Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1916-03-03


lizard was as yet only q capable OPP
erative Of the SUIT erland Detective
agency, he was summoned to the office
OF his chief, where he was surprised at
being confronted by one of the guild
ing spirits of the city's banking and
commercial activities-Mr. Howard
Kendall. Only within the week had the
name come to occupy an uncnviable
notoriety in the newspapers and the
public mind, by reason of its close as
ISOLATION nth q particularly atrocious
murder.
Following an annual custom, the
Kendals and most of their establish
ment had gone to their summer home.
near Harbor Springs, Michigan. Dur
ing these summertime hegiras their
Lake Shore mansion was left in charge
Of the hou. ekeeper. q middle-aged
widow Of education and refinement.
who had long been a trusted servant
Of the Kendall menage; as a matter Of
fact, her position was more like a
member of the family than Of merely
q servant. This lady's name was Mrs.
Constance Fleuroy-or Connie" as
fhe was affectiolately called by men,
bCrs of the family.
Felix Hazard Immediately surmised
the object of the millionaire's visit.
Early In the morning of Thursday.
August II. Mrs. Feuroy's lifeless body
was found by q grccer's solicitor and
other tradesmen at the Lake Shore
home. They had reasons for believing
her to be In the house, and when re-
peated ringing o. the door bell and q
final recourse to the telephone elected
no response. they were filled with
alarm. After some debate one Of the
party assumed the responsibility of
forcing an entrance to investigate.
Their apprehensions were amply
Justified. Mrs. Fleuroy was discoverc1
lying quite dead and cold at the foot
OF the principal staircase, clad only in
. nightrobe, over which she had
thrown q kimona and q pair of COM
Portable mules"
That she had been the victim of q
brutal murder the most cursory glance
was sufficient to determine. Upon the
floor near the body was found a bronze
statuette. . replica of the familiar
Winged Victory" which was perhaps
twenty inche In height and very
heavy. 1t manifestly had been
matched from its pedestal and used
with deadly purpose, as clots of blood
and wisps of the dead woman's hair
were yet clinging to 1t, as well as the
bruised and battered condition Of the
body itself mutely testified.
Discoveries began to crop up at the
very beginning of the police examina-
ton to inculpate Mr.. Kendal's nephew.
Howard Gentry. young man of twen-
ty-six.
That 90 many tradesmen CHANGED
to be present at time when the house
was ostensibly closed was accounted
for BY the proprietor of a neighbor-
hood delicatessen, whose statement
was corroborated by the others.
On the previous day "wednesday
Mr.. Fleuroy had received q letter
from Mr.. Kendall announcing that his
nephew. Howard Gentry, had returned
to America after a long sojourn
abroad. and was expected to arrive
In Chicago on the day the letter came
to her hands. She was instructed to
open the house, prepare q specified
suite Of rooms for Towards entertain.
h4 -
the family would curtail their vacation
and follow shortly.
This letter was found in Mrs. Fleu.
roy's room.
II also contained two other details
Of interest. which the housekeeper
did not confide to the tradesmen,
namely. that Howard would make him.
self known through the medium of a
letter written to him by Mr.. Kendall,
the obvious inference being that Mrs.
Fleuroy personally did not know the
young man.
The second detail was found in a
postscript appended by a feminine
hand. presumably Margaret Kendal's,
who was twenty-five and the million
aires only child. II averred that How
ards engagement to q Miss Gladys
Rutherford. whom he had met abroad.
had been announced, and that he had
returned to America In contemplation
Of the wedding.
Several sheets Of the letter to young
Gentry from his uncle were discovered
In the bedroom occupied by him at
least q part of the fatal night. This
was the letter that served to iden.
THY the young man to Mrs. Fleuroy. II
was unouestionably written in the
millionaire's characteristic hand. sux-
costing that there was no typewriter
convenient.
Numerous references and illusions
contained therein made 1t clear that
uncle and nephew had carried on a
correspondence continuing over a con-
siderable period of time. But the most
significant feature, aside from the
presence Of the letter itself. was AN
assertion to the effect that $40, 900 had
been placed In the library safe-and
there the sheet broke OF. the remain.
ing page or pages being missing.
And then, on top Of this accumula.
tion OF circumstantial evidence, Gen.
try had disappeared, nor could the DO
Ice or his friends discover the slight
ct trace Of his whereabouts.
The safe was small, but a substan.
tiai modern affair. and 1t had been