Murdered! For a moment I was stupefied by the doctor's revelation, and
then, as he went on to describe the course of the bullet, and certain
technical aspects of the case, a sudden rush of thankfulness came over
me. Let me explain! The coroner had given a verdict of murder by
person or persons unknown. From the first moment I heard of the
accident I was certain there was something sinister about it, but had
little on which to base my belief. The coroner's verdict substantiated
my suspicions and gave me a chance to work in the open; to bring into
court, if possible, the people I suspected.
Murder by person or persons unknown? I knew the persons: Zalnitch,
Metzger, Schreiber. They must have recognized the car as it came
toward them and taken a shot as they went by. My thoughts were
recalled from their wanderings by an unexpected sentence of the
coroner's. I had been following him vaguely, but now my attention was
riveted.
"One could not be sure, because of the varied course that bullets take
through the body, but the shot seems to have been fired from above and
behind. Unless it were otherwise proved, I'd strongly suspect that the
murderer had fired the shot from the back seat of the car."
"Of course that is impossible," I said, "because in that case the
murderer would have been in the accident."
"I had the same idea," he said slowly, giving me a searching look.
Helen!
I felt suddenly sick and faint. I wanted air, sunlight; to get away
from that darkened room and those piercing eyes that seemed to read my
thoughts. I thanked him for letting me know what he had discovered,
and hurriedly excused myself.
Helen! The blood pounded through my temples.
God! No!
Wilful, spoiled woman, if you will, ready to leave her husband without
thought of the consequences, to go with another man; but his
premeditated murderer? A thousand times, no!
I felt that with the unworthy suspicion in my mind, I could not face
Mary, and I waited a moment at the bottom of the stairs before going up
to meet her. There were two questions that had to be answered. Was
Helen in the back seat when the car left Mary's the evening before; and
had Jim told Helen about the proofs he had of Woods' irregularities?
Mary was probably there when Helen and Jim left, and could answer both
questions.
I wiped the perspiration from my forehead and assuming as calm an air
as possible, went up-stairs. Mary was chatting with the little
interne, but as soon as she saw my face, she hurried toward me.
"You look as though you'd seen a ghost. What was it, Bupps?"
"Not here!" I cautioned. "Wait until we get outside!"
We walked down the broad sunlit steps and climbed into the car. I felt
like a traitor to let Mary even think that I suspected Helen, but my
questions had to be answered.
"Will you have luncheon with me, Mary?"
"Certainly," she answered. "Let's go to Luigi's. We can talk quietly
there."
I headed for down-town and kept my eyes on the road, dreading to put my
questions into words.
"What was it, Bupps?" Mary asked.
I decided to ask what I had to ask before telling her the coroner's
verdict.
"Did you see Helen leave the house with Jim yesterday?"
"Yes. I was looking out the window when they started. Why?"