Show MURDER masquerade by INEZ HAYNES IRWIN copyright inez haynes irwin strake FRIDAY continued 21 1 I loaded my revolver and put it in my pocket after a while I 1 stole out got into my boat and rowed over to second head I 1 walked from the beach to mrs averys place I 1 jumped over the wall and went into her spinney I 1 was careful to walk on the lawn so that there would be no footprints in the spinney is a gravel path there was as I 1 knew a big rock in the bushes close to the path I 1 stepped onto it and sat there waiting presently I 1 heard ace coming from one direction and almost instantly his bootlegger torriano coming from the other they met in that part of the path in the spinney where there is a circle of cleared space surrounded by trees the trees all draped with wild grape vines by this time lime the late moon was out it was as white as day the conversation between the two men did not last any longer than ace expected from it I 1 gathered that ace owed torriano three hundred dollars ace must have given it to him in cash for he asked tony to count it torriano who was obviously staggered at getting the whole sum counted it said at once good night chief cut right through the bushes not lar far from where I 1 was hidden and leaped over the wall onto the road presently I 1 heard a car and I 1 concluded that he had left the head but I 1 was not thinking of torriano at that moment tor for instantly I 1 became aware that somebody else had come through the spinney path apparently from the summit of the head it was miss fairweather margaret fairweather she too had bad come to meet ace I 1 could not inot see her but I 1 recognized her voice I 1 heard everything she said it became quite obvious what ace wanted of her apparently he was borrowing money from her later I 1 learned that it was ten thousand dollars and that she had brought him a certified check the conversation lasted only a minute miss fairweather handed the check to him and he gave her his note then she departed the way she had come the sound of her steps had not died down when I 1 heard other steps and I 1 realized that doctor marden was keeping his appointment promptly the conversation between ace and doctor marden was also brief ace told doctor marden that he had that afternoon made a new will that he would within three days announce that caro prentiss was his daughter that he would give a big party at his house to celebrate the event doctor marden expressed a kind of appreciation and walked on up the head in the direction margaret fairweather had taken fortunately for me ace lingered an instant also fortunately tor for me doctor marden hurried away at any rate ace had only turned to start back in the direction of mrs averys house when I 1 emerged from the bushes 1 for gods sake brucel he exclaimed how come As he spoke something happened inside my head the tornado died down the flame stopped nothing tore there nothing burned there but I 1 knew what I 1 had to do I 1 knew that I 1 had to kill ace blaikie for I 1 knew that ace was lying lying lying that he had no intention of acknowledging sister doras child until he was forced to it I 1 knew that the story that he was going to induce molly eames to elope with him as soon as possible was also true I 1 knew that he had borrowed that money from margaret fairweather for that purpose 1 I drew nv my revolver and placed it against his heart asa blaikie I 1 said you are a wicked man and I 1 am the instrument god has chosen to punish you for your guilt do not movel do not cry out if you do I 1 shall kill you and then myself but repent repent I 1 bid you repent 1 tho the time has come for you to diel ace took it ace could always take anything he knew at once that his time had come he did not even remonstrate with me on the issue of death I 1 mean first he said aril I 1 guess this is the end of the traill then he said bruce I 1 dont want to be shot like a dog I 1 want to die like a man let iet me kill myself like a roman warrior orl 1 1 I agreed I 1 added 1 I shall kill myself as soon as the business is settled it was all over very quickly first ace took off his helmet he handed me the check which maraaret Mari margaret aret fairweather had given him see that this is returned to margaret fairweather brucel he ordered he put the helmet carefully down and then he drew his sword the one he had had made in rome home the short sword of a roman officer ace put the point of the sword over cover his heart he held the handle firmly fir nily with his two hands and feu fell forward his whole length upon it 1 I had warned myself maseu over and over to remember about finger prints there ther e w were e r e g grapevines r p e v 1 n e s hanging over t the h e t trees r e e s I 1 I 1 p picked i c k some of the long leaves and using them as a guard I 1 turned ace over on his face I 1 closed his eyelids I 1 composed his arms I 1 drew his tunic close to his body I 1 withdrew the sword from the wound wiped off both the handle and the blade and placed it by his side I 1 put the mask to one side I 1 smoothed out the hole the sword hilt had made in the gravel walk last of all I 1 carefully collected the grape leaves walked back over the lawn and vaulted the stone wall I 1 went back the way I 1 came rowed across the river and up to the island camp on the way I 1 dropped the grape leaves overboard adah and berry never knew that I 1 had bad left the place there followed one of the insane passages wherein poor bruce seemed to be trying to justify himself the doc document ended poignantly 1 I loved ace blaikie baikie as I 1 have rever loved another man god help me I 1 love him yet three days later patrick came over to call we talked the whole story over from beginning to end finally patrick I 1 asked what made you decide to go t to bruce Hex Ilex sons camp that afternoon because I 1 knew by that time that bexson killed ace how long had you known it about a minute A mi minute nute when what how did you find it out sylvia told me Syl sylvia vial sylvia really solved this murder but as we cant get sylvias name into this terrible business I 1 11 0 a 0 1 I drew my bly revolver and placed it against uis his heart shall have to take the credit I 1 want you to promise me though that when sylvias a woman let me tell her 1 I I 1 acceded at once in a frenzy of haste go on patrick I 1 well sylvia and I 1 were out on the piazza talking you were in the living room rummaging in your desk for something later I 1 discovered it was a list of books that bruce alexson had given you we got onto the subject of dorinda belle I 1 cant for the life of me remember how it came about but sylvia told me this story she said that after marden left the stow kitchen the night of the masquerade she suddenly remembered that she had left dorinda dorid belledin belle Bell down edwn by the merry mere she said that she bear to have dorinda belle s stay t a y 0 out u ant all night it might rain S she h c d i want to ask you it if she could go get her for fear you let her and so s she he too went out through the little garage door and ran as fast as she could to the merry mere it took her a few minutes to find the dou doll allu and run back stopping only to put dorinda belle inside your house the little imp I 1 exclaimed involuntarily but what she let drop was what established this case for me that she could hear ace blaikie and mr bexson talking in the spinney that you see was my last link now I 1 have to go back and tell you that when we all went into the spinney after sarah darbe discovered ace I 1 found something nobody else saw it and ive never spoken of it to anybody on the bark at the base of the nearest white birch were three drops of what appeared t to be green ink it was a loose piece of birch bark I 1 tore it off and put it into my pocket in the excitement nobody noticed both you and sarah were watching joe geary as he worked over ace patrick drew out his billfold bill fold from it he nipped an envelope from the envelope he drew a piece of birch bark and handed it to me on it were three green ink spots by hook book or crook he went on 1 I managed to find out if there was any green ink in any house on the head perhaps you can remember now that I 1 got two of the witnesses I 1 examined in this house to lend me their fountain pens neither of them used green ink I 1 had asked ken winslow to hold up any letter that came through the post office written with green ink but none came when I 1 came in from my talk with sylvia on the piazza believe me I 1 was boiling with excitement cit ement there you stood with a written list of some kind in your hands and all the items on it were written in green ink when you told me that you had made that list at bruce Hex sons I 1 knew it made sense with what sylvia told me but patrick I 1 exclaimed what were either of those men doing with a fountain pen that night well I 1 think I 1 know patrick answered but I 1 cant prove it and so im never going to say anything about this green ink youre the only person im going to tell mary and youre going to keep your mouth closed over it as long as you live I 1 nodded first place I 1 thought it strange that after doctor marden had made his accusation of ace in bruce hex sons presence that bexson feeling as he did toward him let ace drive him back to his camp in the second place Hex sons account of what ace said to doctor marden in your spinney disagreed with doctor bardens Mar dens account according to doctor marden ace said that he was going to change his 1 will according to bruce bexson ace said he had changed his will at once I 1 figured that Hex sons confession entirely on the level he was trying understand me with the best motives he was trying to put something over ove r and he has put it over ace blaikie did not sign that new will at bruce hex sons place the afternoon of the masquerade qu erade he signed it in your spinney bruce bexson typed it out carried it with his pistol and his fountain pen to your place he 1 made ace sign it he gave ace his pen and ace did what we all do when he found the pen work at once he shook it three drops of ink fell at the base of that white birch THE END enda |