| OCR Text |
Show The Clue By CARLTON JAMES Associated Newspapers. WNU Features. T ISTEN," I says, pulling the ' cork out of the bottle and emptying emp-tying its contents into my hand, "I got a hunch this Lolita Ramon dame wouldn't go bump herself off, see? I got a hunch she was murdered, see?" "You got ants up your chimney." says Sarge. "She was on the toboggan tobog-gan down at the Paradise and she took the back door out. Else why would she have that botUe of poison tablets around?" "Listen," I says, "I know poison, see; and these here pellets got enough strychnine in 'em to knock any dame for a row of ballet dancers danc-ers the minute they hit her insides." "So what?" says the Sarge. "So let's go talk to someone," I says. So we rounded up the landlady. "Sure," she says, "Miss Ramon had visitors. There was Lupe Pablo Pab-lo and there was Pedro Falcon." "Did they come together?" I says. "They did," says the landlady. I "But they didn't leave together. Pe- dro left first, and Lupe about an hour later." "Oh, I see," I says. So I turns to Sarge and goes on: "Sarge," I says, "you go down to headquarters headquar-ters and have these pellets analyzed and see if they ain't got the blast in 'em I think." So the Sarge goes off with the pellets, pel-lets, looking disgusted, and I goes down to the taxi stand where this Pedro is sitting reading a newspaper. news-paper. "Listen," I says, flashing my shield, "whatcha do it for, huh? Come on," I says, "the jig's up and stuff. Break down and let me have it straight and I'll see what I can do." Pedro folds up his newspaper careful-like and gives me the eye. "Copper," he says, "what's your name and number? I want to report you for bad manners." "Oh, wise guyl" I says, "Well, get this punk " "Pardon me," says Pedro, "there's a mug over there looks like he wants a cab. I'll see you later, maybe." So he drives away and I goes over to where Lupe Pablo lives. "All right, baby," I says, "you look smart. What's the sense of stalling?" "About what?" she says. "Lolita Ramon," says I. "Oh!" says Lupe. "Aha!" says I. "Well, why did you do it? Jealous, eh? Jealous over that Pedro mug!" "Is she dead?" Lupe cried. "Oh, my goodness! Did she do it? She talked about It all the time after Pedro left. I I she promised me before I left that she wouldn't!" "She lived long enough," I says, "to tell us you slipped a tablet into her coffee mug." Lupe laughs, sort of hysterical. "Oh, you poor sap!" she says. "Stop drooling at the mouth. Oh, why, why did she do it?" So I calls up the taxi company and tells 'em to send Pedro around with his cab, and by the time Pedro gets there Lupe has got hold of herself her-self and we go down and get into the cab. "It's Lolita," Lupe tells him, busting bust-ing out sobbing again. Pedro don't say a word, but drives over to Lolitas rooming-house, like I tell him. When we get there we find Sarge with the disgusted look still on his face. "WelL" I says, "how about them pellets?" "They're dynamite," says Sarge. "Fer once you was right. She woulda gone out the minute one of 'em hit her tongue." "Ha!" says I. "You can go. Falcon," Fal-con," I says swinging on Pedro. "This lets you out." "You dumbhead!" says Pedro. "Did you think I'd kill a girl I was in love with?" "Well, why not?" I says. "This here dame," I says, pointing to Lupe, "woulda killed a guy she was In love with, rather than let some other dame have him. But she decided de-cided to kill Lolita instead." Lupe looked up from the couch where she was having a fine time bawling into her handkerchief. "You're crazier than I thought, copper. cop-per. Lolita was my best friend." "And besides," says Pedro, looking look-ing at me coldly, "you're talking in bunches. Try and say something that sounds sensible." "Listen," I says, "you get to hell out of here before I find an excuse .for roping you into it, too." "Don't be a sucker, feller," Sarge says to Pedro. "Scram!" So Pedro got out, and Sarge says to me: "Maybe the guy was right, at that What are you talking about, anyway?" any-way?" "I'm telling you," I says, "that this here dame slipped a pellet into Lolita's coffee mug. For one thing, she didn't act scared when I told her Lolita lived long enough to spill the works. Why? Because she knew them pellets was dynamite and that Lolita couldn't live long to spill the works." Lupe stopped bawling and looked at me. Sarge said: "Is that all?" "Nope," I says, "that ain't all. If them pellets was as powerful as they says down at headquarters, Lolita Lo-lita couldn't have lived long enough to put the cork back in the bottle, after taking one which is what the da.ne here wanted us to think grab ber." |
