The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-06-01
OLD HOME WEEK MURDER
BY Phoebe Atwood Taylor

swaying stride around to the back
of the house.
THE kitchen, Lane!" Asey
yelled. "Cut it off, outside therel
Wen go through the house"
He avoided the skeptical eyes Of
Madame Meaux as he rushed out
to the kitchen, with the rest fol-
lowing pen nell behind him.
Snap on the lights. Hamilton!"
Asey ordered. 'They-wen, light
that candle if they don't work,
then-my goshl"
There was no sight or trace OF
the beaver-hatted dummy, but al
the head of the cellar stairs app
peared an odd glazing light, and =
smell that Mike Slade vaguely as
ISOLATED with fireworks.
"What'n time" Asey began.
Els"
"Jane!". 1t was Eloise Randall,s
voice that sounded from the cell
lar. Il really think-that is. Of
course"
Mike Slade blinked. He almost
seemed to see Eloise before him,
in that old checked skirt with the
uneven hem and the baggy cardi-
gan with the hole in the sleeve.
"Eloise!" he said, and put out a
hand to prop up Mrs. Brinley. .
"Of course if Jane really wants
II mean, one can't really tell, can
one? Can one, Weston? Weston
thought. at least, / think he
thought, that he killed me yester-
day, but Weston-where are you,
Weston"
He's Gomez
CARA LEACH swung around.
y Weston had been standing be-
hind her and JEFF.
"Westonp Sara said. Hes gone!
He-he's gone! He was right here,
but he's slipped away
"Okay," Asey said. Lights,
Hamilton. No, Mike, don't follow.
Come up from the cellar, Kay. Zeb.
come out of the closet"
"Asey," Sara said, awhat-you
don't mean that it was Weston, do
you? You-are you letting him
get away?"
A series Of shots outside an
swered her question.
In a moment, Lane came in.
81 got as far as i arrest" he
said. "He said, we'd never get him
alive, and we didn't. There's his
gun. The silencer's in his car. Here.
He said to give it to you"
Asey turned away. It came over
Madame Meaux that Weston was
his cousin. After a second he
turned back, as calm as ever.
There, the soprano thought, was
New England for you.
look after things, Lane" Asey
said. Kay. that was fine. You
d'serye prizes for your initatin,.
Wash the dough off Zeb's face. It
drives me crazy. I'm sorry, the rest
of you. We had to do it. We give
him chance to admit it, but we
had to keep on an try his magma
tion-what is it, Sara?"
"A chair" Sara said. "And q
glass of water. Asey. I don't
can't believe It'll"
She stared at Kay as the girl
washed thick dough from Zeb's
face. The dummy's clothes hung
Imply from his body. General
Philbrick came up from the cellar.
"How was the effect?" he in.
quired. II think ii worked, don't
you? Down there it was fine"
He took two pans to the sink and
nonchalantly began to wash them.
Already in his mind he saw the
headlines. Fireworks Magnate
Aids Capture of Murderer. Phil
bricks Fireworks Help Detective"
"Asey." Sara said, " shall 60
mad--hurry and tell us, and get
jeff chair. He's shaking"
was it Weston's accounts?" JEFF
asked in a forced voice. "Wes-
81 don't wonder" Asey said,
you thought you was gettin' old.
Brinley's been gyppin' in a small
way, to make you seem dumb. but
Weston knew. an was dom much
better job on top of that. We got
all the books tonight. from every
where-town Offices. your house.
Weston's, Brinley's. Win Billings
said 1t didn't seem town. like this
could be so much in the red. an
for fun | went TO Boston an got
Paterson today Didn't know then
which of you three seiectmen il
was. It'll take Paterson weeks to
straighten things out, but Wes-
tons plucked hundred odd thou
sand. an iudgin' from his calcutta
tons, he"
'What?" JEFF said. "a hundred
thousand?"
"Over a period of years. He
aimed to get as much more this
week. He also had two steamship
tickets for tomorrow night.
mo wonder" Slade said GRIM
ly, mo wonder he wanted to make
Old Home Week a SUGGEST"
What do you mean. two tick
ets?" Sara asked. "Why two?"
For him. an Eloise."
For him and-and Eloise?"
Sara said. And Eloise? IL never
thought. But everyone thought
that was of"
at wasn't. Jane, Eloise hated
you. didn't she? And she hated
Mary. too. Eloise was Intellectual,
an her mother wasn't. 1t riled
Eloise."
"Then it was Eloise and Wes-
ton at nightp Jane said. "She told
Mary it was me, meeting Mike!"