Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1937-06-24
Vance continued to study her crit

ever, We'u let II pass. IneA uo
asked quickly: 'Who telephoned
you today, just before the River
mont Handicap?"
"What has that to do with any.
thing?"
"And why were you so eager to
take the call on the den phone and
shut the door?" /
The girl leaned forward and
looked at Vance defiantly.
"What are you trying to get at?"
she demanded furiously.
care you aware" Vance went on,
"that the den downstairs is the only
room directly connected by wires
with this room up here?"
The girl seemed unable to speak.
She sat pale and rigid.
"And do you know" he continued,
without change of intonation, that
the wires at this end Of the line had
been disconnected? And are you
aware that the shot which we
heard downstairs was not the one
that ended Swift's life-that he was
shot in the vault off the hall, several
minutes before we heard the shot?"
"You're being CHASTITY" the girl
cried. "You're making up night
mares-nightmares to brighten me.
You're implying terrible things"
Vance held up his hand to stop
her reproaches.
"You misinterpret my attitude,
Miss Graem," he said softly. II
asked you, moment ago, for your
own sake, to answer my questions
frankly. You refuse. In those cir
cumstances, you should know the
facts as they appear to others" He
paused. "You and Swift were not
on good terms. You knew, as did
the others, that he usually went up
to the roof before races. You knew
where Professor Garden kept his
revolver. You're familiar with guns.
A telephone call for you is perfectly
timed. You disappear. Within the
next five minutes Swift is shot be-
hind that steel door. Another five
minutes pass; the race is over; and
a shot is heard. That shot could
conceivably have been fired by a
mechanism. The buzzer wires up
here had been disconnected, OBJ
viously for some specific purpose.
At the time of the second shot you
were at the other end OF those
wires. You almost tainted at the
sight of Swift. Later you tried to
go upstairs Adding all this up:
you had motive, sufficient
knowledge of the situation, access
to the criminal agent, the ability to
act, and the opportunity" Vance
paused again. "Now are you ready
to be frank, or have you really
something to hide?"
A change came over the girl. She
relaxed, as if from a sudden at
tack of weakness. She did not take
her eyes from Vance, and appeared
to be appraising him and deciding
what course to follow.
Before she managed to speak
Heath stamped up the passageway
and opened the study door. He car
ried woman's black-and-white
tweed top-coat over his arm. He
cooked an eyebrow at Vance and
nodded triumphantly.
IT take it, Sergeant" Vance
drawled, ''your quest has been sue
cessful. You may speak out" He
turned to Zalia Graem and ex-
planned: Sergeant Heath has been
searching for the gun that fired the
second shot,"
The girl became suddenly ami
mated and leaned forward attentive.
1y.
CATER going over the roof and the
stairs and the hall of the apartment
I thought I'd look through the wraps
hanging in the hall closet" sale
Heath. "The gun was in the pocket
of this" He threw the coat on the
davenport and took .38 gun-meta
revolver from his pocket. He broke
it and showed it to Vance and Mark
ham. "Full of blanks-and one o
,, 'em has been discharged.
every good, Sergeant" Vance
complimented him. Whose coat i:
this, by the by?"
81 don't know yet, Mr.. Vance; bu
I'm going to find out pronto."
Zalia Graem had risen and conn
= forward.
! IT can tell you whose coat tina
is" she said. cit belongs to Mis-
r Beeton, the nurse. I saw her wear
. ing it yesterday"
: "Thanks awfully for the identif
: cation" returned Vance, his eye
resting dreamily on her.
; She gave him a wry smile an
returned to her chair.
"But there's question still penc
! ing" Vance said; "-to wit: ar
- you ready to be frank now?"
Gall right" She focused he
= gaze on Vance again. "Lemmy Me-
rit, one of the various scions of tn
= horsy aristocracy that infests on
:, eastern seaboard, asked me to driv
out to Sands Point with him for tn
r polo game tomorrow. thought
% might dig up some more excitin
a engagement and told him to ca
2 me here this afternoon at half-pa:
4 three for a final yes or no. pu
a posely stipulated that time, so
- wouldn't miss the running of tt
II,pJ;oon Ac vo,, kpouy he didr