Henderson daily dispatch., 1935-11-15
81 MURDER uPSTAIRS@
A/ADAM BLISS EshI
CHAPTER 1

1 KNEW from the knock that n
was Della. She has a way of plant
ing her fist on door that is unmis.
taxable. I've tried to show her how,
to knock properly and softly, but if
does no good. Della goes on pound
ing and l go on showing, but making
no dent in her skull which is thicker
than it should be for a girl of 10.
signing. l put down my pencil and
called to her 10 come in. Delia's
rect. too. are easily recognizable even
when ones back is turned. Thew
kiop. if YOU know what l mean. Big
feet in flat-soled shoes Yet they are
surprisingly swift when she is serv-
ing at the table
The first night she waited on nv
table l was amazed that she got
around so quickly. I've considered
every day since letting Della go, and
always I've relented because Della
means so well and she works so
hard, and she's SO Contented with the
wages l pay her. Then there's Grace
who is more than satisfied with her
Grace. my cook, who found her for
me, says she's the best helper she
ever had.
Poor Della.
"Well?' l said shortly, for l was
planning my budget for the month.
And when you have eight paying
guests as I have. you know it's no
Aght job.
The carving knife's disappeared,
Sha am, Della announced.
why come to me about it? You've
probably mislaid it."
No. ma'am. 1t disappeared off
the top of the buffet while I was in
the kitchen with Grace. Plain dis
appeared. 1 was out of the dining
room only few minutes"
It'll show up. Maybe somebody
borrowed it." Della persisted in re-
porting to me all details regardless
Of instructions. / am as patient
with her ae I can be but sometimes
she tries me too much.
"Who would want 20 borrow big
Fazor-sharp carving knife. ma'em?"
Il haven't the slightest idea.
Della Now if you'll 60"
Il just wanted to tell you, ma'am,
DO you wouldn't blame me. It's gone
and I told you" She klopped to the
door again and let herself out. Della
always seems to think ! am going to
blame her for some trivial loss. Not
that the carving knife is a trivial
thing. It isn't. It's a good knife,
new last Christmas, with a solid
sterling handle and all expensive
blade. Somebody must have bor-
rowed it, because if Della says she
left 1t on the buffet. she left it on
the buffet. She's never wrong about
where she puts things. Besides a
tenacious memory for details, she is
ecrupulously honest. Stolidly honest,
/ called her unit l discovered differ
emily. For even Della developed
nerves Tuesday morning with the
rest of lis. Monday night when she
was calmly insisting she had left
the carving knife on the buffet in
the dining room. could have sworn
She didn't have a nerve in her body.
1t was $50 when she told me
about the missing carving knife.
1otted a memo about the loss on my
calendar for the next day, thinking
as l did it that if some one of my
boarders had borrowed it. it was a
peculiar thing to borrow. Still last
week / had missed, or rather Della
had missed, one of the salt cellars
from the table. and we had discov-
cred il in Janet Bells room. She
was giving her gold fish a salt bath
Perhaps somebody had used the
carving knife to sharpen a pencil.
After the memo I promptly forgot
the carving knife and got back to my
work. There were no more inter-
ruptiors until Lucy Upham put her
head in the door at $3.50. Lucy
never knocks. She has known me
too long.
'If you've a few minutes, Alice,
I'd like to talk to YOU"
pushed aside my papers and
pulled out a chair for her. Now
Lucy doesn't have to come in and