Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-02-01
RIDDLE in RED

way my thoughts were going at
all
Cobb reached the top OF the
ladder and swung himself to the
loft floor. trailed him into an
odd little room, walled in on all
sides and with only small win
dow | couldn't imagine its
function, unless the previous ten
ants had built It as a sort of
hidcaway for children.
The Inspectors fla sh liG h I
picked out primitive pallet bed
against the rear wall Some
thing pale lay on the dusty floor
beneath 1t. | recognized it inn
mediately it was one of the
grimy white gloves the taxi
driver had worn when he came
TO my office that evening.
He was up here all right l
said. That's his glove"
|OBB'S torch. moving round,
- stopped suddenly on a pile of
open cans bean cans, corned
beef cans, lying in the corner
Yes" he said softly. He's
been here all right, and unless
I'm a Dutchman, he's done more
than that. Westlakc, he's been
living here. This has been his
hideout."
That was rather staggering
to think that, with the entire
countryside after him, the taxi
driver had been calmly living
here in the Fallowfield barn,
not very far from the house.
Cobb gave little grunt as the
flashlight moved on and showed
a couple Of china plates. One of
them was broken; the other still
had a crust or bread on It and
the remains of a chicken bone.
"Westlake. see what that
means? Someone's been bring
ing him food Cobb wheeled
round to me. his eyes were eX-
cited This murderer Of yours.
this guy who's bumped off one
of the Hale girls, and tried TO
bump off the other; he's not
only been living here he's been
fed and protected by sonic
one someone from FalloW-
field. =
The implications of that were
so manifold and so startling that
l could not Immediately grasp
them And l wasn't given the
time because the flashlight had
moved to the left, Illuminating
the far side Of the little room
The first thing saw was an
overturned chair its b a k
cracked and one of its legs
splayed at crazy angle. Around
it were more cans strewn at
random. another broken plate
and an empty beer bottle.
1t was only too clear that some
sort Of fight or struggle had
taken place up here. Nothing
else could explain away that
fevered confusion.
Cobb sprang forward and
snatched up the beer bottle.
That bump on the back Of
his head" he said excitedly
"Westlake, you said il could have
been made when he fell 20 the
floor. You know that isn't true
There was hay there; he could
never have cracked his head. But
this
l could see his eyes family in
the torchlight; they were very
bright Suppose he'd been hit
on the head with this Suppose
someone had come up here
struggled with HIM and shocked
him out with this beer bottle.
The whole world seemed TO be
slipping away from beneath my
feet
How does that suicide theory
look now, Westla<e p"
How did it look. indeed, I
thought Of the unnecessarily lit
brazier; | thought of the sur
prislugly open doors Thought
He'd been hiding ont up here
Westlake. Someone had been
protecting him bringing linn
food And then there was-a
struggle up here suppose h.
had been hit on the head with
the beer bottle suppose he was
lowered head first down the
ladder Suppose he was dragged
across the floor 20 the brazier
and then shot
He paused and added sharply:
Suicide phooey, It's a hun
dred to one we've got this whole
thing figured wrong. It's
hundred 20 one that this is an
other case of murder"
X\II