10-Story Detective Magazine Cover — page 105: what you’re looking at

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

THE CORPSE CLUE————————————_103 there was something familiar about him. Well, well!” A door closed. Hewett heard steps on the hall stairs. He looked at the small clock on the dresser. “That’s probably him now,” he thought. “Well, there’s no time like the present.” He opened his door and waited on the threshold for the man who was coming up the stairs. Soon the man reached the landing. “Oh, hello there, would you mind stepping in for a minute?” Hewett asked. “I’d like to talk to you.” The man glanced at Hewett quizzi- cally, and then, without replying, fol- lowed Hewett into the room. Hewett closed the door. “T understand,” said Hewett, “that your romance with Betty is budding nicely and will soon blossom forth into a wedding.” “You understand rightly,” an- swered Hewett’s visitor, curtly. “I suppose I ought to thank you for your interest, but frankly, I can’t see that the matter is any of your business.” “My interest is pardonable, I think,” mused Hewett. “I once had designs on the lady myself. But with the en- trance upon the seene of my rival”— he bowed toward his visitor—‘I seem to have been shoved backstage.” “Some fellows have all the luck,” replied the other. “Yes, that’s so,” said Hewett. He paused a moment and then added with forced nonchalance: “Some fellows certainly do have all the luck, Mr. Leoni.” : The visitor started, but regained his composure quickly. He arched his eye- brows and stared at Hewett as though he did not quite catch the last re- mark. EWETT was smiling now. “I’m glad to see you still know your right name. Do you know, Val old boy, you looked familiar to me the very first time I saw you. That was about four months ago. At that time I had known Betty twenty-three years and five months—she is now twenty- three years and nine months old. But a good-looking stranger is more fas- cinating than a fellow who saw you the day you were born. And you worked fast, Val, old timer, you cer- tainly worked fast. “Listen—let me refresh your mem- ory a bit. Nine years ago I was plug- ging popular songs in small. night clubs, One night during intermission, I was talking to the manager in the lobby. We saw two men engaged in a brawi on the other side of the street, and as we ran over, one of the men broke away and disappeared. The man who disappeared was never seen again; at any rate, not in St. Paul, where it happened. “Well, Val, the manager bent down over the other fighter who was on his back on the side-walk. The poor fel- low was moaning, ‘He’s killed me! Tell the cops Leoni killed me!’ ‘Are you sure?’ the manager asked. ‘Leoni is the name of the man who plays the piano in my tavern.’ ‘That’s him,’ said the man on the sidewalk. “That’s the fellow—Val Leoni, the pianist. We had a fight over a girl and he stabbed me.’ : “Two days later this chap died in a hospital. And Leoni is still on the man wanted list of the St. Paul po- lice.” “Tf you think I killed a man in St. Paul—” began the visitor. ‘“Where’ve you been all this time?” interrupted Hewett. “Leave the coun- try for a while? Vl tell you what Ill do. Pll call up Betty on the phone— I suppose you saw her home after the show—and we'll make an appointment to have dinner tomorrow at any res- taurant you name. I'll explain matters to Betty and lay all the cards on the table. ‘““As I remember it, that girl in St. Paul over whom the two men fought, was quite bitter against Leoni. Well, if it’s humanly possible to do so, Pll find that girl and pay her expenses to’ come East and take a look at you. She'll know Leoni even though he’s Gomicbooks (C@