The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1934-07-05
Chapter 40
NEW THEORY

NEW THEORY
pTSHANK You. Andrews" Harper
! acknowledged the patent sin
cerity OF the old buffers words.
pThat will be all for the present"
he told them. in dismissal. The ser.
wants siled out silently. with o'Con-
nell bringing up the rear.
Sergeant Harper leaned hack
YEARLY Hts face was drawn and
tired. hts eyes looking duly through
The window alta winter landscape he
did not see. Lafferty gave him a
keen look. Whats the matter. old
man? You look as If you'd been up
al night"
The detective thumped the skein
Of rome on the table with sudden
fury. Another life gone and / feel
I'm partlyresponslble. Isshould have
figured out that rope trick sooner.
Now that youngster Is out OF the
way and the wholeFdamned business
Is to do over again."
what do you mean. Steve?" LAT.
terty gasped.
In plain words. Donaghy's sui.
eide is a fake plant. He was
murdered. just like the others. Out
there is the same mysterious mark
in the snow. only this time it's be
tween the pergola and the garage!"
Holy Mosesl" murmured the
lanisy detective, weakly.
Not only that" Harper went on.
Il found two more of those spikes.
Ore driven into the end Of the per-
COLA and one beside the pent roof
over the garage door. Yon see where
this leaves us?"
"But good God. man, where Is II
going to .end?"
Il don't know. but do know that
Donaghy never went to any gam.
bling house and lost his roll You
remember that it showed again from
seven to eleven o'clock last night.
waited here until midnight to see
him. How did he get back into the
garage after that without leaving
his own footprints in the SNOWY"
Lafkerty shrugged.
Il BELIEVE" Harper continued.
: that Donaghy left this house
and went directly to his room and
stayed there. At that time it wasn't
showing. But If he did that, he
couldn't have lost his money gam.
bling and that would make that
much or the letter lie. Yet the
loss Of that money is given as ma
i0r reason for the suicide"
Hmm. What about Donaghy's
alibi for the night of the murders?
Il looked all right to me-"
Eyes. and it looked all right to
nle. It was the average sort OF ac.
count that is genuine in ninety.nine
times in a hundred It's not the too.
foxy kind that can account for every
minute. because the need for that
was borne in mind"
Harper turned the signet ring
idly In his fingers. 81 can't quite
swallow Harry Dorey,'" he said.
THE bare name suggests nothing.
explains nothing. Why did this HID.
buy Disguise In order to look like
Dufresne? We've got the right an
swer as TO how the escape was
pulled off and perhaps the name of
the murdered man. but along with
these two answers we get about a
dozen new questions to wrestle
with"
Lafferty said, "You told me that
the wound was in typical suicide
form-with the gun muzzle pressed |
firmly against the head. | suppose
you realize that murderer rarely
gets chance to hold the gun that
way. unless he catches his victim
asleep or unconscious?
Asleep. or unconscious. Or"
"0r what?" Lafferty pressed.
you just gave me an idea." Har-
per answered guardedly. "but It's
still too hazy to discuss. Here's
what ] want you to do. Jack. Take !
O'Connell and go back to the ga
rage. Give 1t good ripping out, es-
pecially for anything that might |
have bearing on the suicide-mur-
der question"
After Lafferty had gone Harper |
paced the length of the room rest.
lessly. fitting this new design into |
the jumbled mosaic formed by all |
the known angles OF the case. "A
very pretty theory" he growled to |
himself, but how to prove it? How
70 prove IT."
WHAT was that mark where the
w light cleaned across the pol
Ished Wood Of the tahle2 The detec- Il