Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-10-09
FEATHER
INHERHkT
. JULIE ANNE MOORE

airport.
When Deane petulantly went down
to the smoking room at the lecture
hall, the only problem was to get him
to tho dark Reimbursement hallway
where the boxes were stored. Carl
managed it by suddenly appearing In
the smoking room and suggesting to
Deane that they slip away through q
back entrance. In less than 10 min
utes, Deane was dead in sealed box
and Carl was back in the auditorium.
Lee had innocently flown Deane's
body to Washington, where the two
boxes were promptly transferred from
the airport to the floor of the House
of Representatives. Meanwhile, sup
posedly searching for Deane, Carl went
to the South Boston airport, called
Mollie at IL o'clock, and few min
utes later was in plane headed for
Washington. At the Capitol he used
one of 10 master keys (Which the
police subsequently learned opened the
doors of 80 per cent of the city's pub
lie buildings) to let himself in the
ground level door under the House
wing steps, climbed two flights OF
stairs to the press gallery and slid over
the railing and dropped to the floor OF
the House. Having propped Deanes
body in the Speakers chair. ne re-
sealed the box, climbed back to the
press gallery and retraced his steps.
1t was necessary that Deans body
be found while he, Carl, was In Boston.
He therefore unlocked the door at the
main entrance to the House, wrote on
the door with chalk, where to look for
Deane's body, locked the door again
and went on down and out the way
he had come In. Half an hour later
Carl was aboard plane returning to
Boston.
Nothing was said in the newspapers
of Selma's affair with Thurman. Selma
herself said 1t had been "a perfectly
idiotic infatuation" and that no one
would have known anything about 1t
If Deane hadn't gone to Fuhrman's
apartment one evening and found her
there. Until then, Selma said, Deane
and Thurman had been on the best Of
terms, but thereafter were forever at
each others Threats"
Whatever feeling Selma had had
for Thurman, 1t was short-hved and
ended definitely with Carrs arrival on
the scene. But Thurman had never
quite accepted his abrupt dismissal.
On the day that Ann and Rita ar
rived in Washington, he had threat
ened to tell Carl a scandalous and
wholly false story of what their rela-
lions had been. When, therefore. he
appeared at Mollie's apartment that
night, she was frightened and gave
way to her pent-up feelings. That
night she asked her father to dis
charge him.
Senator Runbrecker was never able
to explain how the voice muffling tele-
phone device got into his desk drawer,
but Carl must have put it there.
For Ann, one interesting question
remained to be answered: How much
of the photographed sketch found
in Fuhrman's rooms had been true?
True, that is, as Carrs own?
The latter part of it was obviously
utilization of such knowledge as
Carl had of Fuhrman's affair with
Selma. The first part the police &C
cepted as possibly authentic; but they
were not able to check anything more
than that the books mentioned had
actually been published and that the
mysterious DR.. ChezZlee was never
identified.
Selmas theory, however, was that
Carl Balmer had planned to kill her
brother and her father and then
marry her to get possession Of the
Runbrecker fortune.
The autopsy revealed that Carts
brain was diseased and whether the
motive was personal enmity or an
alteration involving an experiment in
criminology, it was the opinion OF
the medical examiner that Carl had
suffered from a form of insanity for
years.
AS Ann insisted she could not leave
the apartment Sunday until Lee ar
rived, Mollie invited Mr.. and Mrs.
Rogers up to the apartment for dinner.
Mrs. Rogers tied on an apron and
helped Mollie while Ann, Rita and
Mr.. Rogers talked about everything
but the tragedy.
Rita had cried herself to sleep last
night, but today she was calm and
unconcerned. This substantiated AIMS
belief that Rita's apparent affection
for Carl was, in its essence, her gen.
uine dislike for Selma.
Shortly after 2 o'clock there was
a knock on the door and Rita cried
out, Behold the bridegroom"
Ann had started to the kitchen with
a stack Of plates. Mollie opened the
door and deep drawing voice said,
And now, friends of the radio au-
dience, we offer for your entertainment
little skit entitled"
A deafening crash ended that. Bill
Hudson looked at the shattered dishes
at AIMS feet.
You dropped something, runt," he
said.
Ann did not smile. did not move.
Rita said, Bill Hudson Glowing
again where's Lee Monday?"
Bills eyes were fastened on AIMS
curiously pale face now. II just saw
him off," Bill replied. Hes on his
way to California" He put his fists
on his hips and stared down at the
pile of broken china.
you didn't have to break up Mol
lies china, you know"
Hush don't talk, Bill" Ann
said. Her voice was barely above a
whisper. She put hand on his sleeve
as If to make sure he was really there,
then she looked up into his eyes and
the tears that had been yelling UP in
her own eyes since she had first heard
his voice were suddenly flowing down
her cheeks.
Good heavens!" Bill said. you're
not going to cry!'
Smiling through her tears, Ann took
Bills hand and pulled him into the
narrow little htchen-and closed the
door.