Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1933-10-19

! vi muihCllHS lilIIs MI fiCIShOA -
! fear deepened to horror and she
clutched at the pillar of the veranda
J for support.
The detective bit off his words.
isn't even that possible. under the
! circumstances? You. yourself. dread
ed how far he might go for satisfac-
ton. And your admission would do
much to influence jury. In fact,
your actions today were prompted by
the fear he might be responsible for
the tragedy"
mo, no." the woman protested
vehemently. "He had absolutely no
motive for killing Stuart. There was
nothing improper In our friendship,
swear; what wrote proves that my
interest in him was perfectly inno-
cent"
'But unfortunately. Mr.. Fletcher
couldn't tell that" Rankin declared.
He was guided by the apparent evil
dence Of your unfaithfulness It must
have seemed to him that. :"
"But he never found US together!
When he got back. he only saw me
and had no idea my companion was
Stuart !"
The detective was swift to seize
on her first acknowledgment Of the
true facts; nevertheless, his question
held a note Of uncertainty.
HE didn't know Stuart? How
was that possible? He had pleney Of
cause to remember him from the
dance"
Too late to retract, she manifestly
regretted her panic; but having made
the tel,-tale admission. she saw she
had no choice but to explain II.
mo. what mean was that Edward
saw him only from distance; Stuart
slipped away without encountering
him. before he arrived. So that he dis.
covered me all by myself. That IL
why am sure he couldn't have har-
bored any real anger against him,
Mr.. Rankin"
Rankin disregarded her conclusion.
"Where did all this happen-your hus-
bands interruption and the boys es-
cape?' he queried. "You brought him
back here. I suppose. after you picked
him up at the farmhouseT"
Eyes. we went upstairs; Stuart
and were in my boudoir, part
of the time" Mrs Fletcher paused,
discomposed for an instant. then hur-
ried on as If in self-justification. "Of
course. that was just to give us a
chance for, a confidential chat: I
wanted to learn something about him."
"Just what made you so confident"
Rankin inquired astutely, ''your hus-
band would not return home Monday
night. and the rendezvous would be
safer?
Because he never did come back
on the evenings he went to town for
the meetings Of some real estate
board" Mrs. Fletcher replied. 'He
attended regularly, once a month, And
they always ended so late that even
with a machine-that night. he drove
the limousine in-he remained at some
hotel"
But for once he changed his mind"
the detective commented grimly. "At
what time did he arrive, Mrs.
Fletcher"
1T was about quarter past two in
the morning, when Stuart and were
Just about to leave for the fraternity.
he couldn't have returned because Of
any suspicion Of our plans, I'm almost
positive; it was just an unlucky acei-
dent"
"And what occurred thenY' Rankin
wanted to know. "Your letter init.
mates there was more to 1t than lust
Stuart's escape before Mr.. Fletcher
caught him."
The lawyers wife plunged into her
narrative. Unfortunately. had
parked the roadster at the turn in our
drive while we were inside" she re-
lated. 1T would have been foolish to
garage it. since we intended to use Il
again. And Edward must have no
ticed the lamp lighted In my room,
when he drove in from the highway IN
the Limousine. That and the parked
49, An00S uAAu MS ONn JnHCHlHe
below the turn, out of sight. and en-.
ter the house quietly. so as not to at
tract our attention.
"We didn't realize he was anywhere
about, until he opened the door in his
room and knocked thunderously on the
connecting one between our chambers.
he had heard Stuart speaking from
the hall. and demanded to be let In ut
once. For a moment. we were par
alyzed with establishment; If the door
hadn't been locked. could never have
got Stuart away in time. l instructed
him quickly to go through my bath
room and down the servants stairs to
the rear entrance; then he was 70
take the roadster. before Mr.. Fletcher
could interfere and drive himself back
to town. Otherwise, he would have
been rash enough to prefer facing my
husband. The racket Edward caused,
rafting the door-knob and wanting to
know who was with me. covered his
escape"
"Still, Mr.. Fletcher did know" Ran
kin pointed out smoothly. that a man
was locked in your bedroom with you
at two o'clock In the morning. He
NoallA Carc0lv 0vnid iutarnrotinO Tho