The Cass County Sun (Linden, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 10, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 11, 1937 Page: 3 of 10
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THE CASS COUNTY SUN
:
The Garden Murder Case
S. 8. VAN DINE
Copyright S. S. Van Dine
WNU Service
SYNOPSIS
Fhllo Vance, famous detective, and John
t. X. Markham, district attorney for New
York county are dining In Vance's apart-
ment when Vance receives an anonymous
telephone message informing him of a "dis-
turbing psychological tension at Professor
Ephrlam Garden's apartment" advising
that he read up on radio-active sodium,
consult a passage In th« Aeneid and coun-
seling that "Equanimity Is essential." Pro-
fessor Garden is famous in chemical re-
search. The messaRe, decoded by Vance,
reminds him that Protestor Garden's son
Floyd and his puny cousin, Woode Swift,
ore addicted to horse-racing. Vance says
that "Equanimity" Is a horse running next
day In the Rivermont handicap. Vanco Is
convinced that the message was sen' b„ Dr.
Siefert, the Gardens' family physician. He
arranges to have lunch next day at the
Gardens' penthouse. Vance is greeted by
Floycl Garden and meets Cowe Hammle, an
elderly follower of horse racing.* Floyd ex-
presses concern over Swift's queer actions.
Mrs. Garden, supposedly ill, comes down-
stair! and places a $100 bet on a horse.
Gathered around an elaborate loud speaker
service, listening to the racing arc Cecil
Kroon, Madge Weatherby and Zaiia Graem,
who bet varying amount on the race.
There is tension under the surface gaiety.
Zaiia and Swift are not on speaking terms.
Kroon leaves to keep an appointment Be-
fore the race starts. Miss Beeton, a nurse,
and Vance bet on "Azure Star." Swift reck-
lessly bets $10,000 on "Equanimity" and
Eoe« to the roof garden to hear the results.
Floyd follows Swift, remaining away sev-
eral minutes. Zalia Graem answers a phone
full in the den. Soon after the announce-
ment that "Azure Star" wins, the guests
hear a shot. Vance finds Swift dead, shot
dead, shot through the head with a revolver
nearby. He says Swift has been murdered.
After calling the police, he Finds the door of
s vault ajar. Kroon returns and is sharply
questioned by Vance, who finds he had not
left the building. Vance orders Miss Bee-
ton to guard the stairway and prevent Mrs.
Garden and Zalia from viewing Swift's body.
Floyd Garden admits the revolver belongs
to his father. Further questioning by Vance
reveals that the revolver had been found
recently by Zalia in the presence of the
other guests. Floyd hints that Swift bet
so recklessly because oH Zalia.
CHAPTER V—Continued
—8—
Garden shrugged carelessly, as if
the matter was neither important
nor unusual.
"Probably," he suggested, "the
pater didn't shut the door tightly
when he went out this morning. It
has a spring lock."
"And the key?"
"The key is a mere matter of
form. It hangs conveniently on a
Email nail at the side of the door."
"Accordingly," mused Vance, "the
vault is readily accessible to any-
one in the household who cares 'o
enter it."
Vance went to the door. "Miss
Beeton," he called, "will you be
good enough to run upstairs and see
if the key to the vault door is in
its place?"
A few moments later the nurse re-
turned and informed Vance that t'.ie
key was where it was always kept.
Vance thanked her and, closing
the den door, turned again to Gar-
den.
"There's one more rather impor-
tant matter that you can clear up
for me—it may have a definite bear-
ing on the situation. Can the gar-
den be entered from the fire exit
opening on the roof?"
"Yes, by George!" The other sat
up with alacrity. "There's a gate
in the east fence of the garden,
just beside the privet hedge, which
leads upon the terrace on which the
•fire exit of the building opens. When
we had the fence built we were re-
quired to put this gate in because
of the fire laws. But it's rarely
used, except on hot summer nights.
Still, if anyone came up the main
stnirs to the roof and went out the
tmergency fire door, he could easily
enter our garden by coming through
that gate in the fence."
"Don't you keep the gate locked?"
Vance was studying the tip of his
rignretto with close attention.
"The fire regulations don't permit
that. We merely have an old-fash-
ioned barn-door lift-latch on it."
We could hear the sharp ringing
of the entrance bell, and a door
opening somewhere. Vance stepped
out into the hall. A moment later
♦he butler admitted District Attor-
ney Markham and Sergeant Heath,
accompanied by Snitkin and Hen-
nessey.
"Well, what's the trouble,
Vance?" Markham demanded
brusquely. "I phoned Heath, as
yoik.requested, and brought him up
witni me."
"It's a bad business," Vance re-
turneci. "Same like I told you. I'm
•(raid you're in for some difficulties.
It's no ordin'ry crime. Everything
I'vt been able to learn so far con-
tradicts everything else." He looked
past Markham and nodded pleas-
antly to Heath. "Sorry to make
v*u all this trouble, Sergeant."
"That'a all right, Mr. Vance."
Heath held out his hand in solemn
good-nature. "Glad I was in when
the chief called. What's it all about,
and where do we go from here?"
Mrs. Garden came bustling ener-
getically down the hallway.
"Are you the district attorney?"
she asked, eyeing Markham fero-
ciously. Without waiting for an an-
swer, she went on: "This whole
thing is an outrage. My poor neph-
ew shot himself and this gentleman
here"—she looked at Vance with
supreme contempt—"is trying to
make a scandal out of it." Her eyes
swept over Heath and the two de-
tectives. "And I suppose you're the
police. There's no reason what-
ever for your being here."
Markham looked steadfastly at
the woman and seemed to take in
the situation immediately.
"Madam, if things are as you
say," he promised in a pacifying,
yet grave, tone, "you need have no
fear of any scandal."
"I'll leave the matter entirely in
your hands, sir," the woman re-
turned with calm dignity She
turned and walked back up the hall.
"A most tryin' and complicated
state of affairs, Markham.' Vance
took the matter up again. "I ad-
mit the chap upstairs appears to
have killed himself. But that, I
think, is what everyone is supposed
to believe. Tableau superficially cor-
rect. Stage direction and decor
fairly good. But the whole far from
perfect. I observed several dis-
crepancies."
Garden, who had been standing in
the doorway to the den, came for-
ward, and Vance introduced him to
Markham and Heath. Then Vance
turned to the sergeant.
"I think you'd better have either
Snitkin or Hennessey remain down
here and see that no one leaves the
apartment for a little while." He
addressed Garden. "I hope you
don't mind."
"Not at all," Garden replied com-
placently. "I'll join the others in
the drawing-room. I feel the need
of a highball, anyway." He includ-
ed us all in a curt bow and moved
up the hall.
"We'd better go up tc the
roof now, Markham," said Vance.
"I'll run over the whole matter with
you. There are some strange angles
to the case. I don't at all like it."
He moved down the hall, and
Markham and Heath and I followed
him. But before he mounted the
stairs he stopped and turned to the
nurse.
"You needn't keep watch here any
longer, Miss Beeton," he said. "And
thanks for your help. But one
more favor: when the medical ex-
aminer comes, please bring him di-
rectly upstairs."
The girl inclined her head in ac-
quiescence and stepped into the bed-
room.
We went immediately up to the
garden. As we stepped out on the
roof, Vance indicated the body of
Swift slumped in the chair.
"There's the johnnie," he said.
"JuSt as he was found."
Markham and Heath moved clos-
er to the huddled figure and studied
it for a few moments. At length
Heath looked up with a perplexed
frown.
"Well, Mr. Vance," he announced
querulously, "it looks like suicide,
all right." He shifted his cigar from
one comer of his mouth to the other.
Markham too turned to Vance. He
nodded his agreement with the Ser-
geant's-observation.
"It certainly has the appearance
of suicide, Vance," he remarked.
"No—oh, no," Vance sighed. "Not
suicide. A deuced brutal crime—
and clever no end."
Markham smoked a while, still
staring at the dead man skeptically;
then he sat down facing Vance.
"Let's have the whole story be-
fore Doremus gets here," he re-
quested.
Vance remained standing, his
eyes moving aimlessly about the
garden. After a moment he re-
counted succinctly, but carefully,
the entire sequence of events of the
afternoon, describing the group of
people present, with their relation-
ships and temperamental clashes;
the various races and wagers;
Swift's retirement to the garaen for
the results of the big Handicap;
and, finally, the shot Vvhich had
aroused us all and brought us up-
stairs. When he had finished, Mark-
ham worried his chin for a moment.
"I still can't see a single fact," he
objected, "that does not point logi-
cally to suicide."
Vance leaned against the wall be-
side the study window and lighted
a cigarette.
"Of course," he said, "there's
nothing in the outline I've given you
to indicate murder. Nevertheless,
it was murder; and that outline is
exactly the concatenation of events
which the murderer wants us to
accept. We are supposed to arrive
at the obvious conclusion of suicide.
Suicide as the result of losing mon-
ey on horses is by no means a rare
occurrence. It is nov impossible
that the murderer's scheme was in-
fluenced by this account. But there
are other factors, psychological and
actual, which belie this whole super-
ficial and deceptive structure." He
drew on his -tigarette and watched
the thin blue ribbon of smoke dis-
perse in the light breeze from the
river. "To begin with," he went on,
| "Swift was not the suicida' type.
| In the first place, Swift was a weak-
I ling and a highly imaginative one.
I Moreovei, he was too hopeful and
ambitious—too sure of his own judg-
| ment and good luck—to put himself
I out of the world simply because
! he had lost all his money. The fact
that Equanimity might not win the
race was an eventuality which, as a
i confirmed gambler, he would have
take into consideration beforehand,
! In addition, his nature was such
that, if he were greatly disappoint-
fig'
! - ■'
The Nurse Informed Vance That
the Key Was Where It Was Al-
ways Kept.
ed the result would be self-pity and
I hatred of others. He might, in an
i emergency, have committed a
crime—but it would not have been
against himself. Like all gamblers,
he was trusting and gullible; and I
[ think it was these temperamental
qualities which probably made him
| an easy victim for the murderer
CHAPTER VI
"But see here, Vance." Markham
leaned forward protestingly. "No
amount of mere psychological anal-
ysis can make a crime out of a situ-
ation as seemingly obvious as this
one. I must have more definite
reasons than you have given me be-
fore I would bt justified in dis-
carding the theory of suicide."
"Oh, I dare say," nodded Vance.
"But I have more tangible evidence
that the johnnie did not eliminate
himself from this life."
"Well, let's have it." Markhum
fidgeted impatiently in his chair.
"Imprimis, my dear Justinian, a
bullet wound in the temple would
undoubtedly cause more olood than
you see on the brow of the deceased.
There are, as yon notice, only a
few partly coagulated drops, where-
as the vessels of the brain cannot
be punctured without a considet able
flow of blood. And there is no
blood either on h s clothes or on the
tiles beneath his chair. Meanin'
that the blood has been, perhaps,
spilled elsewhere before I arrived
on the scene—which was, let us
say, within thirty seconds after we
heard the shot—"
"A far-fetched theory," muttered
Markham. "All wounds don't bleed
the same."
Vance ignored the district attor-
ney's objection.
"And please take a good look at
the poor fellow. His legs are
stretched forward at an awkward
angle. The trousers are twisted out
of place and look most uncomforta-
ble. His coat, though buttoned, is
riding his shoulder, so that his col-
French Flag; Once Waved
Over the State of Texa
While it cannot be claimed that
France ever owned what is now the
state of Texas, it is true that early
in history the French flag flew over
part of that area, states a writer in
the Detroit News. The only period
during which the French held any
of this territory was in 1685 and
for a short time after, when La Salle
landed at Matagorda Bay and es-
tablished a colony on Lavaca river,
which was soon abandoned.
Alarmed by this unsuccessful
French invasion, the Spaniards of
Mexico established missions and
forts in the territory, but many of
these were given up and the Span-
iards failed really to settle the coun-
try prior to 1821, when the first col-
onization by American families un-
der Stephen Austin began.
La Salle's little French settlement
in Texas was called Fort Saint
Louis. Though he had claimed tho
territory for France, this claim
could not be upheld after the colony
was wiped out by disease and the
Indians. Again, in 1802, when Na-
poleon acquired the Spanish terri-
tories which he sold jater to the
United States as the Louisiana Pur-
chase, there is some evidence to
show that he considered his pos-
sessions to extend west of the Rio
Grande.
Lafayette's Visit to Ohio
When Gen. Lafayette stopped at
Gallipolis, Ohio, during his tour of
America in 1825, the residents there
did not wish to be outdone by any
other community in showing their
esteem. So one of their gestures
was the stretching of a beautiful
carpet from the boat landing to the
top of the river bank for their dis-
tinguished guest. But democratic
Lafayette, when he stepped off the
boat, ignored the carpet and
trudged to the top of th bank
through fhe mud, amid the cheert
tt his hosts.
lar is at least three inches above
his exquisite mauve shirt. No man
could endure to have his clothes so
outrageously askew, even on the
point of suicide — he would have
straightened them out almost un-
consciously. The corpus delicti
shows every indication of having
been dragged to the chair and
placed in it."
Markham's eyes were surveying
the limp figure of Swift as Vance
talked.
"Even that argument is not en-
tirely convincing," he said dogmat-
ically, though his tone was a bit
modified; "especially in view of the
fact thit he still wears the ear-
phone . . ."
"Ah, exactly!" Vance took him up
quickly. "That's another item to
which I would call yout attention.
The murderer went a bit too far-
there was a trifle too much thor-
oughness in the setting of the stage,
Had Swift shot himself in that chair,
I believe his first impulsive move-
ment would have been to reinove
the head-phone, as it very easily
could have interfered with his pur-
pose. And it certainly would have
been of no use to him after he had
heard the report of the race. Fur-
thermore, I seriously doubt if he
would have come upstair: to listen
to the race with his mind made up
in advance that he was goii-.g to
commit suicide in case his horse
didn't come in. And, as I have
explained to you, the revolver is
one belonging to Professor Garden
and was always kept in the desk
in the study. Consequently, if Swift
had decided, after the race had
been run, to shoot himself, he would
hardly have gone into the study,
procured the gun, then come back
to his chair on the roof and put the
head-phone on again before ending
his life. Undoubtedly he would have
shot himself right there i' the study
—at the desk from which he had
obtained the revolver."
Vance moved forward a little as
if for emphasis.
"Another point about that head-
phone—the point that gave me the
first hint of murder—is the fact
that the receiver at present is over
Swift's right ear. Earlier today I
saw Swift put the head-phone on
foi a minute, and he was careful
to place the receiver ovei his left
epr -t^e custom'ry way. But now
the head-phone is un in reversed
position, and therefore unnatural.
I'm certain, Markham, that head-
phone was placed on Swift after he
was dead."
(TO nr. CONTINUED)
Uouse/iold %
Quesfionf
Kfti
tA
I
To make lace look new, squeeze
in hot, soapy water, then in cold
water, and then in milk to stiffen
it. Press on the wrong side with
a fairly hot iron.
• • *
One gallon of coffee will serve
25 medium sized cups. The size
that would accompany a dessert
after a dinner.
• • •
Chocolate stains may be re-
moved by washing in cold water
or by soaking in boiling water to
which borax or a little glycerin
has been added.
* * *
Rayons should be pressed with
a warm, but not hot iron. A hot
iron will melt some synthetic ma-
terials.
• •
Dishes that have contained sug-
ar or greasy articles should be
soaked in hot water before
washing.
* *
A couple tablespoons o f mo-
lasses will make beans brown
nicely.
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Banger, J. E. A. & Erwin, W. L. The Cass County Sun (Linden, Tex.), Vol. 62, No. 10, Ed. 1 Thursday, March 11, 1937, newspaper, March 11, 1937; Linden, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth341043/m1/3/?q=Lamar+University: accessed May 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Atlanta Public Library.