The Laughing Girl Mystery”

Hawera Star, Volume LIV, 20 December 1935, Page 9

The Laughing Girl Mystery”

By VIOLA PARADISE

Synopsis of preceding chapters: Sheridan Dinard. chief aide to Dr. Coe, an Egyptologist who has a, private museum in New York, is hurrying up the stair 9 to the studio apartment of Adelaide Sayre, his . fiancee, when, he hears a'girlish .7 . burst of laughter cut off short. He remarks .'to . Oswald, the. coloured janitor, that the girl must be a blonde with lavender eyes and a short upper lip. Later he laughingly says to Adelaide and Lester Wilcox, also connected, with the jnuseurn, ‘ that it is eftsy for an archaeologist to reconstruct a . girl from her laugh. A girl answering this description is found, dead from a stab wound in the apartment of • Mr and Mrs Coggs, who are at their country An taken' destk, had been used as a doorkhddkfet to .tide a newly-bored, peep-hole in the Coggses’ hail door. Inspector Higgins wants to arrest Dinard, but Assistant DistrictAttorney Alby holds him back. A Florentine dagger used by the murderer is missed from the museum, and Matlin, the English caretaker, disappears. Dr. Coe, supposed to be at his country place, appears at the museum in a daze. Adelaide destroys a cerise baggage check which shows up mysteriously on .her desk. A triink with such a .check is delivered to a man registered at the Hotel Astrakan as Dennis Swift. He.takes a packet of letters from it and- disappears. Joey Timmott, 16-vear-old bell boy, says Swift is two inches shorter than Dinard. From photographs found in the trunk the slain girl is identified as Daisy Satterly, a ballet dancer, whom Dinard recalls seeing when they were children in England. Alby tells Coggs that somebody is masquerading as him.

’ CHAPTER XXIV. “What!” Coggs set down his glass of beer and his hands grasped the corners of his chair. “Me!” “Him!” exclaimed Mrs Coggs, with a sudden hiccough. “ However, it wasn’t, a good enough take-off to be convincing,” Alby continued. The Coggs were silent a moment, indignation and amazement on their faces. Mrs .Coggs. hiccoughed again. • ‘ * There: now, Mamma, what’d I tell you. You’ve eaten too much cheese.” “T have not. It was the idea that somebody’s been masquerading as you, did it. What I need is another swallow of beef.” ‘ < You’ll keep me all night, getting hot water bags and soda,” grumbled: Mr Coggs. Albv filled Mrs Coggs’ glass. She drahk it defiantly, .[almost at ope gulp. “Who’s been' masquerading as met” demanded Mr Coggs menacingly. “If I my hands on him— —” Alby shrugged. “Whoever it w T as tried last night to kill Mr Dinard!” • "“"No!” Mrs Coggs stared, her heavylipped mouth almost wide open. “Well!” she exclaimed at last, “it wasn’t papa. He never left this housed —” ‘ ‘ Quite true. : The policeman on duty here provides him with an alibi.” “But just how ”Mr Coggs seemed at a loss for Words. His fingers strummed, a nervous rhythtn now against the Tungs, now against the bottom of the seat of his chair. Alby, did not help him out. Merely waited. Mrs Coggs hiccoughed again. At last Mr Coggs said, “Who saw this attack? Are you sure Dinard didn’t make it up?” ‘ . + . “One of our men saw it. But tne man got away.” “How did he look like me, did your man say?” “My man didn’t sav. He wasn t nen'r enough to see. It was Dinard who noticed the resemblance.” Coggs burst, into a loud laugh. “He said-it.was me!” “He 'didn’t. In fact, he was sure it wasn’t you. The fist of the man who attacked him had hairs growing above h'-s knuckles.' Your hand is almost as smooth as a woman’s.”

jjis Coggs hiccoughed again. “Nonsense!” she exclaimed. “Well!” Coggs looked at his hands almost with pride. “Real estate don’t pet your nails dirty.” & “Real estate business!” Mrs Coggs bulked at him. “Just" going round looking at.places and not buying them! He calls that real estate business!”

“Well, I bought two houses, didn't I?. And our place in the country!” Have you always been in the real estate business?”.- Alby asked in a soothing tone.

’ “No. Oniy since I been in New York.- I had a souvenir store for tourists in San Francisco.” “And a real nice business it. was, too.” Mrs Coggs would not be pacified. “ Money coming in every day. I always said we should never have come to New York. But he said California wouldn't be good for tourists any nxre.” € * We’re straying rather far from our murder, aren’t we?” Alby suggested. “And that reminds me,” said Mrs Coggs, “aren’t you going to arrest Mr Dinard? He might get away.” “No danger. He’s safe upstairs at this moment.”... “He’s not really going to sleep shocked. .-‘‘We don't want this bunding to get a bad name!" • • < v

J < i'h&v’re quite”respe<?tably chaperoned by a police matron, Mrs Coggs. You needn’t worry.” “But a murderer—Well, I only hope you’re not making a mistake,” Mrs Coggs sighed, “with the man who pretended to be Mr Coggs getting away and your Mr Marlin. By the way, what was it you told us a while back that his landlady’s daughter said about him?” ‘‘ i didn’t tell you. But if you care to know ” “Well, a person’s likely to be curious when a murder’s been done on their o ;vt. rug.” “Well, the girl had only good things to say about him. But then—here, let me fill your glass— she was in love with him.” “You don’t say!”

“And apparently he was with her.” “That’s what she says,” Mr Coggs spoke with a worldly air. “And* him going off and not leaving an address! Women imagine things.” “Women! Women!” Mrs Coggs was quarrelsome again. “Women imagine things. For all you know maybe he did "make love to her. Men” —a hiccough rather spoiled the grand air Airs Coggs tried to achieve, “men were deceivers ever. That’s a proverb!”

Alby smiled. “Well, apparently he was quite frank with the girl. He told her he couldn’t marry her as long as his wife was alive. But it’s rather, late for gossip. I’ll be getting on, and letting you go back to bed.” But Mrs Coggs didn’t want to leave her quarrel. ‘‘You’re as bad. as Air Coggs. Thinking it excuses a man to tell he’s got a wife. What would a man be doing making love to another girl and him with a wife.” ‘‘His wife is in an. insane asylum in-London,” said Alby. “But let’s forget her., I’m much obliged for your co-operation. Will you be good enough to keep a look-out on people who come into the building this week?” “We’ll watch the folks that come to the house,” said Air Coggs. “Only we’d kind of-like to go to the country. Saturdav.”

“Let’s hope this whole matter will be cleared up by then,” said Alb}'. “And now, before I go, may I use vour telephone? I think I’ll take advantage of the extra long wire,” he added, “and telephone from the bathroom—this is to be a confidential call.” As. Alby closed the bathroom door, he heard Mrs Coggs say, “I did eat too much cheese. And I’m not sure I got the right medicine in the house ” Alby dialed poi?r,e headquarters. As soon as he got his number, the Coggses stopped talking. ‘f I’m knocking off for the night,” he said. “But I’ll take a room at the Brevoort. Wake me up there, if anything develops.” But if the Coggses were eavesdropping, the rest of his message did them little good. For he gave it in code. When Sheridan, Adelaide and the person called. Mrs Galloway entered Adelaide’s apartment, Adelaide shivered. “One thing is certain,” she said to Sheridan. “We won't live in this house after Saturday.” “The Coggses wouldn’t want us as tenants now,” Sherry attempted a light tone. “He’s convinced that I’m a murderer and you’re a forward hussy.” But there wasn’t much zest in Sherry’s banter. “Don’t! Please!” Adelaide said wanly. ‘.‘You’re right. It’s too grisly for this time of night.” “Besides I have a—a guest,” said Adelaide. “Two, in fact.” .She tried to smile as she busied herself as hostess. “Take your bag into

Aunt Emily’s room,” she said to Sherry. “ And you, Airs Galloway——” “'Oh, me,” said Airs Galloway, “I better do like Air Alby said. That chaise lounge he said I was to put in the little room between the two apartments. But might I look round first, to get the lay of the land?”

“Of course.” Adelaide led the way vFito her aunt’s apartment. Airs Galloway followed them about and looked out of windows and into closets. “Seems safe enough here,” she said. “Now if I could see your part of the house, Aliss.” After Airs Galloway had inspected it to her own satisfaction—which seemed to Adelaide the satisfaction of prying inquisitiveness rather than chaperonage—she settled, comfortably on the chaise lounge which’Sherry moved into the dining room, taking from her bag' a grey knit shawl, a book of detective stories, and a revolver.

“Those, will keep me awajke,” she explained in an old cracked voice.

Adelaide and Sherry smiled at each other. But Adelaide said, “I don’t like the revolver. It makes things seem dangerous.” “Don’t worry, Miss. I’m a crack shot. There’s not a woman on the force can match me. And even most of the men .” She picked tip the revolver almost affectionately. “Yes, yes. I’m willing to take your word for "it,” said Adelaide, and .Sherry followed her back to her own apartment.

There they clung together in silence for a few moments. “You’re such a brick, darting,” he said. “Rather, a tired brick,” she replied. “Sherry, will you sleep to-night? I have some medicine here the doctor gave me once for insomnia.” “I’ll not need it,” he said. “My brain’s too tangled up to think. I’ll just switch it off and sleep like a log. And by ' morning all the kinks will be smoothed out.”

“Darling, it’s not true what that horrid woman said, is it? That I want to marry you more than you want to marry me?” “Dear idiot, you know better than that!” “Yes, but I want to hear you say it.” ‘ ‘ All right, listen. I want to marry vou a thousand million times more than you want to marry me. There.” She laughed. “Yes, I am an idiot. But lot’s go to bed now.” “How about you? Will you need that sleeping medicine?” “Oh, no. I’m even too dead to take a bath. I’m going to peel off my clothes, brush a tooth and fall into bed.” “Good girl.” Adelaide was in bed within a few minutes. But she lacked Sherry’s gift of switching off her mind. Although she did fall asleep, it . was a tortured, nightmare-ridden sleep. One nightmare kept repeating itself. ‘ ‘ Pretty bad if the minutes drag before we’re married,” she "Was saying to Sherry, but instead of Sherry, "it was Airs Coggs who replied, “He doesn’t want to marry her at all. Lost*the license, did he? That’s good, that is . . And she would try in the dream to prove it wasn’t true. But words wouldn’t come. And Sherry stood there, looking at the dead girl, Daisy, with affection in his eyes, forgetting her, Adelaide. She tore herself awake, but the horrid feeling of the dream piled itself upon the long misery of the hours .since they had found the girl with lavender eyes. Her head ached, her body was weary to the bone, and she could get no relief, awake or asleep. And then came an awakening that was different. Almost before she knew she was awake, she was out of bed. Surely there was some one on the roof. Her heart was hammering. The room was flooded with moonlight and shadows. . . • Terrifying. . . .

Of course this fright was ridiculous! Not a sound on the roof. AVcll, now that she was up she’d take a hot bath, and some of that sleeping medicine. How absurd she had been to hesitate for fear of startling Airs Galloway. She was probably awake. A hot bath would feel good. The room was chilly. She would pull up the covers on her bed, so it would be nice and warm to get into. There. She started for the door. But suddenly something made her turn round and "look, at the bed. Funny, the way the corner of the dresser cast a shadow on her pillow. Why-, it looked as if she were still in the bed.

| Her heart started pounding again. 1 How idiotic —and then she knew it (wasn’t the shadow on the bed which was scaring her. * A shadow had suddenly been east upon herself. Instantly. without taking thought, she crouch--led to the floor, behind the chair on 1 which lay her clothes. Her eyes were i glued to the window. A foot had come I down below the shadow —a foot and j then a log. The foot was groping for I the window sill. And now half the j figure of a man, blackly silhouetted against the outer moonlight. And now a head—a masked face —a gloved list I something that gleamed.

I (To be continued daily.)