The Citizens Journal (Atlanta, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 18, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 8, 1941 Page: 2 of 8
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TH|E CITIZENS, JOURNAL, ATLANTA, CASS COUNTY, TEXAS
THURSDAY, MAY 8, 1941
r
KIDNAP MURDEM*
$.$, Van Dine
O AUTOCASVEH
FIFTEENTH INSTALLMENT
SYNOPSIS
K us par Kenting disappears. Philo Vance,
District Attorney Markham and Sergeant
Heath of the Homicide Bureau question
Kenyon Kenting and Mrs. Kenting, Kas-
par's wife in the presence of Eldridge
Fleel, Kenting family attorney. Vance
doubts the kidnapping story and further
questions Weems, the butler, Mrs. Kent-
ings mother, Mrs. Palloway and son, Fraim
and Portor Quaggy, raconteur friend of
Kenting's and last person to be with him
on tlie fatal night. All seem hostile to
Kaspar. At this time a ransom note ar-
rives demanding $50,000 and freedom from
the police. A dummy package is substitut-
ed for the money and secreted in a tree
In Central Park. The police capture Mrs.
Palloway, who admits privately to Vance
she is really trying to forestall an attempt
by her son, Praim, to take the money. She
is not held. Immediately afterward.
Madelaine Kenting, wife of Kaspar, also
disappears suddenly. That night, while
walking home, Eldrigde Pleel is machine-
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gunned at close range from a passing auto
mobile but not hurt. Vance suspects a
ruse. Heath, Markham and Vance go to
Markham's office and learn that Kenyon
Kenting's body has been found in the East
River. While there Kenyon Kenting ar-
rives with a second ransom note as does
Fleel who has also received a note. Vance
examines both and discovers a cryptic
meaning in the Fleel communication. The
hidden meaning prompts Vance to inves-
tigate further. Vance decides that the hid-
den meaning is really the directions for
getting to the kidnapper's lair. Together
with Markham, Heath and Van Dine, he
drives to a lonely house in upper Manhat-
tan where, after silently disposing of a
Chinese doorkeeper, the party enters.
NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY
There was a brief respite of black
silence, so poignant as to be almost
palpable, and then came the crash
of an upset chair and the dull hea-
vy sound of a human body striking
the floor. I was afraid to move.
Heath's labored breathing made a
welcome noise at my side.
Then I heard Vance's voice—the
cynical nonchalant voice I knew so
well.
The ray from Heath's pocket
flash moved about the walls and
ceiling, but I could neither see him
nor Vance. Then the light came to
a halt, and Heath's triumphant
voice rang out.
"Here it is, sir—a socket beside
the window." And as he spoke a
weak, yellowed bulb dimly lit up
the room.
On the floor lay two motionless
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bodies.
"Pleasant evening, Sergeant."
Vance spoke in his usual steady,
whimsical voice. "My sincerest apol
ogies, and all that." Then he caught
sight of me, and his face sobered.
"Are you all right, Van?" he asked
I assured him I had escaped the
melee unscathed, and added that I
had not used my automatic because
I was afraid I might have hit him
In the dark.
"I quite understand," he mur-
mured and, nodding his head, he
went quickly to the two prostrate
bodies. After a momentary inspec-
tion, he stood up and said:
"Quite dead, Sergeant. Really, y'
know, I seem to be a fairly accu-
rate shot."
"I'll say!" breathed Heath with
admiration. "I wasn't a hell of a lot
of help, was I, Mr. Vance?" he
added a bit shamefacedly.
"Really nothing for you to do,
Sergeant."
The last word had been only half
completed when there came two
shots from the rear door. The slim,
crouching figure of a man, some-
what- scholarly looking and well
dressed, had suddenly appeared
there.
Vance had swung about simul-
taneously with his warning to
Heath, and there were two more
shots in rapid succession,, this time
from Vance's gun.
I saw the poised revolver of blue
steel drop from the raised hand of
the man at the. rear door; he looked
round him, dazed, and both his
hands went to his abdomen. He re-
mained upright for a moment; then
he doubled up and sank to the floor I
where he lay in an awkward crump-
led heap.
Heath's revolver, too, dropped
from his grip. He staggered back-
|ward a few feet and slid heavily
into a chair.
"The baby winged me," Heath
said with an effort. "My gun jam-
med."
He had barely finished speaking
when we heard a repeated ringing
near up.
"By jove a telephone!" comment-
ed Vance. "Now we'll have to find
the instrument."
Heath straightened up.
"The thing's right here on the
mantel," he said.
"You'd better let me answer it
Mr. Vance. You're too refined." He
picked up the receiver with his left
hand.
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"What d' you want?" he asked,
in a gruff, officious tone. There
was a short pause. "Oh, yeah ? O.-
K., go ahead." A longer pause fol-
lowed, as Heath listened. "Don't
know nothing about it," he shot
back, in a heavy, resentful voice.
Then he added "You got the wrong
number." And he slammed down
the receiver.
"Who was it, do you know, Ser-
jeant?" Vance spoke quietly as he
lighted a cigarette.
Heath turned slowly and looked
at Vance. His eyes were narrowed,
and there was an expression of
awe on his face as he answered.
"Sure I know," he said signifi-
cantly. He shook his head as if he
did not trust himself to speak.
"There ain't no mistaking that
voice."
"Well, who was it, Sergeant?"
"It was " he began, and then
he was suddenly aware of my pres-
ence in the room. "Mother o' God!"
he breathed. "I don't have to tell
you, Mr. Vance. You knew this
morning.""
Vance looked at the Sergeant a
moment and shook his head.
"Y' know," he said in a curiously
repressed voice, "I was almost hop-
ing I was wrong. I hate to think
" He came suddenly forward
to Heath who had fallen back weak
ly against the mantel and was
blindly reaching for the wall, in an
effort to hold himself upright.
Vance put his arm around Heath
and led him to a chair.
"Here, Sergeant," he said in a
kindly tone, handing him an etched
silver flask, "take a drink of this—
and don't be a sissy."
Heath inverted the flask to his
lips. Then he handed it back to
Vance. "That's potent juice," he
said, standing up and pushing
Vance away from him. "Let's get
going."
"Right-o, Sergeant. We're only
begun.!' As he spoke he walked to-
ward the rear door and stepped
over the head man, into the next
room. Heath and I were at his heels
We were in a small box-like
room, without windows. Opposite
us, against the wall, stood a nar-
row army cot. Vance rushed for-
ward and leaned over the cot. The
motionless form of a woman lay
stretched out on it. Despite her dis-
heveled hair and her deathly pallor
I recognized Madelaine Kenting.
Strips of adhesive tape bound her
lips together, and both her arms
Were tied securely with pieces of
heavy clothes-line to the iron rods
at either side of the cot.
Vance dexterously removed the
tape from her mouth, and the wo-
tnan sucked in a deep breath, as if
she had been partly suffocated.
Vance busied himself with the
cruel cords binding her wrists.
When he had released them, he laid
his ear against her heart for a mo-
ment, and poured a little of the
cognac from his flask between her
lips. She swallowed automatically
and coughed. Then Vance lifted her
in his arms and started from the
room.
I preceded him as he carried his
inert burden down the dingy stair-
way.
"We must get her to a hospital at
once, Van," he said when we had
reached the lower hall way.
The Chinaman still lay where we
had left him, on the floor against
the wall.
"Drag him up to that pipe in the
corner, Mr. Van Dine," the Ser-
geant told me in a strained voice.
"My arm is sorta numb."
I moved the limp form of the
Chinaman until his head came in
contact with the pipe; and Heath,
with one hand, drew out a pair of
handcuffs. Clamping one of the
manacles on the unconscious man's
right wrist, he pulled it around the
pipe and with his foot manipulated
the Chinaman's left arm upward un
till he could close the second iron
around it.
Then we both went out into the
murky night, Heath slamming the
door behind him. Vance, with his
burden, was perhaps a hundred
yards ahead of us, and we came up
with him just as he reached the car
He placed Mrs. Kenting on the
rear seat of the tonneau and ar-
ranged the cushions under her head
"I'm heading for the Doran Hos-
pital, just this side of the Bronx
Park, Sergeant," Vance said, as we
sped along. In about fifteen min-
utes, ignoring all traffic lights and
driving at a rate far exceeding the
city speed limit, we drew up in
front of the hospital.
Vance jumped from the car, took
Mrs. Kenting in his arms again and
carried her up the wide marble
steps. He returned to the car in
less than ten minutes.
"Everything's all right, Sergeant
he said as he approached the car.
"The lady has regained conscious-
ness. Fresh air did it."
Heath had stepped out of the car
and was standing on the sidewalk.
"So long, Mr. Vance," he said
"I'm getting in that taxi up ahead.
I gotta get back to that damn
house. I got work to do."
"Stay right here, Sergeant, and
get that arm properly dressed first.
He led Heath back, and accom-
panied him up, the hospital steps.
A few minutes later Vance came
out alone.
"The noble Sergeant is all right,
Van," he said, as he took his place
at the wheel again. "He'll be out
before long."
When we reached Vance's apart-
ment Currie opened the door for us
There was relief written in every
line of the old butler's face.
"Good heavens, Currie!" said
Vance, as he stepped inside. "I told
you, you might tuck yourself in at
eleven o'clock, if you hadn't heard
from me."
"I'm sorry, sir," Currie said in a
voice which, for all its formality,
had an emotional tremolo in it. "I—
1 couldn't go to bed, sir, until you
returned. I'm very glad you have
come home, sir."
"You're a sentimental old fossil,
Currie," Vance complained, handing
the butler his hat.
"Mr. Markham is waiting in the
librpry," said Currie.
As we entered the library, we
found Markham pacing up and
down.
"Well, thank God!" he said. And
though he attempted to sound triv-
ial, his relief was as evident as old
Currie's had been.
"Greetings, old dear," said Vance
"Why this unexpected pleasure of
your presence at such an hour?"
"I was merely interested, offici-
ally, in what you might have found
on Lord Street" returned Markham
"I'm frightfully sorry, Markham,
he said, "but I fear I have made
you a bit of trouble ... The fact is"
he added carelessly, "I killed three
men."
"Are you serious ?" blurted Mark
ham.
"Oh, quite," answered Vance.
"Do you think you can save me
from the dire consequences?"
And then he told Markham in de-
tail everything that had happened
that night. But I thought he too
greatly minimized his own part in
the tragic drama. When he had fin-
ished his recital, he asked some-
what coyly:
"Am I a doomed'culprit, or were
there what you would call extenu-
atin' circumstances?—I'm horribly
weak on the intricacies of the law.
Don't y' know?"
"Damn it! forget everything,"
said Markham. "If you're really
worried, I'll get you a brass medal
as big as Columbus Circle."
The front door-bell rang, and a]
minute later Heath entered the li-
brary. His ordinary ruddy face was I
a little pale and drawn, and his I
right arm was in a sling. He salut-
ed Markham and turned sheepishly
to Vance.
"Your old saw-bones at the hos-
pital told me I had to go home," he |
complained. "And there's nothing |
in God's world the matter with me"
he added disgustedly. "Imagine himl
puttin' this arm in a sling—Hell !
If my gun hadn't jammed—"
"Yes, that was a bad break, Ser-
geant," nodded Markham.
Vance and Markham and Heath
discussed the case from various
angles for perhaps a half hour
longer. Markham was getting im-
patient.
"I'm going home," he said final-
ly, as he rose. "We'll get this thing
straightened out in the morning."
"Is there anything you want me
to do, Mr. Vance?" Heath's tone
was respectful, but a little weary.
Vance looked at him with com-
miseration.
Continued Next Issue!
COURT LAND
Ruby Hicks, Reporter
Church was not so well attended
last week-end, on account of bad
weather, but don't forget the third
Sunday and Sunday night and the
Saturday night before.
Mr. and Mrs. John Morgan spent
Sunday in the Ed Bishop home.
Miss Leona Harris, Spencers
Chapel, spent Saturday night with
Miss Ruby Hicks.
Mrs. Hiram Prator spent last
week-end with her daughter, Mrs.
Bird Clements of Queen City.
Mrs. John Thomas of Piney
Grove, spent last week-end in the
home of her son Mr. Coy Thomas.
We are sorry to hear of the
death of Mrs. Blackman, who was
buried at Courtland Sunday. We
extend our sympathy to the bereav-
ed.
Harold, Johnnie and Ray Jaynes,
and David Thomas spent Sunday
evening with V. D. Hicks.
Mr. and Mrs. Coy Thomas and
two children spent Sunday in the
home of his mother, Mrs. Thomas
of Piney Grove.
Mr. John Jaynes of Blalock spent
Wednesday of last week in the W.
D. Hicks home.
Horace Kirkland spent a while
Sunday in the home of his father,
Mr. J. D. Kirkland.
Freda Guyton was a Sunday visit
or of Donna Mae Bennifield.
Willie Milligan spent Sunday
with J. H. Kirkland.
V. D. Hicks spent Wednesday
night of last week in the home of
his aunt, Mrs. Mike Dailey, of
Queen City.
Vina McCasland was a Saturday
and Saturday night guest of Mr.
and Mrs. Truitt McCasland.
Mrs. Powell and family were
Sunday visitors in the James Stan-
ton home.
Billie Huff was a Sunday visitor
of Jim Jaynes.
o
CARD OF THANKS
We shall always remember with
gratitude your comforting expres-
sions of sympathy during the re-
cent illness and death of our wife
and mother.
F. M. Parker and Children.
♦ >
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There's a rule for your r~WSsen
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WHEN BETTER AUTOMOBILES ARE BUILT BUICK WILL BUILD THEM
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Harrell, J. W. The Citizens Journal (Atlanta, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 18, Ed. 1 Thursday, May 8, 1941, newspaper, May 8, 1941; Atlanta, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth336392/m1/2/?q=+date%3A1941-1945: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Atlanta Public Library.