The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-04-14
Chapter Seven
Keep Ii Quiet

Keep II Quiet
"CHE was sittin' in a chaise
~ Tongue by the window" Asey
said. Apparently she leaned for
ward past The window. As she did,
someone outdoors le:. go with both
barrels Of shotgun. Deer ball.
Marble size. Now, tend to that
girl" He picked up the telephone.
"Oh, she's comm to? Well, get wa
ter. Is this a private ine?A
"Billingsgate 327." Zeb said
vaguely. II guess So" - :
Asey cranked at the phone bell.
Hullo, Nellie? Hi. Say, get me
Doc Cummings. He is? Get his wife
she out too? Oh. Know where
they are? Oh, see." Asey laughed.
swell, listen. Get him for me. will
you? The Warren girPs-yes, UP to
the Hollow. She's fallen, and
knocked herself out. That's right.
Fine. Have him call me right
back"
Zeb stared at him. what IS
this?"
Cummings wife" Asey said,
"is stuck on the ferris wheel up
town. That is, the ferris wheels
stuck, an she's up too high to get
down. She's havin' Mysteries, an
the docs havin' a different variety
on solid land. Nellie'l get him"
He strolled out into the kitchen
and brought back an electric per-
colator.
Plug this in, Zeb," he said.
when it seems done. feed Jane
some. Okay, youngster? Lay there,
an don't think. You-ah, there's
the doc"
He didn't bother with the for
nalities of saying hello. and ask
ing who it was.
Listen, NJ airy Randall.s been
killed. S tgun. Deer ball
Through the. window. Keep il
quiet. Get that state cop Lane, and
Weston, and come over. Your
wfe?" Asey chuckled. She'll
keep. Hustle"
He was still chuckling at the
thought of the portly Mrs. Cum
mings aloft on the ferris wheel
when he turned around to the
white-faced couple by the couch.
"Asey," Zeb said, "you knew,
back there on the road, that it was
a gun? That explosion?"
II wondered" Asey said. Feel
better, Jane? Look, you was here
in the house. Didn't you hear the
shots? You must have"
She shook her head. 81 had the
radio going. Not very loud, but i.
was on the table right by my ear.
The static was awful on the short
wave. and then the fireworks kept
banging. ! did hear one awfully
loud noise, but / thought it was
the fireworks finale. Is she really
dead, ASey?"
aunt"
"Godmother."
did she have any enemies?"
Never heard of one. Dealers
and customers both liked her.
She"
Relatives? What about them?"
Her husbands dead, her people
are mostly in England, and the
few over here live on the west
coast. She has daughter. Eloise.
She went up town for the goingS
on. with Mr.. Prettyman."
Asey raised his eyebrows. Mis-
ter Who?"
"Prettyman," Zeb said. 'Tertius
Prettyman. He's in the insurance
business. Old Prettyman at the
points son. He's fifty-odd. Look.
have you met Eloise, Asey?" He
caught James eye. "Oh. well. Well.
she's all the near relations Mary
had, anyway"
"All and only" Jane said. "I-
Asey. / appreciate the way you're
beating about the bush, but let's
have the worst. What is it,"
Shotgun In The She'd
WITHOUT rneanin' the least
w disrespect to Mrs. Randall"
ASey told her, "the worst'n be to
blow this Old Home Week sky
high, an to put the town in debt
so much it'll never recover. This
sort of thing acts two ways. Some
few folksIl come to cape. But the
fnajority'n leave as fast as their
cars'l start, particularly when
they learn how this happened. I'd
say that ninety-five percent Of the
people who've planned to spend
the week here. they'll look at the
thickness Of their walls, an con-
slider how many times they pass
by a lighted window, an promptly
exit. Until we get to the bottom Of
this, the headlines'l be Mailman
Loose, or Maniac At Large You,
an Miss Randall. you'll get head
lines too"
"For me especially" Jane gulped
down some coffee. Because
whereas you've not made a point
Of it-well, they'll arrestm me, won't
they7 No one VIII ever believe in
this world that ! could sit here in
this room. and not hear what hap
pened. And there's a shotgun out
N the shed, too" .