SKYWAY LOVERS

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 234, 2 October 1937, Page 10 (Supplement)

SKYWAY LOVERS

By VERA BROWN

CHAPTER XXn. Radman's statement about Mona had come as a bombshell in the court room. "How well did you know her?" "Only a casual acquaintance, as I knew many of the girls dancing in the various night clubs." "Did she ever work for you directly ?" "No." ''"Did you see her that night on the Buffalo stop?" "No. The first I knew she was aboard out 'plan© was when I got a good look at her in the office of the airport and heard her name. Then I recalled her. She did a tap-dance specialty." "Then you went directly to bed that night when you got aboard?" "Yes." "Do yon always travel with a bodyguard who carries a revolver!" "Yes." "Are you afraid of somethingT** "There have been threats against my life." "Why were you coming to Detroit?" Over the old ground they went, inch by inch. At last Thurber gave up. But he was smiling. He had a link, at least, between Radman and Mona. Lefty on Stand. Lefty followed. He was wearing a startling check suit. He no longer had the revolver slung under his arm, and his forehead was moist. It was plain to see Lefty did not relish his position. He knew what that first question would be. "Were yon ever arrested and convicted t" Thurber asked Lefty, "Yes."

"Where r -New York Stat*." •What for?" "Robbery, armed." "How long did you serve?" "Thee years." "When was that?" "From 1920 to 1923." "And when you came out you went directly to work for Ben Radman?" "Yes* "And you've been working for him ever since ?" "Yea." "Now, Radman was arrested at the time you were arrested and convicted, was he not f" I "I believe ao." The perspiration | started to roll down Lefty's forehead. He was the picture of misery and discomfort. "What is your job?" "I'm bodyguard for Ben Radman." It wa» plain Lefty was proud of that position. "And have you ever had to use your gun in defence of your employer?" "Not yet." Lefty contributed nothing except some merriment to the affair. And when ho was finally dismissed he got out of the witness chair in such a hurry he stumbled. The court room roared, even Thurber laughed out loud. | Then Thurber called Mona. The girl's strained, white face made the court room subside. There was a curious tenseness about her. It was clear the girl was frantic. Thurber began gently. He did not want her to break down. Mona agreed she knew Radman slightly. But Thurber turned directly to the letter she had mailed that night from Buffalo airport. "To whom was that letter?" he asked Mona. "To Mr. Scott." "And why were you writing to Mr. Scott 1" Mona did not pause. It was as though she had rehearsed his story in her mind, over and over. "Because he aeked me to." "Do you mean you were keeping company with Mr. Scott?" Thurber's voice was silky. "No, but I see quite a lot of him." "You mean you were sweethearts?" The colour flamed in Mona's pale face. She stumbled over her answer. "I have been seeing quite a lot of him for the last year." Thurber's insidious questions seemed to indicate he had the same thought. "Have you ever been arrested and convicted?" he asked. The Secret Letter. Mona trembled. Her face was drawn, chalk white. Scott jumped up. "Your Honor, I object." Thurber's voice was pleasant as he said: "She may not answer if she does not wish to, on the grounds it might incriminate her." The courtroom was so silent, the rumble of traffic from the street was loud. The girl seemed to be on a rack of torture. Finally she spoke. Thoee beyond the first row could not hear her. "I refuse to answer on the grounds it might incriminate me." Then her head dropped and slow, bitter tears dropped on her hand. She was so pathetic that Alison felt her own eyes smart. This was awful, crucifying the poor girl. Scott rose and spoke to the coroner again. "Your Honor, I have sent for the letter Miss Kilroy mailed to me. It should be here to-morrow. My secretary assured me at noon recess that it would be in the air mail to-night." Mona was questioned about the perfume. The jury saw her hand. The afternoon droned to a close without more excitement. As the day drew to a close Scott made a move. "I ask your Honor to set a bond for Miss Kilroy. I personally shall be responsible for her appearance here in court." There was a long conference. Thurber was protesting strenuously. "She'll get odt and go back to New York State and if we want her again we can whistle," Thurber roared. "That is not true. Shell go back to New York State, of course—that is her home. But she will be available at any time." "Gentlemen," the coroner said finally, "I shall do nothing this evening. At the close of the inquest, which I believe should be to-morrow, we will settle the matter if she's still to be held." So Mona went back to goal and the day was over. Waiting again, waiting for that next day of testimony. Alison still remained with Miss Pringle at Roerden's suggestion. "I don't want her worried by newspapermen, or anybody. She's been through enough," he told Thurber, and Thurber, glad to keep an eye on Alison's activities, agreed. Thurber was gunning for Scott. That was clear. The two men had a sharp passage of words that night as they were leaving the courtroom. "Well, your 'girl friend' will be out to-morrow night, Scott," Thurber said, laughing loudly "That's the smartest trick I've ever seen turned in many a day."

"Ciood tiling you're a single man or you're be in a real jam! Wonder what your own 'girl friend' w :!> say V" Hunting for Secret. Thurber went out with swinging briefcase, followed by hie assistants, lie was very cocksure of himself. But once in liis ollice lie began calling New York frantically. "You know, I'm simply flabbergasted," Thurber declared, pounding liis desk with his fist. "Tliht girl is no more Scott's sweetheart than I am! But how can I prove it? And why has he done this? It is a pretty bad bump for a man of Scott's standing to take!" The New York call elicited little information about Scott's associates. He apparently spent his time with various post-debutantes of the New York social set. His name bad been linked with several well-known society womeir. But lie had never married, and there were no rumours of engagements. "But boss, maybe lie is telling the truth! Men are funny. Mavlie lie likes blondes!" said Clay born, hie first assistant. "No, that'is not it. If I could find out why they'd done this—" Thurber shook his head. "Now, get the boys over to the hotel and watch the mail, il want to be there when Scott gets that letter from New York. I'm going to have no monkey business about this. No matter what time, get me over there. Hold the letter for delivery to his room until I can get there! They're lying and I want to know why!"

CHAPTER.—XXIII Thurber came to court the next day in a towering rage. The letter from New \ork had not come. His men were still waiting at Scott's hotel. The prosecutor had drawn a blank and he had been so .sure! Thiirber's first words when court opened were about the letter. "Your honor. I want to ask if Mr. Seott can produce the letter which Miss Kilroy mailed to him." Scott, sitting at the counsel table to-day, a n«» we red. "1 have it here, your Honor." He held out a manila envelope. It was covered with air-mail stamps, a special delivedy also. Thurber examined it, with his assistants. They pored over postmarks, made notations about time. Everything seemed in <;ood order. Then Thurber opened it. Out slippetl a photograph of Jlona, pretty, smiling. It was a beautiful photograph in a folder cut to fit the envelope. It was autographed: "Gratefully—and I'll never forget-—Mona." Thurber read the words and threw the picture down in disgust. "Will you take the stand, Mr. Scott? Do you mean to tell me Mona Kilroy got off the Buffalo plane to mail you* a photograph like that?" "Yes, she did." "Why?" "I asked her to." An assistant whispered to Thurber. They conferred for a long time. Scott sat impassively in the witness chair as Thurber swept up folder envelope and pictu re.

"Your Honor, T want to see what this I picture weights. It is my contention that this photograph was not in this envelope when it was mailed. I want to have it weighed and washed for fingerprints. See what the postal authorities have to say about it! That pictmc was substituted. Your Honor! Substituted for something which Harrison Scott does not want us to see!" There was a faint smile on Scott's lips Did 1 hurber think him so foolish as not to have thought of all the angles? It was as though the prosecutor read the witness' mind. Thurher began to bear down on Scott. He asked him about various women he knew. Granger twice interposed a protest but the coroner let Thurber go on. It was pretty bad. Twice Scott mopped his forehead, but he kept hie temper, made his answers clearly and with apparent honesty. "And I ask you again, did you not substitute this picture for whatever Mona Kilroy mailed to you on the night of June 13?" Thurber roared out tlie question. "That is not true, Mr. Thurber." Then Thurber gave up. And Scott got off the witness stand. It was Thurber this time who seemed to be glad to lie rid of his witness. But Thurber had other plans. He recalled poor Mona. The girl seemed in a halfconscious state. She looked desperately Q. "Is tine what you mailed to Harrison Scott?" Thurber held up the autographed picture, shook it at Mona. A. "Yes." The girl could manage only a monosyllable. Q- "Do you mean to tell me you got off a Detroit-bound ship just to mail this picture? How does it happen, how is it that you had this envelope and the picture cut just to fit it? Why didn't you mail it from Jsew York?" A. "I forgot it." ° Q. "By the way, where did you leave from when you came to the airport that night of June 13?" A. "From my apartment." Q. "Where is 1 that?" Mona gave the address in Mid-Maliattan. Q. "Y\ as anybody there when you left?" "No, my inaid does not stay after dinner." Mona's voice was faint. Alison could see she was weakening. Her hands shook. Q. "Did you eat dinner at your apartment that night?" Mona seemed to grow small in her chair. Complete panic swept her. Her mouth trembled. But the answer did not come. Both Granger and Scott were on their feet objecting. "Answer me!" Thurber roared, secure in the coroners ruling. Then Mona crumpled and slowly clipped from the witness chair to the platform on which it stood and to the floor. Pandemonium broke loose. Granger and Scott were firat to reach lier. Alison, moved by the girl's desperation, rushed to her, too. The two attorneys lifted her up and carried her from the room and Alison went, too. Thurber's voice rose above the din: "That's a phoney faint, I tell you, to keep from answering that question!" It was eaid for the benefit of the newspaper people and the crowd. The two attorneys carried the girl into a witness room and put ber on e table. Two officers came in. Alison wet her handkerchief and put it on the gill's head.

As slic bent over Mona her ejea ' lliittore.il o]K!ii. Distinctly Alison heard Scott's voice murmur to Mona: "Vou had dinner with me—at the Chalet Suisse—and went home afterward and 1 went back to the office." Then the officers came close to the two. Alison walked out of the witness room and buck to lier place In the court, room. She was stunned. What did it mean? Was Mona guilty? She fought her way back to her scat and sank down there, trembling. "What's the matter?" Terry turned to looked at Alison's white face. "Vou aren't going to faint, too, are you'!" It took eome time to get the court room quiet. Granger came back and told Tliurber Mona was ready to go back to the witness stand. When she came in the courtroom was silent as all eyes looked at the! crumpled, tragic figure of the girt. '"I am sorry, your Honor," she told the coroner. "I think it was the heat. Jt is so warm in here." "it was the heat, all right!" Thurber remarked sharply. "Sow we were just aeking about that dinner party you had the night of June 13. Jjot's have it." A. "I had dinner with Mr. Scott." Thurber shrugged impatiently. Mona seemed more composed, although she still looked ill. Q. "And where did yon hav» this dinner?" A. "At the Chalet Suisse." Q. "Where is it? What did you have?" Mona answered readily enough. Q. "Then what?" A. "Mr. Scott had work to do so I rode with him Kick to his office, and then I went home to get my bag. I thought of the picture then and intended to mail it to him from the airport at Newark, but I forgot it." Thurber pounded away but Mona stuck to her story. It was no use. She had won. When she finally stepped from the witness stand she smiled a little. It was over. .Ttist lx'fore dinner the jury went into deliberation. Before they went into session, they filed out with two officers —to dinner. ''Come on, we'll eat while they're eating." Roerden said. They piled into one cab and Terry lifted Alison on to his lap to make room for Roerden and Granger in the rear seat. Her heart beat so loiul she was afraid they would hear it. And the ride seemed hours to her. (Granger was chuckling as the cab rolled up in front of the hotel. "Scott, you're a wonder." he remarked. "I don't know what you mean," Scott answered quietly. Granger just laughed. ''Xo wonder you always win your onses. I take my hat off to you." 'T have never let a woman client go to goal yet!" Scott quipped. And Alison knew Scott and Mona had lied on the witness stand. The hour they spent at dinner in Roerden's suite was the most normal sixty minutes Alison had spent in days. Of course talk turned to flying, and soon tliev were nil laughing together just as though Adele Roerden had not lieon murdered. "And that murderer is free!" Alison's thoughts turned frequently to flint fact and to Granger's flippant remarks. "Why are you so quiet. Miss Thayer?" Roerden asked suddenly when they were drinking their cofTee. "I'm just tired. Do you think we can ever leave this town?" "Maylie to-night," Roerden ansewred. Tf things go right we'll take a late ship out for New York immediately." Terry did not seem to be conscious that Alison was present. In some subtle way his whole attitude toward the little hostess hod changed. Rut it was time to go back for that long wait for the jury. When they arrived back at the court the crowds still hung about, waiting for the verdict. Mona sat apart, her head bowed, and when Scott tried to talk to her she shook her head. Alison watclicd the clock. So did the newspaper people, and the "afternoons" were grumbling about the "break" on the morning paper's time. Then suddenly there was a knock on the door. Slowly the jury filled out. "Have you reached a verdict?" "We have," said the foreman. (To be continued Saturday next.)