Show THE MURDER WEDDING MARCH copyright MM 1023 br y see the th vict mabb co C by MONTE BARRETT CHAPTER V continued a 9 1 I just want to make sure the detective retorted over his shoulder its as he be disappeared toward the living room when he returned he nodded toward peter it fits six of them you tou sound disappointed observed choo choo 1 7 I had hoped that key would help roe me find some one else the detective commented no matter well play the hand just as aa it Is dealt peter frowned thoughtfully at his lean brown hands miss train he be put the question deliberately how bow did you feel about this marriage of franklins you were in love with him you choo choo moistened her lips yes res I 1 loved him what of it what did you think of this marriage cardigan repeated she lingered over her answer her head bent so that tt it was impossible to read the expression of her face what does it matter what I 1 thought the girl answered finally he was getting married he your answer no peter wished that it were answer enough and that he need no longer probe this girls wound no that was his bis answer miss train im asking how you felt there are times said the girl distinctly when your feelings dont count I 1 exactly happy over the marriage you cant expect me to say that still her glance faltered before the novelists unwavering scrutiny 1 I figured that id get over it other people have then when you left franklin there in the study you knew you were telling him goodby good by for good you kilday questioned for the first time 1 I say that the actress replied quickly she fumbled on the table by the stand and found a cigarette cardigan held a match for he her for a minute she puffed deeply as though keenly enjoying the smoke her glance traveled slowly from arora one map man to the other what made you ask me that the ile inquired of kilday finally the sergeant shrugged he was wag getting married hey A half smile curled about the girls lips momentarily and was gone as quickly as it had come he was marrying a position she said quickly jim devir never loved doris carmody he loved me he did love you yoo kilday conceded but that was finished yesterday by the wedding I 1 mean me the wedding said the girl slowly going to make any difference between jim and me we had been all over that you mean you yon were going un the same as before the detectives tone was incredulous choo choo exhaled a cloud of smoke exactly what I 1 mean she declared for a detective you can be terribly dense sometimes you can say that now dow kilday objected franklins dead im only telling you what jim and I 1 had decided the girl leaned forward angrily theres therea one thing you dont seem to understand jim loved met mel ile he love lova that carnody carmody girl but lie he was marrying her the sergeant declared with finality marrying bierl her 1 choo choo tossed her head he marrying a girl ile he was marrying a social position jim was going to be the next governor of new york kilday could cope with the wom ans anger where her sorrow a short time before had silenced him and I 1 suppose you were going to albany with him eh 1 I have been so tar far away retorted the actress if he loved you so much why he marry you your the sergeant insisted dont be silly the actress scoffed where would jim have been if hed married an actress that would have been murder it would have finished him A As it turned out replied kilday dryly it was murder anyway the girl shivered youre wast ing time here she said ln in a quieter voice why dont you talk to dan brills maybe he be can tell you what happened yesterday afternoon ile he was soro sore at jim and hed been trying to see him bullis called me here yesterday wanting to see jim when I 1 said he here tie he swore he said jim was hiding from him and that I 1 wnm helping him but he said hed find him it if you really want to find who killed jim franklin to dan brills weve talked to brills peter wormed informed her quietly weve come here to find out what you know miss train im only telling you where to go 1 if you want about the murder said the actress ampa do you think id kill the man I 1 love dan bullis Is your man I 1 tell you yes youve said that before the novelist nodded well take care of mr brills but some people dont think franklin was wa killed by a man miss train they believe a woman killed him and that the motive was jealousy youre crazy I 1 choo choo stared at him angrily that means me of course course and how do you figure id have done a thing like that in the first place I 1 get away with it it everybody knew how I 1 felt about jim but youre overlooking a bigger bet than that I 1 loved him why would I 1 murder the man I 1 loved that make sense if you thought you were losing him it would make sense all right kilday interjected but ive told you I 1 losing login him forget about the wedding tor for a minute cardigan invited he rose and strode about the room aimlessly but his eyes never left the woman who sat upon the bed have another cigarette miss train the sergeant offered ills bis case a smooth silver one cardigan watching knew this was Kil days ruse to obtain the womans comans fingerprints finger prints thanks the actress lighted it from the ember in the ashtray ash tray beside her youve been reading these accounts of the murder cardigan lu in pleated the newspapers beside the bed did you notice anything there that sounded bounded strange miss train plenty replied the actress it looked like halt of new york came around there to see jim just before the wedding they make it sound like he was quarreling with all of them too including yourself said 1111 allday day yes the actress admitted including clouding me it seems to me you have overlooked one of those callers 1 peter continued 1 I mean the woman in the blue dress choo choo look looked ed at him through narrowed eyes who was she what im asking you said peter she shrugged silk clad shoulders now how should I 1 know I 1 see anybody there in a blue dress nobody else knows who she was either miss bliss train declared the novelist we cant find anyone who ever saw her before we only know that she was jealous of jim JI in franklin franken that she jealous then the actress leaned back more calmly what Is this are you trying to trick me some way peter shook his head bead theres no trick to it he replied simply apparently this was another woman that loved franklin she thought she had some bowe claim on him evidently in fact peter was remembering the story daniel bullis bullas had told of the scene in the study she threatened to ruin him if he went ahead with the wedding are you still sure you dont know who that woman was choo choo studied the novelists face are you telling me the truth she demanded Is that what she said 1 I believe that Is exactly what she said and then what did jim say the actress questioned ea eagerly erly did he let her get away WI with it peter shrugged ht de promised her that everything was going to be all right I 1 believe say choo choo was sitting erects erect her eyes stormy why dont you question guestion her it if this Is straight ashes the one you are looking il tor r then she relaxed against the PH lows but that iseton on the level her voice had bad gone flat if it was you be wasting your time here 9 perhaps it wasted said peter perhaps you are the very person who can tell us where we may find this woman in blue the actress did not answer but her eyes watched the novelists guardedly suppose you have told us the truth as far as you have gone peter continued suppose you jealous of doris carmody and care whether franklin married her or not choo choo winced even granting fronting that everything was just as you have said that would not have kept you from being madly jealous of franklin it if you had discovered there was still a third woman this woman in blue that he loved there anybody else the actress interrupted shrilly and im just as sure that there was replied peter there Is no doubt of it I 1 cant help but wonder miss bliss train if the discovery that this woman existed be a better explanation of your visit to the church yesterday than the one you have given alven us but I 1 tell you I 1 know there was such a woman choo choo raised clenched hands above her head 1 I still dont believe it jim have done that to me I 1 loved him and he loved met me cant you understand mel me I 1 she beat her breast with her lists fists peter waited quietly until the actress storm of emotion had passed perhaps he suggested this other woman heard of you yesterday for the first time that being the case she might have been the one who went to see franklin frankiln with vengeance in her heart there was hatred in the glance choo choo turned on him youre mighty sure there was another woman arent you was all she said in spite of his certainty that there had been another woman and that she had played a dramatic probably fatal part in the slaying of jim franklin peter felt that he was making no headway he had succeeded only in antagonizing a witness from which he had expected much assistance like every other trail they had followed this too seemed to lead nowhere and yet choo choo train had been the last person as far as they could determine who had seen franklin alive according to the testimony of nick royce and doctor abernathy she had bad been in the study with jim franklin after daniel bullis and the woman in blue had left and her motive too was apparent if she had known of the existence of that i other woman or even if she could he believe her statement that franklins wedding was to have made no difference in her relationship with him ue he wondered too at the womans comans apparent lack of grief to be sure there were moments when she appeared grief stricken but they were only moments she seemed to turn her emotions on andoff like a faucet almost at will opposed to these arguments of course were webster S spears pears activities daniel brills reticence concerning his conversation with Franklin hylle Car modys efforts to halt the wedding the suspicions aroused by callis ship leys movements and of course the woman in blue still unexplained and as mysterious as ever miss train the novelist inquired suddenly how well do you know webster spears webster spears ive never heard of him are you sure a man by that name telephone you yesterday it if he had id have heard of him choo choos manner was contemptuous outside of jim and dan bullis the only man who phoned me yesterday was fletcher she declared ive already told you about that peter frowned what was wai franklins number dumber he demanded curtly she told him do you mind it if we use your telephone certainly not choo choo handed him the instrument from the table at her bedside fletcher answered the call this Is peter cardigan Fletch fletchir pr I 1 called with sergeant allday to ask aak you some questions last night remember yes sir I 1 remember 1 I forgot to ask you about your telephone call to miss bliss train yesterday Flet fletcher fletcha chr peter explained how did you iou happen to telephone her PRECEDING EVENTS IN THE STORY waiting in the lh ministers study for or his wedding to doris carmody jim franklin lawyer and politician Poli ticiano ta Is stabbed to death franklin while waiting had bad many vi visitors altorn among them his mistress an ac actress choo choo train his intended cifes lather father ambrose carmody her brother brylle daniel bullis well known politician and an unknown woman in a blue rock frock sergeant kilday with peter Cai cardigan digan novelist and ai amatt tur detective begins an investigation rylla carmody admits trying to top stop the wedding after being informed by a friend alend webster spears that franklin was still friendly with choo choo despite his approaching marriage kilday secures the dead de id mans keys callis shipley pley whose actions in the church and immediately following tollow lne the discovery of 0 franklins body have appeared furtive Is questioned but the investigators learn nothing of importance an interview with daniel bullis Is also fruitless webster spears admits informing brylle carmody of franklins relations with choo choo f ls Car modys sake in the hope of preventing the wedding lie he and doris had had a boy and girl love affair fletcher franklins manservant man servant Is reticent and billo dunbar the dead mans law partner can shed no light on the murder choo choo admits her rela relations tiona with rr franklin anklin were to continue after his marriage she says she went to the church franklin havone forbidden her to attend the ceremony becaro of a telephone from rom fletcher fietcher telling her to corns coma there must be some mistake sir I 1 never telephoned miss train the novelist hesitated his hand band over the transmitter what time did you say you received that call miss train it must have been about halt half past two replied the actress think again said gald peter into the telephone you call miss train about two thirty yesterday afternoon 1 fletcherd fletchers Flet chers tone was positive TIB im quite sure sir I 1 have never telephoned miss train here let roe me talk to him I 1 sensing the tenor of the servants replies from froin peters conversation she snatched the instrument from the tha novelists hand what did you say F letcher fletcher you never called met dont be a tool fool man danl 1 she slammed the receiver in place and faced the two men just the same he did call she declared stormily storm lly he told me jim I 1 4 jim love tier her he loved mel cant you andera undera melm mel wanted me to come to the church I 1 dont know why he should lie ile about it CHAPTER VI cross examination TO YOU think choo choo la 13 lying about that phone call kilday inquired as the two men started back bach downtown down town 1 I cant figure her out peter putted puffed his cigarette meditatively she received a telephone call im satisfied of that he replied finally why else would she have changed her mind about going to the wedding and she did change her mind franklin was surprised to see her however it fletcher who called I 1 can see no reason why he tell the truth about it what I 1 am trying to determine la Is whether choo choo really believed it was franklins servant or Is only trying to make us think so no in order to conceal the identity of the person who really did call she seemed mighty surprised that fletcher remember it kilday volunteered doubtfully 1 I cant forget that ashes an actress peter confessed 1 I find myself wondering how much of what she said and did was sincere n and nd how much was only for our benefit ben what it if it were the woman in blue that would provide a motive for choo choos visit and for the crime I 1 dont think she was acting when she told us she loved jim franklin it must have been that or else th the murderer knew of choo bhoola relationship lation lations ship bip with franklin and telephoned her in an effort to bring her to the church if that Is in the case of course this actress had nothing to do with the crime and was only drawn in by the real culprit in an effort to confuse the trail peter shrugged if what happened were farther from a solution than ever the car had reached police headquarters and the novelist followed aliday up the battered steps on the sergeants desk lay jay the revolver discovered in the rectory garden the dagger with which the crime had licen been commuted committed and the stained curtain on which the murderer ur had wiped the blood froma from the weapon every blessed thing we have to go on complained the sergeant disconsolately consola tely except of course the thumbprint thumb print on the gun the keys wont be much help now the only one we identified Iden tined is obviously not a door key it fit the apartment of our woman in blue juls ju because the pieces of the puzzle dont fit the first time we try them la Is no sign we dont have all the pieces retorted retort Pd peter TO BB 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