The Cases of Hildegarde Withers (33 page)

“Take
your
time,”
Miss
Withers
advised
as
soon
as
she
could
make
herself
heard.
“He
can’t
escape
over
the
rear
fences
—
because
I
locked
the
rear
door
and
broke
off
the
key
in
the
lock.
Just
to
make
sure
.
…
”

She
saw
Dr.
French
dragged
away
by
detectives,
without
a
qualm.
She
shook
hands
with
Franzel,
who
said,
“I
told
you
so!
But
I
didn’t
think
you
were
paying
any
attention.”

She
even
watched
the
lovely
Maida
come
out
of
her
hysterics
with
miraculous
swiftness
in
the
arms
of
young
Alison.

“You
two
ought
to
get
married
right
away,”
the
Inspector
suggested.

“Oscar!”
gasped
Miss
Withers.
“What
a
thing
to
say!”

He
shrugged.
“Well,
with
that
passage
between
the
houses
and
all
that
—
when
it
gets
into
the
newspapers
…
”

“I
think
the
proprieties
will
be
taken
care
of,
if
Maida
will
simply
dig
the
wedding
ring
out
of
her
cold
cream
jar
and
wear
it
so
it
will
show,”
Miss
Withers
suggested
calmly.
“They’ve
been
married
for
weeks
.
…
”

“Months,”
sang
out
Maida,
through
her
tears
of
relief.
“Since
last
Spring,
but
we
knew
it
would
kill
uncle
if
he
knew.
You
see,
he
hated
the
Alisons!”

The
Inspector
felt
himself
being
shoved
out
of
the
room
by
Miss
Withers.
“The
newspaper
boys
are
clamoring,”
she
told
him.
“Hadn’t
you
better
find
out
how
you
solved
the
Wurtz
murder
before
you
talk
to
them?”

“I
—
I
guess
so,”
said
Piper.
“It
was
the
doctor
all
right,
but
I
don’t
see
how
he
could
have
done
it
or
why
he
would
want
to.
Otherwise
I
have
a
perfect
case
…
”

Miss
Withers
smiled.
“All
the
time,”
she
said,
“it
seemed
a
bit
thick
to
me
that
a
man,
even
an
actor,
could
disguise
himself
as
some
one
else
well
enough
to
fool
the
old
housekeeper
in
broad
daylight.
There
was
only
one
man,
Oscar,
who
could
be
sure
that
he
would
succeed
in
disguising
himself
as
Dr.
French
—
and
that
was
the
doctor
himself.

“The
wily
doctor
knew
that
the
housekeeper
would
notice
the
changed
voice,
the
muffler
and
the
raised
heels.
He
intended
us
to
find
the
grease
paint,
because
every
one
of
those
clues
pointed
away
from
him!
Besides,
he’d
already
awakened
official
suspicion
in
the
wrong
direction
with
his
story
of
the
poisoned
jelly
—
a
very
unlikely
story,
too!”

“So
he
sneaked
out
the
back
way
after
murdering
the
old
man,
and
came
in
the
front
after
disposing
of
the
shoes
and
muffler?”

She
nodded.
“And
he
planted
the
cigarette
case,
as
part
of
the
frame
he
was
trying
to
build
against
young
Alison.
He
knew
of
the
family
feud,
the
Montague-Capulet
affair.
But
he
didn’t
know
about
Romeo
and
Juliet,
Oscar.
That
tripped
him,
because
if
Alison
had
a
secret
entrance
to
the
Wurtz
house
he
would
hardly
risk
going
through
the
open
court
in
the
rear!”

“Yeah,”
protested
Piper.
“But
you’re
giving
me
everything
but
the
motive.”

“Don’t
you
see
that?”
said
Miss
Withers
wearily.
“Dr.
French
thought
he
was
going
to
marry
Maida.
Her
uncle
had
bullied
her
into
half-promising
—
again
I
suppose
she
thought
that
if
she
refused,
the
old
man
might
fret
himself
into
collapse.
Silly,
but
we
do
lots
of
silly
things
at
twenty
…
and
afterward,
for
that
matter.

“It
was
silly
of
Dr.
French,
for
all
his
cleverness
in
executing
a
plot,
to
decide
to
murder
an
old
man
—
and
in
such
a
way
that
it
could
be
nothing
but
murder
—
so
that
he
would
marry
a
girl
who
brought
a
dowry
of
half
of
fifty
thousand
instead
of
half
of
twenty-five!”

They
went
down
the
stairs,
and
found
Franzel
waiting
for
them
in
the
lower
hall.

“I’d
like
you
to
have
these
—
as
a
souvenir,”
he
said.
Into
Miss
Withers’
hands
he
put
a
pair
of
delicately
carved
horses,
cut
from
clear
rose
quartz.

She
hesitated.
“Take
them,”
he
urged.
“They
were
the
prize
of
uncle’s
collection,
and
he’d
want
you
to
have
them.”