The Winter Murder Case by S.S. Van Dine

Author:S.S. Van Dine
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Felony & Mayhem Press
Published: 2021-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Final Curtain

(Sunday, January 19; 2:40 p.m.)

VANCE TOOK A few paces across the room. His attention was caught by a pair of eyes peering in at the window behind Richard Rexon. It was the Green Hermit. He made no move as Vance approached the window and raised it.

“Might as well join us in here, Jed,” Vance suggested casually. “You’ll see much better, don’t y’ know. And hear. More satisfact’ry, what?” He closed the window as the old man moved away. Vance came back to a chair, crossed his knees as he sat down.

Higgins opened the door with a surprised look on his face. “It’s Old Jed, sir,” he mumbled awkwardly.

“Yes—oh, yes. Let him come in.” It was Vance who spoke.

The white-haired old man came shuffling into the room, looking from side to side as if to find a place where he might hide. He finally chose a chair in the corner nearest Vance and sat down without a word.

“Where do we stand now?” Vance began anew. “Ah, yes. We still have to determine the identity of the persons involved in a dramatic piece of mayhem and thievery.”

He rose from the chair and stood leaning against it.

“Mr. Rexon tells me, Doctor Quayne, that you are planning to leave Winewood.” Vance looked at the man lazily.

The doctor seemed taken aback. “Frankly, yes,” he returned. “Though I don’t recall having mentioned it. At any rate, I don’t see what my future plans can have to do with this matter.”

“You will in a moment, doctor.” Vance brought out a visiting card and a pencil. He wrote a few words hastily, toyed with the card for a moment. “Our problem is falling nicely into line,” he announced, looking up. “I said Bassett could not have obtained the jewels. But he could—and probably did—assault Mr. Rexon and secure the key to the Gem Room… Yes. He would have had just enough time for that… This assumption assigns to him half of the second rôle. But our cast is still woefully incomplete… Permit me one more question, Doctor Quayne. Just why were you determined to let me know it was after twelve yesterday?”

“I resent the imputation, sir. I was simply in a hurry.”

“As you said. In a hurry to get to the Gem Room and out again, doctor?”

Quayne made no reply. Merely smiled, as at a precocious child.

The door opened suddenly. Marcia Bruce came rushing back into the room. Her face was flushed. Her hands were tearing frenziedly at the paper wrappings of a small parcel. She shot a look of disgust at the man on the divan.

In the momentary confusion Vance passed the card in his hand to Lieutenant O’Leary. The latter stepped from the room, returning almost immediately. He moved leisurely to the divan, sat down beside Quayne.

Marcia Bruce had removed the last bit of paper and now held in her trembling hands a small, crudely sewn chamois bag, tied with a bit of dental floss. She turned fiery green eyes on Quayne.

“You charlatan! You thief!” she flung at him.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.