The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1935-04-18

to the chair when she first came in
the room and put her arm back of
the corpse? She coulda stuck the.
dagger under the seat with all Of us
looking at her. And that cagy butler,
he coulda done it,"
"And don't overlook the Chinaman.
Gamble sent him to fetch Miss Lakes
breakfast tray while we were all
downstairs"
Heath grasped at this remark.
"That's the guyw he declared.
"Just minute, Sergeant" Mark
ham suppressed him with gesture,
and turned to Vance. eff, as you be-
lieve, the dagger and poker were TAX
en- from this room and hidden in Goes
bedroom this morning, the inevitable
conclusion is that the murderer is one
of the persons who have been in the
house this morning"
"Not necessarily" Vance shook his
head mildly. >"There are several per-
son here who know more than they've
admitted. No, no, it was stupid
act. The murderer couldn't have done
it. 1t was some one else-some one
who didn't know all the facts. The
murderer was too clever to do a fool
ish thing like that-to hide weapons
where they never could have been.
The murderer wanted the weapons
found in this library. That's why he
tried to hide the dagger twice-once
in the egg-shell Ting yao vase, and
the second time in that Yung Cheng
Ting yao. And he wanted the poker to
be found on the hearth-with the
bloodstains on it. He wanted the wea-
pons in this room where Archer Coe
was sitting when Gamble left the
house last night. He figured on this
library being the murder room. And
then something went wrong, the MUIR,
der room shifted. Something strange
and diabolical. happened. The corpse,
with a bullet wound in his head and
revolver in his hand, decided on the
bedroom upstairs. And when the MUIR
derer came back, it was too late to
rearrange the setting"
"Came back? Too late?" repeated
Markham. "What do you mean?"
"Just that" Vance halted and looked
down at the district attorney. ooh, he
came back-he had to come back.
Brisbane was killed hours after Arch
er. And the reason he was too late to
transfer the scene of the crime was
that Archer's door was bolted on the
inside. The scene of his murder had
si.if ft ted-anda he the Murderer, was
locked out. He knew last night that
neither the dagger nor the pokercould
be found in the bedroom. Therefore it
was not the murderer who placed
them there this morning. ="
At this moment Gamble appeared
at the door. He was worried and ap-
ologetic.
"I'm very sorry, sir, to intrrupt,"
he began, "but an item-if you know
what I mean-has just occurred to
me. Ordinarily l would have thought
little or nothing of it, but in view"
"What's the item ?" Markham
snapned.
"It-it's this little sgadget, sir"
Gamble suffered, laying small cy-
lindrical metal lipstick holder on the
table. II found this in the wastepaper
basket in this room this morning be-
fore l discovered the masters body
upstairs, and threw it out. But a
few minutes ago I began thinking
about this terrible affair"
Vance picked up the holder and re-
moved the top.
practically empty" he unused.
"Not gold case-therefore thrown
away"
He smeared little of the rouge on
his finger and smelled it. "Duplaix's
Carmine. Made for blondes. Most
interestin'." He looked at Gamble.
"You left the house last night,
when?"
Between half past five and six, sir
l couldn't say exactly"
And you are quite sure Mr.. Archer
Coe had no visitor at the time?"
"Oh, quite, sir" Gamble was again
BEGINNING worried. GAS told you"
eyes, yes. So you told me-" Vance
was watching the man from under
lazy eyelids. "But lady seems to
have been here. Do YOU know of ,