The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, June 02, 1920, Image 3
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. I congratulated my
self on having said nothing about it.
Wick, I felt certain, would deny hav
ing shut it, and there was no proof
that it had been opened when we had
entered.
(To be continuea.)
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