10-Story Detective Magazine, April 1946 — page 73: what you’re looking at

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

MURDER IN MINIATURE backward. “You'll hold still, or you'll wear bracelets.” He grinned crookedly at Nelson. “What’s the solution, mastermind?” On the floor, Taylor twitched, suggesting that he mightn’t be as senseless as he had appeared. “Clayfus, of course,” Nelson said. The old doll-maker continued with his stitch- ing, chuckling, “It all fits together now. Gerry was given the afternoon off, so she couldn’t see what went on, Clayfus took the Napoleon dol] to Elmo, killed Elmo with the toy sword which Elmo naturally wouldn’t consider a_ killer’s weapon, then made a plaster cast of Elmo’s face. A drop of plaster fell in Wimo’s hair. He overlooked that. It dried. When Miss Jacques found it she thought it was a bead.” CLAYFus shook his head airily. Nel- son went on, “Clayfus had reason to kill Elmo, because he addressed Miss Jacques as ‘Jenny’ . Imptying he either knows her very well, or ‘knows all about her from Elmo, So he had a motive. He took the plaster cast home along with one of Elmo’s gaudy suits. From the mould he reconstructed Elmo’s face, com- plete to the scar. He’s a master crafts- man. Look at these dolls here—he could do it. There he ostentatiously left, dis- guised as Elmo, and went to Elmo’s place a second time, making an alibi for him- self, shifting the time for the murder, “You can check that. If any customer telephoned him at his shop, where he re- turned to further improve his alibi, Pll bet she did it because he had left his phone number at her place when he knew she’d be out.” Jenny didn’t seem to believe a word of it. Nelson went on, “I felt this shop was a front for something else as soon as I stepped in here. Sure! Clayfus takes his dolls to swank Park Avenue people, cases their apartments, then tips off Elmo and Tayler where to pull a snatch. He Jet Elmo come here to buy and ex- change dolls for Miss Jacques’ collection, so that if Elmo was ever seen here, there’d be valid reason.” Nobody seemed to notice that Taylor was gradually pull- ing himself up into a menacing crouch. “And guess what’s inside the dolls!” . Nelson said, “Jewelry!” | Clayfus made more tst sounds with his tongue. “Simply fantastic!” 7A “When this alexandrite neeklace was taken in that big jewel robbery last week, Clayfus suggested to Elmo that he, Clay- fus, hold the necklace in event of police interrogation into Elmo’s previous rec- ord, Then maybe Elmo decided he might. double-erossed and wanted the neek- ace. “But Clayfus intended the double- cross, since the papers said the necklace is worth sixty thousand dollars. So he mailed amethyst phonies to Taylor, to make Taylor think Elmo was cheating Taylor out of his share, making Taylor the goat when Elmo would be found dead. And then he killed Elmo, That's the motive.” Clayfus asked, “And how did you find out all this?” “When I put the doll back in the trash can in your storeroom, Bits of plaster like bisque beads. And part of a mould of a large face, a live man’s face, not a doll’s, and with a scar on it,” Suddenly Taylor sprang to his feet. Blair had been waiting for this, and clunked him firmly on the head again. Clayfus said, “You’ve been clever, young man. But I’m clever, too. Have’ you ever seen this?” “Watch with them hands!” Duffy barked, suspecting gunplay. But Clayfus merely pressed a part of Lucrezia Bor- gia’s anatomy. One of her hands swept out and touched his, that was al). “You’d better get up and come down to the station,” Duffy said, as the doll- maker let go of Lucrezia and leaned back on his chair. “No need,” Clayfus replied, with a weary smile. “No need at all?’ Then he clutehed at his throat, his eyes rolling and bulging as they rolled. He coughed harshly, and tumbled face-down. Blair shook him. Clayfus’s head rolled, the spectacles dropping off. His face was like dirty dough. “Dead,” Blair said. Jenny began to ery from sheer fury. Gerry peered at Lucrezia’s hand. “Phe poison ring of the Borgias!”’ she whis- pered, pointing. Duffy grunted a grim laugh. “Huh, some doll!” Nelson pulled Gerry closer, took the engagement ring from his pocket, and slid it on her hand. She smiled. “That’s what I say,” Nelson murmured. “That's what you are, Gerry, some doll!” ComilcoookKs (C@