10 Story Detective November 1942 by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, Pulp
Publisher: 10-Story Detective
Published: 1942-11-04T05:00:00+00:00

KERRIGAN took the garland and studied it. “Well, I’ll grant you this—the garland wasn’t in the room when those lights went out. It’s too big for you to have concealed it in your pocket. We’ll check later. Miss Lee fainted—she’s over there.”

Kerrigan’s flash picked her out. For a moment he caught the reflection of the light in her eyes and then they were closed. Kerrigan grunted. This girl was playing games.

He carried her over to a davenport while Whitten held the flash. Moments later, she woke up.

“I don’t know what happened,” she said weakly. “I saw something standing right behind you, Cousin Arch. It looked like a ghost. Then I heard Kerrigan fighting—that’s all I remember.”

“Let’s see about the lights,” Kerrigan said. “And where are Maguire and Cotter? I made enough noise to wake a dead man.”

Maguire was in the kitchen and solemnly swore that he heard no sound. Cotter came down from his room on the second floor and also stated he’d heard nothing to attract his attention. Kerrigan led the way back to the living room while Maguire went down cellar to see about the lights.

Before Kerrigan began his search, the lights came back on. Maguire appeared and stated a fuse had blown out.

“It happened very conveniently for the rat who tried to murder me,” Kerrigan grunted. “Now let’s get this straight. Whitten, you and Miss Lee were the only persons in the living room beside me. Therefore, any intruder had to come in through the door. I don’t think that happened because the door squeaks like blazes. That leaves the windows, so let’s have a look.”

Kerrigan checked all four windows in the room. Each was locked from the inside. He remembered that cool blast of air that swept across him just before the attack. Where had it come from? The windows could only have been opened from inside. How had that would-be killer gained entrance, left via the window and locked it on the inside after him? Kerrigan restrained a shiver. Maybe Whitten knew what he was talking about.

A search of the area surrounding the house revealed nothing. Kerrigan came back to the living room, drew his gun and spun the cylinder experimentally. He shoved the weapon back into its holster.

“I’m going over to the Druid altar,” he said slowly. “I intend to stay there all night if necessary. Perhaps the killer of Benson will try to get me or, if Whitten’s ideas are true, I’ll meet some of those Druids. By the way, Whitten, when I searched the grounds I saw no signs of either an oak tree or a mistletoe bush. Are there any on the island, or did that garland over there on the table materialize itself like the Druids do?”

“There are two oak trees on the north side of the island. Mistletoe there, too.” Whitten was still nervous and showed it in his manner and speech. “Kerrigan, I swear I did not see that garland before. I don’t even know hew it got on my head.

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