THE LAUGHING GIRL MYSTERY

Matamata Record, Volume XIX, Issue 1742, 25 June 1936, Page 7

THE LAUGHING GIRL MYSTERY

By VIOLA PARADISE.

(111 APT Mil 18. 1 “J|,’s a gill.” Joey explained. ‘‘First ’ i job 1 had, the head bell-hop says sliorl i men tip bollor'n tall men. So wo ; took lo gucssin’ how much we’d get, , according to height.” “How can you be sure,” asked Higgins, “that Dennis Swift didn’t scrunch down lo look short?” “Two inches!” .Joey’s voice -wis scornful. “Ho would have looked scrunched if he did. But this Dennis Swift was as straight as Mr Dinard there.” Alhy turned to Goggs. “And this gas inspector, how did his height compare with Dinard’s?" Goggs looked Sheridan up and down. “I’m no bell-hop, but I’ll swear it was the same l’ella.” “We’ll check up on him,” said Alby, standing up. “ And now, except "for Dr. Coe, you may all go home for the present.” “You mean,” Goggs’ voice was shrill “that you’re letting Dinard get away— I hat after all the evidence ” “No one is getting away,” said Alby. “But I’d be interested to hear just what you mean by all the evidence.” “I mean him being the gas inspector on Tuesday afternoon and snooping. And I mean , him being Dennis Swift in spite of a bell-hop’s guessing game, and I mean that door-knocker he attached to my door, and knowing just what the girl looked like—lavender eyes, he said, and blonde and a short upper lip—and I mean ” Goggs slopped. “Go on,” Alby encouraged him. “Well, that’s enough, ain’t it?” “Until the gas company fails to produce an inspector who looks like Mr Dinard, we can hardly take stops on that score.” Adelaide could not stifle a murmur of gratitude. And Sheridan said quietly, “By all means get the gas inspector. But as for Tuesday afternoon,” he continued in a relieved voice, “I have a perfect alibi.” “I don’t believe it. It’s a faked alibi!” exclaimed Mr Coggs. Sheridan ignored him. “I spent the whole afternoon working out a new catalogue system for Dr. Coe’s library. Marlin worked with me." ■ “Yeah, and whore’s Marlin now?" Higgins demanded. I “If he doesn’t turn up of his own accord, it shouldn’t be hard to trace a man with a scar, a wen, a strong ’ .smell of snuff and a thick English ac - I cent. j “But-apart from Marlin, Dr. Coe j here can tell you that we discussed | the re-cataloguing project for the'first I time at lunch on Tuesday; and that on Tuesday evening, at six o’clock, he found two alternative schemes on his desk, with full notes on each. And he will tell you that that work could not possibly have been done in less than five hours.” - He turned to Dr. Coe, confidently expecting confirmation. Dr, Coe looked at him, silent. “Well, Dr. Coo?” Alby demanded. Dr. Coe closed his eyes as if in pain. “No," he said wearily, “I found no such notes." , Sheridan stared, open-mouthed, at Dr. Coe. Something must have happened to those cataloguing plans be-[ tween the moment he had put them on Dr. Coe’s desk and five minutes • later, when lie was leaving the mu- ! seum and met Dr. Coe coming in. . Unless Dr. Coe . . . Oh, no, it was lyi g! And Wilcox had been away all that afternoon seefng to the expedition’s new excavating sifters . . . And still unthinkable that Dr. Coe could be | Marlin . . . But of course Marlin could have removed the papers. . . . Marlin . . . .Suddenly he heard Higgins saying Marlin’s name. “I’ll phone lI.Q. to spread an alarm for Marlin,” Higgins was saying.’ But Joey’s voice more effectively roused him to the present. “Sure you won’t need me any more, Mr Alby? I’d like to help you and Mr Dinard out. 1 once read a book about how to detect crimes- ” “Run along, Joey.” Alby gave him an affectionate shove, and Joey left reluctantly. “And now the rest of you will please step into the next room, excepting The telephone interrupted him. They all listened. “The Tldewells? Send them in. Just a minute,” he contin- i lied to the group before him. Sam Tidewell looked what he was —an out-of-a-job actor with a hangover. Sarah Tidewell was pretty, young and smart, despite dark circles under her mascara-lashed eyes. Wilcox greeted them rather effusively. ‘“Good old Sam and Sarah! Ret me introduce you. Mrs Coe, Miss i Sayre, Dr. Coe, Mr Dinard. And these people, Mr and Mrs Coggs, are your neighbours, I believe.” “Now,” Alby addressed the Tidewells, “l want you to tell me which of these people you have seen before.”. Sam Tidewell shrugged. “They don’t mean anything to me. Never saw ’em before." Sarah Tidewell said flippantly, “Oh, Sam never remembers anybody till he knows them well enough to borrow money from them. But I’ve seen that

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couple, Mr ;m<l Mrs Coggs. And Mr ■l'iiiard and Miss Sayre, though I’ve never met them before.” ‘‘And Dr. Doe?” ‘‘Never saw him in my life.” ‘‘And Mrs Coe?” Alby persisted. Sarah Tidewell regarded her steadily for a moment or- two. ‘‘No,” site said. “Very well. Now Dr. Coe, Mrs Coo and Mr Dinurd, please wait in the next room. The rest of you may go.” (To be Continued). Adelaide went over to Alby. “Let me wait, too, Mr Alby. I’m not going home. I’m not going to leave Mr Dinard a'minute till this terrible thing is settled. Not a minute! I’m frightened about him. Her eyes filled with tears. “There’s some horrid plot against him. Mr Alby," she turned beseechingly to him, “where can wc get married right now, to-night, Sunday, without a licence?” Alby said nothing, just continued tc look at her. “Listen, Mr Alby,” she continued, “somebody stole the wedding licence. Sherry just discovered it in the taxi coining down here. I-Ie thought someone was playing a joke on him. But now I see it wasn’t a joke. It was part of a plot. But wedding licence or no, we’re going to get married tonight ” A shrill laugh from Mr Coggs interrupted her. “So you’re in on this, too!” he cried. “And you always seemed a nice young lady!” Alby watched Coggs through halfshut lids. “And wouldn’t it be convenient,” Coggs continued sarcastically, “getting married! A wife don’t have to testify against her husband ! . You two . got it all fixed up, haven’t you?” “I think you’d better not marry him to-day,” Alby said slowly. “I will, I will 1 You can’t stop me 1” “it would be simple to prevent your marriage. Bit, you arc too intelligent to make that necessary, Miss Sayre. If you still believe your fiance to be innocent ” “He is! I’ll wait outside if you won’t let me Waii here. And I’m not going to stay alone in my apartment to-night. He’s going to stay with me.” “All right, Miss Sayre. If he does, we’ll supply a proper chaperon. Meanwhile both of you go into the next room. Dr and Mrs Coe, too. As for you,” he turned first to Wilcox and then to the Coggs, “there’ll be no need to wait further. Though I’ll probably call on all of you for further—-shall we say co-operation?” After the door in the hall closed behind the Coggses their voices were audible for some monients. “If you ask me,” his wife was saying, “ho don’t want to marry her at all. The way he looks at her when she’s not looking ” “Oh, shut up, Mamma. Why’d he kill the other girl if he didn’t want to marry this one?” Their voices trailed off. But -.ho trouble in Adelaide’s eyes deepened as they went'into the outer room. Alby’s interview with the Tldewell’s was brief. They didn’t remember the girl Wilcox had brought. “And you don’t even remember the names of your own friends?” Alby laughed scornfully. Sarah Tidewell’s manner was airy. “Oh, yes, we remember. But we’re not going to get them mixed up in a murder case. If we have'to.tell their names we’ll consult a lawyer first.” “All right; consult him. Consult him about those rent parties of yours I while you’re at It. What’s the price of admission?” Sam Tidewell turned pale. ‘‘Say, what do you think we are ” “Cut it. Sam. He’s found out about our parties. Well, what of it? We’re a sort of club. Some of our friends who’rc lucky enough to have jobs remember the time we used to lend them money. They come down, have a cup of tea, if they want it, and a pleasant time.” “You don’t sell liquor, or anything like that?” “Certainly not. Not that we wouldn’t like to. But we couldn’t afford to run a speak." “.lust how to you operate your joint? Hurry up—don’t stall." Sarah Tidewell looked shrewdly at Alby. “Well, you seem white; I’ll tell you the truth. People come and have all the refreshments they want free. Yes, cocktails as well as tea. They can sit around and play cards or talk, but they have a good time, and come again.” “What is the charge?” “There isn’t any. People put What 1 they want into a glass jar ‘to defray expenses.’ Come yourself next Saturday find see. It’s a club. No si rangers. It’s a way we can take help and have some fun without losing our pride! “And just how much do you make over and above your fun and your pride each week?” Sarah replied, “We’ve made exactly enough to pay the rent and nol •quite enough to pay for food. We’re glad to keep the roof over our head, and to keep the gas company from

turning- off the gas. We might need it as an exit cue, if our starving ijt gets monotonous.” Her voice trembled. “You do believe me don’t you?” She paused a moment. “You know I’m telling the truth.” “Yes," Alby nodded slowly. -I do believe you. Though youVe told me one lie.” > , She started to deny it, but shrugged her shoulders. “All right,” said Alby; “we’ll not make trouble for you. But,” he add-, ed sternly, “if I need to call you into court to give evidence in this murder trial I expect the' truth, loyalty or no loyalty, do you hear?” ; “You’ll get It, Mr Alby.” : When the Tidewells left Alby slumped in his chair. “Well, maybe the trunk would tell some tales. And Rankin ought to be ready with those handwriting tests.” Higgins came in growling. “I suppose you still want me to leave the boy friend lay, huh? Unless Rankin finds some stuff?” “What’s lost by waiting?” was Alby’s reply. “Find Marlin first, anyhow.” “1 phoned headquarters. All the police cars will have his description by now, and the boys in the stations j will be on the look-out. No outgoing ; steamers sailing tonight. We’ll keep ’em covered. Other cities will be on the lookout, too. But,'of course, he may have slunk into the country.” Rankin, the handwriting expert, entered and spread the tablets out on Alby’s desk. Harrod and Higgins drew close. “Can’t be sure," said Rankin. “Two words, Dennis Swift, aren’t much to go by. Besides, they’re written by someone who was disguising his handwriting. I’d say if Sheridan Dinard didn’t sign that register, Dennis Swift was a first-class counterfeiter of disguised handwriting. On the other hand, look at ibis ‘4.30 p.m.’ That ‘p.m.’ is almost Ihe same as the initials of Peter Marlin on this.” He unfolded Marlin's typed note. “Would you say the same man signed that note, too?” “Might have,, It’s hard to be certain of a single signature.- And os for initials, wqU, what’s two letters? If Dennis Swift left any other writing, it’d be different. Some forgeries, you know, can’t be proved." “Anything in these two,” Alby selected Wilcox’s and Coe’s, “to indicate one of them might have forged Dennis Swift’s name to make it look as if Dinard had clone it?” “Nope. Tills one—Gogg’s—he wrote with his right hand, but it has the look of left-hand writing.” "Coggs has a water-tight alibi for last night,” - Harrod contributed. “So we can'leave him out,' 1 ' ! “Well; then, all I’ve got to say is that Dillard’s your ' man, though l et hate to see him fry on this test alone. Funny thing, how often men use their own initials on their pseudonyms. D.S. and S.D Well, maybe.” Rankin left. lliggins yawned. “Go home and get some sleep, why don’t you?” Alby suggested. “Everybody's covered and nobody’s going to be arrested to-night.” Higgins hesitated. “It’d eat me up if anybody else made the collar in this

case.” , “No collars are likelyr' By tho way, what about the museum?” ‘‘The boys are still- huntings Marlin's fingerprints. Funny thing, all they’ve been able to find so far match up with Dinard’s, Wilcox’s, the Coe’s and their servants. He seems to have wiped away every trace. Even the furnace door. If he wasn’t In on the murder, - he .sure is. guilty .of -something else. Well, if you promise not .to find the murderer before to-morrow,'guess.Til shove off. Who’s to tail Dinard jtonight?” : -'“l’m taking him with me to the - ho-r . tei, later. . Then .we’ll put Stevens oh--’ 7 again. He cap do : his-police matron transformation and chaperon Miss’ Sayre’s apartment for the night. Don’t worry, Dinard won’t bolt. Who’s assigned to cover the squeal to-niefht?” “Burt and Hackett go on at ten. Any orders you’d like left for them?” Alby considered. “Yes,” he concluded. “Burt drives, doesn’t he?’ Well, give him a taxi and tell him to keep cruising and parking on the Coggses’ block. I’m going down there later.” . . , As Higgins left, Alby turned to UaProd. “These next interviews —get it from the other side of that panel, will you? I imagine they’ll talk better tete-a-tete. Come in if I buzz.” llarrod left-by one door, and Alby went to the other, which opened into the waiting room. Sheridan and. Adelaide were sitting close .together, on; £ bench. Dr. Coe was staring dejected-: ly at the floor. Mrs Coe turned anxious eyes from his face to Alby’s. She said at once, “Won’t you pleapd let my husband go home, Mr Alby? You can see lie’s ill.” “I’ll not detain cither of you long. Gome in, Mrs Coe.” - . : As soon as she got into his office, Alby said, “Mrs Cop,, 1 want toknow * the exact relationship between you and Wilcox.” , ' ; ) “Me and Wilcox!” she exclaimed shocked. “Oh, no! There’s nothing!” ’ ~ ‘‘ ‘ ' Alby didn’t answer. He leaned back and waited. “Truly,” she said, at.length. Still he waited, silently.’ “Nothing, only, thp most ' casual friendship. Why, can’t,you see that I love my husband?” - ; “And yet you sneak off witli Wilcox, letting your husband think you were ip the country.”’::-,;.'.- r ,: . ' i “I didn’t ‘sneak off’ with Mr Wilcox!" “Wilcox 1 refdsWio clivulgelhe name of the lady who went with him to the Tidewells.” “I went >vith him to the Tidevvells’. There was no sneaking about it!” “Would your husband belieye It was, shall we say, quite straightforward?” “Certainly. lie wouldn’t Me It exactly, hut he’d know that what I told you was true.” *■- - : j “How do you explain yesterday?” I She hesitated. “All this horrid i business , .makes the most innocent thing seem wrong. But the explanation is simple. I’m -Writing a play. Mr Wilcox lias friends in the theatrical world. I wanted to meet some, of them before they all went off on their next expedition •” “Who all?” (To be Continued). ‘I if. '-f-fr-irryiafr t, *ifrif