Murder & the Married Virgin Read Online Free PDF Page B

that was the first thing we all looked for.”
    Shayne crossed over and made a cursory examination of the ivy-thatched window. It was solid in the casement, and not a leaf of the vine had been disturbed. He looked up at the ceiling of plywood nailed snugly against the rafters.
    He asked abruptly, “Did she have everything packed—except the toilet articles on the dresser?”
    “Everything—except one outfit. I tell you, I can’t understand it, Mr. Shayne. There is every evidence that she planned to carry out her wedding plans today. Something that probably none of us can ever guess must have happened.”
    “Perhaps,” Shayne said harshly. He was staring at the bed trying to picture a young girl lying there in her nightgown with a smile on her lips and her arms outflung to welcome the insidious death flowing soundlessly from a gas grate which must have been opened by her own hands.
    He shook his head emphatically, stalked over to the grate and turned on the gas. There was a hissing sound. He tried turning it low, but the slightest turn gave out the same hissing sound. He snapped the jet off and asked, “Was Miss Moe deaf?”
    “Not in the slightest degree. She was very alert,” Mr. Lomax told him.
    Shayne’s eyes were bleak. “And you didn’t notice anything peculiar about her last night,” Shayne persisted. “None of you had any intimation that she planned to take her own life?”
    “None of us, Mr. Shayne. While Katrin was very reserved, she was quite happy in her own quiet way. It was all arranged that she would come back to us after their honeymoon until we could get someone to replace her. She retired earlier than usual last night. Said she wanted to get a good night’s sleep so she could meet her fiancé at the station.”
    “One thing more, “ Shayne said. “When was the theft of the necklace actually discovered? Before or after Katrin’s body was found?”
    “At about the same time, I believe. My wife and I were having coffee in our upstairs sitting-room when Mrs. Brown, the housekeeper, came in to say that she was worried about Katrin. It was past time for her to get up, and Mrs. Brown could get no response by knocking on her locked door.”
    “Wait a minute,” Shayne said hastily, “did Miss Moe always lock her door at night?”
    “Always, I believe.” Mr. Lomax smiled. “I’ve heard Rose—that’s the other maid—teasing her about it.”
    Shayne nodded. “Go on. Mrs. Brown was worried—”
    “I asked her to call Neal, and I came up to Katrin’s room.”
    “Were you worried?” Shayne asked sharply.
    “No—I don’t believe so. At first I thought she had risen early and slipped out to meet her lieutenant. But her locked door argued against that. According to Mrs. Brown, Katrin never locked her door except when she was inside.”
    “And you knocked?”
    “I knocked and I called to her. Then I realized that there was a smell of gas close to her door. Neal came hurrying up just then and I asked him to see if he could break the door down. It took him only a moment to break through the panel. I’ve told you the rest.”
    “And the necklace?” Shayne prompted him.
    “There was a lot of excitement,” Lomax said. “When I came out of the room I heard my wife screaming that her necklace was gone. I thought she meant from the safe, of course, never dreaming she’d left it out so carelessly. I believe,” he added grimly, “that she had forgotten it until that moment when I hurried up to Katrin’s room to see if the girl was there. It was almost as though my wife was immediately struck with the absurd idea that Katrin had stolen her necklace and disappeared, and she went to look for her jewel case when I came upstairs.”
    “Did Mrs. Lomax distrust Katrin?”
    “Not at all,” Nathan Lomax said hastily, then qualified his statement immediately. “Not that I know of. There was a reason for my wife connecting the two incidents, however. Several times she has given the necklace to