Whistle Past the Graveyard [= Give the Girl a Gun]

Chapter Twenty-Seven

After Warren Day left us alone, I explained to Madeline the inspector hoped to crack the case that evening, and it was essential none of the people who would be at Amhurst’s know in advance anything was scheduled beyond the business meeting already arranged. I also asked her if, without arousing suspicion that anything unusual was underway, she could find out definitely whether or not Evelyn Karnes planned to be present.

Madeline said, “That’s easy,” and promptly used the inspector’s phone to call Evelyn. On the feminine pretext that she wanted to know what Evelyn planned to wear, so that she could dress accordingly, she learned that Evelyn was going to Amhurst’s with Ed Friday that evening.

I took it upon myself to get Bubbles and Fausta there.

When I phoned Fausta, she was a little difficult about arrangements, pretending to believe I had reached that stage of life where I felt I had to prove my romantic prowess by parading women in public.

“This isn’t a date,” I explained patiently. “Warren Day wants everyone present who was there the night of the murder. Would you rather I just pick Bubbles up and send Hannegan after you?”

Fausta sniffed. “I will go with you since it is the inspector’s wish. But you come for me first, Manny Moon.”

“Be ready at a quarter of eight,” I told her. “And this isn’t formal. A plain dress will do.”

Bubbles presented no such problem because I neglected telling her the circumstances. I merely phoned her shortly after seven, said I would be by to pick her up just before eight, and made no mention of the fact that I would have Fausta along.

As a matter of fact I didn’t let her find it out until I had escorted her from her door to the curb and held the car door open for her.

“What’s this?” she asked then, staring at Fausta. “You competing with King Farouk, Manny?”

“Get in,” I said. “This isn’t an evening of pleasure. We’re going over to Barney Amhurst’s to solve a couple of murders.”

Dubiously Bubbles slipped into the seat next to Fausta.

It was shortly after eight when I pulled up in front of the Remley

Apartments. Apparently Ed Friday and Evelyn Karnes were already there, for the gray coupé of Friday’s bodyguard stood in the same spot it had the night Ford was killed. I also spotted Warren Day’s car parked across the street.

As I helped the two women out of my Plymouth, Max Furtell stepped from his coupé and limped over.

“Well, well,” he said to me. “I kind of been hoping I’d run into you again.”

“I haven’t time to play now, Max. Run along.”

Max grinned at me. “Excuse me, ladies, but I’ve got a little unfinished business with your boy friend.”

He was starting to reach out for a handful of shirt front when Warren Day’s voice said from behind him, “Something on your mind, Furtell?”

“Oh, hello, Inspector,” Max said uneasily. “I was just saying hello to Mr. Moon here.”

“So you’ve said it,” Day growled. “Now climb back in your car and stay there.”

“Sure, Inspector.” He went back toward his car without looking at any of us.

As the inspector, the two women and I moved toward the apartment-house entrance, I asked Day, “How about the kid?”

“He’ll stay in the car with Hannegan until I make sure they’re all here.”

Barney Amhurst seemed surprised to see us, but he acted the part of the perfect host. Inviting us in, he waved us all to chairs and asked what we would like to drink.

“Madeline and Friday and I have a little business to discuss,” he said. “But it’s nothing secret and it won’t take long. We can have a party at the same time.”

“We didn’t come for a party,” Warren Day said in a grim voice. “I’m here on official business.”

He stared around at the assembly. Madeline Strong and the sleek Evelyn Karnes sat side by side on a sofa. Ed Friday had been seated in a chair by the fireplace but rose when Fausta and Bubbles came in. When the two women found chairs, he seated himself again and nodded shortly to me.

“I guess everybody is here,” the inspector decided. “Just stay put. I’ll be back in a minute.”

As he disappeared again, Barney Amhurst stared puzzledly at the door he had gone through. “What’s this all about, Moon?”

“The inspector won’t be long,” I said. “He’ll explain when he comes back.”

Now that it seemed we were finally on the verge of breaking the case, I had been experiencing steadily mounting excitement. But when Day returned with Eddie Johnson and Hannegan in tow, there was an anti-climax. The boy stood in the center of the room, looked carefully from Fausta to Madeline to Bubbles to Evelyn, then slowly shook his head.

“None of these is the lady I ran the errands for,” he stated positively.

“What!” Day yelled, his nose instantly beginning to whiten. “I can’t help it,” Eddie said defensively. “The right lady just isn’t here.”

Day turned an accusing stare at me.

I said, “Inspector, we’ve been working on the premise Ford was either shot, or hired shot, by someone who was here that night. It just occurred to me there’s a fifth woman connected with the case. And she’s got the best motive of all.”

When he only continued to stare at me, I said, “Mrs. Jennifer Ford. She was having trouble collecting alimony from Walter, but as his widow she won’t have a bit of trouble collecting his ten-per-cent interest in the Huntsafe.”

“Hannegan,” the inspector snapped. “Bring Mrs. Ford over here right away.”

“Twenty-two twelve Wright Street,” I offered helpfully. “It’s only about six blocks from here.”

When Hannegan had gone, I walked over to the door of Barney Amhurst’s workroom, opened it and felt alongside the door for the light switch.

“Want anything in particular?” Barney Amhurst asked from behind me.

My hand connected with the switch and I flicked it on. The place had been cleaned up, I noted. All the bloodstains had been removed, the broken glass swept up, and a fresh pane replaced the broken panel of the French door.

“Nothing in particular,” I said preoccupiedly. “Just refreshing my memory.”

Switching off the light again, I pulled the door shut.

To Warren Day I said, “If it turns out Jennifer Ford is the woman who hired Eddie, that new theory I had still hangs together with a slight modification. Want to hear it?”

“What have I got to lose?” the inspector asked.

“What threw me off course was learning a woman had that gun initialed,” I said. “Before that I had it all figured out that a man was the killer. Now I think so again. I’m guessing the only part Mrs. Ford had in this was stealing a couple of her husband’s pistols from his apartment, getting one initialed ‘T.H.’ and turning them both over to the killer.”

“You don’t even know yet that she’s the woman,” Day growled.

“I’m fairly certain of it now that I’ve got the cobwebs out of my brain,” I assured him. Everything fits all the way. Even Ed Friday’s attempt to bribe me to leave town.”

“Leave me out of it,” Friday said in a ponderous voice.

“You let yourself in,” I told him. “I doubt that we can make an accessory charge stick, but you know and I know that you’ve been aware of who Ford’s killer was all along.”

The ex-racketeer emitted a snort. “Why would I conceal a thing like that?”

“Because you knew the motive for the killing. You didn’t care a hoot about either Ford or the killer, but you did care about your forty per cent interest in the Huntsafe. And you knew the moment the motive came out your agreement with Barney Amhurst wouldn’t be worth the paper it was written on. Because Amhurst didn’t have any legal right to make such an agreement.”

“Wait a minute,” Amhurst interrupted. “What are you talking about?”

“About you,” I said. “You’ve been trading off percentage interest in the Huntsafe right and left without owning a nickel’s worth of what you were trading. The whole thing belongs to Madeline Strong.”

Madeline looked from Barney to me with a wondering expression on her face. “What do you mean, Mr. Moon?”

I said, “Let’s start at the beginning, back with your brother’s death. I’ve had three versions of that shooting. From Amhurst, Tom Henry and Bubbles. But I haven’t heard yours. Want to tell it?”

She looked puzzled. “What has Lloyd’s death got to do with Walter’s?”

“A lot, if my theory is correct. Tell me, after you discovered Lloyd was dead, what happened?”

“We walked into town and reported it. The state police went after the body.”

“All three of you walked into town?”

“No. Just Tom and I. Barney stayed with Lloyd’s body.”

“I thought it would have been that way,” I said. “That gave him plenty of time to remove something from it.”

When Amhurst opened his mouth to demand what I meant by that, I cut him off by saying, “Amhurst claims he thought he heard another rifle crack at the same time you fired, Madeline. Do you recall any such thing?”

The girl shook her head slowly. “There wasn’t any other sound. I distinctly remember everything that happened. I” don’t think I’ll ever forget. It was so quiet when I fired, I even recall I could hear Barney’s watch ticking.”

I felt a little thrill run along my spine. “His watch?” I asked. “You’re sure it was his watch?”

“Of course. What else?”

“The Huntsafe,” I said. “You heard the ticking of the Huntsafe receiver strapped to Barney’s wrist.”

The girl looked at me incredulously. Amhurst emitted a derisive snort.

“But the Huntsafe wasn’t finished until a month ago,” Madeline said.

“It was finished back at the time of your hunting trip,” I corrected her. “Amhurst just announced its perfection a month ago. He and your brother were giving it a field test under actual hunting conditions when Lloyd was killed. That’s why Lloyd was in the line of fire. He deliberately got himself where he wasn’t supposed to be in order to demonstrate how the Huntsafe could prevent accidental shootings. Only Barney, instead of avoiding shooting in that direction, deliberately used the gadget in order to locate Lloyd in the underbrush and kill him. With the needle pointing straight at Lloyd, Amhurst undoubtedly could spot where he was lurking and get an accurate bead on him.”

Barney Amhurst said, “This is the worst nonsense I ever heard. Why, in heaven’s name, would I want to kill my own partner?”