The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1936-07-20
Chapter Is
NO LUCK

NO LUCK
THE egg was boiled and duly
eaten. together with three slices
OF bread and butter OF precisely
the right thickness before James
Whites footsteps sounded In the
house. He was a trifie taken back
to find the Inspector in the kitch'
en-. and started 10 demonstrate with
his wife about it.
please" Hylton begged. tits en-
tirely my fault. insisted on poking
my way in here. | hereby give her
leave to say aloud all the things she
has been thinking OF me for the past
twenty minutes"
"They might make you blush. MIR.
Hlyton."
well. no one can say fairer than
that" the Inspector laughed. Amy
news. Sergeant"
White was still family repressive.
shall we go into tn other room.
sir. and talk tn -re?" he suggested.
Just as you like"
The two men settled down in the
front room. which Was given over
to Whites official capacity.
"Do you object to smoking in the
Officer" Hylton asked. and White
smiled thinly. You do as you like
sir" he answered.
About the murder. sir" White
began.
"Ah. yes, the murder. knew there
was something. Go ahead, Ser
gearrt."
81 haven't had any luck, SIR"
"Where have you been?"
'I've been to Morechester. Fa-
mum and Fentown Poor Law Insti
buttons. thought I'd look through
the casual wards and see il by any
chance they had any of the chaps
spotted n the village a day or two
back"
ANY luck?"
"No. sir. Drew blank everywhere
called at the Morechester Station
and they let me Sc, a couple OF
toughs they've got in the cells for
vagrancy. but they weren't my
men,"
you've still got soft spot in
your heart for the outsider theory
Sergeant"
"Well. sir. can't think of anyone
in the village who could do it,"
The Inspector carefully knocked
the ash off his cigar. Cant your
he asked. IL can. Several. Anybody
in Hope Enderton coulL have done
it. Sergeant. and what's more quite
a few of 'em would have some sort
of motive"
BUT everybody's going on just
the Same"
Good heavens. man. what do you
expect? You don't think that who
ever did it is going to pack hand
bag and suddenly bolt. do your"
James White looked slightly
sheepish.
81 suppose not" he said.
why. if anybody in this place
did a sudden fit Id have a warrant
out for their arrest tomorrow. man
or woman. just on spec"
II don't think a woman did 1t
sir"
well. you must know more about
II than | do. AS far as / can see al
the moment it might have been any
one. including Lumsdale's ghost
anyone. that is. except an outsider
don't think you've attached enough
Importance to tie business OF that
chain on the front door. White. No
one thing we can be pretty certain
OF is that whoever came to the door
was somebody that Arthur Burdett
knew"
II suppose so. sir"
"And what's more. somebody that
he wasn't afraid of. We know that
the old boy had his safe open in
that front room and Z the visitor al
the door had been anyone that he
didn't like the look of. even IL be
knew whoever it was. you bet your
boots he'd have gone back and shut
that safe before ever he took the
door off the chain. Don't you
agree?"
We'll. yes. suppose | do. sir"
THE only thing we know for Ger
tain in this case so far is the char
acter of old Burdett. We can builC
on that"
THE insistent shrillness of a bel
interrupted HyltoL and the Ser
geant moved across the room anC
carried on one of those telephone
monologues which are so exasperat
ing to the listener.in.
THAT was Hanley & Payne o
Morechester." the Sergeant an
nounced as he repaired tho 70
ceiver.