The American Rivals Of Sherlock Holmes | Cinderella Part 2 |
the American Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Cinderella's slippers by Hugh C Ware part two four we had nearly reached The Veranda when there was the sound of a motor at a gate in a red touring car swept into the yard an elderly clean-shaven man in a long frock coat and a broad brimmed felt hat was sharing the front seat with a chauffeur he sprang to the ground with extended hand as our hosts stepped forward to greet him the two exchanged half a dozen low sentences at the side of the machine and then Senator Duffield raised his voice as they approached us Miss Mack allow me to introduce my colleague Senator Burroughs I have heard of you of course Miss Mack the senator said generally raising his broad brimmed hat with a flourish I am very glad indeed that you are able to give us the benefit of your experience in this uh unfortunate Affair I presume that it is too early to ask if you have developed a theory I wonder if you would allow me to reverse the question Madeleine responded as she took his hand I fear that my detective ability would hardly be of much service to you a Duffield our host smiled faintly as he turned to repeat to a servant Madeleine's request for a directory and a messenger Senator Burroughs folded his arms as his chauffeur circled on towards the garage there was an odd suggestion of nervousness in the whole group or was it fancy have you ever given particular study to the legal angle in your cases Miss Mack the question came from Senator Burroughs as we ascended steps the legal angle I'm afraid I don't grasp your meaning the Senator's hand moved mechanically towards his Cigar Case I am a lawyer and perhaps I argue unduly from a lawyer's Viewpoint we always work from the question of motive Miss Mack a professional detective I believe or at least the average professional detective tries to find a criminal first and establish his motive afterwards now in a case such as this senator in a case such as Disney's back the trained legal mind would delve first for the motive in Mr renick's assassination and your legal mind Senator I presume has dealt for the motive as it found it the senator turned his unlighted cigar reflectively between his lips I have not found it eliminating the field of sordid passion and Insanity I divide the motives for the murderer under three heads robbery jealousy and revenge in the present case I eliminate the first possibility at the outset they're remaining then only the true latter you are interesting you forget however a fourth motive the strongest spiritual crime in the human mind Senator Burrows took his cigar from his mouth I mean the motive of fair Madeleine sat abruptly as she swept into the house when I followed her Senator Burrows had walked over to the railing and stood staring down at the ground below he had tossed his cigar away in the room where we had breakfast it one of the stable boys stood awkwardly awaiting Madeleine Mac's oldest while John Dorrance the valet was just laying a city directory on the table Nora she said as she turned to the boy will you kindly look up the list of packing houses pick out the largest and give me the address she continued as I ran my fingers through the closely typed pages with a growing curiosity I selected a firm whose Prestige was advertised in heavy letters Madeleine's fountain pen scratched a dozen lines across a sheet of her notebook and she thrusted into an envelope and extended it to the stable lad as the youth back from the room Senator Duffield appeared at the window I presume it will be possible for me to see Mr renick's body senator Madeline Mack asked our host bowed also I would like to look at his clothes the suit he was wearing at the time of his death I mean and when I am through I want 20 or 30 minutes alone in his room if Mr Taylor should arrive before I am through will you kindly let me know I can assure you Miss Mack that the police have been through Mr renick's apartment with a microscope then there can be no objection to my going through it with mine by the way Mr renick's glasses the pair that was found under his body were packed with his clothes were they not suddenly the senator responded I did not accompany Madeleine into the darkened room where the corpse of the murdered man was reposing to my surprise she rejoined me in less than five minutes what did you find I queried as we ascended the stairs a five inch cut just above the sixth rib that is what the newspaper said you are mistaken they said a three inch cut have you ever tried to plunger dagger through five inches of human flesh certainly not I have accustomed as I was to Madeleine Mac's eccentricities I stood stock still and stared into her face oh I'm not a murderous I refer to my dissecting room experiences we had reached the upper Hall when there was a quick moment at my shoulder and I saw my companion's hand dot behind my waist before I could quite grasp the situation she had caught my right arm in a grip of Steel for an instant I thought she was trying to force me back down the stairs then the force of a hold wrong a low Cry of pain from my lips she released me with a ruthful apology forgive me Nora for a woman I pride myself that I have a strong wrist yes I think you have perhaps now you can appreciate what I mean when I say that even I haven't strength enough to inflict a wound that killed Raymond renick then we must be dealing with an Amazon but Cinderella's missing slipper fit in Amazon she answered dryly as she finished her sentence we paused before a closed door which I rightly surmised led into the room of the murdered secretary and Madeleine's hand was on the knob when there was a step behind us and Senator Duffield joined us with a rough bundle in his hands Mr renick's close he explained Madeleine nodded inspector Taylor left him in my care to hold until the inquest Madeline flung the door open without comment and led the way inside slipping the string from the bundle she emptied the contents out onto the counter pane of the bed they comprised the usual warm weather outfit of A well-dressed man who evidently avoided extremes of fashion and she deftly sorted her articles into small neat piles she glanced up with an expression of impatience I thought you said they were hair Mr Duffield what Mr renick's glasses where are they Senator Duffield fumbled in his pocket I beg your pardon Miss Mack I had overlooked him he apologized as he produced a thin paper parcel Marilyn carried to the window and carefully unwrapped it you will find the spectacles rather badly damaged I fear one lens is completely ruined Madeleine placed the broken glasses on the cell and raised the blind to its full height then she dropped to her knees and whipped out her microscope when she arose her small black cloud figure was tense with suppressed excitement a fat oak chiffonier stood in the cornered her Crossing to its side she rummaged among the articles that littered its surface opened and closed the top drawer and stepped back with an expression of annoyance a writing table was the next point of her search with results which I judged to be equally fruitless she glanced uncertainly from the bed to the three chairs the only other articles of furniture that the room contained later I slide it again as they rested on the broad carved mantle that spanned the empty fireplace it held the usual collection of bricabrack of a bachelor's room at the end farthest from us however there was a narrow red case of which I caught only an indistinct view when Madeleine's hand closed over it she Whirled towards us I must ask you to leave me alone now please the senator flushed at the peremptory command I stepped into the hall and he followed me with a shrug he was closing the door when Madeleine raised her voice if inspect a tail lights below kindly send him up at once and what about the inquest Miss Mac there will be no inquest today Senator Duffield led the way downstairs without a word in the hall below a rowdy-faced man with gray hair a thin gray bed and mustache and a gray suit suggesting any army officer in civilian clothes was awaiting us I could readily imagine that inspector Taylor was something of a disciplinarian in the Boston Police Department also relying on Madeleine's Max estimate he was one of the three shrewdest detectives on the American continent Senator Duffield hurried toward him with a suggestion of relief this Mac is upstairs inspector and requested me to send you to her the moment you arrived she in Mr renick's room the senator nodded the inspector hesitated as though to ask another question and then as though thinking better of it bowed and turned to the stairs inspector Taylor was one of those few policemen who had the honor of being numbered among Madeleine Mack's personal friends and I fancied that he welcomed the news of her arrival Fletcher Duffield was chatting somewhat aimlessly with Senator Burroughs as we sorted out into the yard again none of the ladies of the family were visible the plane clothes man was still lounging disconsolidly in the vicinity of the gate there was a sense of unrest in the scene a vague expectancy although no one voiced a suggestion we might all have been waiting to catch the first clap of distant Thunder as Senator Duffield joined the men I wandered across to the dining room window I fancied the room was deserted but I was mistaken as I faced about toward the driveway a low voice caught my air from behind the curtains your Miss Max friend are you not no don't turn around please but I had already faced towards the open door as my elbow was a white capped mate with her face almost as white as her cap whom I remembered to have seen at breakfast yes I am Miss Mark's friend what can I do for you I have a message for her will you see that she gets it certainly tell her that I was at a door of Senator duffield's Library the night before the murder my face must have expressed my bewilderment for an instant I fancied the girls about to run from the room I stepped through the window and put my arm about her shoulders she smiled faintly I don't know much about the law and evidence and that sort of thing and I'm afraid you will take care of me won't you of course I will Anna your name is Anna isn't it the girl was rapidly recovering her self-possession I thought you ought to know what happened Tuesday night I was passing the door of the library it was fairly late about 10 o'clock I think when I heard a man's voice inside the room it was a loud angry voice like as of a person in a quarrel then I heard a second voice lower and much calmer did you recognize the speaker they were Mr renick and Senator Duffield I called my breath you said one of them I was angry which was it oh it was the senator who was very much excited and worked up Mr renick seemed to be speaking very low what were they saying Anna I tried to make my tones careless and indifferent but I trembled in spite of myself I couldn't catch what Mr renick said the senator was saying some Dreadful things I remember he cried you're swingless and then a bit later I have evidence that should put you and your thieving crew behind the boss I think that is all I was too bewildered stir on the lawn interrupted the sentence Madeleine Mack and inspector Taylor had appeared at the sound of their voices the girl broke from my arm and darted toward the door through the window I heard inspectors heavy tones as he announced kettley I am telephoning the coroner Senator that we are not ready for the inquest today we must postpone it until tomorrow 5. the balance of the day passed without incidents in fact I found the subdued acquired of the Duffield home becoming Aksum as evening fell I saw little of Madeleine Mac she disappeared shortly after lunch and behind the door of her room and I did not see her again until the dressing bell rang for dinner Senator Duffield left for the city with Mr Burroughs at noon and his car did not bring him back until dark the woman of the family remained in their Apartments during the entire day nor could I wonder at the fact a morbid crowd of curious sightsees was masked about the gates almost constantly and it was necessary to send a call for two additional policemen to keep them back in spite of the vigilance frequent groups of newspaper men managed to slip into the grounds and after half a dozen experiences in frantically dodging a battery of cameras I decided to stick to the shelter of the house it was a feeling of distinct relief that I heard a door of Madeleine's room open and her voice calling to me to enter I found her stretch on a lounge before the window with a mass of pillows under her head been asleep I asked no to tell the truth I've been too busy what in this room this is the first time I've been here since noon and where Nora don't ask questions I turned away with a shrug that brought a laugh from the lounge Madeleine Rose and shook out her skirts I sat watching her as she walked across to the mirror and stood patting the great golden masses of her hair A lot happened adore and erupted her Torrance the valet stood outside as she opened it extending an envelope Madeline fumbled it as she walked back she let her envelope flutter to the floor and I saw that it contained only a blank sheet of paper she thrusted into her pocket without explanation how would you like a long motor ride Nora for business or pleasure pleasure the day's work is finished I don't know whether you agree with me or not but I am strongly of the opinion that a whirl out under the Elms of Cambridge and then on to Concord and Lexington would be delightful in the Moonlight what do you say the Clock Was hovering on the verge of midnight and the household had retired when we returned Madeline was in singularly cheery spirits the low refrain which she was humming as the car swung into the grounds Schubert's serenade I think it was deceived only when we stepped onto the veranda and realized that we were entering the House of the Dead I turned off my lights in silence and glanced undecidedly from the bed to The Rocker by the window the cool light Breeze beckoned me to the latter and I drew the chair back a pace and cuddled down among the cushions the lawn was almost silver under the flood of moonlight recalling vaguely The Sweep of the ocean on a midsummer night back and forth along the edge of the gate the figure of a man was pacing like a tired Sentinel it was a plain clothes officer from headquarters his figure suggested a state of Siege he might have been surrounded by a skulking enemy or was the Enemy Within and the Sentinel station to prevent his Escape I stumbled across to the bed and to sleep with a question echoing oddly through my brain when I opened my eyes the sun was throwing a yellow shaft of light across my bed but it wasn't the sound that had awakened me Madeline was standing in the doorway dressed with an expression on her face which brought me to my elbow what has happened now burglars burglars I repeated dolly I'm going down to the library someone is making news for us fast Nora when will it be our turn I dressed in recording breaking time with my curiosity wetted by Sounds of suppressed excitement which forced their way into the upper Hall the Duffield home Not only was earliest there but was rudely Jarred out of his customary routine when I descended I found a nervous group of servant clustered about the door of the library they stood aside to let me pass with attitudes of unetherness which I surmised would mean a wholesale series of notices if the strange event in the usual well-regulated household continued behind the closed door of the library were Senator Duffield his son Fletcher and Madeleine Mack it was easy to appreciate at a glance the unusual condition of the room at the right one of the long Windows partly erased showed a small round hole of a Diamond Cutter just over the latch it was obvious where the clandestine entrance and exit had been obtained the most noticeable feature of the apartment however was a small square safe in the corner with its heavy lid swinging awkwardly ajar and the rug below littered with a heap of papers that had evidently been torn from its nearly tabulated series of drawers the burglarious hands either had been very angry or very much in a hurry even a number of unsealed envelopes had been ripped across as though the Pillager had been too impatient to extract their content in the ordinary manner to a man of Senator duffield's methodical habits it was easy to imagine that the scene had been a severe wrench Madeline was speaking in her quick incisive tones as I entered I quite sure of that fact senator she asked sharply as I closed the door and joined the trio quite sure miss mark then nothing is missing absolutely nothing not a single logical valuable or otherwise I presume then there were articles of more or less value in the safe there were perhaps four hundred dollars in loose bills in my private cash draw and so far as I know there is not a dollar gone how about your papers and memoranda the senator shook his head there was nothing of the slightest use to a stranger as a matter of fact just two days ago I took pain to destroy the only portfolio of valuable documents in the safe Madeleine stooped thoughtfully over the litter of papers on the rug you mean three evenings ago don't you how on Earth Miss mark you refer to the memorandile that you and Mr renick were working on the night before his death do you not of course and then I saw Senator Duffield was staring at his Kurt questioner as though he had said something he hadn't meant to I think you told me once before that the combination of your safe was known only to yourself and Mr renick you are correct then to your knowledge you are the only living person who possesses this information at the present time that is the case it was a rather intricate combination and we changed it hardly a month ago Madeleine Rose from the safe glanced reflectively at a huge leather chair and sank into its depth with a sigh you say nothing has been stolen Senator that a burglar's visit yielded him nothing for your peace of mind I would like to agree with you but I am sorry to inform you that you are mistaken surely Miss Mack you are Hasty I am confident that I have searched my possessions with the utmost care nevertheless you have been robbed Senator Duffield glance down at a small light figure impatiently then perhaps you will be good enough to tell Neo what my loss consists I refer to the article for which your secretary was murdered it was stolen from this room last night at the point of a dagger pressed against Senator duffield's shoulder he could not have bounded forward in Greater consternation his composure was shattered like a pane of glass crumbling he sprang toward the safe with a cry like a man in sudden fear or agony jerking back its door he plunged his hand into its lower left compartment when he straightened he held a long wax phonograph record his dismay had vanished in a quick blending of relief and anger as his eyes swept from the cylinder to the Grave figure of Madeleine Mack I failed to appreciate your joke Miss Mack if you call it a joke to frighten a man without causes you have me have you examined the record in your hand senator Fletcher duffel and I stared at it too there was a suggestion of tragedy in the scene as the impatient and irritation gradually faded from the Senator's face it is a substitute he groaned a substitute I have been tricked victimized robbed he stood staring at the wax record as though it were a heated iron burning into his flesh suddenly it slipped from his fingers and lost shuttered on the floor but it did not appear to notice the fact as he burst out do you realize that you are standing here in acting while the thief is escaping I don't know how your witch surprised my secrets and I don't care now but you are throwing away your chances of stopping the burglar while he may be putting miles between himself and us are you made of ice woman can't you appreciate what this means in the name of Heaven Miss Mac the thief will not Escape Mr Duffield it seems to me that he has already escaped let me assure you Senator that your missing property is as secure as though it were locked in your safe at this moment but do you realize that once a hint of its nature is known it will be almost worthless to me better perhaps than you do so well that I pledge myself to return it to your hands within the next half hour Senator Duffield took three steps forward until he stood so close to Madeleine that he could have reached over and touched her on the shoulder I am an old man Miss Mack and the last two dates have brought me almost to a collapse if I have a pair of unduly sharp I tend to you my apologies but do not give me false hopes tell me frankly that you cannot encourage me it will be a kindness you will realize that I cannot blame you Senator duffield's imperious attitude was so broken that I could hardly believe it possible that the same man who ruled a great political party almost by the swaying of his fingers was speaking Madeleine caught his hand with a grasp of assurance I will promise even more she snapped open her watch if you return to this room at nine o'clock not only will I restore your stolen property but I will deliver the murderer of Raymond renick renick's murderer the senator gasped Madeline bowed in this room at nine o'clock I think I was the first to move toward the door Fletcher Duffield hesitated a moment staring at Madeleine then he turned and hurried passed me down the hall his father followed more slowly as he closed the door I saw Madeleine standing where we had left her leaning back against her chair and staring at a woman's black slipper it was the one which had been found by Raymond renick's dead body I made my way mechanically toward the dining room and was surprised to find that the members of the Duffield family were already at the table with the exception of Madeline it was the same breakfast group as the morning before in another house this attempt to maintain the conventions in the face of tragedy might have seen incongruous but it was so thoroughly in keeping with the self-contained Duffield character that after the first chalk I realized it was not at all surprising I fancy that we all breed the desire relief however when the meal was over we were rising from the table when a folder note addressed to the senator was handed to the Butler from the hall he glanced through it hurriedly and held up his hand for us to wait this is from Miss Mack she requests me to have all of the members of the family and those servants who have furnished any evidence in connection with a murder the senator wins does he spoke the word to assemble in the library at nine o'clock I think that we owe it both to ourselves and to her to obey her instructions through the letter Perkins will you kindly notify the servants as it happened Madeline's audience in the library was increased by two Spectators she had not named the tooting of a motor sounded without and a tall figure of Senator Barrow's metis as we were leaving the dining room Senator Duffield took his arm with a glass of relief and explained the situation as he forced him to accompany us 6. in the library we found for the first time that Madeleine was not alone engaged in a low conversation with her which ceased as we entered was inspector Taylor he had evidently been designated as the spokesman of the occasion is everybody here he asked I think so Senator dusters replied there are really only five of the seven to count in the case Madeleine's eyes flashed over this circle close the door please Mr Taylor I think you had better lock it also there are 14 persons in this room she continued counting of course inspector Taylor Miss norika and myself we may safely be said to be outside the case there are then 11 person's hair connected in some degree with a tragedy it is in this list of 11 that I have searched for the murderer I am happy to tell you that my search has been successful Senator Duffield was the first to speak you mean to say Miss Mack that a murderer is in this room at the present time correct the new acute one of this group of dealing the blow which killed your secretary and later of plundering your safe inspector Taylor moved quietly to a post between the two windows escape from the room was barred I darted to start the glance around the circle in an effort to surprise the trace of guilt in the faces before me and was titled to find my neighbors engaged in the same furtive occupation of the woman of the family the Senator's wives had compressed her lips as though as the Mistress of the house she felt the need of maintaining her composure in any situation Maria was toying with her bracelet while Beth made no effort to conceal her agitation Senator Burroughs was studying the pattern of the carpet with a face as inscrutable as a mask Fletcher Duffield was sitting back in his chair his hands in his pockets his father was leaning against the locked room his eyes flashing from face to face with the exceptions of dorians the valet and Perkins the butler who I do not think would have been stirred out for their stoleness had the ceiling Fallen the servants were in an utter panic two of the maids were plainly bordering on hysterics such was the group that faced Madeleine in the Duffield Library one of the number was a murderer whom the next 10 minutes were to Brand as such which was it instinctively my eyes turned again toward the three women of the Duffield family as Madeleine walked across to a Poitier which screened a corner of the apartment jacking it aside she showed suspended from a hook in the ceiling a quarter of fresh wheel on an adjoining stand was a long thin-bladed knife which might have been a dagger ground to a racer Edge Madeleine held it before her as she turned to us this is the weapon which killed Mr renick I fancied I heard a gasp as she spoke although I Whirled almost on the instant however I could detect no science of it in the faces behind me I proposed to conduct a short experiment which I assure you is absolutely necessary to my chain of reasoning Madeleine continued you may or may not know that a body of a calf practically offers the same degree of resistance to a knife as the body of a man that flesh of course is harder and firmer than living flesh but I think that adding the thickness of clothes we may take it for granted that the quarter of a wheel before us we have a fair substitute for the body of Raymond renick now watch me closely please drawing back her arm she plunged her knife into the meat with a force which sent it spinning on its hook she drew the knife out and examined it reflectively I have made a cart of only a little more than three and a half inches the blow which killed Mr renick penetrated at least five inches here we encounter a singular striking feature of our case involving a stratagem which I think I can safely say is the most unique in my experience to all intents it was a woman who killed Mr renick in fact it has been taken for granted that he met his death at the hand of a female assassin we must dispose of this conclusion at the outset for the simple reason that it was physically impossible for a woman to have dealt the death blow I chanced to be gazing directly at Fletcher Duffield as Madeleine made a statement an expression of such relief flashed into his face that instinctively I turned about and followed the direction of his glance his eyes were fixed on his sister Beth Madeleine deposited a knife on the stand indeed I may say there are few men perhaps not one in ten with a wrist strong enough to have dealt Mr renick's death blow she went on there is only one such person among the 14 in this room at the present time again you will recall that a warrant was delivered from the rare just as Mr renick faced about in his own defense had he been attacked by a woman who would have heard Russell of her dress several feet before she possibly could have reached him I think you will recall my demonstration of that fact yesterday morning Mr Duffield obviously then it is a man whom we must seek if we would find the murderer of your secretary in a man of certain peculiar characteristics two of these I can name now he possessed a risk developed to an extraordinary degree and he owned feet as small and shapely as a woman's otherwise the stratagem of wearing a woman's slippers and leaving one of them near the scene of the crime to divert suspicion from himself would never have occurred to him again I thought I had a gasp behind me but its owner escaped me a second time there was a third marked feature among the physical characteristic of the murderer he was near-sighted so much so that it was necessary for him to wear glasses of the kind known technically as a double lens unfortunately for the Assassin when his victim fell the latter called the glasses in his hand and they were broken under his body the murderer may have been thrown into a panic and failed to make the time to recover his spectacles but it was a fatal blunder Fortune however might have helped him even then in spite of this fact for those who found a body fell into the natural era of considering the glasses to be the property of the murdered man had it not been for two Minor Details this impression might never have been contradicted Madeleine held up a packet of newspaper illustrations several of them are recognized as the pictures of the murdered secretary that she had shown me at the Roanoke the others were also photographs of the same man if Mr renick hadn't been fond of having his picture taken the fact that he never wore glasses on the street might not have been noticed none of his pictures not even the snapshots showed a man in spectacles it is true that he possessed a pair and it is hair where those who discovered the crime went astray but they were for reading purposes only the kind term are 0.125 lengths while those of his assailant
were a point 210 lengths the clinch of the matter I later found Mr renick's own spectacles in his room where he had left them the evening before Madeline held up the red leather case she had found on the mantelpiece and tapped it musingly as she gave a slight nod to inspector Taylor we have now the following description of the murderer a slenderly built man with an unusual wrist possibly an athlete at one time who possesses a foot capable of squeezing into a woman's shoe and who is handicapped by an air-sightedness is there an individual in this room to whom this description applies there was a new glitter in Madeleine's eyes as she continued through the cooperation of Inspector Taylor I am unable to answer this question Mr Taylor has traced the glasses of the Assassin to the optican who gave the prescription for them I am not surprised to find that the owner of the spectacles Talis with the owner of these other interesting articles with the words she whisked from the stand at her elbow the long narrow Blazer dagger and a pair of soiled black suede slippers there was a suggestion of grotesque unreality about it all it was much as though I had been viewing that announcement of a Play From The Snug vantage point of an orchestra seat waiting for the lights to flare up and the curtain to ring down a shriek ran through my ears jarring their back to the realization that I was not a spectator but a part of the play a figure darted toward the window it was John dorrent the valet the next instant inspector Taylor threw himself on the fleeing man's shoulders and the two went to the floor can you manage him Madeleine called unless he prefers Cold Steel through his body to Cold Steel about his wrist what's the rejoinder I think you may dismiss the other servants Senator Madeleine said I wish however that a family would remain a few moments as the door closed again she continued I promised you also Senator the return of your stolen property I have the honor to make that promise good from her stand which was rapidly assuming the proportions of a condorous table she produced a round brown paper parcel before I unwrapped it have IO permission to explain its contents as you will miss Mack perhaps the most puzzling feature of the tragedy is the motive it is this parcel which supplies us with the answer your secretary Mr Duffield was an exceptional young man not only did he repeatedly resist bribery such as comes to few men but he gave his life for his trust at any time since this parcel came into his possession he could have sold it for a fortune because they refused to sell it he was murdered for it perhaps every reader of the newspapers is more or less familiar with Senator duffield's investigations of the ravages of a certain great trust a few days ago the senator came into possession of evidence against the combine of such a drastic nature that he realized it would mean nothing less than the annihilation of the Monopoly imprisonment for the chief officers and a business sensation such as this country has seldom known once the officers of the trust knew of this evidence however they would be forearmed in such a manner that its value would be largely destroyed the evidence was a remarkable piece of detective work it consisted of a phonographic record of a secret director's meeting laying there the inmost depredations of the corporation Madeleine paused as the handcuffed valet showed signs of a renewed struggle inspector Taylor without comment calmly snapped a second pair of bracelets about his feet the trust was true enough to appreciate the value of a spine that a field home Torrance was engaged for the post and from what I have learned of his character he filled it admirably how we stumbled on Senator duffield's latest coop is immaterial the main point is that he tried to bribe Mr renick so persistently to betray his post that her latter threatened to expose him partly in the fair that he would carry out his threat and partly in the hope that he carried memoranda which might lead to the discovery of the evidence that he sought doran's plan then carried out the murder in the secretary's pocket he discovered a combination of the safe and made use of it last night I found a stolen phonograph record this morning behind the register of the furnished pipe endurance's room I had already found that this was his cachet containing the dagger which killed renick and the second of Cinderella's slippers the pair was stolen some days ago from the room of Miss Beth Duffield the swirl of the day was finally over Lawrence had been led to his cell the coroner's jury had returned its verdict and all that was Mortal of Raymond renick had been laid in its last resting place Madeleine and I had settled ourselves in the Homeward Bound Pullman as it rumbled out of the Boston station in the early dusk there are two questions I want to ask I said reflectively Madeleine looked up from her newspaper with a yawn why did John Dorrance bring him back a blank sheet of paper when you dispatched him on your errand as a matter of fact there was nothing else for him to bring back Mr Taylor kept in a police headquarters long enough to give me time to carry my set through his room the message was a blind and what was the quarrel that the servant girl Anna heard in a Duffield Library it wasn't a quarrel my dear girl it was the senator preparing the speech with which he intended to launch his evidence against the trust the senator is in the habit of dictating his speeches to a phonograph some of them I am afraid are rather fairy end of Cinderella's slippers by Hugh see where part two recording by Christine G in Oslo Norway the 6th of October 2012.
2023-02-10 07:09
