Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-22
walked slowly toward the door, Inspector

walked slowly toward the door. Inspector
Dallas followed her.
You will excuse me. I am sure" he said.
but l should like to come back to your
motel with you and make a few inquiries.
You see 1t is absolutely necessary to dis
prove John Stevens statements Until we
nave done that we can't carry our investi-
sSe M b any further e hope you will be
how can help you?" the woman asked
In the same dull. level voice. II tell you
that man was mistaken. l am still so
dazed and stunned by my loss that I am
| quite incapable Of following things clearly.
Something seems to have gone wrong with
my brain. But I will try and help you.
| 1t is very strange that that man should
have made such an extraordinary mis-
take"
Very strange indeed" Dallas murmured.
VIII you permit me to call you a cab7
NOW tell me. have you any relations7 For
instance have you a sister who is very
like you? In one OF the most important
investigations I ever undertook 1 was ut
teriy baf1ed for months owing to the fact
up in the case. II you have a sister,"
so far I know 1 have not a single
female relative In the world" Mrs. Della
hay responded And as to the rest you
Will find that my statement Is ABSOLUTELY
true. l suppose you will believe the SER
wants at the hotel?"
The hotel was reached at length. and
Mrs Delahay excused herself on the
out So far as Dallas was concerned he
had no desire to detain her. AS a matter
OF fact. he wanted to pursue his inquiries
alone. and on the production OF his card
the resources of the establishment were
placed at his disposal Nothing seemed to
escape his eye. No detail appeared to be
too trivial. He received his reward at
length through the lips OF one of the
chambermaids who had something to say.
AS was only natural, there was not q sep
want on the premises who had not heard
all about the F1tzjohn Square tragedy or
who was not deeply interested in Mrs.
Delahay.
ut Is your duty to look after the rooms
on the same floor as Mrs Delahays bed
room?" he asked. What time did you re-
tire on the night Of the murderT'
Not before 2 o'clock" the chambermaid
replied. I'VE were unusually late that
night as the house was full"
Quite suppose when Mr.. and Mrs.
Delahay came in from the theater they
got the key of their bedroom from the office
in the ordinary way? l suppose they had
q dressing room and a BEDROOM?
The chambermaid admitted that such was
the fact. When asked II she knew what
time Mrs: Delahay had retired for the night
she shook her head. She could not be
quite sure"
You see. It was like this" she said II
was rather interested in Mr.. and Mrs. Della
hay-they were such a NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
ing couple. 1 was in the corridor when Mr..
Delahay went out, about II o'clock. and
half an hour later 1 went up to Mrs. Della
hays bedroom to see II l could do any
thing for her. The key was in the door,
which struck me as rather strange, be-
cause. as you know, IN large hotels like
this 1t is the customary thing for people to
lock their rooms / knocked at the door
and no reply came 50 l went in. The bed
and dressing room were both empty, and
thinking. perhaps, that Mrs. Delahay had
gone out well her husband. l turned
the key in the door and took il down 10 the
office"
thoughtful expression came over In
spector Dallas face.
That was quite the proper thing to do
he said. Il suppose you don't know what
time the key fetched again from the
Officer"
"Oh. that / cannot tell you. You see.
went to bed about O'Clock and l was up
again at I. When took Mrs. Delahay up
her cup OF early tea she was in bed then"
Really! Did you notice anything strange
about herr"
There was nothing to notice She ap-
peared to be very bright and cheerful, and
chatted to me in the friendlest possible
way. She did say something TO the effect
that she was a little uneasy about her hus-
band, who had not yet returned. and that
she must go and look for him. But beyond
that l saw nothing that was in the least
out of the common.
II think that will do" Dallas observed
IT won't detain you any longer l know
how busy you are.
Dallas went straight away downstairs
and interviewed the clerk in the office. The
latter's memory was a little vague on the
subject of the coming and going OF the
various hotel guests. There were hundreds
OF them in the course OF a week, and il
was the habit of most of them to leave the
key of their rooms in the office every time
they went out. The speaker had no recol-
lection of Mrs. Delahay calling for her key
very late on the night of the tragedy He
debated the point thoughtfully for mo-
ment then his face lighted up.
II think help you he exclaimed.
(To be continued tomorrow)