The Washington times., 1937-06-07


said Brant, filling his pipe. And
don't forget that Miss FoWler's
robe was found in the possession
of Flint's girl. Isn't it reasonable
to suppose that Flint would have
given her a trinket from among
the murdered girls possessions If
he had visited Miss Shannon's
apartment? There was an abund-
ance to choose FROM"
Howard Wrenn nodded agree
ment and silently refilled our
glasses.
Besides" continued Brant,
there's another thing. Consider
the two burglaries. Miss Fowler'S
was so neat and orderly that
she didn't even miss anything
until the next morning. Margie
Shannon's apartment, on the
other hand, was literally up
rooted. It was not the job of a
burglar; it was the work of some
one who wanted us to believe
that burglary was his motive"
He took a drink of champagne
and shook his head. mo-" he
said, "of the two suspects Flint
and the still-unnamed escort
I prefer the escort. What do
you think, Mr.. Wrenn"
Wrenn, whose eyes had been
intent on the other as he lis
tened, now smiled and shook his
head. I'm baffled," he con-
fessed. Still, I must say that
your theory seems entirely rea-
sonable. Whoever killed Margie
Shannon wasn't thief-a pro-
fessional one, at least. Unless
you can imagine one cunning
enough to think a long way
ahead"
by that" said Brant, IT as
sumo you mean thief cunning
enough to leave behind him the
sort of evidence that police would
think the work of an imitation
burglar or a bungling amateur
Exactly. And Flint. you con-
tend, is not that cunning"
Brant pulled on his pipe and
nodded. Strange things hap
pened that night. The stage was
set for murder, but the play
wright was not prepared for the
number of actors who wandered
onto the set. Things hap
pened that the murderer hadn't
foreseen, but thus far they have
been to his advantage. BY
the way, do you know anything
about the tapestry?"
Stitch Shows Tapestry
From GObelin Factory
"I've seen it," said Wrenn.
cts a Gobelin, I believe"
cts a greenish blue mixed
with gray" said.
"Gobel'n blue" said Brant.
And the Stitch?"
I looked my newilderment and
Wrenn answered. THE short up
right stitch used by Gobelin."
DO you know where she got
it?" Brant asked.
Wrenn shook his head. II only
know it was gift. She told me
that. Your glass, Mr.. Brant."
He poured some more cham
payne. A gust of wind brought q
crash of sleet against the window
panes. Wrenn stirred the fire
and added another log.
Brant was silent for a long time,
frowning into the fire. Presently
he got up and wandered over to
the easel to look at the canvas
there, and I Joined him.
Wrenn explained, coming up
behind us, This is the picture
Miss Shannon and I were work
ing on at the time Of her death"
tits a beauty" I said, for it
was striking thing. Have you
titled it yet?"
Wrenn made queer little noise
in his throat. The title, he ex-
planned, really suggested the pic
ture "Or, rather. Miss Shannon
suggested both. It's to be called
'Awakening' 1t seems rather
cruel, doesn't It. now that she is
beyond awakening?"
His voice had dropped almost to
whisper It was somewhat
shaken. you See," he fastened
to add, seeming to get a grip on
himself, "this picture is more truly
Margie Shannon than anything I
had done of her. You'd know
exactly what I mean if you had
known her. She had about her
a certain air OF languor-you've
seen a cat scratching itself? A sort
of epicurean langour, sensious
ana yet innocent I've seen her
yawn and stretch so often after
a sitting, or take a short nap
while she was resting; so that she
really gave me the idea herself"
ITO Be COntinued)
Copyright, 1887. BY Michael O'Malley.
| Distributed by King Features
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