5 Detective Novels Magazine Cover — page 22: what you’re looking at

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

22 tryine to guess who stood on the other side. “Come in,” invited Tony. The door pushed open to disclose George Erickson. He started to open his mouth, saw Mrs. Larson, shut it again and closed the door. “What-are you doing here, Grace?” he asked. “Probably the same thing you are,” she snapped. Erickson swung his eyes back to Tony. “Perhaps it’s just as well we’re here together. Ransome, unless you make immediate public apology for the rumors you’ve started, I intend to sue you for defamation of character.” “What rumors?” “You know very well what! The dirty story you’ve spread that Grace—Mrs. Larson and I hired her husband mur- dered.” “Never even suggested such a thing,” Tony said. “Simply suggested somebody might have.” “But that coupled with Larson’s idiotic divorce action—” “Listen, bub,” Tony interrupted. “What Larson did to you is none of my concern, nor what you did to him to make him do it. That restaurant rob- bery was as phony as a telephone booth, and that I’ll quote for the papers. If people are embroidering that with dirt, I’m sorry, but you can expect dirt in a murder investigation. Somebody had Larson killed, and when we catch the guilty guy, people will stop talking about you—unless you’re the guy that did it. But if you think I’m going to stop a murder investigation because your feelings are hurt, think again.” “You—” Grace Larson started to say, but stopped when the phone rang. Tony lifted the receiver and said, “Yeah?” “This is Mayor Ainslie,” a tense voice said in his ear. “I’ve been trying to reach the chief, but can’t. I’ve dis- covered something in the men’s dressing room at the Bijou.” “What?” “Something missing. We haven’t had a show this week, or I’d have discovered it sooner. Can you come over here?” “Listen, Mr. Mayor,” Tony said irri- tably, “all I’m in town for is the Larson FIVE DETECTIVE NOVELS MAGAZINE killing. Call on the local police to solve _ your robbery.” “But this may tie in with the Larson case. If it means what I think it does, it puts an entirely different complexion on the whole matter. I just discovered—” “Hold it!” Tony interrupted. He glanced at the attentive faces of Erick- son and Mrs. Larson. “Where is the Bijou?” “First block beyond the square on Main Street. The front door is open, so just come on backstage.” “Be right there,” Tony said, and hung up. Grace Larson said, “That sounded like Mayor Ainslie’s voice. Did I under- stand him to say something about my husband ?” “You got good ears, lady,” Tony said. “Sorry to rush you people off, but I got an appointment.” E SHOOED them from the room amid assurances from Erickson that he had not heard the last of this. From his window he could see by the dim light of a street lamp that they got in the same car and drove off toward the square. 3 It took Tony only ten minutes to walk to the Bijou. As Ainslie had indicated, he found the front door unlocked and walked in. A single small light burned in the lobby, and in the main auditorium only the footlights were on. Tony made his way down a dark aisle to the stage, mounted steps at one side and walked backstage. He found himself in a lighted hall- Way, passed two doors marked with stars, another labeled LADIES’ DRESS- ING ROOM, and eventually came to one marked MEN’S DRESSING ROOM. The door was slightly ajar and light shown from within. Tony pushed the door the rest of the Way open, stepped through and then stopped still. Mayor Ainslie lay face up on the floor in the center of a pool of blood. Simultaneously with his realiza- tion that the man was dead, Tony sensed another presence in the room and at- tempted to spin around in order to slam the door back against whatever was be- hind it. The spin was but half completed when COnniclo@oo SH (CO)