The Washington times., 1933-02-27
CHAPTER ONE

1nlS case DrOke one gorgeous
September day away back yon-
der. BY special assignment Pat
Bray handled it. He was a ser
Geant in the homicide bureau
then and reaching for a cap
taincy, which he did reach but
not at that time. But got
in on it, so to speak, by acci-
dent.
1 was on the old Evening
World, doing this and that and
on the side writing an occa-
stonal column of signed stuff.
That month 1 was on leave,
having asked for a month off
SO I could finish up a crook
play. I had been working on it
at, intervals for nearly a year.
1.don't know how it is now but
those days you scarcely we're
orthodox unless about once in
So. often you played hockey
from the shop while you wrote
your play. Or your novel. Or,
anyhow, tried to.
BY the beginning Of the Sec
end week in September 1 had
reached the point where I was
willing to admit something
might be wrong with the Sec
end act. The Standard Un-
sbridged may disagree with me
here but I shall ever maintain
3 play is an original dramatic
Construction that has some
thing wrong with the second
. act.
. So this particular morning I
vent down early to police head
quarters to see Pat Bray and
get from him some technical in
formation touching on certain
details of the overlapping
game. The action of the opus
largely revolved around the
overlapping swindle and
wanted to make sure my local
color was on straight.
In a Huddl2
He and I were in a huddle
eft in a quiet corner and just
getting under way when the
desk phone rang. It was an
inside call and it was for him.
From his voice as he spoke
over the wire, I could tell he
must be hearing from some
body of high authority, very.
YVES, sir. I get you, SIR" he
kept on saying, and while he
listened was scribbling words
down on handy scratch-pad.
He finished up with, "YeS, sir,
<lght away, sir, quick as I can
get there, sir" and hung up the
receiver and tore off the top
sheet of paper and put it in
6is pocket and reached for his
hat and as he did these things
vas saying to me:
Murder late last night way
Up. the other side of Harlem
River. Citizen named Holt re-
ported killed by a burglar.
Morning papers missed 1.-THE
first flash must have been sort
Of slow coming through. Still
I saw the slip in the front Of
flee when I got here. And now
the Commish details me to
cover it," There was pride in
his tone. whats more, out
side the precinct bulls and
the routine operators-photog-
HapherS and finger-print guys
and the like of that-I'm cover
ing it all by myself. What I
mean, nobody from down here
1s-in on it, only me. But there's
40 law against you coming
along while I'm giving the
Premises and all the once-over,
II you'd like to come"
End of the Line
"Let the future Great Amer
lcan Melodrama watt" I said.
.FIow do we get there?"
= West Side subway will be
the quickest" he said. Local
TO Fourteenth Street and then
express"
We rode clear through to the
end of the line. TaxicabS were
none too numerous that far
North in those times but as
luck would have it there hap
pefed to be lone cruiser
waiting under the station and
when Bray read off the address
from his memorandum the
driver said he knew the place.
he took us straight up Broad
way for the full length of Van
Courtland Park and just be-
Eond the imaginary line sep
Grating Yonkers from the
Greater City he swung right
and went east for a few blocks.
After all these years I've for
gotten the name of the street
into which we turned but I do
remember it was a nice shady
street lined with the cottages
and the bungalows of preSum-
ably moderately well-to-do citi-
Sens, and each house Strad-
ding its own pleasant grass
plot-a forlorn hope of real
Homes making their last-ditch
stand against the steady, re-
lentless advance of tall and
ugly apartment buildings shov-
ing through and across this
farther frontier of the borough.
+ suppose all those householders
lDng ago went suburban or else
surrendered entirely and be-
came flat-dwellers. But at that
NtSe they had still a peaceful
little neighborhood.
It was by no means the
proper setting for a murder,
Nifs neighborhood. My news
14a1aer training had TAUGHT me