Evening star., 1940-11-02


calm there was an electrical undercu
1t was an intangible, inexplicable fe
incomprehensible disaster were cree
city under cover of the muggy heat
haze.
High in a tall Office building in
mid Manhattan, frosted door bore
in crisp, conservative letters the
legend Midtown Detective Agency
Kay Dennis, Private Investigator"
Kay Dennis, of medium height
trim, dark, pretty-stood alone at a
window of her office. The Office,
with its smart, white maple furnish
ings, was cool, inviting, restful But
Kay Dennis seemed unaware of the
pleasantness of her surroundings.
Her brown eyes, puzzled. vaguely
uneasy, were focused upon the hazy
panorama of lover Manhattan and
the harbor. Tugs, drab pygmies
plumed with straggly wisps of smoke,
plowed up and down the Hudson.
An outgoing freighter swung away
from the misty vagueness yelling
the Jersey shore, heading out toward
the Narrows. A rift opened slowly
IN the sitting haze. Down the bay
the Statue of Liberty stood out clear
and sharp. Then, as if some unseen
hand had jerked curtain shut, the
rift closed. Liberty was gone Blot
ted out.
Kay turned away from the win
dow. A strange half-dread she had
felt all day sent chills racing down
her spine She moved a few steps
toward her graceful desk, then
stopped. What was wrong? Was it
the heat? The electric tension pre-
ceding violent thunderstorm?
Something in the Air.
Kay's brown eyes flicked to the
headlines of the newspapers on her
desk. Or was it to be another kind
of storm? A blasting, devastating
storm that crushed whole nations,
leaving them battered, bleeding,
helpless in its wake? Some of Eu-
ropes battlefields lay empty and
silent now But world events were
moving with incredible swiftness.
4iiCiC WAC OOlilCIlllllS III CllC OIL llldJ
seemed to demand her attention,
yet because it was so very much in
the air and so completely intangible
1t was more annoying than stimu-
1ating.
Had she followed law after pass
ing the bar, as was her original
intention, Kay reflected, she would
not now be obsessed by these intui-
tive inspirations. Shed now be
muling over legal briefs, debating
dull statements of claims, preparing
endless petitions. Instead, because
the first case that had come her way
after leaving law school had called
for excitingly complicated detective
work-which she'd done all by her
self-she'd promptly decided that
sleuthing was the career for her.
And it had been, too. In four years
she had made a considerable repu-
tation. had all the business that she
could conveniently handle, had a
substantial bank account. Since her
parents death she had lived alone
In small apartment, devoting all
her waking hours-except those she
spent with Beck Creighton-to the
exciting work of her profession.
She smiled, remembering the first
really dangerous case she had taken.
That was when she had hired Vince
Reeves, the burly ex-Marine who
still worked for her, sometimes as
preliminary investigator sometimes
as straight bodyguard.
A Client Enters.
The door of Kay's cool Office
opened slowly. A small elderly
woman come uncertainty into view.
Kay rose quickly, crossed to the
door.
Come in, Mrs. Stover," she
smiled pleasantly.
She closed the door and led the
woman to the tan leather chair be-
side her desk.
"Sit down, Mrs. Stover," Kay
said. you've brought your sons
photograph, as asked?"
The woman ran a veined hand
over her face, brushing back wisp
Of gray hair.
Eyes, Miss Dennis" she said.
"1've brought Phillips picture for
you"
Mrs. Stover unwrapped a small,
fiat package, handed Kay a photo
graph. Kay studied the picture
closely. She had asked to see it as
a means of identifying the woman's
son.
Phillip Slower, about Kay's own
age. %, had strong face, his
mouth was firm. his eyes clear.
He appeared neither bad, weak nor
dangerous. Kay frowned, puzzled
slightly, and returned the photo TO
Mrs. Stover.
Thank you," she said. I'm GER
tain I'll recognize your son when 1
see him"
Mrs. Stover stood up trembling.
Her face was pinched, white. Il
heard Phillip talking to that girl
over the phone this morning" she
said "You know. the girl I told
you he's been going out with?''
Kay nodded.
HE made date with her for to-
night" the woman went on.
They're going to the Morocco Club.
He's going to meet her at 9 o'clock" !"
Kay nodded again, hastily wrote
the name of the club and time down
on her memo pad.
Mrs. Slower continued, heartsick,