so he went to philadelphia I 1 was sure of that and I 1 was sure that the man who killed kelly wore g gloves I 1 oa on a hot night not because held hed thought of fingerprints but because he was accustomed to wearing gloves even in summer it was red hot the day I 1 came here to te tell 11 you about nolan and your gloves were lying there with your hat well winslow observed harwood d make any mistake when he be said you were a good newspaper man youre right about averyt everything hing my wife was mrs airs selby she thought selby was dead of course when she married me two or three years ago I 1 met him on the street he was d d decent believe it or not I 1 was terribly in love with julle julie he said bald 1 I still am but god knows im no husband for her and you are youve nothing to fear from me he be said but I 1 did fear all my life ive bad one conviction murder will out everything comes to the surface sooner or later I 1 urged julle julie to get a oll divorce vorce 1 I cant she said without more dreadful publicity it would ruin your carper aerl she sald said always thinking of me jalle tille Is ile he touched pit telltale tell tale magnet al lovingly we were still talking about lt it he when julle jull e went all to pieces again just as she had when the tabloids printed the story you saw I 1 took her to europe when we came back disappeared I 1 even know his new name and of course I 1 look for him I 1 persuaded myself the danger was over then came the jefferson street grab 1 I was upset about what the newspapers said of judge hambidge id no idea of whit what was back of that of course and he tell me I 1 figured that got to him somehow and then morano telephoned the night of the murder to say kellad been to the cocoanut Coco anut bat bar hed had the marriage certificate some time and through an underworld connection lie he knew selby was alive but hed only just found out that selby was morano julle julie was upstairs asleep t he be said shed left me an hour before radiantly happy I 1 went to see kelly heaven knows what I 1 intended to do certainly not murder I 1 was about to ring the bell when I 1 saw the key in the door and used it kelly was talking to llam lIam bidge I 1 recognized the judges voice and slipped in into to the dining room listening I 1 learned why he had written that decision and I 1 heard kelly say if it aint filed by noon to day ill have your sister ln in law arrest ed for bigamy hambidge said you can do what you like I 1 wont file it the cutglass cut glass decanter was on the table in front of me I 1 picked it up almost mechanically kelly was in the hall then shouting squealers squeal ers and beat it I 1 suppose I 1 had some vague idea of helping my brother in law I 1 dont know anyway I 1 opened the door between the dining I 1 room and the drawing room and as I 1 did so kelly came in from the hall closing that door behind him his left hand band was still on the knob when he saw me more squealers squeal ers he shouted witnesses nessell 1 so you heard did you well by god youre not going to tell anybody r he lifted his right hand and there was a revolver in it another instant and hedve fired 1 I hurled the decanter 41 it was just instinct I 1 take aim there time it if I 1 meant to do anything it was to hit his pistol arm I 1 dont really know where the bottle did strike the side of kellys head probably kelly went down ze he dead A long way from it for the gun had dropped out of his hand I 1 and he reached for it I 1 picked it up ten seconds later hambidge was on the other side of that door trying to open it and calling kelly I 1 turned the lights out hambidge left I 1 put the revolver into my pocket and got the certificate out of kellys it never occurred to me that kelly was anything more than stunned I 1 went home and burned that marriage certificate there was no other record id made sure of that A few hours later hambidge Ilam bidge phoned to say hed filed his decision there was nothing about kelly in the morning paper id no idea he was dead until long after dinner that night at southampton barry nodded of course my first impulse was to give myself up winslow said but what good would done they convict me id killed in self defense and could come mighty near proving it but in doing so given away the secret id struggled to keep all these years edve s smashed julle julie utterly and ruined flam hambidge bidge a and n d P pat at nobody was harmed by my keeping my mouth shut shul there a chance of their finding ridder guilty or anyone else if done that id edve ve confessed in a moment 1 I know barry declared what you meant when you said it if we have to get the guilty man to free rogers well do it but lets give the court a chance first yes peter rose and went to the window the difficult thin thing he continued was not to confess with that boy in jail but it was letting an innocent man suffer a few weeks or an innocent woman all her life if seen julies face when she collapsed after hearing of selbys arrest P he paused of course neither she nor hambidge knows I 1 killed relly kelly 11 barry said never know it through me bon voyage he added blithely an instant later his hat in his hand and come back soon id like to have you two at my wedding THE END |