SKYWAY LOVERS

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 222, 18 September 1937, Page 12 (Supplement)

SKYWAY LOVERS

By VERA BROWN

CHAPTER XVIII. Alison -sat down by the open window and. looked down into Washington Boulevard after that telephone call. Over and over the events of the preceding morning she went. Her brain was in a whirl; she found it impossible to concentrate. J.ess than 24 hours ago she had been flying through the night, happy and content. Now? The telephone rang again. It was for Mi*s Pringle. When she hung up the 'phone she turned to Alison: "We're going back to the prosecutor's office." Alison got up wearily, ran a comb through her red hair. On the trip over in a taxicab Alison could hear the newsboys calling, "Extra! Extra!" But Miss Pringle said they were in too great a hurry to stop for one. They came in by the back elevator and two detectives met them as. they got into the car, bound for the fifth floor. Nobody spoke. Two minutes later Alison was ushered into Thurber's handsome office. Mr. White was there and Mr. Roerden. Tt was the first time Alison had seen White since that morning two years ago when he gave her her job. Both men bowed when Alison came in. Thurber was speaking. "I tell you, Roerden, your people are not being eo-operatiye. It won't do." "You're mistaken, Thnrber," Roerden said quietly. "We're doing everything we can. What do yon want of us ? I"re turned erery facility over to yon." "'l'll prove ft to yon. ■ Call in Broderick and Creed on," Thurber ordered. When the two pilots eame in, Thurber ordered everybody into chairs. "Now, Miss Thayei, have yon *ny idea how Mrs. Roerden was killed?" "None?" she answered promptly. Her eyes moved toward Roerden and Thurber did not fail to notice. "Yon are a trained nurse, are you not?" "Yes." How Victim Died. "What would you say if I told voii Mrs. Roerden was killed with chloroform ?" There was a moment of dreadful silence. Every bit of colour drained out of Alison's face. She half rose from her chair. "No! It couldn't be!" Alison's mind was working like lightning. The perfume!- So that was it. To cover the chloroform odour. Mona. Alison's face was an open book for those who 6aw to read. Roerden sat with folded arms, grim and weary. "Now, Miss Thayer, did you at any time smell chloroform in the ship?" Alison answered after an -imperceptible pause. "Yes." "When?" Terry's face was a study. He waft frankly puzzled. "It must have been shortly after we passed over Bellefonte." Alison answered slowly, trying to think. "All right." Thurber's eyes held a cold smile. "Now, may I ask why you did not tell us this before? Why you waited until I had an autopsy report before you told me this?"

"Yon don't understand. Mr. Thurber." Alison's words tumbled out frantically. "You see, for an instant I thought I did smell chloroform and then there was that perfume and I thought I was just mistaken."

"Yon. a trained nurse, who has worked in a hospital. Tt is odd for you to be mistaken on the odour of chloroform. That does not sound sensible."

"Then you don't know perfume. Tt was overpowering, so sweet. Everybody was bothered by it. T never thought of that chloroform again. I thought my mind had just played a trick on me."

"It doesn't pay to think too much when you're trying to help solve a murder case, Miss Thaver."

Alison wilted under his tone. She looked at Terry and his blue eyes were almost black.

"Well, she was smothered to death Now, where is the bottle that chloroform was in, Miss Thayer?"

Alison's eyes widened. "T don't know. T haven't any idea. The nnlv bottle T saw was the broken one that had perfume in it."

Cross-Examined. "Yes: T have already checked ' that Miss Kilroy'e hand was cut. There is no doubt about that. But the thing I can't understand is how anvbodv could get into Mrs. Roerden's hert.h with you, a stewardess, there on the ship, not seeing the person. That is something you will have to explain. Probably to Mr. Roerden, too."

Alison cast an appealing glance at Mr. Roerden. He nodded encouragement. "I was sitting up front in the first seat, back of the door to the pilot's cockpit, after my work was finished. Mr. Burke was with me there part of the time." "Running up and down the aisle, of course?" "Yes." "And it seems that everybody else was doing the same thing. There seems to have been a lot of restless people aboard." "It is a short hop, and Mr. North was getting off at Buffalo." "So everybody is only too to tell me!" Thurber said. "We've found where he lives and we'll talk to him later when he gets home. He's still in Buffalo. My men are over there now, trying to check." "Then this North is all right?" Roerden asked. "He is a broker, lives at 342, Central Park, West, married, two children, goes to Buffalo often on business," Thurber retorted. "We don't leave any stones unturned, Mr. Roerden. Do you suppose we would not check on that man quickly?" He cleared his throat. "Now, this is getting 11s no place fast. There are a lot of things I want to ask you, Miss Thayer, and if you do not answer them willingly here, I'll ask them at the coroner's inquest in an open courtroom." Alison was completely mystified by his tone. She could see Steve's hands clench, and Terry move about restI lesslv. ] "There is no need to adopt that tone with Miss Thayer. She is one of our host stewardesses. We have complete faith in her," White remarked crisply. It was plain both White and Roerden I were furious with Thurber. "I know that attitude only too well. | After all, it is your divorced wife who Iwas killed, Roerden! And it is your »ir lines. I should think you'd want this thing cleaved up!"

"We do, and it is going to be solved if it takes the last cent 1 have. But you can rest assured that none of our personnel is involved! I am certain of that now. and I'll prove it!"

"Oil? Well, that remains to be seen. 1 know you'd rather have the New York police in on this, your friends. But we are in on it and it may not be so pleasant."

"What do you mean?" Roerden's anger was rising. "I have tried to be decent about this thing. But I see I'll have to get our attorney here at these conferences if you are going to bulldoze our people!"

"Well, bring liim along. We've already got an ace from New York for this Kilroy woman. By the way, have you any explanation as to why a cheap show girl should have a man like Scott, internationally famous, for an attorney ?"

"I am sure I can't say. I never heard, of the woman before," Roerden retorted. "If you will allow me, I'll telephone my attorney. He i 6 waiting at the hotel." "Then it's war to the end?" "It is war if you take this attitude!" Roerden answered. "I know what I am talking about." "\\ oil, l>e sure you don't get your fingers burned. I know a lot more than you think. But call your attorney." ' Damaging Question. There was silence in the room as Roerden spoke with William B. Granger, who had come with him from New Y'ork. "Now you people are so sure of everything, let me ask you this, Misa Tha.yer. Why, a little while ago, when Mr. Roerden called you on the telephone, did you tell Mi.««s Pringle and these two pilots that it was White?" Alison's fa«> was a blank as she answered: "I dont remember that I told them that." "Now, Miss Thayer! Ton are going to tell us you cannot remember what you said an hour ago?" "I don't say that!" Alison was plainly suffering under his barrage. "I say I can't remember that I told them it was Mr. White." "Well, what did Mr. Roerden say to you?" "He just told me he was in town aTid that he did not want me to be upset about all this." "Oh." Alison was fighting for self-control. She could see plainly the effect her words were having on Steve and Terry. "There's one other little thing. How well do you know Mr. Roerden?" "I don't know him at all, only as president of our air lines." "That is strange. Very strange!" The silence in the room was terrible. Alison put her hand to her head as though it pained her. Suddenly, with startling clarity, she knew what Thurber's next question would be. Then it came: '"How is it that it was Roerden who got you your job with Continental Air Lines? A job you could never have landed without his help, if you didn't know him?"

CHAPTER XIX. Alison did not answer for a long time. She r«it there with bowed head, the picture of abject misery. Terry made a gesture of protest. Steve sunk back in his chair and shaded his face with his hand. He was responsible for this, he knew! How had they got that out of him? But they'd have found out anyway! Steve groaned inwardly. Poor kid! What difference did all this make? Alison was not a murderess, in spite of what the prosecutor was saying.

'Are you going to make an answer?"

Roerden spoke then. "I think it is only fair that I make a statement here!"

"We'll hear from you later." He turned back to Alison. "Well, Miss Thaver'!"

"Air. Koerden was doing me a favour because we had a mutual friend."

"And that mutual friend?"

"I can't tell you liiss. name." Thurlier shrugged hit; shoulders. "What have you to say, Koerden?" Out of the Past. "Is there anything so remarkable in ;my getting a jolt for this girl so eminently suited to be an aeroplane stewardess?' She haa every qualification !" "So have some 50,000 nurses in the Lnitid States of America." "J hat is where you're mistaken, Thurber. Ask White, my personnel man. He'll tell you quite the opposite." "I'.nough of this. Are you going to 'give me an explanation ?" j "Yes. Once Miss Thayer, a complete stranger, did me a great favour. 1 paid that debt by getting her a job, which she needed desperately. 1 never saw i her lut once before in my life. I did what I did because J was instrumental, quite innocently, in losing her job for her." "What job?" Roerclen shrugged his shoulders. ,f May I ask a favour, Air. Thurber? I want you to wait until my attorney gets here and then I want to talk to you in his presence alone." Thurber nodded. "All right." Then lie spoke to Splane. "I want fingerprints of everybody here. I'm getting fingerprints of everybody oil that ship so there i.s no favouritism shown," the prosecutor added with a grim smile. "You've found something then?" "We don't know. We'll tell you when we know what it means. I'll wait here until the prints are taken. By the way, it would be impossible to throw anything out of the 'plane's windows, C'reedon tells me." "That's true," Eoerden answered. Then the detectives led the way to the Identification Bureau. There stood the print machine. Alison was first. Standing there, with her fingers all inked, the tears trickled down her face. Suddenly flash bulbs blazed. The newsjtaper photographers were taking pictures. Alison's tear-stained face was caught just as the oflicer rolled her finger over the paper. Later, back in the hotel, the girl wept in Miss Pringle's arms. "Why does that man Thurber take such an attitude with ine?" she wailed. "I've done nothing. Why is he doing this?"' "Alison, he's got to find out the truth., my dear. It is better to tell it." "But I have! He just makes things look bad!" Alison hoped that Terry and Steve would come in again before they went to bed, but they did not. Thurber's question terrified .her. She did not understand just why he was so insistent. "I suppose it looks funny, but my getting that job through Mr. Koerden is so innocent!" she told Miss Pringle.

"That's the way with life. Things that seem so simple, are just terrible when something like this happens. You know, sometimes I think the real tragedy in disasters is what it does to innocent bystanders. Somebody always gets into trouble who had no part in the actual happening." Alison nodded. "Think of poor Julie. But why didn't they fingerprint her and Mr. Bradley?" "They will when they come for the inquest." "Then they must have found something, something we don't know about?" "Probably." "Do you know?" "No, Miss Thayer, I don't. I probably couldn't tell you if I did, but honestly, I don't." Another Telephone Call. With that Alison had to be satisfied. She tried to settle herself to sleep, but sleep would not come. She was just dozing off when the telephone rang. Miss Pringle answered. It was for Alison again. The moment the girl took the 'phone she recognised the voice. "Don't say your name. They're listening in on this line," she said sharply, regardless of Miss Pringle. "For heaven's sake be careful, Alison. You don't know the jam I'm in. I'm to be married to-morrow!" "All right, I'll do the best I can, but things are difficult. They're being terrible.** Mias Pringle was an avid listener to this conversation. "I'm coming to New York. We're galling for Europe on our honeymoon. Maybe I can see you there. When are you going back?" "Maybe neverl It is awful! They keep intimating I had something to do with it." "Well, keep me out of ft!" "But they know all about that, or they will." "How ?" "Because Mr. Roerden got me my job with Continental." "The damned fool! What did he do that for?" Alison was furious at Larry's tone. He seemed to have forgotten completely that he was responsible for her losing her job, being thrown out into the world with nothing. "Because I needed one badly, as you may remember." "Now, Alison, don't get angry. I'm just frantic. If anything breaks tonight or to-morrow, think of my wedding. It was to be very quiet. I was afraid of this." "I don't know what you mean." "I'll explain when I see you. It's a swell mess." "As though I didn't know that." "And she doesn't know anything about

this." "Who is 'she'?" "The girl I'm going to marry." "Oh!" "J tell you, she doesn't know about her." "About whom?" Alison demanded, completely confused. "About—you know whom." Alison threw all caution to the winds. •'I tell you, they probably have this line tapped." "I'm calling from a pay station. Nuts to them! But keep your tongue in your head. Sonny—and I'll see you soon." With that he hung up.

Alison turned about and faced Miss Pringle recklessly. "There! Listen all you want to! I don't care. I don't care about any of it. They can do what they like with me. I'm sick of the whole thing." Alison threw herself on the bed. "And I wish I were dead!"

The tension had been too much, and Alison went into as fine a case of hysterics as Miss Pringle had ever seen. "Nobody cares what happens to me. It is just them—and I've not done anything but work like a dog!" Sobs shook the girl's slight frame.

Miss Pringle was so upset she called the house doctor. When he came he gave Alison a sedative to get her to sleep.

When she dropped off. Miss Pringle put out all the lights and stepped out into the hallway with the doctor, keeping the door open a little.

"She's just completely exhausted. She hasn't had any sleep to speak of, and all this questioning has just snapped her nerves," the doctor said.

"I've got to call Mr. Roerden. He seemed worried about the girl and called me earlier. He said he thought she was near to the snapping point, and lie was right."

"I don't think that is it." said the policewoman. *1 think there's a man mixed up in this. There always is. She went all to pieces after she got a telephone call from some chap in Chicago." "Well, keep her quiet all day tomoi row. 11l see to it the prosecutor's office leaves her alone. They will, or she won't be able to testify the next day at the inquest." (To be continued Saturday next.)