In the Still of the Night

Chief Walker should have known that a man like that would carry his service revolver with him everywhere.”
    Cecil said, “Maybe he did. Maybe he wanted to spare Bud Carpenter an execution at the hands of others or an empty lifetime as a prisoner. You weren’t here, young man. You didn’t see what an utterly empty shell Carpenter had become without Julian—or rather John—West. He’d murdered for West and he believed he’d caused West’s death. If Walker guessed at the presence of a revolver, I think it was a kind act to pretend he didn’t. Carpenter would have killed himself sooner or later and this was the fastest, easiest way.”
    Jack subsided somewhat. “Maybe so.“
    “What I don’t understand yet,“ Mrs. Prinney said, “is how that peculiar little Henry could have mistaken Mrs. Ethridge’s voice for Professor Hoornart’s when he was fooling around with listening to different rooms.“
    “Oh, I can,“ Robert said. “First, Henry really wasn’t interested in who was talking beyond figuring out which room’s speaker was working properly. And secondly, Lorna Ethridge had a very deep, sexy voice that could have sounded like a man’s.“
    “I suppose she did, come to think of it,“ Mrs. Prinney allowed.
    Mr. Prinney grumbled, “I went to a lot of trouble investigating her finances and came to the conclusion that she was a blackmailer. I still believe she was, but I’ll never know now. I had such high hopes that blackmail was the motive.“
    “You’re right,“ Robert said. “We won’t know. But at least three people will be very grateful to hear that she’s dead and probably take their husbands or wives out to a very nice dinner with the money they’ll be saving next month.“
    “Robert, that’s very flip,“ Lily said disapprovingly.
    “I agree with Robert,“ Cecil said. “The woman messed up nearly every life she touched. Including yours. She’s no loss to humanity. But how will you ever manage to have guests again in this house when they hear one guest was murdered and the guest of honor dropped dead of a heart attack?“
    “Most people love disasters,“ Robert said. “That’s why they flock to the scenes of accidents. We’ll do fine. I can hardly wait to get the word out.“
    “I’ve got my article almost done for the paper,“ Jack Summer said. “I’m sure some other papers, especially the New York City ones, will pick it up. Julian West, who turned out to be John West, was a famous man and I wouldn’t mind a bit seeing my byline in a City paper.“
    “And I’ll get a book out of it that will sell like mad,“ Cecil added. “All the details, firsthand, that can’t go into a newspaper article. I’m afraid I have to admit that Bud Carpenter did me a great favor.“
    “Speaking of book sales,“ Lily said, “what did West mean when he was ranting and said that his books sold well no matter what anyone said?”
    Cecil gazed at her with a look almost of pity. “I guess you have no reason to watch the publishing world as closely as I do. His books weren’t selling as well as they used to.“
    “But nothing is selling as well as it used to. We’re in a Depression,“ Lily said.
    “We are, but entertainment—books, movies, plays—have become more valued than ever. People want and need distractions from the daily grind.”
    Lily thought about the Hollywood property Uncle Horatio owned, which was still paying off its leases handsomely, and of the town movie house which was the only truly profitable business in town. “I guess you’re right.“
    “Word in the City, in publishing circles anyway, was that Julian West, or the man everybody thought was Julian West, was going to have to ‘go on the road’ like so many other successful writers do to keep on even having his books accepted.“
    “The last mystery is solved,“ Robert said. “Remember how suspicious I was, Lily, when he accepted the invitation?“
    “Oh, yes. You harped on it plenty.”
    Cecil got up from the table. “If I’m to get the last train, I better get going.“
    “You’re welcome to stay tonight,“ Lily said, thinking that he’d already eaten an extra meal and it wouldn’t hurt her precious budget much to let him stay one more night.
    “Thank you, but no. I want to be at my desk first thing in the morning, getting this book together while West’s death is still in people’s memory. But I’ll be back someday soon, if Miss Twinkle is willing to loan me her maps again and