The Bismarck tribune., 1929-02-11
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Covey, : little, bright-eyed, glee
ful-looking detective, nodded har
PLY. "And shall I send the elevate
boys to you straight off, chief"
McMann nodded, but his after
tion was not 80 engrossed with hi
subordinates that he did not se
Ruth Lester start. grow very pail
and reach instinctively for JAG
Hayward's hand.
Ruth did not hear = word Of Nc
Mann's instructions to Birdwell. tn
third Of the plainclothes men, 70
she was reliving that scene wit
Jack Hayward at the elevator, whel
he had come up to rescue her, q
he thought, from Borden's amorou
opportunities. The room spun dis
zily about the girl, % she realize,
that Micky Moran, the elevator
operator, would tell, would be forces
to tell, how, with her bruised lii
trembling with fright and her eyei
swimming with tears, she had strug
gled with Jack to keep him from
forcing his way into Borden1 Of,
flee.
The crushing pressure Of hel
sweethearts hand steadied her II.
nally, 50 that she became conscious
Of what was going on about her
McMann was bending over Mrs. Bor.
den, again, demanding sternly:
"Now, Mrs. Borden, just one more
question for the present: Did you
encounter anyone as you left your
husbands offices Saturday after
noon? 2"
What sounded like a sigh Of re.
lief quivered the white lips Of the
widow. mo one, sir. No, wait!
There was q scrubwoman coming
out Of the office next to the eleva.
tor, across the hall. remember
thinking how old and bent she was,
how-how harshly life must have
used her. That is the only per-
son saw, Mr.. McMann, before the
elevator came"
Ruth wondered how many people
poor old Minnie Cassidy, the clean
ing woman who did" Borden's Of
fices, had served in this ironic way.
She, too, had never been so down.
hearted but that a sight Of rheu-
matte, bent, but humbly cheerful, old
Minnie had made her think to her
self, gratefully: "Thank God, I'm
better off than that. / have q lot to
be thankful for"
The convulsive pressure Of Jacks
hand told her that he was following
her thoughts, and she looked up
fearfully into his eyes. He was smil-
ing, but his face was very pale, with
two little knots Of muscle to indicate
that his jaws were clenched. She
wanted to reach up and touch those
clenched jaws, to reassure him: ~
know you didn't do it, darling! Re.
member, the window was closed,
Don't you see? They can't really
think you did it, no matter what
Micky Moran tells!"
But she did not dare, with Nc
Mann's narrowed eyes flashing
Jkeenly from her face to Jacks. !.
"Oh, hello, DR.. Nelson! Glad
you've got here!" McMann strode to
the half-opened door and extended
his hand to slender, oldish man,
whose barred head was thinly COW
cred with graying fair hair, through
which the scalp showed pinkly. Pale
blue eyes. enlarged by thick : lensed
spectacles, surveyed the room diff
IDENTIFY. "The body is in the next
room, doctor, exactly a Miss Les
ter here found it when she came to
work this morning. It's pretty obvi-
GUS that death took place a. long
ago as Saturday afternoon"
Nothing is obvious, my dear Nc
Manu." the doctor protested mildly.
The building is open on Sundays, /
take it," Without waiting for an an
swer, the medical examiner stepped
over the threshold, removing his
gloves Is he did 30. "Ahl Near the
window, I see."
EYES," Mcdann admitted follow
Ing the doctor and not bothering to
close the door behind him. ssHe was
killed in his private office, and not
near the door. Looks pretty certain
that whoever bumped him off was
known to Borden, otherwise he-or
more likely she-wouldn't have been
admitted to the private office"
'These Sherlock Holmes deduc-
tions are your field. not mine, my
dear McAGann," Dr.. Nelson said pla-
cidly, AZ he dropped to his knees be-
side the corpse. "Hmml Shot through
the heart, I think, but OF course only
m autopsy can tell us the exact
facts. No powder burns on the coat
or vest, so the weapon must have
been fired at = distance Of some feet.
I'll take . sample Of this blood,
naturally" he added, opening the
small black bag he carried. 'sThe ex-
tent Of coagulation will help ~ to
arrive at the approximate time Of
the murder. presume Il is murder /?
Have you found weapons
McMann Indicated the floor Of the
room with wave Of his hand. mo
gun anywhere near the body, doc
tor. He could have committed suicide
and flung the weapon out Of the