The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-04-18

tom Of the lake.
Therefore he stopped long
enough on his way out of the house
in pursuit of Doris, to put the
bottle away-most probably in his
own room"
DUNDEE paused for a long min
II ute, froTning. Then he cried
triumphantly:
"Of course, 'Watson' What an
idiot I've been! Shoes No Won
der we couldn't smell Fleur d.
Amour when we shifted at the shoes
we knew had been worn Friday
night!
THE poisoner was behind Doris.
She fled first, and the poisoner had
ample opportunity to observe how
silent her flight waS-in her rub
ber-soled, rubber-heeled shoes. Not
even when she ran down the I'M
carpeted backStairs did she make
any noise.
But in ordinary shoes the pois-
oner could not hope to be so noise
less. He stopped and changed to
shoes as silent as the girls. 1t would
have taken less than a minute and
undoubtedly the poisoner knew,
either from Doris herself Or from
deduction, what she meant to do.
Doris would not find Arnold in
the summerhouse, but she would
wait, for a short time at least, ex-
pecting him to arrive any minute.
Oh, yes, the poisoner had time to
change his shoes-and he did"
He was silent again for so long
that Capn turned rapidly about on
his perch three times, then croaked
Good night! Good night"
Good night? Why, I've just be-
gun" Dundee reproached the bird.
Lets see now, where we stand.
Noiseless shoes Bedroom slip
pers, or-tennis shoes?
But I've stopped and snooped and
shifted in every clothes closet in the
house and I've not caught a single
Whit of Fleur d'Amour, except from
Clorinda's gold slippers.
Lets follow the murderers back
to the house from the summer house,
after his CHASTITY work there had
been done. 1t is almost certain that
the perfume splaShed upon his shoes
when the bottle broke.
"Of course it splashed upon his
clothes, too, but that didn't matter
since Gigi had helpfully anointed
sNery one. with perfume earlier in
tire evening. But perfume on soft
shoN5 Now, how could he re-
move it most successfully? BY
washing the shoes Not so good. Per-
fume is devilish persistent stuff"
Very earnestly he stared into the
parrots beady eye, then suddenly he
Smote the table with triumphant fist.
Tennis shoeS-white shoe pol
ishl" he cried. Easy and quick.
polished tennis shoes would
cause no comment Well. that's
that, unless I've been barking up
the wrong tree Now, let's see
what We know about this would-be
poisoner.
81. He knows that Mrs. Berkeley
Is a perfume addict.
90. He knows that Mrs. Berkeley
has a lighter fountain filled with
wood alcohol in her sitting room.
"3. He has what seems to him
good cause to wish Mrs. Berkeley
dead.
a. He knew Arnold could not
meet Doris i'll the summerhouse;
therefore he must have been present
when Mrs. Berkeley ordered the car.
IS. He was some one to whose
appeal for mercy Doris Matthews,
a kind-hearted girl, must have
turned a deaf ear. Otherwise her
murder would not have been neces-
sary."
LIE was silent again, passing all
H possible suspects in review,
putting them. one by one, to the
best of his fifth conclusion. Fin
ally he spoke aloud again, very So
lemnly:
80 far as we know. Cap'n,
there were only two people in this
house whom Doris could possibly
have hated-judging from her let
ter to her sister and from all the
evidence we have in hand.
"Those two people were Mrs.
Berkeley and Seymour Crosby
provided it was Seymour Crosby
whom Doris knew or suspected to
be responsible, directly or indirect
ly, for Phyllis CroSby's death.
Let us say she only suspected, I'M
til she saw him plotting the death
of another woman. Her suspicion
would have become a certainty
then. She would have shown no
mercy.
If she had come upon any one
else than her beloved Miss PHYLLIS
killer, preparing to poison a WON.
an she diSliked, )uld she not have
been easy to move with protests-
lions Of repentance and promises
not to repeat the attempt? [
think so. do not indeed think so.
If am any judge at all of Doris
Matthews character!"
D is on er tin ely, the parrot
chuckled throatily.
oh, 1 Shan't go half cooked. If
that's what you mean by your ribald
laughter" Dundee retorted. I'm
going to consider every single pos
Sibility.
But before I forgotl Doris
returned to his room and
polished his tennis shoes, to cover
up the perfume. But there was
another problem confronting him:
What to do with his bottle of FIeur
d'AOOlIro"