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The House of Whispers JOHNSTON Euatraom by * IRWIN MIMRS Copyright by LAttle, Brown & 0o. (Continued from Page 2, this section) i a crime iII the ( rand(leek Imlade public. ylt there vas no ihelp for It. There had been a lnstardly erlneo con mitted, anld tile police mhuRst he InI foricd. Yef- Jt was not to the polico thst sf" Cek vwas telephonling. It C-vhckit i t 6 . K~ent'3 apartmnent in the Iulldin.. "M ,: Lua n i' been shot by a burglar In her npartment,'' I heaird hillMY sa "Mr. Nelson ain mne just discovered her body, 'What's that, sir?" :11ut What Mr. Kent's reply on hear ing the shocking news had been I had, of course, no means of knowing, but whatever it was, over the superintend ent's face camle an expression of In credulity and amazement. "What do you think," said Mr. Wick, turning to mne; "he says for me to call up Headquarters at once." "Of course," I said, "it is the only thing to do." Nevertheless, as Mr. Wick waited for the number, he kept shaking his head and muttering under his breath something that sounded like: "To think of his telling me to call Ip the police 1" With the doctor summoned and the jp 01ce spnt for, there seened to be We else for us to do but wait, so Oick and I sat down together in the ar sitting rooi with the elevator boy 11 on guard at the door. Who was Miss Lutan?" I asked. PWhy, Daisy Lutan, the actress," id AMr. Wick in surprise. "I sup ed every oei knew her." v e heard about her," I hastened to am,"hut I had no idea that she lived the Granddeck. Did sihe live here loe ?" "'She keeps a mild, an old woman 4Aat has been with her for years." 1Vhere's the maild tonight?" 1 'Qut to the miovies, I s'pose. That's ero sihe goes e'very nigit when Miss talilsn't pIlylig. WIleni she is, sheo es to the thoater withl her.'" The110n Allss Lutnll is not playing xpw?" 'Not for Iho last mllonith.'' "Had there beenR anly one here with her tonight ' "I'll ask the elevvitor boy." "John sa'RI R s sie v:tine inI IloRne abiwout fifteen m11l1ites ngo," sah1,l AlR. Wick When hie entinRe bac1k. "Sie vent out about seven. lie(r own) (iniffeur waRs driving her lt, bit when shte cRnme back she waits iII i hired taxi. That's sot0t0hin1g I1 inn't undefl'rstnI id." "llowv Ill youI suppose'x till InuRrRe'rr esenlped ?" I wast t ryin~g every. alvenueR of qules tioning to I)See if I culdi( Rnot suRirris Wick into 5 surne (ilamaRRging adm1 iion~I. I wats b eginnin Rg to Isuispelct thatit he' knew' faRR'l'l R 1nr hoult Aliss LuanIIR's IIornehIow tha21t his ' whoile senlr'(h for thko man whlo hadIC klilcld Miss ILutiln 1had( been enti(rely peorfuncRIt'ory, a bluffRI to dheeive Rme. In miy growing dlislike for thec Iian. I felt that it would not he0 beyondi the ranl~ge of prohnhlility forll Wick to, 1mw been (''l staR illing gualrd lit the dIoor wh1il n Icitonfedelralto ifl1ed the apa:r tilnenht. comltlnittally. '.'Alli I knowl~ is thalt he) has1 gone, lie cortaSinlly llin't herie in the apart1 men)11t. It wals ('n the tIp of lily tongue to suggest Itat we Ilook in t ho scret 1p1ssa1ge'way. 1 fel t t hat th 11hoe10k it would he, toi Wi (ICkI to5 ler tha11t I kniew~ abou~tt this 'liht bll him11 to t'pei Ils oif a sitllar t *lH -; pasgeway3'1 t lie (one 1 hnial dIiscolvered'l m roRom0(11 that thIle mulrd~er'er bind (escaped(5. 111ut hafo'(re0 I couldE I'mIke uRp miy Rmind( to .sienk the dOCtor. a rri ved. ie madell a hasty inispectioni and then saihl ter'sely: "TriRle's niot hi ng here for me to do0. This woman hlas been dolad for some timRie." "Ilow long?" T asked1. "It is impoib5Sle for me1 to judge mairybe t wenIty minu~lites, )er'haps anRI houir. I shld~l say1 thalt dleathi wan practienlly inistantaineous. Rhlo waIs killed by a biullet penetrating tihe healrt. Who shot her?" ie looked sharply from me to AMr. Wick, as if suspectinlg that it Rmight havo been oneC of us.* "A burglar got her just a few min-. utes ago," Mir. WVick explained. "Mr. Nelson and meO heard ai scretam and a rhot. WVe let ourselves1 ini here with my pass key and1 found her here. It must have been a burglar that sheC su~r prised1 whlen she eniteredl the apart muent." "It looks like it," assented the phy sician. "There are mrn~iks on her throat whlere he triedl to sitrng1e her screams. - 11ave you notified the po lice?" "Yes," saidl Mr. WVick. "There's nothing more that I can do, then," said the doctor, makling his preparations to depart, * . %114 yqt. rot. Walt unjtib, the, jp lice come?" suggested the superinteiid ,As 'Ah AV "Women of Her Type Always Have ,a Lot of Men Friends." ent. "They'll be here any minute and probably they'll want a statenient from you." "Vo:'y wel," sah the doctor, "'l A we waited the three of us elbit% tel aboit the crime and about the (lea(] actress. From the conversation I learned that at the height of her me teorie career on Brondway Daisy Lutan had become the wife of the young son of a very rich family. Ilis parents in sisted that she had trapped him into mnatrimony and after long legal wran gling she had beeni divorced about a year ago. Sie had received a large sum in settlement, and this with her earnings as an actress ennbled her to live in luxury. "Ifldn't she a sweetheart now?" I asked. "Better make it plural," sneered the doctor. "Women of her type always have a lot of men friends." "No inen ever came to see her here. I'm positive of that." said Mr. Wick. "Of course not," Sai the roctor sar Castiently. "The reputation of the 1raddeck npartinents miust he pro tetee at all costs." As we talked two detectives In plain clothes arrived. They viewed the body and proceeded to question the doctor. "10low was this woman killed?" "By a revolver shot right through the henrt." "Who 4s she?" "Daisy Luitan. the netress." "Whlo did It ?" "It must liave been a burglar," In terjeeled MI'. Wick. "My theory Is that she canme in inexpectedly and found him at work." "WN'ho found her?" "These geI tlIIIein." gaId the doctor, ineluding hoth Mr. Wick and me with a wave of his hand. The detectives turned to Mr. Wick first. "Tell us nbout it," one of them di ree ted. "My name is .James Wick." he began as if he was reeling n familinr lesson. "I am the sti er-inmtendnt of the (IraInthleck apa rtments. T wits in the elevntor abotit half an hour ago when I heard a womana screitmi ng and then the sound of the shot. I took out my revolver aned got off at this floor to in Vestigate. At the door I Cound Mi.. Nelson. Tie, too, had heard the screams anad the shot and thotught they came from this apartment. T took ott my pass key and we w-ent in." "Were there any signs of the hur ghur?"' askedt thei other moan. "No. we looked all through the npa rtmnent anld t'ound no one.'' "Was anyt hinlg miIssinag?'" I wvait ed wvith ha ted breath to henar if Wick woul tell of having found the wall safe open. If he ilid not T felt it wuouuld lie conceluisiv'e evlence that ther-e wa's soiiethIing he was tryinag to nenl. "I dhina't notice anything milssing," he said glibily. "'Y wonln't k-nowu, any how. T don't knuowu what stit'T she had here." "Wh'lo wou~l know'?" "'I er' minId might. She's out now. G~etun ly slhe's hiome by eleven "Dhl, she keep only the one servant ?" ''Only the imaiud and a chiuffenr." ''Then she wa'ns all alone in the apart mnnt ?'' "Ymes. Shde'd rzone out- all dr'esserl up nh'out seven in her own rar'. Shue enmie home unxetilly(Xi'tii In a hired tauxt not mor- lhain half an huouir ago.' "'111d she coime home alone' "Surie siw' wuas alone. Ac least the hnli boys told nie so. I dhi not see her comie in, myself." Mor'e and muore T was convinced that Wick was lying. I was sure lhe knew far' miore alhotit affimirs thman he was ad mitting. Why did( he keep harping on thme fact that Miss Tbut an had come In "uinexpiectedly ?" What means had he of know-lng wh'lnt time( she wuas Cx piected hiomue? F'ltlermorie he said he was in the elev'ator' when lie heard the screams and the shot. T did not he lieve it would have been posslhle for the soumnds to have carried that far. The walls wuere all dendened. and the room where the tragedy hnd taken place was at the hack of the~ house many feet distant fr-om the ehevatorq. T wondered if the burglar hand not bieen in the pince wvith Mr. Wiek's connly nnen, while he stood gutarri outside. As he heard me comhiftu he might hnve taken refuge in tli( elem to:'. And why did he hnve his revolver so con venienutly rendy?~ The detective who had been ques tioning WVick turned to me. "Whio are ym('i?" "Sipalding Nelson." "What do you do? 'Where do yott work.?" j'tm n r1nek "A clerk living at the Ornddeck apartments," he sneered. "You must hao ita good job." ' haven't any at present." I re plied. "I'm living here in Mr. as ton's apartment, taking care of it while he and'his wife are away." I could see that my statement that I was only a clerk and wits not at pres ent employed had not mado a favor able inpression on the detective. "Will you explain what you were do Ing at the door of this apartment when the superintendent arrived?" he demanded with n growing suspielon in his tones. . "That's easy to explain." I retorted. "1 was in my npartment directly over this one. I heard her serenim and then the shot. It seened to come from the floor rigit below me, so I ran down to inevestigate." "Is that right?" he asked, turning to Mr. Wick. "I guess so." said Wick. "That's where his room is. Ie's only been here in the Granddeck a few days. I don't kiow much anotut him." "And tihit's :ll you know about it?" said the debective, turnning to me again. I hesi Ifittd. 'hould I or should I not tell them, of the wAIll safe that I had seei Mr. WVick closing? There was no wry T. cul prove it. Undoubtedly Wick would deny having done so. It would he He word ngal"-t mine. As supernii(leint h8 wird would 1M. doubtedly carry. I deelded it would be best to withhold my Information to a more propitious time. "That's all I know, except what Mr. Wick has told you," I said. "Very well," sa1d the detective in charge. "You can go now, and you, too, Doct or." Mr. Wick was escorting the doctor to the door. The detectives had with drawn to the room where the body lay and were holding a whispered confer ence. I stepped quickly to the wall safe, and making sure that I was un observed, tested the knob. It was se curely fastened. 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