Show synthetic gentleman by CHANNING POLLOCK copyright Chann channing int Poil pollock ocic sercios Ser vlot vios CHAPTER XII continued 22 was the third caller you or SI orano and then I 1 remembered two things fiorano took the to philadelphia to check on those fingerprints finger prints tie lie ve done that if hed known kelly kally was dead the house was dark and silent when morano got cot to sixteenth street he fie thought kellym gone to bod bed and so he went to philadelphia I 1 was sure of at that and I 1 was sure that the man who killed kelly wore gloves cloves on a hot night not because hed thought of fingerprints but because lie he was accustomed to wearing gloves eien in summer it was red hot the day I 1 came here to tell you about nolan and your gloves were lying there with your bat peter smiled faintly 1 1 I remember too he said bald you picked one of them up but of course I 1 might merely hare bare been carrying them P barry smiled also you might be admitted but the glove that fell on the floor was turned inside out people dont carry gloves that way well winslow observed Il narwood larwood di ant make any mistake when he said you were a good newspaper man youre right about everything wife was mrs selby she thought selby was dead of course when she married me two or three years ago I 1 met him on the street lie he was d d decent bellere believe it or not I 1 1 was terribly in love with julle julie he said 1 I still am but god knows im no husband for her and jou you are youve nothing to fear from me he said but 1 I did fear all my life ive r had one conviction murder will out everything comes to the sur surface faiFe bobner sooner 0 or later I 1 urged julle julie to get a divorce 1 I cant can she said without more dread 1 ful publicity it would woul druin ruin your jour career she said always jIb hinting Inking of me cic julle julie Is ile he the tell tale magnet magnet a almost luvin gly we were still talking about it he continued when julle julie 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 nami 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 ja idea a of what was back of that of course and lie he dibut 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 bai hed had the marriage certificate some time and through an underworld connection he knew selby was alive but hed only just found out that selby was florano rano someone had told him that afternoon probably the same roan man who tipped off luls luis telephone message to harwood kelly had said to morano now ive got you and hambidge nod and winslow ue he has too luls luis added unless yon can find a way out of it Win winslows slows hand closed tightly julie was waa upstairs asleep he said shed loft left me an hour hoar before radiantly happy I 1 went to see kelly kally heaven knows what I 1 intended to do certainly not 1 I murder ni I 1 was about to ring the bell when I 1 saw the key in the door and used it kelly was talking to hambidge I 1 recognized the judges voice and slipped into the dining room listening I 1 learned why he had written that decision and I 1 heard kelly say it if it aint filed by noon today ill bare your sister in law arrested for or 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 roe me I 1 picked it up almost mechanically kelly was in the hall ball then shouting squealers squeal ers and beat it I 1 suppose I 1 had some vague idea of helping my iny brother in law I 1 dont don t know anyway I 1 opened the door between the dining room and the drawing room and as I 1 did so kelly came 1 in from the hall ball closing that door beh behind I 1 nd him nis left hand was still on the knob when he saw me more squealers squeal ers he shouted wit nests nes aps so ou heard did you well by god youre not going to lo tell anybody I 1 ile he lifted his right hand and there wa was a re voler in it another instant and hedve ired 1 I hurled the decanter it was just instinct I 1 take aim there time if I 1 meant to do anything it was to hit bis big pistol arm I 1 dont really know where the bottle did strike the side of kellys head fiend probably for it landed against a metal door hinge rebounded fell into a chair and rolled off to the floor A moment afterward kelly went down in a heap tie lie dead A long way from it for the gun had dropped out of his hand 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 there was a white pushbutton push button in the frame I 1 pressed it or thought I 1 did 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 phoned to say hed filed his decision there was wag 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 rut but what good would done they convict me id killed in self defense and could come mighty near proving it blut but in doing so edve given away the secret id struggled to keep all these years edve smashed julie utterly and ruined Ilam bidge and pat nobody was harmed by my keeping my mouth shut there a chance of their finding wilder guilty or anyone else if done that edve confessed in a moment 1 I know knoff barry declared what you meant when you said if we have to get the guilty man to free Il bogers well do it but lets give tile the court a chance first yes peter rose and went to the window the difficult 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 nil all her life it if seen julles julies face when she collapsed after hearing of selbys arrest P lie ile paused of course neither she nor Ilam bidge knows I 1 killed kelly barry said never know it through me bon voyage he added blithely an instant later inter his hat in his big hand and come back soon id like to have you two at my wedding THE END |