The Washington times., 1917-09-16

OL LA8nlOn anu AolbuEe. ne IOOh 70
appearing In public with Mrs. King,
and very soon. New York knew them
as insepArables.
tom OF travelling about the country
with Means as her constant com
panion.
The blackmailing crew that had
driven Mrs. King in panic from the
Pacific coast evidently was unable to
stand the sight OF her money going
ways other than theirs, SO the
blackmailing attempts suddenly be-
gan again in the middle Of 1915.
Means had evidently lost some of
his cunning as a private detective by
that time, or else he did not care to
soil his hands with the work, so the
blackmailers pressed Mrs. King until
she fed to Chicago and buried herself
in a small Chicago family hotel, with
out leaving her address known. Means
was always in the background, advis.
ing, managing, disbursing.
Asks Federal Aid.
The blaclomailers became 80 bold in
the latter part of 1918 that the De
partment OF Justice was called in and
asked to protect Mrs. King. One of
the alleged bIacSmailers was sought
op a white slave" charge. Mrs. King
continued, all through 1916, to live
the life OF q reeluse. not daring to
blaze another trail OF luxury with
Means as her manager.
Early in the present year Mrs. King,
In Chicago. received a message from
New York that her mother was dying
She drew $4,000 from bank and hur-
ried East, only to learn that the mes
sage had been a hoax, and to find
herself more frightened than ever by
the blAckmailers.
The life OF Mrs. King and Means left
q slight enough trail for the next few
months, but one day last summer Means
suddenly oVerjoyed his client with the
announcement that he had discovered
q new will left by the dead Chicago
millionaire, which left his entire es-
Atte OF about $40, 600 900 OF Mrs. King,
This was news, indeed, and Mrs.
King, elated at such tidings, consid-
cred herself a more than fortunate
woman and made preparations for a
trip TO Asheville, N c., to visit her
mother, and Means would accompany
her on the trip to the South.
This trip. apparently, was to be
something in the nature OF a celebra.
tion over Means discovery and at the
same time, II would permit Mrs. King
to recuperate some OF her strength.
She had never fully recovered, appar-
emily, from the bounding OF the black
mailers.
Trip Ends In Tragedy.
This trip was destined to be
tragedy.
On the evening OF August 20 Mrs.
King and Means started on a little
motor Jaunt out from Asheville. They
passed through Concord, little
town not far from AsheviIle, and here
the automobile was stopped and the
motorists sought to refresh them
selves at a nearby spring.
Whether Mrs. King asked Means to
halt the car or whether II was done
at his suggestion and for what rea-
son, are matters the officers who are
investigating the case would like to
know. for II was at that spring that
Mrs. King was fatally shot.
Her body was rushed to Concord by
Means, who was the only witness Of
the shooting. At the coroner's in
quest, within a few hours, Means told
the jury that Mrs. King had shot
herself accidentally while planning
target practice and he was kneeling
at the spring TO get a drink of water.
This explanation proved satisfac-
tory to the North Carolina coroner's
Jury. and a verdict OF accidental sui.
eide" was returned, clearing Means OF
any completely in the AFFAIR. The in
quest was held on August 80. twenty
four hours after Mrs. Kings death.
but on August 81, forty-eight hours
after her death, relatives OF the dead
woman were beginning to question |
the findings OF the jury.
Doubts Thrown On Story.
Relatives and intimate friends of |
the victim threw the graYest doubts |
upon the story that Means told to the |
ooroner's jury. They told the au-
thorities that Mrs. King. all her-life, !
had exhibited a marked aversion to |
firearms OF every particular. and that
she could rarely be persuaded TO touch /
them. A very great change. indeed, |
they argued. had come over Mrs. King /
n she had taken up target shooting. |
A week later, on September 9, two |
brothers of the, dead woman, Paul |
and william Robinson, OF Morrison,
Ill, demanded that the case be re-
opened and a new inquest be held. A
second autopsy confirmed their belief
that Mrs. King had been murdered,
when physicians found that the
woman had been shot behind the left
ear, a wound, they argued, which
could not have been inflicted by the
woman heraelf