The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-02-20
cHApTER xv1II-(Continuedl

dNAA hAAOn HAkcS JO4
meant Ruth gasped. mo, please,
Jack!" she pleaded, as the young
man sprang toward McMann's desk.
Better try to control that tenn
per of yours, Hayward" McMann
advised grin1ly.
I'm afraid it's already got you
into enough trouble What I
meant, Miss Lester, was that
frantic girl may hit upon strange
ways to confuse evidence when she
fears for the life of the man she
loves. I'm not saying that you hid
that pistol of yours this morning
after you discovered that your en-
ployer had been killed and that
your sweetheart's gun was miss
ing"
Ruth went very pale, but her
voice was steady as she challenged
TIA detective: "What makes you
think I knew his gun was miss
ing?"
McMann smiled. "You betrayed
yourself when Hayward mentioned
his automatic. He has better con-
troll Of his expression than you
have, child, but he should have
warned you that he was going to
admit ownership of the gun.
But I didn't rely entirely on
reading your expression. Miss
Barnes told me that you were alone
in Mr.. Hayward's office for two or
three minutes this morning, when
you went there to tell him what
you had found in here. 1t was easy
to deduce how you had spent those
minutes-and why.
"You were afraid your sweetheart
had killed your employer, and you
looked for his pistol, to make sure.
You didn't find it-and came to the
same conclusion that I did"
II u
"UOURE wrong there, at least!"
u Ruth Blazed. st did find that
his gun was gone, but know Jack
Hayward did not kill Harry Bor-
den!"
"And how do you know that, Miss
Lester?" McMann asked quietly,
Because the person who killed
Borden was in this Office, not in the
one across the airshaft. Oh, know
a shot could have been fired from
one window through the other, but
tflere are two excellent, irrefutable
proofs that the person who killed
him was in this Office either during
or after the murder. First-the
body was robbed of $500"
just minute!" McMann inter
rupted. "We have no proof that
Borden was robbed, beyond the fact
that the money is missing. How do
you know that he did not give the
money to some one before his
death?"
HE gave Mrs. Borden a check!"
Ruth flashed. And he had no
other visitor except Mrs. Borden
until Rita Dubois came, according
to the evidence of the elevator -oper-
ator, Micky Moran. -.
"Oh, yes! Benny Smith was here,
too, about half-paSt one. but surely
YOU can't imagine Borden's making
his Office boy present of $500!
Can't you see that it isn't fair to
Jack to convict him in your own
mind until you've talked with Rita
Dubois? We know she was here"
"And that she didn't see Borden,
in all probability, if we're to put the
natural Interpretation on what she
said to Moran, the elevator operator,
IL. DavJny1se S1oHyiynrr tcfnnI hn1s
up" moran pointed out patiently.
THAT'S ridiculous!" Ruth cried,
Forgetting tact in her anger. "Toe
natural supposition is that she was
refe ring to BordenS having failed
TO rect her at the station, to take
her away on the weekend trip -te
Winter Haven, as they had planned.
why give her the benefit of thu
doubt when you've been so ruthless
with Mrs. Borden, Jack and myself?
Oh, please be fair! Don't you sec
how likely it is that it was Rita Du-
bois who-who last saw Mr.. Borden
alive? Since for some reason he
failed to keep his appointment with
her, he would be expecting her here.
Probably she telephoned him
md asked her to come, or she SIM
ply came to see why he had stood
her up at the station. He would
admit Rita, unlock the door for her,
but not for Jack Hayward.
"And don't forget = some one
closed that window after Harry
Borden was murdered. Jack could
not have done so. He couldn't have
got in. He has no key to this Of
fee, of course"
The girls passionate outburst was