EIGHTH INSTALMENT
SYNOPSIS: A card game is in
session in Eliper Henderson's
penthouse atop a New York sky
scraper. The plajwrs are: Hender
son, Police Inspector. Flaherty,
Martin Frazier, Archie Doane,
Max Michaelis and his friend,
Williams, a stockbroker.
They are waiting for Stephen
Fitzgerald. When he fails to ap
pear, a telephone calls bring the
information that he is out with a
girl. Fitzgerald and Henderson
are both romantically interested
in Lydia Lane, the famous act
ress, but Archie Doane reveals
that she is engaged to marry him.
Doane leaves the party early
when Fitzgerald fails to appear. A
short time later he telephones In
spector Flaherty with the frantic
news that he has found Fitzger
ald and Miss Lane dead in Lydia
Lane's penthouse apartment.
When Flaherty and the medical
examiner reach the apartment,
they find that Miss Lane is still
alive. She is rushed to a hospit
al where blood transfusions and
care promise to restore her.
All circumstantial evidence
points to Archie Doane as the
murderer, especially when the
murder gun is found carefully
planted in the chimney clean-out
in the basement.
"Tony," he went on, addressing
Detective Martinelli, "go down and
bring the janitor up here. He can
COMPLETE
Foundry And
Machine Shop
SERVICE
Electric and Acetelyne Welding
CALL ON US FOR YOUR EVERY NEED
DOUBLE EAGLE SERVICE CO.
Phone 43 Elkin, N. C.
I H LOWEST PRICE CONSOLE I
THE FAMOUS I
silent speedy accurate I
tuning! World-wide per- I
formance with tremen
dous power —amazing I
selectivity gorgeously I
9K'*! Modal 85T1 5-tube, 2-baa (upcrhctero
dyne, world-wide reception,macnetlte core
°m4 - for permanent adjustment,
H New eaay-to-read dial. A real value.
Madal BTT 7-tube, 3-band •uperhetero
> j" dyne. Magic Ere, RCA Metal Tubes—world-
wide with *"
Harris Electric Company
Phone 250 Elkin, N. C.
tell whether anyone went to the
basement tonight unless he's in
this himself. He might have a set
of keys to every apartment in
the house."
"But hardly either a motive for
this shooting or the opportunity
to purloin this pistol from the
Highart Studios." remarked Mi
chaelis. "And that suggests to
me that' we have been overlook
ing a possibility. Where is Miss
Lane's maid? Who is she? Does
she usually stay all night on Sat
urday night? When did she go
out, if anybody knows? Where
does she go when she goes out?"
"Worth looking into, Dan?"
"You bet that's worth looking
into," replied the Inspector.
"Archie, you must know some
thing about her. What do you
say?"
"She's a French girl named
Adele —I don't remember-her last
name, if I ever heard it. She had
been with Miss Lane for three or
four years, I believe. She acts as
her personal maid as well as look
ing after the apartment here."
"Accompanies her to the High
art Studios, does she?" asked Mi
chaelis.
"Yes, nearly always. She ser
ves as Miss Lane's dresser."
"She could have got possession
of this revolver, would you say?"
"Yes, there.is no. doubt that
she could. She is on friendly
terms with everybody at the stu
dio and has the run of the place."
"Has she been at the studio
since you last saw this revolver —
last Thursday, you said it was?"
"Yes, Miss Lane plays opposite
me in the film we are now mak
ing, and we were working until
Friday night. Adele was with her
on Friday, lam sure " •
"Was -there any suggestion, at
any time, of any animosity be
tween Miss Lane and Adele?"
"No "more than between Miss
Lane and myself, so far as I
know- The maid seemed devoted
to her mistress."
"Is she tempermental—Adele, I j
mean? Quick tempered? Easily
offended? The type that might do
violent things under the stress of
sudden rage?"
"You are asking for an opinion,
Max," Inspector Flaherty inter
rupted. "Let him tell any facts
that might have a bearing on:
your question."
"I yield to the police on a point
of law,"- replied Michaelis, smil
ing. "What about it, Archie?"
"She threatened to shoot Fitz,
once, if he didn't stop pestering
her," replied Doane. "You know
how he was—with women. He
laughed it off. but he kept out
of Adele's way after that."
"Did you see or hear that inci
dent yourself?" asked the lawyer.
"No, but it was generally gos
siped around the studio."
"I suggest again, Dan, that you
ought to find this girl Adele," said
Michaelis. "You can conceive, as
well as I, a situation something
like this:
"Miss Lane comes home —never
mind the time when she comes in,
now. Her maid is out for the eve-
ning, as usual on Saturdays. Fitz
gerald calls. Miss Lane, in negligee
—her outer garments on the chair
where we found them, because she
is not accustomed to hanging up
her own things—admits him,
thinking perhaps that it is Archie,
or her maid coming back. He has
learned of her promise to marry
Doane and is furious.
"They quarrel violently. Adele
who perhaps is really afraid of
Fitz and may have taken the pis
tol from the property room at the
studio for self-defense, comes in
and misinterprets their alterca
tions—or perhaps interprets cor
rectly Fitz's intentions toward her
mistress. She obtains the pistol
from the place where she has con
cealed it, fires at Fitz and, miss
ing him, wounds Miss Lane. Fitz
rushes to take the gun from her
THE ELKIN TRIBUNE, ELKIN, NORTH CAROLINA
—he was no coward and she
shoots him through the heart as
he overtakes her In the hall by
the telephone stand.
"What would a servant natur
ally do then, In a panic? She
would call for help, hide the pis
tol and vanish. Where would a
servant naturally think of hiding
a revolver? In the cellar. She had
both keys to the apartment. She
could slip down the cellar with
out being noticed.
"Archie," he went on suddenly
turning to Doane, "are you sure
lit was Miss Lane's voice you j
j heard over the telephone? It could
! not have been that of Adele, by
( nny chance?"
"I was sure at the time," replied
| Doane slowly. "I hadn't thought
of any other possibility v Now, on
| reflection, I am still sure. Adele's
I voice and Miss Lane's are in the
same register, but there are over
| tones which make them distinctly
I different to one who knows them
jboth. It was Lydia's voice."
"Sure of that?" persisted Mi
chaelis. "Voices are distorted over
the telephone unless they are
strongly marked you know. How
did the woman who called you
address you? As 'Archie' or as Mr.
Doane?'"
"Neither," said Doane. "When I
.answer the 'phone I always say:
'Archie Doane speaking* so there
was ho need for anyone to ask
who I was. It was Miss Lane's
voice. I feel sure of that. Besides,
Adele would not have used the
same phraseology."
"She might have mimicked her
mistress' voice, though. Had you
thought of that? Do you know
whether she had any talent in
that direction?"
"She had been on the stage, I
believe," said Doane. "I hadnt
thought of that.
"What were the words she—
whoever called you—used? Tell us
again won't you? You remember
the exact language?"
"Yes, I remember it exactly. In
my profession, you know, one has
to cultivate a verbatim memory.
The words were:
" 'Come quickly! Hurry! Some
t ling terrible has happened!' Then
j there was a loud scream, and
; nothing more."
"Why do you say that Adele
[would not have used that phrase
ology?" asked Inspector Flaherty.
"Because the words were an ex
act quotation from Miss Lane's
part in the talking picture we are
making," was Doan's reply "Adele
i might have heard them, but she
; would not use them as the first
words to spring to her mind, un
der stress. It would be natural for
Lydia to have done that, as that
part of the picture was rehearsed
many times. All actors fall into
the habit of quoting from their
parts in ordinary conversation;
it's subconscious with them."
"Still, I see something in Max's
idea," said the Inspector. "Has
Tony come up with the janitor
yet? Tony! Bring your man in
here and take some instructions.
"I want you to go through ev
erything in the maids' room, next
jto the kitchenette, and see if you
lean find any letters or anything
which will give a clue to her re
lations or associates. Her name is
Adele Something - or - other
French. She goes out every Sat
urday and stays all night. Perhaps
she has a husband or a lover. Any
way, I want that girl found, get
me? I want her in my office at—
shall we say twelve hours from
now, gentlemen, to meet in my
office? Okay, Tony; two-thirty
this afternoon at Center Street I
shall be looking for you and
Adele.
"Now let's see what the janitor
says," he went on, as Martinelli
left the room to begin his search
for Adele.
The janitor turned out to be a
self-possessed, middle-aged man
whose bearing suggested honesty
and intelligence. He saluted In
spector Flaherty and stood at "at
tention" as the latter addressed
him.
"Did you ever see this gentle
man before?" the Inspector ask
ed, indicating Doane.
"Yes. I've seen him coming in
and going out with Miss Lane on
many occasions."
"Did you see him come in to the
house tonight?''
"Yes, I was sweeping the side
walk after the snow had stopped
when the gentleman drove up in
a taxi. He seemed in a great hur
ry. He pushed the bell button for
one of the apartments—l suppose
for Miss Lane's several times,
then tried the front door. I don't
know whether Miss Lane had
pressed the button in her apart
ment which releases the front
door latch, or not. It wasn't necr
essary, as it happened, because I
had come out without my keys
and had set the night latch so
that I could get in without trou
ble. The gentleman—Mr. Doane?
—went in and I did not see him
again."
He did not go to the cellar at
any time tonight?" a&ked the In
spector.
"Not unless he went there im
mediately on entering the house,"
was the reply. "I went in not more
than a minute or two behind him,
fastened the front door so that
only persons with latchkeys could
enter, and went down to the cel
lar, to bank my fire. I sat there
waiting to close the drafts until
the officer you have stationed in
front called for me. Nobody came
into the cellar in that time, I am
sure."
"H'm," said Inspector Flaherty.
"You stand like a soldier. Were
you ever in the Army?''
"No, but I was on the force, sir.
Retired for disability ten years
ago, and with my pension and the
wages I get here I'm managing
to send a boy through college.
Name's Jenkins, sir."
"I'll take your statement as
true, Jenkins," said the Inspector.
"One thing more do you know the
girl who works for Miss Lane —
Adele?" *
"Adele Marceau? Very well, sir.
She's a fine young woman. We get
along very well together; she calls
me 'Uncle.' You see I'm French
on my mother's side and I've al
ways had the language, so she
likes to come down and talk to
me. I hope she isn't mixed up in
this terrible affair, sir? Is It true
that Miss Lane will pull through?"
"It looks that way," the Inspec
tor replied. "We don't know how
deep your friend Adele may be In
this, or whether she's In it at all.
Has she been in' your cellar this
evening, by any_ chance?"
"Early in the evening, sir. She
came to give me a French news
paper. About six o'clock that
would be, or a little before. Miss
Lane had Just come In, she said,
and was off for the night."
"Did she have anything else in
her hand besides the newspaper?"
"Only a bag, such as ladies car
ry their lipsticks and such in."
"Was it possible that she had a
levolver? You saw the one that
1 was found in your chimney clean
, out. Could she have put that there
|at that time—or at any time?"
I the Inspector demanded.
"It's possible, of course, but I
I should say unlikely, sir," replied
Jenkins. "I was getting the ash
leans up to the sidewalk on the
hoist when she came down, and
how long she had been there I
couldn't say. She stopped only a
moment after I saw her. Just gave
me the paper, said she was off to
her other job."
Sp Refreshing
...so be
refreshed
at home
pfjra 1|| B : HH 1 Open house for the pause that refreshes with ice-cold
I wMBiP Coca-Cola is a sure way to popularity. It's so refresh*
mH| Bw ing and so easy to serve.
—II 111 1111 H—WiBIII IIIIIIIIIIIHIWHII 111 l IIIIIIINII Ihliwiiilllllilil I'llifMWfflPr " 'IBMBMMMIM^
>, | **' f
llm
HBN
&m wniwmm
jgjj ? | |l|s iV ■-*.,
imj§ £ I
B MpMpM Ml flni' \ ipfpi" /■ w 1
Ice-cold Coca-Cola is every place else; it belongs in your '
refrigerator at home. The handy six-bottle carton is the
easy way to buy it —at your favorite dealers
COCA-COLA BOTTLING CO.
rELEPHONE 32 NORTH WILKESBORO, N. C,
"Her other Job, eh? What's
that?"
"I forgot you aidnt know sir.
For that matter, even Miss Lane
doesn't know. Adele was afraid
she might not like her earning
the extra money, so she let Miss
Lane think she had a lover. But
she works in a night club, every
Saturday night. It's their busy
night, you know, and they put on
extra attractions. She has a song
and dance act, I believe —some-
thing quite Parision, a la Mont
martre, if you understand what
j that means."
PAUL GWYN
PHONE 258
All Lines of
INSURANCE
Representing Strong Stock
Companies Only—No Mutuals
Thursday, September 2, 1937
"A bit off color, eh? Does she
do thlr act under her real name?"
Continued - Next Issue
ft ft (% Materia
IV 11 If 3 days
V V V COLDS
Liquid, Tablets flnrt day
Salve, Nose Drops Hea^ac^ e , 30
minutes
Try "Rub-My-Tism"-World's
Best Liniment