The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1938-12-22
THE ARMY posi- MURDERS
Nv Vir0inff1 Hanson

DeLnan QTeSS-aSSUre mySet1 InaC
nothing was concealed under them.
But Shaw had alibied himself
| and her.
We found nothing Of course. I
took little part in the search, but
I tried to keep everyone in view;
and if there was any knife undis-
| covered in those two rooms it
could have been no larger than a
nail file.
It was afterward, when we sat
down to wait, that I was aware
that Mary Shaw and Lou Orping-
ton were pointedly ignoring my
presence. They did not succeed in
being very obvious, for Elizabeth
was beside me, and Mrs. Flower
persisted in carrying on her aim
less chatter. ! listened, because I
couldn't tell when / might pick
up scrap of information. But all
the time ! was conscious of the
Shaw and the Orpingtorl convers-
ing in undertones and not quite
seeing me when I glanced their
way.
I wasn't particularly bothered
by it at first, because by now they
must all know that / was in Adams
confidence-at least to a certain
extent. / wasn't sure myself just
how much he had failed to tell me.
That about the gun. -.
They were jealous. of course.
But that realization did not weak
en- the effect on me Of Lou Orping-
tons spiteful expression and Mary
Shaw's air of cold dislike.
A woman is afraid of the mem
bers Of her own se- when they
turn against her. sat there feeling
chilly, thankful ior the presence
of Elizabeth; thankful, too, that
Adam had taken me under his
wing. Had he expected this to hap
pen?
Remembered suddenly what he
had said hours ago on the veranda:
''In time of trouble it's the Out
slider who takes it on the chin"
Frozen Horror
r SHIVERED Involuntary, real
izing that these people were
like a large, involved family, with
feuds and counterfeuds within the
group-and that, like any family,
they preferred to lay crime at the
door of someone to whom they
were not related. Anything to keep
the scandal out of the family.
Well, that protected Charlie at
least. Or did 1t? Was / to be the
Master Mind and he my reluctant
accomplice?
! was beginning to lose what
sense of proportion ! had left when
Adam ratified the doorknob and
called, to US to come out.
In the lounge Barney was peer
ing hopefully under chairs and
Shaw was riff1ing the pages of
magazines.
"That,s enough" Adam told
them. cts not here, obviously.
And it's not upstairs. It must be
either bsckstage or out of doors,
and we can search both places
later. Now for the alibis."
We found chairs again and
Adam questioned us in turn. Shaw
repeated what he had said on the
balcony, that he and Mary had
been together in the lounge when
the lights vent out. Barney, called
upon, corroborated this. He had
brought their coffee and gone back
after sugar which he had forgot
ten the first trip.
Il wondered what YVES the mat
ter with my Coffee" Shaw inter-
jected plaintively.
Then you were in the kitchen
with Eli7cbeth?" Adam asked Bar
ney.
81 was in the corridor backstage.
could see the lighted doorway.
-" He hesitated, went on stead
lily. Il could see Elizabeth bending
over the stove. Suddenly the light
went out I thought for a minute
she had turned it off, then I heard
the commotion out front. raced
back to the door by the stage and
looked out. IL was pitch dark
everywhere. Women were scream
ing and | heard Shew's voice. |
realized there was nothing could
do there, so I went back to the
kitchen. could hear Elizabeth
moving around-I asked her if she
was all right and she said yes, she
was trying to fird some candles.
j lighted some matches, finally
found the switchbox and was
working with it when Shaw ar
rived with a fiashlight. And that's
all. ! didn't see or hear anything
unusual. and ! was not out front
after the lights went out"
you didn't glancs up at the
balcony as you crossed the dance
floor from the lounge?"
Barney considered. mo, ! didn't
remember thinking I heard a wo-
man groan as I went past the
ladies' room. In fact paused for
minute at the door to listen. |
didn't hear anything more, so I
went on. But ! wasn't thinking
about the balcony"
Mrs. Crpirgton was looking -
him with kind of frozen horror.
Then there tpds someone IN
there" she said through lips thss
looked stiff.
"Wait a minute" Adam inter-
rupted. Where were your"
(Copyr{oAf. 1854 Vfrofnka Rn~sn~t