The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1941-10-29
M URDER
TN PARADISE
lContinued From PAGE Elghtl
ey Aoreuerite Gohoeon


reporters always were that way.
Denny stood for the old type
school q newspspermsn 70 them
and they were naive enough 10
hang on his every word in OPEN
mouthed admiration At least, l
thought. 7 can look at him with
out such ar expression on my face.
The vision OF that Black Maria
parked before the house while
Denny waited TO escort me to the
theater in it vas stin vivid in my
mind.
We sat there. Msudie and ],
and listened 10 Denny and young
Tod put the pices OF the picture Of
the crime together. Where Denny
had acquired all his information
l don't know. but he knew what
We knew and more besides.
Maudie was in seventh heaven.
While passing out beer and goose
liver sandwiches, which she had
made in about two minutes, she
managed to ask all the questions
she had been mulling over.
Denny let her talk. Sorry.
Msudie darling. but l don't think
there's going to be much romantic
mystery" he told her finally.
Maybe this little country dame
Jeanne did have cause TO bump
Cord off. and maybe your green
eyed Dixon gal had Just as good
cause, but he was plugged by
good old 80 slug and. knowing
his pals in town. I'd say 1t was
the work Of abe numbers boys"
was nonplussed. but Maudie
put ii into words. Numbers Boys
I suppose you mean the ones
being investigated by the Grand
Jury" she said. Msudie keeps up
on the news. I knew there was
a Grand Jury, but since it dealt
with a low class of citizenry I
never heard about I had given up
reading the stories after the first
account. But not Maudie. Some
of the names were familiar to her
from the days when papa and the
boys worked on the paper. APP
parently she had read every days
account and was up on the latest
development
Cord had been doing a little
fine manipulating" Denny said.
He was getting his cut all right
and he was due to be called by
the Grand Jury. He's been around
town long enough so that someone
probably figured he'd talk and talk
plenty"
Maudie looked bewildered.
whats the matter? I demanded.
You've still had murder.
Aren't numbers boys exciting
enough? Here you've had ono
right in your back yard, so to
speak, with a smoking gun in his
hand and nice corpse left as A
remembrance. What more do you
want ?" Personally I felt like
drawing a big breath of relief.
I don't know just what l ex-
pected to develop out of that
crime, but now l was sure that
little Jeanne Morris wouldn't be
involved, and her faded romance
with Cord wouldn't have to be
blazoned across every front page.
But that feeling wasn't evidenced
on Msudie's plump face. She was
frowning sternly and waving her
.cigaret with its inch-long ash that
forbode no good for the carpet.
You may be a good leg man,
Dennis Flynn, but this time you're
wrong"
How come, darling? What do
you know that I don't know? >"
She went into one Of her dow
ager freezes and fhcked the ash
into the tray at the crucial mo-
ment. You're such great re-
porter you should know all the
possibilities, she said with dig
nifty.
Denny looked at me and a
flicker of doubt clouded his eyes.
I felt moments panic myself.
Maudie spoke with such authority.
I wondered II she did know some-
thing, hoped she didn't. A nice
slick killer on the loose wouldn't
make a good household pet.
Ito be continued)