The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-03-19
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wv 9 1929 BY hEA Service Inc bgANNE AUSTIN NaSsE

| breast Of everything. Your actions
prove you premeditated murder"
mo, didn't" Benny denied, his
head rolling wildly against the chair
back.
"WeIl-go on" McMann directed
resignedly.
81 come back, like I said, and
opened the door with my key"
Benny began rapidly, and was again
interrupted by McMann.
| at Just what time?"
ST" Benny looked pitifully con-
| fused. 81 don't know - exactly.
Bout two o'clock, 1 reckon"
"Then-" McMann said paren-
thetically and triumphantly to
Ruth, my theory that Rita Dubois
robbed the body is correct"
Then, remembering the nlysteri-
Gus telephone call, a fragment of
which Bill Cowan had said he over
heard when he had called Jack
Hayward's number at 2:10 and was
plugged in on a busy line, and Rita's
corroborating story of Borden's line
being busy from 2:05 to 2:15, the
detective asked: Have you any way
of fixing the exact time of your
second return, Benny?"
The boy looked at the detective
suSpiciously, even fearfully, Ruth
thought-though what could he
fear now, after confessing? Nav, I
don't know. 1 tell you, but it was
about 2 o'clock. Ats all know.
[ unlocked the door and come in,
and MIR. Borden was settin' at his
desk, n III come right in here,
u we've guarded"
What about?" the detective in
terrupted sharply.
"Aw-jist about him pickin' on
me, 'n-everything! N he picked
up a"-his fevered eyes roved over
the desk and lighted upon the glass
ink well, empty now, since 1McNIann
had used its contents with which to
take Martha Manning's f1ngerprints
that there ink well and started
to throw it at me, n I grabbed
Ruth's gun"
wait! just where was this
gun?" McATann cut in.
"Layin' on the desk" Benny an
swered. "Right--right here!" and
he laid his hand in the center of
the big green blotter. 1.-THE big stiff
tried to beat me to it-'n thought
he was goin' to shoot me"
Il Il
A FTER hitting you with the ink
L Awell?" McMann asked mildly.
"He-he put the ink well down."
Benny amended desperately. "'N 1
I pulled the trigger, 'thout KNOWN
what I was doin,' Nm the gun
went off-'n ats ALL" he concluded,
Selling the glass for long draught
of cold water.
"So-you shot Borden while he sat
at his desk" McMann said slowly
"That right?"
yeah, 'at's right" Benny retort-
ed defiantly.
"Then how do you account for the
fact that his body was found away
over there under the airshaft win
dow?" McMann demanded.
CT forgot that" Benny con-
fessed. "But-say, don't you go and
try to make me say / didn't kill him
cause I did! II did it in self-de-
fense," he added, obviously a little
proud of his, use Of a legal phrase.
"After I shot him, he got up and
walked over there and fell down
ats how I account for it,"
The detective extracted an Off
cial-looking, typed document from
his pocket AS he unfolded it, Ruth
caught a glimpse of the wording of
the printed letterhead: "Office of
the Chief Medical Examiner, De-
partment of Police" McMann
studied the detailed report in sill
ence, then folded it slowly and re-
turned it to his pocket.
Nov, Benny, you know it can't
make any difference in the long run
whether you shot Borden while he
was seated at his desk, or while he
was standing at that window. Come,
now-just where was Borden when
you shot him?"
"Settin' at his desk!" Benny re-
peated stubbornly, and began to cry,
like a small boy, and not at all like
the 17-year-old young man-about-
town that he fancied himself to be.
"And Benny"-McMann's voice
was very gentle now-"how many
times did you shoot Borden? How
many bullets we're fired?"
Just one! II sorta come to
when I seen what I'd done, n I
dropped the gun n beat it."
Just one bullet! Ruth repeated to
herself. And two bullets had been
fired on Saturday, one Embedding
itself in Bordens chest, and the
other soaring a brick beside Jack
Hayward's Office window!