The Case of The Bashed Blonde

Flint was in Ned O'Keefe's den when he heard the screams. " Murder! Murder! Help! " a woman's voice cried out in terror. At once he was on his feet, running out the door in the direction of the screams' with Ned at his heels. Others in the neighbourhood had been alerted by the screams, for a number of people were running, as Flint was, toward the house across the street from the O'Keefes', a large, impressive Tudor dwelling that obviously belonged to someone of means.

In the doorway stood a stubby woman, her face chalk white-the source of the screams. The crowd pushed past her into the living room and stared in horror at what was before them. There was the body of a blonde, early middle-aged woman lying crumpled on the floor. A brass lamp lay on the floor near her, presumably the murder weapon.

" Bashed on the head, how awful, " breathed Mr. Sobel, a neighbour of Ned's whom Flint had met once or twice.

" There are no signs of a struggle, " observed a man in a grey hat " She must have been hit from behind, taken quite by surprise"

" I found her when I came in to dean the house this morning, " sputtered the stubby woman. " Such a shock! "

Hint seized control of the situation. Although he hated the grim circumstances, he had to admit to himself that he enjoyed rounding up a roomful of frenzied people and using his commanding personality to whip them into an orderly assemblage that he could approach with reason. This he did.

Those present, according to Ned, were Miss Brad-dock, the maid, and Mr. Sobel, Mrs. Lucia, Mr. Wright, Miss Weinstein, and young Trudy Axley - all residents of the street. There were two other persons, whom Ned did not know - the man in the grey hat, and a teenage boy in a torn T-shirt. How could they account for their presence near the murdered woman's home? Flint asked them.

' came by to ask if I could cut the grass, " the boy replied in nasal tones. 'Tm looking to make some extra money mowing lawns in my free time."

' am selling encyclopaedias, " the man in the grey hat explained.

" I just can't get over it, " Mrs. Lucia remarked then. " She was kind of eccentric, and maybe a little bit mean, but those aren't motives for murder"

" Why would anyone want to kill her? " Mr. Wright asked no one in particular.

" She used to scream at the kids a lot, " Trudy volunteered. " We used to say we'd 'get her someday, ' but of course we didn't mean it. We were really scared of her. "

I've never been in this neighbourhood before today" the man in the grey hat said, " but it seems like a quiet, pleasant area - not a place you'd expect a murder to take place in. "

" And such a grisly murder tool" Miss Weinstein said. " I won't feel safe until the murderer is behind bars. After all, you never know when he might sneak up behind you! "

" Look, can I leave? " the teenage boy asked Flint. " I haven't got time - "

" Yes, we are wasting valuable time, " the man in the grey hat interrupted. To Flint be said, " The police should be summoned immediately. I'll just run down to the phone booth I noticed at the corner and phone them. "

As he got up to go, Flint placed a restraining hand on his shoulder.

" No you don't, " he said firmly. " I want to make sure you're here when the police arrive - because you're the number one suspect! "

WHY DID DETECIVE ARTEMUS FLINT SUSPECT THE MAN IN THE GRAY HAT?

The Case of The Deceptive " Dancer"

" Thank you, miss. Next dancer, please."

'Stop! Stop! " shouted a man as he ran into me darkened theatre. " Don't anybody move. Stay right where you. are. Turn on the lights."

" Would you mind telling me, please, what all this excitement is about? " asked Director Gerald Hartman. " We're in the middle of an audition to choose dancers for our play, and we're running late as it is. What's so important that you must interrupt the audition? "

" The theatre's box office has been robbed! " gasped the man. " I'm the cashier. I thought I had locked the box office when I went to lunch. But when I came back I saw a woman leaving the box office. I shouted at her and tried to block her way. She couldn't escape, so she ran the only way she could - into the theatre. I found the entire week's receipts missing from the cash register. The thief is in here somewhere, I know. She's mingled with the others. We've got to find the deceptive 'dancer.' "

" Maybe I can help, " offered Detective Artemus Flint, who had been invited to the audition by Hartman. " I noticed five young ladies came in late - well after the others."

He looked at the first, a hard-looking woman with dyed red hair, a tight blue sweater and skirt, something white tied around her foot, and a cigarette in her hand.

" Why were yon late? " asked Flint.

" I stopped at the doctor's office before coming here. We had an argument. You see, I had sprained my ankle and he had treated it. He told me I could definitely have the bandage removed today, so I could audition for the play. But when I stopped in at his office on my way to the theatre today, he changed his mind. I felt terrible, but I decided to come to the audition anyway, just to see if those who got the parts could dance as well as I can."

Flint moved on to the second latecomer, a painfully thin woman in a short skirt and black stockings.

" I was late because my little boy was sick and I couldn't get anyone to stay with him, " she explained. " My neighbour, who usually looks after him, is visiting her mother in the South, and all the high school girls were in school. Finally I remembered Mr. Devita on the first floor, who's retired. He agreed to look after my son while I came to audition. I rushed here right away."

The third woman explained that she had gotten onto the wrong train and had gone along distance out of the way before realising her error. " When I got off the train, I had to wait about twenty minutes before the next one came along, and it was a local. If only the city had better signs and more frequent trains - "

" Thank you, " Flint interrupted. " And you? " he turned to the next latecomer. " How can you explain your lateness? "

'Overslept. I was up very late last night. It's as simple as that. And don't think I'm not fighting mad about it. I'm a better dancer than any of these 'chorus girls.' I'm a ballerina. I've studied ballet for years with the best teachers. I know all the traditional ballet steps, and all the Italian words we use to name them. So it's really maddening that now I probably won't get a chance to audition at all."

The last woman began her explanation without even having been asked. " I thought the audition began at twelve thirty. It was only as I left the house and looked at the audition notice to check the audition address, that I accidentally noticed the audition time - eleven thirty. I've been on the stage for a long time, and never before have I made such a mistake." As she started naming the plays she bad been in, Artemus flint turned to Hartman.

" You'd better call the police, " he whispered. 'Tell them that when they arrive, one woman will be waiting here with me-the deceptive 'dancer'! "

WHO WAS THE DECEPTIVE DANCER'? HOW DID DETECTIVE ARTEMUS FLINT KNOW?