Argosy All-Story Weekly, December 2, 1922 — page 101: what you’re looking at

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

ABOVE SUSPICION. For a moment after he had unburdened himself of his lengthy explanation neither of Geoff’s auditors offered a comment. Then Detective Lyons spoke. “And you're carpentering and mixing concrete out here in the sticks! Say, Peters, let me take you to the old man at head- quarters and he’ll put you right into the bureau! You’d make one of the best dicks on the force! One word to him about what you've done—” ‘“ Ain’t done nothin’!”’ Geoff interrupted in alarmed haste. “ I work at my trade and I aim to mind my own business, only I kinder got mixed up in this through Doc Hood.”’ “You called the turn on this friendship between Lane and Benkard that has kept the whole financial world guessing for al- most a year!” Lyons exclaimed, adding generously: “ I’m an old hand at the game, but you’ve beaten me to a frazzle so far on the case. You’ve established the motive—”’ ‘“‘ But there ain’t a speck o’ real evidence yet to show Lane done the murder, nor where he was.” There was a shade of repression in Geoff’s tone, however, and the trained ears of the detective were not deaf to it. “You’ve got another one of those hunches of yours, though, Peters! What’s the idea?” “?Tain’t a hunch exactly.” Geoff took off his cap and scratched his head. ‘““T went to the city this mornin’ on a little business 0’ my own and I never realized afore how all-fired big ’tis! I a’most got lost, and I reckon folks could live there for their hull lives and you’d never hear tell o’ ‘em down at your headquarters if they didn’t do somethin’ ag’in’ the law or have it done to ’em. Seems to me ’twould be like looking for a needle in a haystack if you was to try to find just one lady, even though she did have a kinder funny name that you wouldn’t forgit easy.” “<A lady ’!”’ Dr. Hood repeated, amazed. ‘““Who’s the woman?” Lyons demanded. ‘‘ What’s her name?”’ “Well, I ain’t got no idee that she’s mixed up in this case herself, no more’n the thousands o’ folks who could ’a’ read bout 571 it in the papers,” Geoff replied cautiously. ‘““T was just wonderin’ whether you’d-ever heard tell o’ a lady named Dawn—Zoey Dawn.” ‘Zoe Dawn?” The detective laughed. “She hasn’t any police record, if that’s what you mean, but up to two or three years ago she managed to keep herself pretty well in the public eye without trying to. The spotlight was the last thing in the world she wanted. ‘There are different re- ports about her, some that she came from a fine old Southern family and others that she drifted East from the Barbary Coast. 1 got a flash at her once when she came down to headquarters to identify a diamond necklace which had been stolen from her, and she’s some queen! But what made you ask about her, Peters?” “T was kinder cur’us to know what she looked like. How did she git afore the pub- lic? Seems to me I heard tell she wasn’t in what you might cali society.” ‘Not so you’d notice it since the last scandal! It was about four years ago when she came to headquarters and she might have been thirty then, though she didn’t look it; a magnificently formed woman, big, like a statue, but not coarse. She had masses of red-brown hair as natural as her complexion, and great hazel eyes with a reckless, laughing devil in them. ‘“‘ It was her voice as much as her beauty that must have made some of the biggest men in the country fall for her; it was deep and soft and rich, with a note like a bell.” Lyons paused. “I don’t get any possible connection between her and this case; poli- tics was her game, played from the inside and for big stakes. She only came to New York when Washington got too hot for her and certain foreign powers threatened com- munication with our State Department.” “T don’t read nothin’ but our Weekly Clarion, so she might be the Queen o’ Sheby for all I’d ’a’ heard tell,” remarked Geoff. *“‘ Just give me a general idee o’ what she done and where she is now.” ‘‘ As I remember she blew into Washing- ton about eight years ago as a rich young widow. She was well supplied with money, had a smart little establishment and plenty of servants and managed without making Gomichbooks.com