Argosy All-Story Weekly, May 17, 1924 — page 156: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

306 ing all virtuous, meddling tattlers of her breed. “Mrs. Frayne took it rather hard?” I asked. ‘ She had had no suspicion before?” “Of course not. She thought Charlie was wrapped up in her, the way he pre- tended to be. She was terribly upset when she left here, but could I have any idea—”’ I left after a few minutes, there being nothing further to learn here. But the in- formation I had obtained seemed to me but to confirm my theory of the tragedy. I called on Captain Wigginton and ob- tained my pass; then proceeded to the flat of the Fraynes. It was, as Z had surmised, under guard, but the uniformed officer readily admitted me and showed me about on presentation of my pass. The bedroom, scene of the tragedy, was at the rear of the flat and across the little passageway was the smaller room, used by the senior Mrs. Frayne. Access to either of these rooms would be impossible without passing the kitchen door. Outside the bedroom window, as the cap- tain had said, ran a fire escape. “Was this window open or closed when the murder was discovered?” I asked the officer. “The room was just the same as it is now,” he informed me. ‘‘ Nothing has been disturbed, except the body, of course, has been taken away by the coroner.” I lifted the window. It opened readily. I was about to vault out onto the fire es- cape, when some marks on the window sill caught my attention. A light film of dust covered the sill, evidence to the quality of the elder Mrs, Frayne’s housekeeping. Dimly defined, yet clearly enough discern- ible under close examination, were two marks in this dust film: one clearly the print of a heel, the other what must have been the mark of a knee. Some other man had passed across this sill. Glowing with pride at my discovery, I made a careful sketch of the sill and the two prints. A light rain during the night made an examination of the fire escape futile; all marks had been washed away. I made a diagram of the position of the body and the revolver, as described by the ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY, officer, and then proceeded to the coroner’s, to view the corpse. Charles Frayne had been a dashingly handsome young man, with a touch of inso- lence about his lips. The marks of self- indulgence were clearly visible, even on his dead mask. And there still lurked about his mouth a look of cruel viciousness. ° The bullet had entered his forehead just above the inside corner of his left eye and had passed backward and toward the left side of the head, remaining imbedded in the brain, just inside the skull. Shudderingly I made note of these grue- some details; then hurried back to Washing- ton Square. Z listened carefully to my report of my activities. My proud production of the sketch of the prints on the sill excited the interest I had expected. She made me describe several times, and sketch on an anatomical chart, the path of the bullet. She leaned back in her chair. For a few moments she was silent. Then, quiet- ly, simply, she announced: “The murderer was a woman dressed in man’s clothing; and she was left-handed.” I gasped. Out of this meager little col- ‘lection of evidence, to me so barren of meaning, she had evolved this astounding conclusion, producing it in such a colorless, matter-of-fact manner. “ You—you are joking!” I stammered. “By no means,” she replied. ‘“ The evi- dence is perfectly clear. This. unknown woman entered the window from the: fire escape and carried on a quarrel with Frayne, ending in her shooting him. Georgia Frayne was in her mother-in-law’s bedroom, having gone there when she re- turned from her walk; she knew her hus- band was in their bedroom and, due to what Mrs. Burberson had told her, she was too angry to talk to him. She heard the alter- cation between her husband and this other woman; heard the pistol shot, and screamed. She rushed across the hall—these being the steps Mrs. Frayne, Sr., heard—and flung open the door. The door flew back against the wall with a bang, the noise the old lady could not account for. The mur- deress, in the meantime, had dropped her weapon -in her excitement and fled, her COmiCLMOooks (C@