The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1941-11-27
Chapter 4
This Murder

- F1R(A18 liz
head bowed in his hands. When
he lifted his face TO US. / was
shocked at its gray haggardness,
Philip coughed a forced, stacy
cough.
we we couldn't help over
hearing. Clint. Green Apples IS
closing them"
Bowers nodded. yes. Definite
Then -. ! suppose II win be
all right for me to accept any
offer that might come nv way7
I'm considering Hollywood"
It'll be all right so far as I'm
concerned. The police. however
Ashley smiled a sort of grave
amusement Il hardly think there
win be any difficulty there. After
all, my long record on the Ameri-
can stage
Your long record on the Amer
lean stagei" / repeated indignant
ly. His calm assurance made me
sick at my stomach. What's that
got 70 do with whether or not you
tried to kill Carol?"
Relax, Hail." JEFF put his hand
on my shoulder.
It's quite all right" Ashley
said, oOzing with patronage.
We're all horribly upset and
oHerWrought- It's been a frighffu1
experience, this this
This MURDER" Bowers said
quietly.
We had an been chanting 'sMur-
der for the past twenty -four
hours II had become the prime
word in our vocabularies and had
almost lost any connotation. But
when Bowers said II now, so
quietly and bluntly, it found its
place again, and Ewes horrible
dead body and Carols scared
white face were with US in the
room.
jeff moved uneasily. I'm afraid
! didn't exactly live up to my rec
ommendation of myself"
eNo." Bowers said. @You
couldn't help it. Don't blame
yourself, JEFF. ] asked you to
watch Carol"
4 might have watched . . a
little further"
You couldn't know that Eve
would pick up Carols cape and
stand there, where in a minute
Carol would be standing, looking
like Carol.
Madness" Ashley said
'Eve didn't think. She needed
something to cover her scars, and
she took the first thing she could
find. She didn't think about MUIR
der she thought about her en-
trance Eve was like that No. JEFF,
there was nothing anybody could
have done"
Darling. you did your best" |
said Clint knows that. Why,
even Peterson couldn't prevent
it"
My responsibility was greater
than his. He was doing a job that
had been assigned Il was routine
for him. was trying TO do a Job
that I'd made for myself. And /
failed" He stopped and took
deep breath. We'll, the point is,
I'm going on And you can forget
that money was ever mentioned
yesterday. Clint
Bowers looked al him for a long
moment. we won't forget any
thing. JEFF. Since last night :.
since Eve He swung his
chair around so that his face was
turned from US.
No one spoke. 1t was as though
all Of us were searching our
minds for the right thing to say
and there was no right thing. At
last Philip coughed again and
stood up.
Its a beastly business. I wish
there were something | could do.
/ know there isn't. Just If
ever you have anything for me
again, Clint, I'd consider it a
privilege to play for you"
If ever / produce again
But Of course you wilt And
soon. old man. very soon" Philip
patted him on the shoulder.
Without Eve? / haven't pro-
duced a play in FIVE years without
Eve. No play comes into this Of
fee except some agent thinks
there is an Eve North part in il "
He wasn't talking to us; he was
thinking out loud. I've built
every production around her.
Everyone in the cast a contrast to
her. Every set a background for
her. / / wouldn't know how
to 60 about producing without
Eve"
Once More, Lee Gray
LIE STOPPED and his eyes,
Il soft and sad, turned bitter.
He stared unseeingly at the sheaf
OF papers on his desk. We made
mumbled exits that Bowers
scarcely noticed.
walked between JEFF and
Ashley up to Broadway. breath
ing the crisp air gustily as though
/ might expel with it the tragic at
mosphere of that Office over the
Colony. Philip was going on again
at greater length to explain how
Ewes murder was inconvenlenelng
him personally. At Times Square
a delivery truck pulled up to al
kiosk and dumped q bundle of
papers. / slipped away and bought
one to see what was being said
about the case. JEFF fiicked the
front section from me. / turned
to the theatrical pages while
Philip droned away, seemingly
unaware of our lack Of attention
In the notes of coming produc-
tions saw something that made
me gulp in establishment, and II
was a minute before / could col
1ect enough breath to speak.
JEFF! JEFF, listen to thiSl For
IL v,ox-t v,~or3.t~tfrr, saT,horsoh