The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1936-08-14
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| ledueu LoTWdTu ana opened that
scrawing mouth Of his hit him with.
out knowing that did it.
ut killed him at once. hit him on
the head which I didn't mean to do.
In sense you may say that didn't
mean to hit him at all, it all hap.
pened quickly and under the stress
OF temper. However, all those things
don't matter. did hit him and
killed him and 1t was murder.
II lost my head for few minutes.
and damned nearly turned tail and
ran. leaving everything Just as it
was. but. OF course. that soon passed.
l knew nobody could have heard any.
thing and was certain no one had
seen me going up the back drive.
My truncheon was the first snag.
thought would provide a weapon
to make it easy for everybody.
Those two Indian Clubs took nv
eye so | jumped up on a chair and
got one down (the second fell down
with a hell Of a clatter. it made me
jump foot, and realized how neryy
l was).
when that was finished | put the
chair back in its place (the one
had stood on to get the clubs) care
fully brushed off any evidence of 1t
having been stood on and had a good
look round.
Zone club was on the floor and |
picked it up and hung it on a nail
on the wall. It just shows how mis-.
taken a man can be about the state
OF his mind and how easy 1t must be
for murderers to make silly mis-
takes; l could have sworn was per.
fectly cool and collected and yet
never realized that | was putting
that club back on its wrong nail; it
just didn't enter my head.
|"HALFWAY down the back drive
II did exactly what you thought
the murderer did. / stuck my trun.
cheon well into the grass at the foot
OF the hedge and wiped all the mess
off it. Then slung it in place again
and went on. There was no one about
so turned left and made off sharp
ly through the lanes to Nyeton vii.
lage.
II was back home by half past
eight and sat there pretending to
read with my ears nailed to the door
as you may say.
"Just after nine L u m d al q
knocked. let him in and he told me
his alarming news. hope my face
looked serious and official enough,
| tried to make it so anyway. and
walked up with him to see the first
murder of my life (but my second
view of it).
Il want to make it clear. Inspec.
tor, that / didn't want anybody else
to be charged with the crime. but |
didn't see how there could be any
evidence to charge anyone else. !
don't pretend to know what should
have done If the circumstantial evi.
dence had gone on mounting against
Shipley the way it did.
However, you feel a damned fool,
Inspector. when you've jumped into
the river to rescue someone and it
turns out to be dummy. found
out today that what Arthur Burdett
said about my wife was absolutely
true-so l needn't have killed him
at all really. which is a pretty good
joke on both of us when you come
to think of it.
well. Inspector, that's the way
Of it. knew it all before: shut my
eyes to 1t and have had 1t proved
abundantly again: Go your own way
In life and trust yourself. nothing
else is worth while. II you hadn't
come in when you did this evening
| should have killed Alice. You saved
her. and much good that will do the
world. shan't kill her now,
couldn't very well hope to get away
with that. and yet II ! let her live
she'll get me caught over the other
thing. somehow or other in the devil
ish way women have In their minds
she KNOBS.
well. she won't have that pleas.
ure. rye always lived life my own
way and I'll go out of 1t my own way.
James Clewley White"
Inspector Hylton read this re-
markable and eminently lucid docu-
ment through slowly and with a
series Of mingled feelings such as
he had seldom. If ever. before ex-
perienced. When he had finished it
to fits last syllable he gathered the
loose sheets together and took them
into the Office. not caring particu.
larly to share the company in the
kitchen any longer.
"Poor devil" Hylton thought with
compassion. Then lifting up the re-
ceiver. he asked in a weary voice
for the Morechester Police Station.
(cefwisAs. 1885. Essrs@es W. Es,ss12