The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1943-02-04


ing Henry Prentiss' coupe stand
ing innocently in the driveway.
Then / made quick work of
removing Vaughan D u n bar
from this world of men. In half
an hour, Henry Prentiss was on
his way to Stone Hcuse-in am
Pile time for a dinner which he
well knew would never be serv-
ed. The clothing and makeup
were simply slowed away in a
drawer. II was not conceivable
that the home Of Henry Prentiss
would be searched-any more
than that the home of Fred
West, or any of a score of men
would be searched.
The campaign signs which
concealed the car and allowed
me to dispose of il finally, / re-
gard as my greatest inspiration.
/ had bought the materials in
four or five different places,
and painted the signs myself.
When | left Stone House as
Henry Prentiss-at IL o'clock
that night busted myself first
with the final disposition Of
Vaughan Dunbar's clothing, the
lenses, the rubber fingertips.
There were cut and broken into
small bits, and bound into d
tight, small bale, and buried
deep in a grave which already
had ben prepared and which, l
assure you, can never be discov-
cred.
Sometime later, I drove the
sign bedecked car in leisurely
fashion to Garden City. I park
dit, and got out, and started
upon a long walk. l did not use
the BUSES that were available,
nor attempt, nitch-hiker fashion,
to attract the attention of pass
ing motorists. / walked. The 10
miles of it. And got home by
4 o'clock. And was convinced
that no living soul on earth
knew that Henry Prentiss was
moving about the island that
night.
You may wish to know why !
left the note. There were two
reasons. First, l wished to fix
the identity of Vaughan Dunbar
in the minds of the people who
had witnessed the execution.
And, second, thought of Gym
thia.
l did not know, and do not
know now, whether Norman
Tinker ever legally adopted her.
l did know that if he had made
a will leaving his goods to his
daughter" and if that rela-
tionship should ever be chal-
lenged, she might be deprived
of the wealth that was hers by
right. If he had not made a will,
the natural assumption that she
was his daughter would bring
that wealth TO 'her without dis
pute.
On the day when Cynthia was
to sail away to Hawaii Henry
Prentiss sat for the last time
with her beside The pool.
She looked for long moment
UP across the lawn and toward
the house. And she said, Tell
me something"
Anything l can, Pretty.
What do you think of me-"
"Why, l think you're just
about the most
oh, please. You know | don't
mean that. I'm not asking for
flattery, and you know it. l
mean-really! Because you see,
now there just isn't anybody
whose opinions I've got to look
out for and be careful about
like it was with the Colonel"
"Wetl, here II is, Miss Pretty,
and on the line: I1knoW-I know
that you will never, anywhere
on earth, do anything that will
make me feel disappointed or un
happy when | hear about it. And
I'll hear about nearly everything
you do, too. You can count on
that. And you'd damn we'll bet
ter watch your step"
And she cried, and said, two
or three times, "Oh, what a re-
lief! Oh, Hank, you old idiot,
what a relief
Henry Prentiss did not disap-
pear from Gull Point. When the
winter came in and most of the
people of Gull Point began pack
ing their bags for the South, it
was only natural that he, too,
should make plans for leaving.
For but while, of course. He
would return. There was still
the lease on his cottage. People
wanted him to join them, at
Palm Beach and Miami and the
tarpon waters of the Gulf Coast.