Page:Weird Tales Volume 26 Number 03 (1935-09).djvu/19

"And a fair skin," said Keith. "Mr. Kindall, just how and where did you meet the countess?"

"At the Rochester House. The manager introduced her to us. Being fascinated by her charm, we invited her to be our guest, and she readily accepted."

"I dare say,” Keith observed dryly. "It fitted her plans perfectly."

"But if Mona Meusel is the countess," Robin protested, "why was the countess attacked?"

"She was not attacked. The attack was faked!"

The countess drew herself up, her eyes flashing. Her lips curved in a contemptuous smile. "You are being very droll, Mr. Keith."

Her manner and her tones almost convinced Keith of a mistake. But he continued doggedly: "I'm not familiar with radium poisoning. But isn't it conceivable that it may make a person's body glow bluely at night? That was the way Meusel described the effects of the poisoning on his wife. He said there was a luminous blue quality about her, and that she first observed it herself after she had turned out the light, and saw her own reflection in the mirror."

"But he never——" The countess caught herself.

Cobb Kindall nodded. "That might be the effect."

"That is the effect,” said Robin. "I talked to the doctor. Several of the poisoned women discovered their trouble in that way."

"If you knew that,” Cobb snapped, "why in the world——"

"I never connected Haskall's blue woman with radium poisoning," said Robin. "How could I? It never occurred to me that one of the poisoned women——"

The countess started to slide away. Keith gripped her arm.

"A moment!" he said grimly. "We can settle this quite easily. Mr. Kindall, would you mind turning off the lights?"

"No!" the countess cried. "Don't—please don't! I'm afraid of darkness. Don't believe this man! He's insane!"

"Why are you afraid of darkness?" Keith asked. "Because your body can be seen glowing, then? . . . Another way of proving what I say is to remove that wig which somehow doesn't go with your face, Countess!"

Keith snatched off the wig. Beneath it was a shock of sheared black hair. The woman's eyes went wide with terror.

"Mrs. Meusel," Keith said, "you believed your husband for a while when he told you you were not going to die. But that night when you saw your body glowing in the darkness, you knew the truth. Brooding over your condition, you finally decided to make someone pay for your suffering. You killed Justin, Rex and Sarah Kindall. Am I right?"

"Yes," she quavered; then, turning brimming eyes on Cobb, she said in a choked voice: "Forgive me, Mr. Kindall!"

Suddenly her mood changed. She whirled on Keith—a small storm of fury. Her sharp nails raked his face, drawing blood. In the movement to protect his eyes, his grip on her arm loosened. She jerked away, flying down the hall.

"You'll never——" she cried.

Her words were lost as the door slammed. Moving like a winged thing, Keith's body struck the door just a split-second after the lock clicked.

He heard a drawer open, slam closed. Then the silence was punctuated by a staccato crack. Something thumped heavily on the floor.

Keith flung himself against the door.