‘I wondered how he got in! The doors were all locked.’
‘Come, my dear! Don’t you think you’ve treated the old Professor rather shabbily? You women! I know your jewels are heavily insured and I also know of your bridge debts. Who helped you fake this robbery? Nelson?’
45
A Dramatic Triumph
A clock softly chimed eight-forty-five as Professor Fordney and Halloway, dramatic critic of the Times, finished their after-dinner coffee. They strolled leisurely to the corner and reached the Belmont just in time for the curtain.
As the first act ended, Fordney remarked enthusiastically: ‘Halloway, it’s magnificent! Boswell is certainly our finest dramatic actor. How he held that audience, for forty-five minutes, from the moment the curtain arose! That’s genius!’
The final curtain found him even more enthusiastic in his praise of Boswell’s acting.
Learning next morning of the actor’s murder, he became personally interested.
Sibyl Mortimer had been questioned by the police and quickly dismissed. Her alibi appeared sound. She had an engagement with Boswell last evening, but said he telephoned her shortly after nine breaking it, so the police concerned themselves with his reason for doing so.
A taxi-driver, who drove Boswell and another man from the theater, dropped them at Fifth Avenue and Sixty-Fifth Street at midnight. His description of the man checked with that of Jenks, Boswell’s manager, who was missing. It was learned that his reason for breaking the engagement with Sibyl was to discuss a new contract with Jenks, about which there had been considerable disagreement.