Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-17

experience than any with Whlch you nv
gentlemen have favored us to beguile tn,
weary time we are showed up in the train
and as it seems it will be quite an hour be
fore we can get on to London will tell yo,
if you care to hear the story-why say
so, and what am; only I hope those tive
ladies will not be shocked TO find them
selves in my company? No?-Thanks-
well then, / am an agent-de-police, anC
have Just come over from Paris to spend
Christmas with some English friends
Even we poor police agents get little hoi'
iday sometimes-hein! And the life has its
attractions too, as well as its dangers anC
repulsions. Personally L had little
choice, for 1 was born in the service,
brough up in it, for NV father was very
clever officer of the Paris secret police.
married in the force, widowed in it, and be-
ing one of the best women detectives, ] was
sure of retaining my position. Nature has
favored me, for, as YOU see, am tall but
very slight made woman, with face which
lends itself well to masculine disguise.
Pardons, madame, what did you ssy?-Oh!
Imake handsome Young fellow too-ha,
ha! l have often been told so, and that l
nave q WOnlaD wis anu Hidu CouIacS-
One needs both in my profession, too, l can
tell you; and steady nerves, too, as you will
see.
Well, about this time five years ago, all
Paris was suddenly startled into horror by
the discovery of one of those revoltingly
brutal crimes in which, L must confess,
France is only occasionally rivaled by the
widest deeds of the Far West
Some few months previously a wealthy
banker, named Folcade, had married a very
pretty American girl, one of twins, who in
all but personal resemblance were so abso-
lutely as one being, and so deeply attached,
as to be singular even for twins.
Remember that / knew nothing
of all this till nearly the termi-
nation of nv connection with the case. All
that the police knew was the bare fact that
Madame Folcade had a sister who after the
formers marriage had returned TO Virginia,
U. S. and was there when the tragedy took
place, the news of it completely prostrating
her health for months. Remember that also,
please.
NJ. Folcade had a villa in large grounds
some way out in Paris in a lonely place,
and that fatal evening the banker, having
violent headache, retired about 10 o'clock,
leaving his wife down in the salon reading,
with her pet dog, a Scotch terrier, in the
room, and that was the last the poor fellow
saw of his wife and her faithful would-be
defender alive. NJ. Folcade awoke at 9
in the morning, and finding himself still
alone, got up, partially dressed, and went
downstairs, thinking his wife had dropped
asleep over her book. The salon was empty,
the window open, and blood was on the floor
near the wife's chair
Monsieur was frantic, called up the
household, sent for the nearest police, and
every inch of the grounds was searched.
As result Paris soon blazed with the hor-
rible discovery that Madame Folcade had
been stabbed to the heart (from behind, the
doctor ssid), probably in the room, then the
body carried out to remote corner of the
grounds and literally cut up piecemeal, for
the head, trunk, hands and limbs were
found by degrees in different parts of the
grounds-also long, sharp-pointed knife,
blood stained, was found, and the sergeant
de-police himself discovered, in remote
spot, under bush, the body of the
poor terrier all bloody from
chastity stab, but close to its mouth,
as if the teeth in the death agony had un-
clenched and dropped it, was mans right
hand fourth finger with ring upon it. The
faithful animal had evidently flown at the
murderer and bitten off that little finger;
then, doubtless, mortally wounded itself,
fed to the bushes and died before it could
reach the house with its prize. Of the as
sassin there was no trace whatsoever, not
even footprint, for the ground was dry
under a hard black frost.
Well, the finger was, of course, at once
preserved in spirits. The signet ring we
found had monogram on the stone of it, of
IL. s." On that finger, and ring, and
knife, we had to rely primarily to identify
the murderer.
OF course, M. Folcade himself was ques-
toned as under possible suspicion; but it
was soon clear that he was guilt
less. The marriage had been one of
love. He was a fond and un-
Jealous husband and one worthy of true
trust; but that some savage hate and
jealousy was the motive of the crime was
tolerably clear Nothing was stolen nor
touched. The develish deliberation and
sequence to the murder BETRAYED a blood |
thirsty revenge-but for what?-bv whom |
done? A lover scorned, perhaps, but when
and where? No trace, no sign of any one |
to suspect, present or missing, whom she |
had known; could be found, although NJ. |
Folcade made it understood that no expense |
or time should be bounded, and that the |
arrest of the murderer would be well recog-
nized. You know that in France |
we do not allow any reward, Of |
hcially or openly offered, as YOU |
do here for such things 1t is done, of |
course, but-sub rosa
The case was in my especial chefs hands, |
but was not in it then, for my hands were |
full, as that week 1 went off to Vienna on a |
matter of political crime which took Inc six
months to run my men TO earth and have |
them arrested. l only learned the details
of the Folcade tragedy on my return
learned of necessity from my chef, M.
Dupre.
Madame Marie Lacroix," said he
grimly, 81 must have your aid now in this
Folcade mystery"
'Eh bien! NJ. lie Chef" answered, "tell
me all details and obey the order
This he did, therefore, and concluded en-
phatically:
"Now, although 1 shall not relax nv
efforts, it is on you, Marie, that your old
chef relies to main ain his re-
pute. We want the assissin; the
evidence is clear. We have the
man who month before the murder sold
the knife to gentleman who he saws he
shall know again but cannot describe
people are so stupid, so unobservant-hein!
Rather tall sallow, good looking, about 80
or 40!'-bah, see there!-that would do for
hundreds. Last Christmas, whilst still un-
married Madame Folcade (then Miss Grew |
was in the Riviera with lady since dead,
but we could find no trace of anyone to |,
whom suspicious would attach. Do your
best, Marie, money is not to- be spared-a
great thing"
L was then well supplied, and withdrew.
/ will not trouble you with details here, but
I threw myself heart and soul into the mys-
terious case, which had SO baffied my con-
freres. 1 do not know when 1 have
been SO intensely absorbed in a case.
o4alr Ill |