| Show MURDER masquerade by INEZ HAYNES IRWIN Cupy copyright right ines haynes irwin service THURSDAY continued 19 and then drina demoyne died the ithe newspaper accounts of her ca I 1 reer said that she had been married but once to an actor allan banks this was before the war they the said that once the two separated for or a few years but were never divorced subsequently they came Xo together gether again and lived together toge until miss demoyne died she left him all her property I 1 have in my iny possession banks affidavit that thai he never was divorced from drina demoyne ace had mistakenly thought he committed bigamy in marrying my daughter but drina Ie demoyne moyne had actually committed bigamy in marrying him that changed the whole complexion of affairs caro was no longer illegitimate that is provided ace blaikie had married no other woman she was the heir to his estate then caro who has a flattering battering natt ering way of confiding everything to me told me that molly eames did not want to marry ace blaikie that she did not love him that she actually loved another man walter treadway 1 I received the affidavit from drina demoines De husband on friday morning friday afternoon as you remember mrs avery ace blaikie bruce bexson and I 1 stopped here for a cool drink that was about two in the afternoon my granddaughter and molly eames were here they left j just before we did when I 1 got home caro had not arrived A few minutes later however she came in she had been riding around and around the head in hollys car molly told her that ace blaikie was insisting that she elope with him that night after the masquerade he was apparently putting the screws on her I 1 felt that the time had come to act that I 1 must act instantly but I 1 wanted advice I 1 called bruce bexson on the telephone and asked him if I 1 could come to the camp to talk over an important business matter that had just come up I 1 drove over there at once and told him the whole story how did tt it affect him patrick interrupted he was horrified profoundly shocked chocked I 1 may say for he too had known eleanor dac dacre re although naturally this was the first time he realized that she was my stepdaughter tep daughter he spoke touchingly of her great beauty and goodness he advised me to go at once to ace blaikie and have the thing out we went at once to dr Blai kies house bexson had dropped him there on the way back in mr Hex sons presence I 1 repeated the story ace blaikie was utterly discomfited ed I 1 felt all the time that the only thing he was thinking of was that this might interfere with his elopement well in the end he be said that he would reveal his rn marriage arriage and would acknowledge caro as his daughter I 1 asked him if he would draw up a will making full provision for her he answered that he was an engaged man and begged time to think the matter over ever I 1 replied that I 1 would give him a little time ultimately he asked me if I 1 would meet him in mrs averys spinney at a quarter of eleven that night and andred wed have a little talk then I 1 left and you say bruce bexson was present during this talk yes did mr bexson leave with you no be stayed where did you go from there 1 I went directly home tell me about your conversation with ace blaikie it was comparatively brief but it was from my point of view satisfactory blaikie said that he had decided to make announcement in the newspapers that caro was his daughter within three days he said that he would leave her the blaikie house and a suitable income did you make any reference to his proposed elopement with molly eames no for caro had haa told me only that evening that she was sure molly was making up her mind to marry walter treadway have you told me everything now doctor warden marden patrick asked after a long pause everything I 1 believe FRIDAY all that night I 1 kept going over and over doctor bardens Mar dens story I 1 kept going over the talk I 1 had had with patrick after he left caro aces child I 1 could not accustom myself to that shining signal light in my mind for how glad I 1 was I 1 find and it hard to say I 1 had grown to love caro As to my conversation with patrick my tired mind concerned itself only with that last part of it which occurred after doctor warden marden had gone well warden marden seems to be the third to meet ace that night torriano is out as a suspect unless he be came back margarets testimony fixed that margarets out too unless she came back mar dens testimony fixed that but chos going to save warden marden hes 1 got no alibi and hes got a grand motive you mean you think he and ace quarreled and he killed ace 1 I dont think that I 1 dont think anything im only thinking what a jury will think im a detective tec tive I 1 dont think walter killed ace I 1 dont think torriano killed him I 1 dont think margaret did it nor that marden did in fact patrick went on 1 I wonder if im not licked when patrick appeared friday morning he looked for the first time haggard 1 I close in my y eyes last night he admitted by crimins cri miny mary I 1 hate to lie down to this thing however im giving myself until tomorrow night it if I 1 dont get anything by then ill see the district attorney and admit im licked I 1 came over here well I 1 dont know why I 1 came over caro and Hop estill are playing tennis I 1 said vaguely merely by way of cori conversation that seems to have become a pretty close friendship in less than a week patrick commented aies only seventeen I 1 pointed out to him Hop estill is still in college hes a nice kid patrick went on and so is shel she id like to see them he did not finish patrick had seated himself in the hammock his head back he closed his eyes for a moment sympathetically I 1 kept silent perhaps he would drift off to sleep but into the silence came sylvias voice patrick opened his eyes at once his smile brought back all the life to his face come here sylvia lie he called lets have a little chin together sylvia came out onto the piazza piazzas I 1 remember thinking what j a charming figure she was she was wearing one of the little smocked shocked sleeveless frocks a pale yellow out of which stuck her amusing little littie brown sticks of arms there were big yellow ribbon bows on the ends of her tight braids and she carried the eternal dorinda belle also in yellow now young lady tell me what youve been doing I 1 was glad of the respite both for myself and patrick I 1 left them together I 1 went inside and busied VA K at vi ar I 1 za bruce alexson has just committed suicide myself at my desk I 1 was looking for a list of books it had occurred to me that I 1 might drive patrick over to the library and see if I 1 could get one ot them from outside I 1 could hear sylvias little voice and then I 1 and after that and then I 1 remembered that I 1 left dorinda belle and so I 1 gunned and I 1 found dorinda belle all cold and wet from the dew and 1 I put tier her to sleep on the hammock and she bot all warm again sylvias little voice ticked on and on patrick seemed very silent for an interval then suddenly I 1 heard the hammock chains creak as he arose through the window I 1 saw him put sylvia down then he came into the room I 1 was still rummaging on the desk going through one pigeonhole pigeon hole after another just as striding across the room in what even with my back to him seemed a new eagerness he reached my side mary he 1 I feel like going for a ride would you like to take me off in your car somewhere curious patrick I 1 answered it seems almost like a case of mental telepathy I 1 was thinking just at this moment that the best thing I 1 could do for both of us was to go somewhere in the car I 1 thought id go over to the library and get a book out patrick was standing behind me while I 1 still ben over the desk found the list of books what a strange color ink ie commented 1 I never knew you to use green ink before no I 1 never have used it before I 1 made this list out at bruce hex sons camp and I 1 used his fountain pen you know hes a great student the day I 1 went to break the tb news of aces death to him I 1 felt that it might soothe him a little to talk about books hes a tremendous reader you know hes one of those people who is ull full of lore he likes curious out of the way books lets go patrick ex exclaimed clairried and I 1 fancied there was a sudden impatience in his tone presently we were spinning across the causeway any preference er ence I 1 asked patrick idly when we WC came to the crossroads lets go over and see bruce bexson patrick suggested he must be over the worst of that cold hes a wise guy I 1 have halt half a mind to lay the whole story before him and ask h his advice I 1 turned to the left in the direction of the camp patrick seemed to have recovered his animation he talked steadily au all the time well he might for never had spawned a more perfect da lan dorous warmth of middle august with a sky a sheet of melting blue loaded with argosies argolies argo sies of cloud in the air the brisk smell of and the pungent odor of tansy once in a while a tree or a bush waved a fleck of autumn coloring blackberry bushes by the road showed fine black clusters of fruit milkweed was breaking and puffing into milk white silk goldenrod everywhere in all your travels mary avery patrick asked me once have you ever seen anything more beautiful than Sa no never patrick paris is not more beautiful florence is not more beautiful rome is not more beautifully full venice we both laughed and abando ed our thesis I 1 when we got to the end of the lane which led to the cleared area about the camp patrick said would you mind waiting here alone for a few mu mary there are one or two things id like to talk over with bruce alone its man talk I 1 would not mind your being about but bui i L think hed be more comfortable it if you there of course I 1 agreed theres no reason why I 1 should go inside at all I 1 can sit here until you come out oh well not necessary patrick insisted he climbed out of the car I 1 was returning to the library ellnor elinor wylies aylies the orphan angel idly I 1 opened at the first page my eyes dropped onto a phrase in the second paragraph which still re echoed in beauty in my mind the aerial composure of a cloud I 1 closed the book over this morsel with my eyes on patricks retreating figure I 1 rolled boiled it figuratively speaking over and over on the tongue of my mind and yet my eyes followed patrick noting subconsciously the alertness of his graceful springing step I 1 remembered I 1 recalled that ace blaikie had always used in regard to patrick a word that he had picked up in the south I 1 could never get from ace quite what meant it seemed to indicate a vague combination of slenderness strength grace and style I 1 remember noting how fresh patricks khaki uniform always looked the camp was singularly quiet ordinarily at the sound of an automobile either adah or berry or both appeared at the door neither appeared today perhaps they were working out back it seemed to me that I 1 saw a nutter flutter of curtain at at the window but to this day I 1 cannot be sure yet bruce must have looked out to see who was coming but very clearly I 1 heard just as patrick was nearing th the house the sound of a shot that sound did not perturb me instantly I 1 jumped to the conclusion that berry had killed one of the noisome starlings on which we were all warring but apparently patrick did not think of starlings for instantly he broke into a run As I 1 have said before patrick had always been an all round athlete and he could sprint with no tremor of apprehension I 1 watched him pull open the piazza door rush over the piazza and into the house I 1 sat there idly waiting and idly watching the sparkling plane of the ocean I 1 cant remember how many moments went by not many but presently patrick appeared came running toward me I 1 must have realized suddenly that I 1 he was ghastly for afterwards my hands ached from a terrific grip on the wheel when patrick was within speaking distance he called mary bruce bexson has just committed suicide he killed ace blaikie I 1 remember only a frightful sense of weakness and a swirling darkness into both came patricks voice dont faint maryl for gods sake dont taint faint bowl now I 1 need youl you I 1 faint when patrick in what seemed a series of leaps reached the car the blackness had disappeared the weal weakness mess had gone he killed himself when he saw me coming patrick announced grimly his confession lies on his desk it bagins 1 I killed ace blaikie now get bad back home at once mary I 1 dont want the reporters hounding you again IU ill walk slowly back 0 o the cabin and telephone the PS that will giff you five minutes start TO ITO BK BE CONTINUED |
