The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1940-10-09
Chapter As
Not Discerning Enough

moi Discerning Enough
Il REMEMBER now that the
chaplain was shocked when
we told him about the piece of
driftwood," said. "But Gerald
wouldn't she have suspected him
then? And if she did, why keep
silent?"
"She was stupid. she wanted
money and she had a grudge
against the world. So had Felicia.
Felicia really told me she was
the widow of an FBI man; and l
found, on investigation, that she
had told the same story when she
applied for the position of hostess
here. Furthermore, she had refer
ences in proof of her assertion.
There was such a man; and short
ly after his death his widow dis
appeared. | won't bore you with
the details Of the undercover work
we have done. from both ends.
checking the story l had the re-
port this morning. The widow Is
living abroad. Felicia was a girl
hood friend whom she had not
seen in recent years, but with
whom she kept up an intermittent
correspondence. When her nus
band died she had sent Felicia
copies of her references in the
hope that Felicia could find job
for her. ard had never thought
to ask for them back.
Felicia. she said. had been en-
gagged to a. stOckbroker who lost
his shirt in the depression and
then disappeared. And there was
some talk OF Randly's midas hand
being behind the failure. thinke
we can safely assume that Bride
well is the missing broker. II
intervening years, we can't yet
say. He has n1araged to keep out
of jail. otherwise his prints would
be on record. But one can imagine
the two. separate and penniless,
nursing their wrongs, coming to-
gether again and Matching their
plot for revenge and for financial
restitution. That would have been
all, at first. Then the panic of near
discovery, the intoXication, for
Felicia, at least, of pitting her
wits against the law. She had
never seen the chaplain. Why
would she hesitate to sacrifice a
life that meant nothing to her.
for one that meant everything"
But how could they hope to
keep up the deception"
Ingenious Disguise
THEY didn't. Colonel Pennart
L tells ne that the chaplain had
already put in for a change Of
station because Of his health. That
poison oak was a diabolically in
gcnuouS diSgu set would even
account for any variation in his
signature, because Of his dis
abled hands. And they wouldn't
have permitted II TO wear off
until he was safely away from
here. / think that. somewhere en-
route to the new station. the
chaplain would have disappeared
from the train. And after a safe
interval Felicia would have given
up her joe and followed. The
money is probably in a Safe-de-
post box in Chicago. We haven't
discovered it yet, but we will.
All but the twenty-five hundred
one-dollar bills. And Randy will
consider that well spent"
There's only one thing l don't
understand" I said. after a little
pause. Why did they kill Ivan?"
''Iyan's was the most casually
yindictive murder | have ever en-
countered. And it was a mistake.
A most fortunate one for me. BY
the way II leaked out after the
ransom was paid that an FBI man
had impersonated the butler that
night. OF course he didn't see me.
he only heard nc speak. and hi
may Sy ! can do q very nice Cock
ney when hi ave to. Ny father
was English. you see. and we
lived over there until his death.
Now I'm an American like my
mother.
1T was Ivan's misfortune that
he had fallen into a Slight con-
fusion as TO the manner OF speech
Of the typical Oxford man. It
wasn't very good Cockney. either.
10 q discerning ear-but 1t at
tracted the chaplain's attention"
"Oh. there was something else,
tool" / exclaimed. I've just
thought Of it. The night Of the
beach party asked Ivan if he
was an actor and he quoted
Shakespeare about all the worlds
a stage and one man in his time
plays many parts. Then he said
his vocation was more important
than acting. II must have been
Just his dramatic way of leading
up to his writing. Perhaps he
felt he had a mission; but I
thought Sandra shushed him.
Anyway, he didn't 60 on. And the
chaplain was listening. He must
have thought" I paused, hor-
riEed by the realization that. but
for that speech, it might have
been Gerald.
Exactly" Gerald agreed grim
". I'm afraid he acted hasti1y,
IN 1ure rage en6, Without refer
ence TO Felicia's more subtle
brain. She might, perhaps. have