The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1935-02-28
THE KEN Mel
MURDER CASE
By s. s. VAN DINE

dow says a middle-aged nervous guy
checked it around six last night, say
ing he'd missed his train-and ne was
shaking so he could hardly lift the
bag to the counter"
Vance nodded slowly.
sI was afraid of that-and yet /
: was hoping It wasn't so. Markham,
don't like this situation; I don't at all
like it. Something unforeseen has
happened: unforeseen-and sinister.
It wasn't on the cards. Brisbane Coe
intended to go to Chicago last night
and he didn't go. Some terrible
thing stopped him -. And some
thing stopped Archer Coe before ne
could change his shoes. Don't
YOU see what I mean? Those shoes
of Archer's-and that stick Of Bris-
bane's.
That stick!-in the front hall! 1t
shouldn't have been there.
Oh, my precious auntl =" He
threw his cigarette into a tray, and
hurried toward the door.
"Come, Markham. F.. Come, Ser
geant. There's something hideous in
this house r. and I don't want to
go alone"
AS he spoke, he ran down the stairs
Markham and Heath and followed
When he had reached the lower hall,
he pulled the portieres aside and
opened the library door. He looked
round him, andthen passed into the
dining room.
After several minutes search, he
returned to the hall.
maybe the den," he said; and hur-
rying through the drawing room,
where Wrede and Grassi sat near the
window, he went into the small room
at the rear. But he came back at
once, bewildered look in his eyes.
"Not there" His tone was unnat-
ural. "But he's somewhere-some
WnOrC.
He came again into the front hall.
He wouldn't be on the third floor
and he's not on the secoud. There's
his STICK" he said; "but his hat and
topcoat. -. Oh, what a fool I've
been"
He brushed Gamble out of his way,
and walked swiftly down the narrow
corridor along the stairs until he
-3ame to the closet door at the rear of
the hall.
"Your flashlight, Sergeant" re-
vealing only great rectangle of
blackness. Almost simultaneously,
the circle of yellow from Heath's
pocket flashlight penetrated the
gloom.
Lower, Sergeantw came Vance's
dictatorial voice. "The floor-the
floor"
The light descended; and then we
saw the thing that Vance, through
some process of obscure logic, had
been searching for.
There, in a huddled heap, his
CLASSY eyes staring up at us, lay the
dead body of Brisbane Coe.
Though the sight was not altogeth-
er unexpected, in view of Vance's
strange actions and even stranger
comments, I received tremendous
shock as l gazed down into the closet.
Even to an amateur like myself the
fact that Brisbane Coe was dead was
apparent. The stiff, unnatural pose of
the body, and the hideous fixity of his
gaze, together with the drawn blood
less lips and the waxen pallor of his
skin, attested to violent and unex-
pected death.
And as I looked at it, temporarily
l.petrifed by the horror of this new
development, could not help COM
pairing the dead body of Brisbane
with that of Archer. Whereas Archer
had died with a peaceful expression
on his face, and in natural and COM
Portable position, Brisbane had a
shocked, almost wild, look in his eyes,
as if he had been startled and fright
ened at the moment of death.
The discovery Of Brisbane Goes
body affected all of us strongly.
Heath stared down with hunched
shoulders. The blood seemed to have
left is face, and he was like man
hyponotized. Markham's jaw was set,
and his eyes were mere Sits.
Vance spoke, and his voice, usually
so calm, sounded strained and unnat-
ural.
cts worse than I thought. I
had hoped he might still be alive-a