Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1937-07-22
by S. S. VAN DINE
Copyright S. S. Van Dine
WNU Service
CHAPTER XII-Continued

out, cts up to you to find out the
truth. I'm on the spot-what with
my going out of the room with
Woody yesterday, my failure to
place his bet, then the matters ac-
cusation, and that damned will OF
hers, and the medicine. You've got
to find out who's guilty :"
AS he was talking the door bell
had rung, and Heath came up the
hallway.
Vance went to Garden and, put
ting a hand on the mans shoulder,
urged him back into his chair.
"Come, buck up" he said; well
need your help, and if you work up
a case of filters you'll be useless"
''But don't you see how deeply in
volved I am?" Garden protested
weakly.
you're not the only one in
volved," Vance returned calmly. He
turned to Siefert. 81 think, doctor,
we should have a little chat. Pos
sibly we can get the matter Of your
patients death Strengthened out a
bit. Suppose we 60 upstairs to the
study, what?"
In the study Vance went directly
to the point.
doctor, the time has come when
we must be perfectly frank with
each other. The usual conventional
considerations of your profession
must be temporarily put aside. I
shall be altogether candid with you
and trust that you can see your way
to being equally candid with me-"
Siefert, who had taken a chair
near the door, looked at Vance a
trif1e uneasily.
81 regret that I do not under
stand what you mean," he said in
his suavest manner.
II merely mean," replied Vance
coolly, ''that I am fully aware that
1t was you who sent me the anony-
nous telephone message Friday
night"
Siefert raised his eyebrows Slight
Assuming, for the sake of argu-
ment," he said with deliberation,
'that it was I who phoned you Fri
day night, what them"
Vance watched the man with
faint smile.
"It might be, don't y know" he
said, "that you were cognizant of
the situation here, and that you had
a suspicion-or let us say, a fear
that something tragic was impend-
ing" Vance took out his cigar
case and lighted a cigarette. IT
fully understood the import of that
message, doctor-as you intended.
That is why I happened to be here
yesterday afternoon. The signifi-
canoe of your reference to the
Aeneid and the inclusion of the word
'equanimity' did not escape me. 1
must say, however, that your adj
vice to investigate radioactive So
dunn was not entirely clear-al-
though think now have a fairly
lucid idea as to the implication.
However, there were some deeper
implications in your message, and
this is the time, d. we see, when
we should face this thing together
with complete honesty"
Siefert brought his eyes back to
Vance in long appraising glance,
and then shifted them to the window
again.
Eyes, I did send you that mes
sage. realize that nothing can be
gained now by not being frank with
you . The situation in this house
hold has bothered me for a long
time, and lately I've had a sense of
imminent disaster"
"How long have you felt this pre-
monition?" asked Vance.
'For the past three months,
should say. Although l have acted
as the Gardens physician for many
years, it was not until last fall that
Mrs. Gardens changing condition
came to my notice. I thought little
of it at first, but, as it grew worse
and I found myself unable to dag
nose it satisfactorily, curious sus-
picion forced itself on me that the
change was not entirely natural. /
began coming here much more fire.
quently than had been my custom,
and during the last couple of
months I had felt many subtle un-
dercurrents in the various relation
ships of the household, which / had
never sensed before. Of course,
knew that Floyd and Swift never
got along particularly well - that
there was some deep animosity and
jealousy between them. I also knew
the terms of Mrs. Gardens will"
Siefert paused with a frown.
Gas I say, it has been only re-
Gently that I have felt something
deeper and more significant in all
this interplay of temperaments; and
this feeling grew to such proper
tons that I actually feared a vio-
lent climax of some kind-especial-
ly as Floyd told me only a few
days ago that his cousin intended
to stake his entire remaining funds
on Equaninity in the big race yes
terday. So overpowering was my
feeling in regard to the whole situa-
ton here that decided to do some
thing about it, if I could manage it
without divulging any professional
condolences. But you saw through
y,,v b4orf,,oo