The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1940-01-06
Chapter Al
Return I. Life

Return X Life
TUCK was sitting up in bed
drinking the cocoa Bunny had
Just brought her. Michael. in dress
ing gown and slippers. was stalk
ing restlesslY about the room. and
Bunny was perched on the foot of
Tuck's bed, pale and quiet. Bunny
was not talking great deal these
terrible days. There was so little
20 say that did not touch on the
mystery: so little that did not re-
mind her of Michaels warning.
The world seemed rather a terri
bic. unfriendly. deceiving place.
Michael" Tuck set down her
cup and snuggled down into her
pillows. Michael. why did she
do it?"
He did not answer for a minute.
Then he turned and faced her,
leaning over the foot of his own
bed
You mean." he said slowly. "if
she had done it, why would she
have done it?"
Tuck gasped. MURDER" she
asked in a breathless whisper.
ANY observant person who has
lived near Mrs. Devoe for a num-
Der Of years would know she was
left handed. Easiest thing in the
world TO drape that left hand
around the knife in her heart"
"But the knife itself 1t was her
own. out of her handbag. Why
should she have been carrying it?"
Il always have penknife in my
handbag" Bunny said in her low
voice, after minute. She was
thinking it over.
"YeS. And the point is the
blade isn't over Two inches long.
Pretty hard to stab yourself with
a blade two inches long. l should
imagine"
will you tell me why she did
it," Tuck said after a minute or
two. Her voice was very small and
tired.
Michael drew a deep breath and
Strengthened his shoulders. "Pll
tell you a story" he said, land you
can draw your own conclusions.
TITS story of the necklace" he
went on. "I'll tell it briefly. 1t be-
gan in WilliSton, six years ago. At
the time. a very wealthy woman
had as her maid a pretty French
girl whose name was Marie Duval.
The girl -"
Tuck gasped weakly.
'The girl seemed thoroughly
Trustworthy. although she was
much too fond of the men to please
her mistress entirely. One of her
particular admirers was the mis-
tress' nephew who was at the time
attending the University there.
The secondhand the two men did
not know of each other. remember
that - was another student,
younger fellow. to whom she paid
little attention, although he seems
TO have been quite mad about her.
] do not know the details of their
acquaintanceship. The older chap
had no prospects of inheriting
money. although his aunt was
wealthy. and if the younger had
any money he kept it to himself
for some time.
1T is possible that it did not
seem important to him, since he
was deeply interested in science
and not in money or commerce.
'The mistress was rather a con-
noisseur of jewels, and so the maid
handled many of them. It must
n ~ 70 n ~
such as hers; one realizes that. She
finally succumbed to that tempta-
ton. However. she did not steal
from her mistress; she took dia-
mond necklace which she was sup
posed to be returning 30 shop. It
was a week or two before the theft
was discovered. the mistress and
the jeWeler each thinking the
other had the necklace. BY this
time the girl had repented of her
action, and would have given up
the Jewels. perhaps, save that it
meant a confession of what she had
done. When the questioning began
she was in an agony of apprehen-
sion. denying that she had not re-
turned the Jewels. This was obvi
ously untrue, and drastic steps
were about to be taken when to
the tremendous surprise of all con-
cerned. the girl paid for the dia-
monds, announced that she was
married and left her position. She
had told the younger of the two
men 70 whom | have referred of
her trouble. and he had offered to
marry her and pay for the Jewels
He had had a recent inheritance of
something over fifty thousand dol
lars.
Blank AstOniShment
"OFCOURSE you know of whom
" | am speaking. Marie Duval
married Edgar Murchison to save
herself from prison. The unfortu-
nate part of the matter" said Mi
chael dryly. twas that she had
already married Jared Devoe."
If he expected blank astoniSh-
ment from his audience, he got
il Neither girl could speak.
Michael lit cigarette. So" he
went on after a pause, "you get
the situation. Marie is apparently
still in love with her own husband.
She engineered rather cleverly the
business of getting him here into
this University. through passing
him off as her cousin. They are
not unlike in appearance, although
there is not the slightest relation
ship. He is quite mad about her
too. / think, although he may be
firing of her just a bit. Still. those