Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1933-12-07

conceal her very existence until she
was prepared to appear on Friday
with an alright abb. All these de.
tails she accomplished successfully BY
means of the dormitory ledge"
Tedge? What ledge are you talk
ing about?"
"The coping that extends along the
wall under the windows Of the third
floors of Pelham and Croft halls" Ran
kin elaborated. "It is about a foot
wide and continuous, and since Stuart'a
windows were usually open. gave her
easy access to his quarters. Ran
dall's charwoman said II was not IN
usual for students to use 1t to pass
from room to room or for flight during
class scraps. OF course, II that con.
venient entry had not existed. she
would have had to devise another
means. And It explains all the evi.
dence discriminating Mr.. Edward
Fletcher that baffled me SO. He had
the motive Of Jealousy; and It ap.
peared It was he who entered Jordan's
rooms Tuesday morning. after the
charwoman Strengthened 1t out, and
tempered with his shoes. I also found
the hypodermic needle with which the
poison was administered in his road.
ster."
Mr.. Warwick pursed his lips and
placed together the tips of the fin.
gers Of both hands, II must confess
1t isn't clear to me how the ledge
solves those problems. You1l have to
be bit more explicit, Rankin"
The detective bent toward his
listener as though to impress him more
strongly.
TT is wholly a matter Of the Sc
quence Of events. At ten-fifty the
morning Of the murder Stuart went to
class and Mrs. Hogan entered his suite
to clean up. She was finished by
eleven o'clock. Less than five minutes
later, Mrs. Jordan, as Randall, climbed
In the window to put thumb-tacks in
all his shoes. At eleven-fifteen, Mr..
Fletcher arrived to see the boy, and
claiming to be his uncle, persuaded
Mrs. Hogan to let him in. Too late
to escape, she overheard the converse
ton in the hall; as the key ratified in
the door, she could only drop the
shoes hastily in Stuart's vestibule,
where the charwoman later noticed
them, and conceal herself in his bed
room closet"
"His closetT' Mr.. Warwick spoke
in surprise. "Then she was hidden
there the entire time Mr. Fletcher
searched the study and distracted all
his mail?"
"Yes, she was; although from the
bedroom, she could not see him pocket
it. She did not dare open the closet
door too wide to watch him. She did,
however, catch several glimpses of
him as he moved about stealthily and
hunted nervously through Jordan's
property" Rankin talked deliberately
to emphasize his statements still fur
ther. And that is the most important
point, Mr.. Warwick" he went on.
Mrs. Jordan had never even heard of
Edward Fletcher; nor had she the
least information of the unpleasant
ness between him and her husband.
But at some time or other, Stuart had
either shown her a photograph of Mr..
Merrick or pointed him out to her. She
knew, therefore, that the intruder was
an impostor. There was something un-
demanded about his lies, his surrep-
titious hunt and his guilty conduct
Obviously, he had no more business
there than she; he too was up to some
nefarious scheme for Stuart's detri-
ment.
Naturally, more than mere curl
osity impelled her to spy on him. The
instant Of his departure, Mrs. Jordan
climbed out the window and swiftly
reached her own room without attract
ing much attention. She got down.
stairs just behind him. and like Mrs.
Hogan, saw him enter his yellow road
ster on the street and drive off; she
even noted down his license number.
And that very night at eight orty-five,
as she entered the fraternity to poison
her husband, she discovered the same
car parked outside! The owner, also
oPPoAChIiy HIS CuCuiys was luSiuc Tie
house! Once more she seized on a
heaven-sent opportunity to defect sus-
picion. The murder committed, she
escaped during the excitement Of Jor-
dams collapse; without expecting to
incriminate Mr. Fletcher as deeply as
he eventually became involved. she
stopped long enough to drop the hypo-
dermic into the pouch of his machine"
The supervisor nodded his under.
standing "How did she open the
front door Of the fraternity in the first
placer Where did she secure a keyY"
II can't be quite positive about
that" the detective replied, slightly
dubious. doctor Prince might have
got 1t for her, just as he betrayed to
her all the necessary ceremonial
secrets. He probably didn't, though;
Stanton said nothing about his ever
sending for one. More likely, Mrs.
Jordan spent several mornings, Just
before dawn, outside the house when
the street was most deserted, obtain.
ing an impression of the lock. II chal.
lenged, she could easily get away with
1t by pretending to be . drunken mem.
Der of the chapter, attempting to 10.