The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-01-02
A,Ivder At BRIDGE
~ l. HNNE AUSTIN o1bzot> THE 81 Ack o,ero,,. *
n1k6S ~ pA9rc "

heard gossiped about at the For
sythe school.
mo, wait! Let US suppose fur
Their that Nita recognized Flora's
picture in the group Lois Dunlap
showed her, as a portrait Of the
girl whose story she had heard;
that she was able, somehow, to Sc
cure discriminating evidence of some
sort-letters, let us say.
"Nita tells Sprague about it, and
Sprague advises her to blackmail
Flora, who, Lois has told Nita, is
very rich. So Mia comes to Ham,
ilton and bleeds Flora of $4,000.
Not satisfied, Mia makes another
demand, the money to be paid to
her the day Of the bridge lunch
con"
."CnLYl" Penny scoffed furious
- ly. 1.-THE only evidence you
have against poor Flora is that she
stole the note Dexter had written
to Nital"
That's the crux of the matter.
Penny darlingl" Dundee assured
her in a maddeningly soothing
voice, at which Penny clenched her
hands in impotent rage. Flora,
seeing Mia receive a letter written
on her husbands business station
cry, jumps to the conclusion that
Mia has carried out her threat to
tell Tracey, or that Mia at least
has given Tracey hint Of the
truth and that Tracey's special
messenger note is, let us say, a con-
f1rmation of an appointment sug-
gested by Nita.
Very we'll! Flora goes to Nita's
bedroom at the first opportunity,
knowing that Mia will come there
to makeup for the mems arrival.
Let's suppose Flora has brought the
gun and silencer with her, intending
to frighten Mia, rather than kill
her. But having had proof, as she
believes, that Mia means business,
Flora waits in the closet until Mia
comes in and sits down at her
dressing table, then steps out and
shoots her.
Then she recoils step by step,
until her foot catches in the slack
cord Of the bronze lamp, causing
the very bang or bump which
Flora herself describes later, for
fear some one else had heard it.
'Her first concern, Of course, is
to hide the gun and silencer. She
remembers Judge Marshall's tale
of the secret shelf in the guest
closet, and not only hides the gun
there, but seeks in vain for the in
eliminating evidence Mia had
against her.
But she also remembers the note
she believes Tracey has written to
Mia, and which, if found after
Nita's death, may give her away. So
she goes to the closet in Nita's
bedroom, finds the note, and faints
with horror at her perhaps needless
crime when she realizes that the
note had been written by Sprague,
and not Tracey.
"Of course, she is too i'll and
panic-stricken to leave the closet
until the murder is discovered"
But you think she was not too
panic-stricken to have the presence
of mind to retrieve the gun and
silencer and walk out with them,
under the very eyes of the police"
Penny Scoffed.
Yes, I think she 'wasl" Dun
dee amazed her by admitting. "And
that is where my sudden recollec-
ton of something I had consid-
cred uninportant comes in!
Let us suppose that Flora, half
suspected by Tracey, confesses to
him in their car as they are going
to the Country club for their long
delayed dinner, as were the rest of
you. Tracey, loyal to her, decides
to help her.
"He tells her to suggest, at din
ner, that Lydia come to them as
nurse, so that he can go back to the
house and get the gun and silencer
from the guest closet hiding place,
if an opportunity presents itself
as it did, since I left Tracey Miles
alone in the hall, while went into
Nita's bedroom to talk with Lydia
before I permitted her to go with
Tracey"
you're crazyl" Penny told him
f1ercely, when he had finished. II
suppose you are going to ask me to
believe that Tracey was big enough
fool to leave the gun and silencer
where Flora could get hold of it and
kill Sprague last night"