The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-01-22
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@ 7 'TaE ANs BEGIN HERE TO-DAY.
 JUANITA SELIM is murdered at bridge; four days later DEXTER SPRAGUE Is also murdered when . bridge party at the TRACEY MILES home. SPECIAL lNVEs- TIGATOR DUNDEE, believing that Nlta and Spraguc, coming to Hamil- ton after Nita recognizes someone i'm blackmail, has six suspects who could have killed both.
 All six could have gotten the gun, and hidden 1t after Nita's murder on q secret shelf fin the guests closet. Nita's will and the fact that she had Sprague cOntrive | . bell near her bed to summon LY- DIA, her maid and heir, show she feared death. The police think that both were killed by New York gunman. Their theory is that Nita and Spraguc were partners i'm some racket in New York, that Nita came down first. under her manfred name, the money, accounting for the $1O,- 900 Nlta banked, and that they were tracked by Q gunman.s
 Dundee thinks the second murder was framed to look as though New | York gunman did 1t. POLLY BEALE and CLIVE HAMMOND, af- ter being engaged year, suddenly marry the morning after Sprague's death. and Dundee wonders if they arc marrying because they feel safe from the threat of blackmaiI. A telegram Is delivered to CAPTAIN STRAWN which apparently confirms his theory.
 NOW co ON WITH THE STORY CHAPTER XXxIX. The telegram which the tri- umphant chief of the homicide squad passed to Dundee had been filed an hour before and was from the city editor of the New York Evening Press:
 "WORKING ON YOUR THEORY OF NEW YORK GUNMAN RE- SPONSIBLE MURDERS OF JUA- NITA LEIGH SELIM AND DEx- TER sPRAGUE THIS PAPER HAS DISCOVERED THAT SELIM WOMAN WAS SEEN AT NIGHT CLUBS SEVERAL TIMES DUR ING JANUARY FEBRUARY WITH QUOTE SWALLOW TAIL SAMMY UNQUOTE UNDERWORLD NAME YELL TAKEN FOR A RIDE TUESDAY APRIL TWENTY SEC OND TWO DAYS AFTER SELIM WOMAN LEFT NEW YORK STOP POLICE HERE WORKING ON THEORY SAVELLI SLAIN BY OWN GANG AFTER THEY WERE TIPPED OFF SAVELLI WAS DOUBLE CROSSING THEM STOP IN EXCHANGE FOR THIS TIP CAN YOU GIVE US ANY SUP PRESSED INFORMATION IN YOUR POSSESSION STOP SA- YELL HAD BROTHER WHO IS KNOWN TO US TO HAVE PROM ISED REVENGE SWALLOW TAIL SAMMYS MURDER STOP BE A SPORT CAPTAIN"
 "Well, that puts the lid on it. don't it?" Strawn crowed. "11l send Sergeant Turner to New York on the five o'clock train. Pretty decent of that city editor to wire me this tip, I'll say!'
 And are you going to. recipro- cate by wiring him about the $1O,- 900 Nita banked here?" Dundee asked.
 Sure! Why not? There's no use that I can see to keep it back any longer, now that no one can have any excuse to think as you've been doing-that it was blackmail paid by Hamiltonian."
 Then" Dundee began very slowly, eff you really think your case is solved, I'll make one sugges- tion: take charge of Lydia Carr and put her in a very safe place"
 "Why?" Strawn looked puzzled.
 "Because, when you publish the fact that Nita and Sprague got $1O,0O0 for tipping off Savellis gang and that Nita willed the money to Lydia, the avengers next and last job would be to get Lydia, since his natural conclusion would be that Lydia had been in on the scheme from the beginning" Dun dee explained.
 God. boy! You're right" Strawn exclaimed, and his heavy old face was very pale as he reached for the l telephone, and called the number of the Miles residence. "I'm going to put it up to her that it will be best for her to be locked up as a material witness. for her own pro- | tection."
 Five minutes later Strawn re- stored the receiver to the hook | with a bang. Says she won't budge!" he explained unnecessarily. Says she ain't afraid and the Miles kids need her. . Well. it's her own funeral! But l guess you are convinced at last?"
 Dundee slowly shook his head. "Almost-but not quite, chief" Lord, but you're stubborn! Here's a water-tight case" "A very pretty and very satis- factory case. but not exactly water tight" Dundee interrupted. "There's just one little thing
 What do you mean?" Strawn demanded irritably. ... Have you forgot the secret shelf behind the guest closet in the Selim house?" Dundee asked.
 "I can afford to forget it, since it hasn't got a thing to do with the easel" Strawn retorted angrily. There's not a scrap of evidence "Of course it does not fit into your theory" Dundee agreed, "for 'Swallow-tail Sammy's' averaging brother could not have known of its exlSIeuCe, UuL LucIo ID ouC ehAh6 about that secret shelf and its pivot door which I don't believe you can afford to forget, Captain!" "Yeah?" Strawn snarled. "Yeah! I refer, of course, to the complete absence of finger prints on the door and on the shelf itself! Carraway didn't even find Nita Selim's fingerprints. Since Nita would have had no earthly reason for carefully wiping off her fingerprints after she removed the papers she burned on Friday night, 1 it's a dead sure fact that someone