The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1937-09-29
BY MARION WHITE
CAST OF CHARACTERS

young woman attorney.
AMY kERR-Ciily's roommate
and murderer's victim.
JIM kEKRloAN-Ciily fiance.
HARRY HUTCHINS - Amy,
strange visitor.
SERGEANT DOLAN-office,
assigned to solve the murder OF
Amy Kerr.
Yesterday: Cilly discovers a
bundle of Bluefields. Utah, news
papers in the incinerator shaft
At once she sees them as vim
dication of Jim-someone else In
the house, Amy's murderer,
doubtless, was interested in Blue
fields.
CHAPTER XIII
Cilly waited until after 9 o'clock
on Tuesday morning to call
Sergeant Dolan at police head
quarters. He was not in, but she
left her name. She stressed the
fact that her message was i'm
portant.
Then she went downstairs to
Mr.. Johnson's rooms in the base
ment. If any of the tenants In
the house had come from Utah,
Mr.. Johnson would remember It,.
Moving men have to see the SUI
perintendent before unloading
their vans: and a truckload OF
furniture coming from the war
west would arouse curiosity.
Good morning, Mr.. Johnson.
Cilly met him coming up the
stairs with some tools in his hand.
He was surprised to see her.
"Oh, good morning, Miss
Pierce. Good morning. Did you
want to see me-"
Yes, | did, Mr.. Johnson. Are
you very busy? There is some
thing | wanted to ask you about. !"
He stopped a minute. "Well, |
tell you, Miss Pierce, | am in a
bit of a hurry. Mrs. Downey up
in "A called me. She's had some
sort of an accident with the
plumbing-a leak, She says-and
! / wanted to fix it up before any
damage was done Are you in
| q hurry, "loS ltlSts
mo, not at all, Mr.. Johnson:
MAY | wait until you're finished?"
"Sure, sure, Miss Pierce. Come
fright in"
Johnson turned and went down
the few steps to his own rooms;
he opened the door and led Cilly
into his simple living room. "Pll
be back in ten minutes" he said,
and left her alone.
Afterwards, Cilly wondered
why she had suggested waiting
for him. She might just as we'll
have gone back to her own apart
ment and asked him to stop in on
his way down. However, here she
was. She settled herself to wait.
What neat, well-aranged
place it was, she thought, for a
mans solitary quarters. She liked
the comfortable leather chairs,
the plain oak table with the read
and white checkered cloth. She
liked the pictures of the sea
which decorated the wall.
A small bookshelf lined the
walk acros the room: looking at
it, Cilly guessed that the books
fulfilled his nautical taste-virle
land valiant sagas of the sea, they
must be. She walked over and
glanced at the titles. A mans
character is revealed by the books
he reads, Cilly thought.
Suddenly she wrinkled her
brow as her eyes continued down
the shelf. Mr.. Johnson's liatrary
tastes took a sudden, surprising
turn. There beside the few ad-
venturous tales of the sea were
other books, startlingly different.
So morbid and erotic were these
that Cilly looked twice, to be
sure she read their titles correctly
|. Dementia Praecox, Its Early
Symptoms Insanity, the
Scourge of Inheritance &. Adj
ventures in Degeneracy
What strange literature this
was for a simple, uneducated man
like Mr.. Johnson-a janitor. who
made his living by tasks of car.
pentry and household repairs!
The discovery suggested an en-
tirely different insight into the
mans quiet. kindly character.
Cilly thought quite suddenly that
she would never want to meet the
superintendent alone on the roof
at midnight -.
"Well, Miss Pierce"
She turned, startled by his
voice, and dropped a book she
was examining. She was surpris-
ed at the fierce, angry look IN his
@Ob. Mr.. Johnson! I didn't hear
you come downstairs &. :. I've
6een glancing over your book
shelf here while / was waiting
He stopped and picked up the
book she had dropped, replaced
it on the shelf.
"What a man wants to read"
he said sharply, sis nobody's bust
ness. Now what can | do for you,
Miss Pierce"
Cilly never remembered hear
ing Mr.. Johnson speak in such a
curt, unfriendly tone. She walked
over to the leather chair and sat
down carefully, struggling for
composure. She was unconscious
of his mild blue eyes, now dark
in anger, following her.
az wanted to speak to You
about the tenants, Mr.. Johnson"
He waved his hand in annoy
ance. "The police have already
done that. All day yesterday that
fellow Martin checked up on the
tenants. know nothing of Them"
"Did any of them come from
the West?" Cilly persisted. From
Utah, particularly"
"IItah. Let me see y NJ,