‘Did you go upstairs?’ asked the Professor.
‘Yes, I ran up there, calling her name, but came right down again and left immediately.’
‘Well, Kelley, of course it’s murder—as you probably know. I suppose you’ll hold this fellow?’
‘I certainly intend to,’ replied the Inspector.
How did Fordney know the old lady had been murdered?
12 _Class Day_
‘Baklioff, in person, combined with “Grand Hotel,” had packed the Paramount,’ said the Professor. ‘Every seat was occupied and standing-room was at a premium. What an opening it was!’ he continued.
‘As the picture neared its end and the orchestra, under the magnificent leadership of Baklioff, reached the climax of Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana,” a shot rang out.
‘Inspector Kelley who accompanied me, was immediately on his feet bellowing, “Lights!” They were quickly turned on and the picture stopped. Warning everyone to keep his seat, we started for the back of the theater, when a man’s body slumped out of a seat and fell almost at our feet. A hurried examination disclosed he had been shot in the back of the head and that he was an extremely tall man.
‘Leaving Kelley to look after things, I hurried to the operator’s booth. When almost there, I heard another shot and knew I was too late. Entering the small compartment, hung under the balcony, I found the operator with a bullet through his temple and a smoking revolver by his side.
‘“Not much to this,” I remarked, as Kelley joined me.
‘“I wonder if he got the right man,” commented the Inspector. “I don’t understand how he could have made such a splendid shot under the circumstances. Amazing!”’
‘Was the dead man sitting in an aisle seat?’ interrupted one of the class.
‘Yes,’ replied Fordney.
‘Gee, that’s a good one, Professor, but I know now the one thing wrong with your story,’ said the student.
Do you?
13 _A Hot Pursuit_
‘Hello, Smith,’ said Professor Fordney as he opened the door. ‘What’s up?’
‘Uncle Fred’s house has been robbed. He had some negotiable bonds in the library safe and told me to stick close to home until he returned from New York.’
‘Were they stolen?’ interrogated Fordney.
‘I’m afraid so. I was up in my bedroom about twenty minutes ago when I heard a noise. I rushed downstairs just in time to see a man dash out of the library. I ran after him and, as I passed the door, I noticed the safe was open, so I suppose he got the bonds. He jumped into a waiting automobile and I trailed him in my car which, fortunately, was standing in front of the house, but he got away from me.’
‘Did you get his license number?’
‘No. Couldn’t see it. When I lost him in the traffic, I drove right over here.’
‘Didn’t you keep the house locked while you were upstairs?’
‘Yes, but the burglar chiseled open a cellar window.’
‘Well, let’s go over and have a look,’ suggested Fordney.
When they reached the Smith home, they found the bonds gone.
‘Did you lock the front door when you ran out of the house?’
‘Why—er,’ replied Smith nervously, ‘the door locks automatically. I don’t know what Uncle Fred will say when he gets back.’
‘He’ll say plenty if you tell him the story you told me,’ interrupted the Professor. ‘I suggest you put the bonds back.’
Where did Smith make his incriminating slip?
14 _A Question of Identity_
Professor Fordney and three of his friends were enjoying their weekly ‘get together’ at the University Club.
‘Professor,’ said Patrie, ‘tell us something about that Yelpir murder case you were working on.’
‘Well, gentlemen,’ he replied, in his retiring manner, ‘as you know, Yelpir’s affairs were common knowledge, and the fact that several women had reasons to wish him dead complicated matters a bit.
‘His body was found in his study, which opened on to a corridor. At the other end of the corridor and directly opposite it a staircase led to the servants’ quarters above.
‘Diana Lane, a house guest of Mrs. Yelpir at the time of the murder, was questioned, and she appeared nervous. She insisted, however, that she had been in her room at the time Yelpir was slain.
‘Nora, a servant, testified that, as she was descending the stairs leading from the servants’ quarters, at midnight, she saw Diana Lane, wearing her famous emerald pendant and dressed in an enticing black negligée, walk down the lighted corridor to Yelpir’s room. She said she followed a minute later and heard Diana and Yelpir violently quarreling. She returned to the servants’ quarters and, as she opened the door of her room, she heard a shot.
‘In the face of such evidence, Miss Lane admitted having gone to the study at the time, but protested her innocence, declaring she had remained only a minute.
‘While Miss Lane was acquitted, you know, her reputation was not above reproach. Even so, I knew without further investigation that Nora’s testimony was maliciously false.’
How did the Professor know?
15 _A Yachtsman’s Alibi_
‘I’ve often remarked,’ said Professor Fordney, in an expansive mood, ‘how very difficult it is to fake an alibi without someone’s assistance. A case in point is a messy affair we cleared up recently.
‘I didn’t definitely suspect Picus when I happened to bump into him at the Fourth-of-July parade, the morning after an acquaintance of his had been found dead under suspicious circumstances. I rather casually asked him where he had been and what he had been doing the previous afternoon about four o’clock, the apparent time of the man’s death. He related the following story:
‘“I took my sailboat out about noon yesterday. It was great on the water. Around three o’clock, however, when I was perhaps ten miles out, the wind died down completely. There wasn’t a breath of air, and I knew that, unless I could attract some boat, I was in for an uncomfortable time. Remembering that the international distress signal is a flag flown upside down, I ran mine up to the top of the mast in that manner. Thank God it was a clear day.
‘“In about an hour the steamer Leone hove to, and I went aboard her after securing my boat with a towline. The Captain said he had seen my distress signal about four miles away and would put me ashore at Gladsome Landing. He did so, and, as there was no one about, I hailed a passing motorist who gave me a lift back to town. Imagine my surprise when I read in the paper this morning that the Leone had been sunk in a storm after putting me ashore, and all hands had been lost!”
‘While I knew,’ remarked the Professor, ‘that the Leone had been sunk with all on board, after hearing Picus’s story I immediately arrested him on suspicion of murder.’
What was wrong with Picus’s alibi?
16 _Murder at Coney Island_
Inspector Kelley and Professor Fordney were seated in the former’s office when Policeman Fanning and his charge entered. After Fanning’s hurried explanation, Jasper told his story:
‘I’m the ticket taker on a merry-go-round at Coney Island. This bein’ Saturday, we had a big crowd. The trip was almost over when I reached out, saying, “Ticket, please,” and I see this woman sittin’ up in the middle of the chariot with that terrible look on her face. She didn’t answer, and when I shook her, she slumped over in the corner. I screamed, jumped off, and ran for the manager. I got blood on my hand when I shook her.
‘Yes, sir, she’d ridden a couple of times and I seen the man she was with on the two rides before,’ continued Jasper, giving a detailed description of him. ‘I happened to see him jump off just before I got to her.’
‘The doctor said she had been stabbed through the heart and had died instantly?’ queried Professor Fordney.
‘That’s right, sir,’ replied the policeman.
‘It seems strange, Jasper,’ remarked the Professor, ‘that you can give such a good description of this woman’s companion on two previous rides when you just “happened” to notice him jump off. Does the merry-go-round ever make you dizzy?’
‘No, sir; I’m used to it.’
‘Well, Inspector,’ said Fordney, turning to his friend, ‘I suppose you are going to hold this man?’
‘Certainly,’ replied Kelley. ‘That’s just about the dizziest story I’ve heard in a long time.’
What justified the police in holding Jasper?
17 _Too Clever_
‘Receiving no reply to my ring and finding the door unlocked, I went in,’ said Albert Lynch. ‘Dawson was seated at his desk shot through the head. Seeing he was dead, I called the police and remained here.’
‘Touch anything, Lynch?’ asked Professor Fordney.
‘No, sir, nothing.’
‘Positive of that, are you?’
‘Absolutely, sir.’
The Professor made a careful examination of the desk and found Dawson had been writing a letter at the bottom of which and covered by the dead man’s hand, was a penned message: ‘A. L. did thi——’ and weakly trailed off.