The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-12-06
CHAPTER SIXTEEN

ALlE1E In tlAaA 4 --44-@Af
a S Dexter Sprague had glibly and
n plausibly explained away every
sinister aspect Of tie note he had
written to Mia Sslim that day
The note which Flora Miles adj
mitted having stolen and read in
her hostess clothes closet just be-
fore the murder was committed
Special Investigator Dundee was
recalling with verbatim viyidness
his argument with Captain Strawn
Of the homicide squad Immediately
after his arrival into the house Of
violent death.
He had said then: The person
Who killed Nita Stelim was so well
known to her, and his-or her
presence in this room 50 natural a
thing that she paid no attention to
his-or her-mOYements and was
concentrating on the JOB of pow
dering her very pretty face"
And he had said further, in face
Of the disappearance Of the gun
and in explanation Of the fact thai
al twelve Of these people immedi-
ately had protested to Strawn that
they had heard no shot.
This was a premeditated murder,
Of course. The Maxim silencu-
unless they are all lying about not
hearing q shot-proves that. ST.
lencers are damned hard to get hold
of, but people with plenty Of money
can manage most things
And as Dexter Sprague had talked
on, more and more glibly, Dundee
suddenly had found an explanation
which fitted his own argument with
such perfection that he wondered,
naiyely, if he were perhaps gifted
with clairvoyance.
OF all these twelve people, whom
ne had questioned so relentlessly.
only Dexter Sprague easily could
have come into possession Of a
Maxim silencer He had dilated
proudly upon the fact that he had
been an assistant director at the
Altamont studios on Long Island.
And the AltamOnt company re-
Gently finished making a series of
underworld motion pictures-
crook dramas featuring gunmen with
rods made eerily noiseIess by 81
lencers.
A BIT of information he had
N picked UP in a motion picture
mo rov5,7o I,oI I,,4,.AIoI into fI,c Loo
zeal chain of Dundee's reasoning;
assistant directors were in charge
Of props" it was their business to
see that no article needed for the
production of a picture was lost or
missing when the director needed
it.
Dexter Sprague had said that
he had dropped everything" to
come when Nita Selim wrote him
Of the Chamber of Commerce prof.
ece to make a booster movie OF
Hamilton.
Perhaps he had dropped every
thing. But-had he hesitated long
enough to pick up a Maxim
and a blunt-nosed automatic?
All Was lllt TOW WHICH
Sprague had been so glibly explain
ing away an ancient one-a row so
deadly that, when Nita Selim had
refused to heed his written warn
ing, her murder became necessary?
It was with all this in mind that
Bonnie Dundee flung his challenge:
Il must conclude that you are all
lying or that Mia Selim was killed
with a gun equipped with a Maxim
silencer."
And his eyes, terrible with their
Command that the weakling should
break and confess. We're upon Dex-
ter Sprague. But Sprague did not
break He stared back blankly
II his eyes and his attention had
included the whole group it is pos
sible that what happened would not
have taken Dundee so completely
by surprise.
He had paid little attention to
sort of concerted gasp, a slight
movement among the group farthest
from him.
But not even his intense concen-
ration upon Sprague could prevent