The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-05-13
OLD HOME WEEK MURDER
by Phoebe Atwood Taylor


with all his might and main.
The branches above him rus
tied. In the distance he could hear
Kay and the others making their
way back to the house.
He wondered what in thunder
the girl had been doing out here,
anyway. Sara had promised to
Hook out for them all, and here was
Kay, out in tn csc godfersaken
woods, being slammed around by
their man. For all the good Sara
was doing, she might be first cou-
sin to the fellow. Sara would hear
from him, Asey told himself.
Marching around with her sleep
walking, and inviting this girl to
the house-not that the girl hadn't
been more OF a help than him
drance, but it was the principle of
the thing. The shotgun was a help,
and Just being able to put herself
into position where this fellow
had to declare himself. that was a
help, too.
Kay would have told him If she
had recognized the man. Obvious
ly she hadn't. But she would be
able to tell him something about
him, whether he was tall or short
or fat or thin, and if he had spo-
ken, what his voice sounded like.
Or if he smelled of fish or tobacco
or possibly perfume. ASey gave
Kay full credit. She would have
picked out some detail or other.
Most women would have gone to
pieces entirely. but Kay was too
matter of fact. She had probably
been frightened to pieces, but she
still had sufficient sense to yell her
head off. She would have found
something out for him. rlrt
:.oIl Boom And Splitter z1a
NSEY could no longer hear the
~ ~ sound of the trio returning to
the house, but now the fireworks
were beginning to boom and split
ter. A perverSe wind faithfully
swept every decibel and every
echo over to the patch of pines in
the hollow, giving Asey's quarry
every chance in the world to leave,
if he so desired; he could, Asey
thought, beat a drum and still
leave no clue to his whereabouts.
Mentally Asey cursed General
Philbrick and his fireworks with
all the vocabulary he had picked
up in all his years at sea. Long be-
fore he finished, General Philbrick
had been reduced to something
you could hide in an envelope and
drop into letter box.
Once or twice he thought of Civ
ing up and returning home. The
man was probably miles away by
now. On the other hand. he had
nothing to lose by staying. ~.
For more than twenty minutes
the fireworks doomed and crack
led. Asey waited a quarter of an
hour more and then decided to
start back.
One foot was already reaching
for the branch below when he
heard another branch snap some
where near him. A second later a
light flashed on and then as quick
ly flashed off.
The fellow had returned to the
place where Kay had been - of
course! Dropped something, most
likely. Something that he had no
time to grab when ASey came run
ming up, but something he had no
intention of having found by any
one: That was how he had spent
his time during the fireworks, edg-
ing back to that spot.
ASey dropped lightly out of the
tree and started toward the place
where the light had been.
He wanted more than anything
else to race after the fellow as fast
as his legs could carry him. But he
restrained himself. Once he made
sound, the fellow would freeze
into silence again. and while Asey
tried to hunt, he would make an
excellent target of himself. Using
the fiaShlight was out of the ques-
ton. In the fog. like a headlight,
it would glow for a distance, but
it wouldn't actually illuminate
more than ten or fifteen feet.
ASey stalked along. At first he
was sure that the man did not
know of his presence, but as he
continued he became less positive.
He stopped for a moment, to lis
ten and make certain that he was
still on the right track. A black
berry vine pulled at his ankle; it
was Caught between the upper
part OF his shoe and the rubber
sole. and in pulling it off, he made
Jtfst the slightest noise. To him it
sounded like m or e of General
lPhilbrick's fireworks, and he auto
matically drew back beside tree.
Something whizZed past him.
and he heard a popping sound.
Asey held his breath and tried to
fit as much of himself as he could
behind the tree.
The fellow was using a silencer.
Asey grinned. In his hip pocket
was full tin of pipe tobacco. He
drew it out and threw it as far as
he could to the right.
1t hit tree trunk and made a
splendid clatter. and Asey waited,
with his forty-five in hand, for the
fellow to do something about it.
Two bullets thudded into near
by trees, and then two more.
my, N.Y." Asey muttered. "He
don't like me-"
He could guess now where the
fellow was. so he answered with
three shots.
Canf;VuAA