The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1941-11-25
Chapter u
Kitchen Knife

CAROL brushed the brandy
- glass away. They thought il
was me in that big black wrap.
I would have been there. where
she was. IN a minute. Il was al
most as If I killed her. letting
her wear my wrap"
Don't talk stuff, Carol I sad.
eft wasn't yoLw fault that sic
leaned against that scenery and
messed up her exfn jacket.
Carol said, her lips qufvering:
And then when saw her =.
laughed / stood there and
laughed"
JEFF took her roughly by the
arm. Drink this OK do ] have 70
hit you again?"
Carol tipped hack the glass and
drained i. Her hand went lnply
down On the table and the glass
rolled across the top. stopping
with a clink against the china
book end She watched il for a
moment. then turned toward the
bedroom ! started 70 follow her
but JEFF caught me by the hand.
holding me back Let her alone. "
sank down beside him On the
studio couch. Afy eyes were bum
ing with a tired acne, my whole
/ body felt cold, somehow, and
detached JEFF vas looking hard
at the door through which Carol
had gone.
@Jeff who did TT"
JEFF quirked an eyebrow. @D0
you think / know"
~Yeu kaeR something. Yon
listened 70 them talking. The
police, I mean I didn't / tried,
but | couldn't They talked in en-
cles-"
They were going in circles"
1But they must knew some
thing. they have something 10 90
on. Il isn't like the poisoning.
They have the knife.
The knife came from the
kitchen. Tom Nelson recognized
il at once; he saw il in the cabinet
drawer the first day Of rehearsaIs
at the Colony. He hasn't noticed
Il since, nobody has. Anybody
could've sneaked Il out OF the
drawer, any time. No." he went
on quickly as | opened my
mouth. mo fngerprints. Wiped
of clean"
4But they must have some idea
-. about someone
The only idea they have is who
didn't do IL That's as far as they
can get"
who do they think didn't do
it
you. You were on stage. Ben
Kerry He was On stage.
That couldn't be ALI"
Not quite Carols eliminated" =
"Of course"
Il mean she has an abb b.
cause Peterson and I were with
her from the moment she left the
stage until you screamed"
said in disgust: those three
examinations are a lot of help. No
body elSe?P
Listen, Haila. Th.re we
twenty-seven people people back
stage tonight when Eve North
was murdered. They say nobody
came in and nobody went out.
Twelve stage-handS. six people in
the cast. Alice Mcdonald. Tommy
Nelson and Phoebe. Clint Bow
erS, and the doorman, Eve North's
maid and Peterson, SULLIVAN and
L You and Kerry and Carol are
out. The detectives and I are out
Nobody else"
Eve North IS out" I reminded
him
Yeah. and that leaves twenty.
Tommy Nelson brought the cur
tain down the second you
screamed. So he was near the
rope At the other side Of the stage
from Eve. But he has no Wit
nesSes to his movements between
the time Of Eyes exit and your
scream. Phoebe Thompson was on
that side OF the stage. but even
she can't check on Tommy. She
says she was standing in the
wings with her eyes glued on
you, trying TO think Of some line
/ to throw you 20 get you out Of
the mess Kerry had stuck you
i1ls and she. aidn't see Tommy,
/ didn't know he was there until ne
lowered the curtain. And Tommy
can't check on Phoebe, 50 neither
q tnen has an. alibiY q
Fifteen Suspects
WHAT a5out Sullavaue He
~ vas On that side Of the
stsge
Suhayaa's no help. In the DARK
he couldn't tell Steve Brown from
Phoebe in her siacks- There were
twenty-sevea 2 pie moving
ABOUT baskStage. Nobody can re-
member when or where they saw
anyone else Peterson neariv
went nuts before ne realized that
/ this was one murder that wasn't
going 10 be solved by placing
people at the time Of the crime
Bat. JEFF. there must be some
a11DlSa
Not enough Of them to help
much Five OF the stage-hands
were Ii the basement and they
| abb each other."
And where were the rest?"
~Ar0u3d some2lace. At the
Light switch. in the prop room.
on the stairs into the basement
No alibis. Bowers was sitting on
that pile Of first act furniture in
back Of the set. and he saw peo-
pie moving about But that's al
they were, Just peoPle. no specific
/ persons Il was TOO dark. He
thinks he saw Amelia coming out
Of the Kitchen when yon
--------