Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-10-13
JNSTALLMENT ].
(FRIDAY, JULY 10, IL A. M

(FRIDAY. JULY IS, IL A. M
HrIo VANCE was drawn into
the Scarab murder case by sheer
coincidence, although there, Is
little doubt that John FIX.
Markham. New York's district
attorney. would sooner or later nave
enlisted his services. But IL Is plop-
lematic if even Vance, with ms me
analytic mind and his remarkable naI
for the subtleties of human psycnoloeS'
could have solved that bizarre ana as
Founding murder if he had not oeen
the first observer on the scene, Tor, IN
The end. he was able to put his nnger
on the guilty person only because OF
The topsy-turvy clues that had met MS
eve during his initial inspection.
These clues-highly misleading from
the materialistic point of v1ew-even-
tlally gave him the key TO the m9r.
derers mentality, and thus enapIeo
him to elucidate one of the most COM
plicated and incredible criminal proO-
lens in modern police history.
The brutal and fantastic murder OF
that old philanthropist and art patron
BENJAMIN H. Kyle became known as the
Scarab murder case almost lmmeoi-
atelv. as a result of the fact that 1t
had taken place in a famous Egyptolo-
aist's private museum and had centereo
about rare blue Scarabaeus tnaC nao
been found beside the mutilated oooy
of the victim.
This ancient and valuable seal, in
scribed with the names of one OF the
early Pharaohs (whose mummy had, by
the way, not been found at this tlme),
constituted the basis on which Vance
reared his astonishing structure OF evl-
dence. This scarab, from the police
point of view, was merely an 1ncloental
piece of evidence that pointed some
what obviously toward its owner; but
this easy and specious explanation olo
not appeal to Vance.
"Murderers," he remarked to Sergt.
Ernest Heath, "do not ordinarily insert
their visitin' cards in the shirt boSoms
of their victims. And while the dis
covery of the lapis-lazuli beetle is most
interestin' from both the psychological
and evidential standpoints, we must
not be too optimistic and jump to con-
illusions. The most important question
in this pseudo-mystical murder is why
and how-the murderer left that archie
illogical specimen beside the defunct
body. Once we find the reason for that
amazin action, we'll hit upon the secret
Of the crime itself"
The doughty sergeant had shifted al
vance's suggestion and had ridiculed
his skepticism; but before another day
had passed he generously admltted tnal
Vance had been right and that the
murder had not been so simple as 1t
had appeared at first view.
As I have said, coincidence brought
Vance into the case before the police
were notified. An acquaintance of his
had discovered the slain body of old Mr..
Kyle and had Immediately come to him
with the gruesome news.
1t happened on the morning Of Fri
day, July Is. Vance had just finished
a late breakfast on the roof garden OF
his apartment in East Thirty-eighth
street and had returned to the library
to continue his translation Of the Ma
nander fragments found in the Egyp-
tan papyri during the early years OF
the present century. when Currie-his
valet and major domo-shuffled into
the room and announced with an air
discreet apology: