The Dishonest Murderer (34 page)

“It cer—” Halder began, and stopped abruptly. Liza could almost see his mind working. “Maybe you're right,” he said. But didn't he realize Weigand would see what she saw?

Weigand merely looked at the tall young man for a moment. Then he spoke mildly. “It may be that—yes, Sergeant?”

Sergeant Mullins was at the door. He moved his head back, summoning Weigand. Weigand went out of the room and closed the door behind him. Then Halder looked at the Norths, seemed to see them for the first time. Quickly, Liza introduced him. He narrowed his eyes, then opened them. “Don't you—?” he said. “Aren't you often involved in—?”

“Too often,” Jerry North said. He shook his head. “Ever since—” He looked at Pam North.

“We had one of our own, or sort of,” Pam said. “And met Bill. But I don't think involved's the word. It's just that—” But now she stopped and looked at Jerry, who told her the word would do. But then Weigand returned. He looked at Brian Halder for a moment.

“Your father died of strychnine,” he said. “Hypodermically injected. Presumably from a syringe which he must have kept in his shop to destroy hopelessly sick animals. And—only his prints are on the syringe.” And then Weigand stopped, and waited for Brian Halder; waited obviously for the tall young man to speak.

Halder shook his head slowly, his expression shocked.

“But isn't that horrible—painful?” he asked. “Would anyone—?”

“A good many have,” Weigand told him. “It's much more frequently used by suicides than by murderers. I agree it's odd. But there it is. Unless you can think of some better reason, Mr. Halder? Had you some better reason for deciding it was murder?”

“But Bill—” Pam North said, and he shook his head at her and waited for Halder.

“I guess I just—just jumped at it,” Brian Halder said, slowly. “It just—seemed likely. I—”

“Bill,” Pam North said. “Listen to me. You say Mr. Halder had the hypodermic there? Did he have strychnine, too?” Bill Weigand nodded, and now he did not try to stop her. “And you think he had it to destroy sick animals?”

“Well?” Bill said.

“Then he was murdered, of course,” Pam said. “Because he liked animals. Don't you see?”

“Go on, Pam,” Bill said.

“He never would have used strychnine,” Pam said. “Not for the animals. It's—they say it's horrible. He would have used—what is it, Jerry?”

“A barbiturate,” Jerry said. “Injected, probably. A shot to put the animal to sleep. Then another, stronger, to—well, to finish the job.”

“Of course,” Pam said. “But never strychnine. Don't you see, Bill? Never anything so cruel.”
*

And now Bill Weigand nodded, and said, slowly, “Right.” And then he smiled faintly.

“But there's a better reason,” he said. “If he got into the pen, injected strychnine—well, death from strychnine isn't easy. There're spasms, you know; convulsions. He—well, probably he would have kicked the pen apart.” Then, quickly, he turned on Brian Halder. “Is that what you knew?” he demanded.

Now Halder shook his head quickly, without hesitation; now the expression of shock, of horror, was unmistakable on his face. Weigand saw it; Liza saw him see it.

“Didn't you know about strychnine, Mr. Halder?” Weigand asked, and now his voice was quiet again. “Didn't you know how a man dies from it?”

*
Pam is only partly right. Some veterinarians use strychnine to destroy animals, but only by injecting it directly into the heart. So used, it causes almost instantaneous death, and is thought to be relatively painless. Administered by a layman, such as Halder was, strychnine would almost inevitably bring about slow and agonized death.

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About the Authors

Frances and Richard Lockridge were some of the most popular names in mystery during the forties and fifties. Having written numerous novels and stories, the husband-and-wife team was most famous for their Mr. and Mrs. North Mysteries. What started in 1936 as a series of stories written for the
New Yorker
turned into twenty-six novels, including adaptions for Broadway, film, television, and radio. The Lockridges continued writing together until Frances's death in 1963, after which Richard discontinued the Mr. and Mrs. North series and wrote other works until his own death in 1982.

All rights reserved, including without limitation the right to reproduce this ebook or any portion thereof in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the publisher.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 1949 by Frances and Richard Lockridge

Cover design by Andy Ross

ISBN: 978-1-5040-3132-5

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THE MR. AND MRS. NORTH MYSTERIES

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