The Exeter Times-Advocate, 1935-10-24, Page 2THURSDAY, OCTOBER 84th, 1935 THE EXETER TIMES-ADVOCATE
U'
BY MIL-TON PRQPPER
i"
friend,
action,
is as-
police
SYNOPSIS: Babrara Keith, wife of a
prominent Philadelphia business
man, is murdered as she waits
alone in a side room to testify in
the divorce case of Rowland vs.
Rowland. She was to have testi
fied-for the husband, a
who was defendant in the
Degtective Tommy Rankin
signed to the case 'from
headquarters. His preliminary in
vestigation disclosed that both Mr.
and1 Mrs. Rowland had gathered
evidence against the other of in
fidelity. The will of Mrs, Row
land’s first husband directed her
lawyer brother, Mr. ’ Willard, to
handle the estate until she remar
ried when the new husband was
to come into control. Detective
Rankin finds motives and the evi
dence of guilt for the murder of
Mrs. Keith, leading to the doors
of virtually all of the principals
involved. These principals are,
the two Rowlands, Mr. Willard,
Mr. Keith, husband of the mur
dered woman, Hugh Campbell and
his underworld confederates.
NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY.
the gloves?”
eagerly. “Any
The
clue
REV. D. D. THOMPSON
The funeral of Rev. David D.
ThomiJBon, widely known retired
United church minister, was held
from the Parkhill United church on
Saturday. Rev Mr. Thompson pass
ed away at his home in that town,
in lfis 64th year. He was a former
•Methodist minister and served op
numerous circuits throughout West
ern Ontario.
He was a sen of Mr. and Mrs.
George Thompson, of Bosanquet
Township, and was born in that
township on March 19, 1872, where
he lived until he left home to enter
the teaching profession.. In 1897 he
was married to Catherine Bobier, of
Dawn Twp. Twenty-six years ago
he was ordained as a minister* in. the
Methodist church and since that
■time had served in the following
chirges-ji Whitecliurch, Greenway,
Bluevale, Cairngorm, W-oodham and
Siloam circuit, London Township.
Owing t‘o> ill health he was superan
nuated in July, 1935, and since then
had resided in Parkhill. He was a
past master in the Masonic Order
and in the Orange and Black
Knight Orders and was a member
of the Foresters and Maccabees.
He is survived by his wife and three
sons, Harold, Woodham; Clarence,
Glencoe, and Sc'Qtt, at home. He
also leaves one brother and two sis
ters; James Thompson, Thedford;
Mrs. J'Qhn Thompson and Mrs. R. R.
Anderson, Bosanquet.
The services at the house and the
ehunch
Kitely,
chur oh;
dent of
Rev. J.
•sex presbytery.
The pallbearers were six minist
ers, S. R. Johnston, Lucan; H. Law-
son, Thedford; H. E. Livingston,
Wellburn; C. F. Quaife, Siloam; C.
W. Morrow, Ailsa Craig, and J. B.
Moojre, Grand Bend. Interment was
in Pine Hill Cemetery, Thedford.
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Member of The Canadian Weekly
Newspaper Association
is, I must ask ycu to. bear with a
few questions about your wife. . . ,
Your co-,operation an$ the infc^ma-
tion you supply might go far to
help us solve her death.”
He could not tell why he sensed
that Mr. Keith was relieved, as
though he relaxed after being on
guard.
The
sadly.
clear’ up this terrible thing,
do you want to know?”
“First, something about
Keith’s background-
husband shook; his head
“Of course, I’m anxious to
What
Mrs.
-■who she was
when you met her?” the detective
said,
Prompted by his shrewd probing,
Mr. Keith related in some de
tail how he met his future wife in
Detroit, four summers ago. Va
cationing nearby in Canada, he had
stopped there on business, at the
Hotel Michigan where Barbara
Webb was employed as a manicur
ist in the beauty salon.. What at
tracted him at first sight was her
loveliness, unostentatious but pleas
ing, and her sensibility; she ap
peared ho have genuine depth
of character and intelligence.
He quietly
continued, in
August 26,
admitted in.
mood, th,eir
been very harmonious or satisfac
tory. Mrs. Keith seld'om spoke of
her past.
At the same time, he made con
scientious efforts to bring her hap
piness. In the beginning, they had
taken a fine residence on the main
line; then, unreasonably enough, in
the fall of 1931 she expressed an
urgent desire to move into the Ald-
Wich Apartments in Chestnut Hill.
He had consented. That winter he
wanted to send her to Europe,
though he Could not accompany her:
instead she insisted on spending
the cold month alone at Palm Beach.
(Continued next Week)
■His photographs disclosed a typi
cal felon’s features, with a bullet
head, low forehead and closely
cropped brown hair. He was about
thirty-five, he had a Hat nose and
heavy lips, He was strongly built,
broad-shouldered and, according to
the record, six feet tall. Even Ran
kin’s inexpert eye could note the
similarity of the finger patterns
Johnson was comparing.
'“It looks damn suspicious,” Ran
kin commented grimly. “He must
be brought in to explain, if we have
to turn the whole city inside out to
locate him.”
Before they could depart, the de
tective Gordon arrived to present
the results- of his hunt for Hugh
■Campbell. finally he had located
him at the exclusive and ornate >St.
Andrew Hotel, on Broad Street.
From the registry, it appeared
Campbell had been stopping there
for two weeks'—ever since Friday,
May 26th. The difficulty now was
that he had not been seen since he
went out yesterday; he had not re
turned to the hotel last night. At
the same time, since his baggage
remained in his rooms and he had
not checked out, he apparently in
tended to return.
Instructing Gordon to continue
his search, Rankin eventually set
out for the Aldwich Apartments.
The Keith apartment was C12 on;
the twelfth floor. At the detective’s
knock, Sergant Gilmore opened the
door.
“There have been no develop
ments here, Tommy,” he greeted his
coleague. “So far, no word from
Mr. Keith; and except for the dis
tress of the servants, it’s been quiet.
They last saw Mrs. Keith when she
.left here two o’clock yesterday
afternoon-^except for the chauffeur,
who deposited her and Rowland at
the Wolff Building.”
“Yes, I know about that, Dan,”
Rankin returned. In the meantime,
there’s another job I want you to
take charge of. A man hunt. I
want a little chat with Mitch Riley.
You’re as familiar with him (as I—
and with his friends and hangouts.
Also get in touch with the New York
authorities.”
The sergant asked curiously,
“What has Mitch done to connect
him with murder?” j
“Just left his calling cbrd on the
table beside Mrs. Keith’s body,”
Rankin informed him.
“All right, Tommy, it’s a tall ord
er you’ve given me,”‘’tie said, “but I
guess we can manage to round up
Riley within* a day or two, at the
most.”
He went out, to- return to Head-
stalked
It was a
establish-
simply but opulently fur-
I
it,”
try-
But
“How about
detective spoke
to who owns them?”
“Again I couldn’t swear to
the expert said, “not without
ing them on all the men here,
personally, I’ve litte doubt about the
only pair of hands here with such a
wide palm and short pudgy fingers
that could wear a seven and three-
quarters comfortably.”
“Who do they belong tov John
son?” asked Ran-kin.
“Harvey Willard, Tomrny-
Rowland’s brother, who, I
stand, denies ever going into
room.”
—Mrs.
under-
that
the
The detective
breakfast.
Central
Thomas
Detec-
greet-
news-
latter
addressed
discovery,
“I’ve just
prints I
There’s
The furor Rankin expected
death of Barbara Keith to produce
was fully realized in early editions
of Thursday’s papeds. They made
capital of the crime in black scream
ing headlines; and half of every
front page in the city devoted itself
as much to the facts behind Mrs,
Rowland’s suit as to the murdered
There were articles about the manu
facturer’s business success and social
position; and it was recalled, with
some relish, that before her marriage
Mrs. Keith was Barbara Webb, an
■unknown manicurist in a beauty
shop in Detroit.
Yet the death of really material
information about the dead woman
•or her life was immediately and sig
nificantly apparent,
read the accounts at
At his desk in the
five Bureau, Captain
ed Rankin from behind his
paper.
‘Any news, captain?” the
asked his superior. “Have you any
word from Gordon or a message
from Mr. Keith from Washington?”
“No, I haven’t seen Gordon this
morning,” Thomas replied, “and Mr.
Keith hasn’t shown up or got in
touch with us.
At that instant, Johnson entered
with some papers and
Rankin eagerly.
“I think I’ve made a
Tommy!” he declared,
finished comparing the
took with those I found,
one set that doesn’t belong to any
one in the office yesterday and can’t
be explained, in any reasonable
way,”
“A strange set?”
is that, if we
longs bo?”
“That’s just
trace them.”
The expert
and Rankin asked,
“In our
Johnson announced triumphantly.
“ ‘Mitch’ Riley, alias Tony Lynch,
alias a half dozen other .names.”
It was Rankin’s turn to- become
excited.
“Mitch Riley?” Recognition rang
in his startled tone. “Thug, second-
story man and rumrunner. Are you
positive there’s no mistake, John
son?”
Johnson extended the paper he
had brought. “Here, you can see
for yourself the prints are identical.”
From personal encounters, the
detective was acquainted with Mitch
Riley. Originally he came from
New York, a hoodlum, ex-pug and
jack of many crimes. His criminal
career began fifteen years before.
But whab good
can’t tell who it be-
it, I’ve beefi able to
paused dramatically
“Who was it?”
hands several times,”
announced
quarters, and Rankin
through the apartment,
spacious, twelve-room
ment,
nished.
The detective selected the boudoir
as the most probable place for the
dead woman’s personal effects. In
a dresser against the right wall
Ranik'in found in. profusion the usual
evidences of woman’s vanity—cos
metics, toilet articles, hair applianc
es—and a work-basket.
At first glance, the escritoire,
promises as little as the dresser.
Mrs. Keith’s only letters came from
chatty acquaintances, she had abso
lutely no correspondence of a per
sonal mature or from her family. He
did, however, find checkbooks’ and
cancelled’ checks, returned’ from her
bank. They revealed that she had
made several payments, marked
only “personal,” in amounts of two
or three thousand dollars each time.
They started as ifar bacik. as June,
two years before and continued reg
ularly every two months since.
The only other discovery Rankin,
made seemed trifling enough. In
the dead woman’s private medicine
cabinet he saw, among other prepar
ations, several bottles labeled “Pyr-
amidon.” This he recognized as a
medicine in tablet form for head
aches. According to their tags,
mpst of the bottles were purchased
from local druggists. But the faded
and yellow label of one empty ’bot
tle bore the words, “State Hospital
for Women,” Allerton, Indiana.
Rankin had just turned away
[from the cabinet when the furious
pealing of the doorbell sent him
hastening into the hall. The butler
preceded him to the door.
Al man Rankin recognized as
Mortimer Keith pushed breathlessly
past, coat and hat in hand. Even
in that moment, when, on the verge
of a breakdown, the man whose
likeness the papers carried revealed
hie aristrocratic breeding,
He looked so exhausted that Ran
kin. motioned him to a chair.
“.Sit down, Mr. Keith, and take it
easy,” The detective spoke sympa
thetically. “My name in Rankin—
from Headquarters. I regret it’s
my task to- investigate your wife’s
unfortunate death.
Mortimer Keith raised his head
wearily. “It's utterly incredible,”
he declared hoarsely
read
could
been;
home
Professional Cards
When I first
morning, I
mistake had
hurried
ft
the news this
only pray some
made. And 1
as quickly as possible.
“You’ve only returned
Washington, Mr. Keith?”
“By plane, Mr. Rankin.,”
other replied with a visible effort to
control his emotions. “I bought a
paper while I breakfasted at my
grasped
hired a
back
from
the
hotel . . . and the
the terrible . . ,
special plane.
“At what hotel
for the night?”
pointedly.
“The Portman on G Street,” Mr.
Keith returned.
“And when did you leave for
Washington, Mr. Keith? By what
train?”
Mr. Keith hesitated
“I went at noon, Mr.
answered presently,
eleven-thirty, I visited
My chauffeur drove me there and
then he took me to West Philadel
phia in time to catch the through
train at twelve-twenty-five. I
reached the capital at three-twenty.”
“You caught the train in plenty
of time?” Rankin pressed for de
tails.
“With about ten minutes to
spare,”’ the other spoke with more
certainty and composure.
“Where did .you go in Washing
ton? I presume this was a business
trip?”
“Yes, I had a conference with
Leonard Kramer, president of
New Ray Silk Company.”
■Rankin wrote the name of
company officer in his- notebook! and
said:
“Thank you. And now, Mr.
Keith, painful though the subject
instant I
thing, 1
did you
Rankin
put up
queried,
perceptibly.
Rankin,” he
“First, at
my offices.
1\
Mr.
the
the
riiarried. the girl, he
Windsor, Canada, on
1929. Afterward, he
a self-condemnatory
martial life had UQt
RECEIVE LIFE MEMBERSHIP
iMr. J. P. Hume, former principal
'of Goderich Collegiate Institute, .and
Mr. A. M. Robertson, ’fioirmerly assis
tant principal, both of whom resign
ed in June, were accorded a signal
hontor at Seaforth, when they were
presented with life memberships in
the Ontario Secondary iSchool Teach
ers’ Federation.
The presentation .toiok place dur
ing the district meeting, Mr. Home,
of Kitchener, making the address.
Mr. Hume made a fitting speech
of acceptance both .for himself and
for Mr. Robertson, who was unable
to attend the session.
(Some sixty members of the Feder
ation were present, including the
Provincial president, Mr. D. S. Ful
ler, o;f Stratford.
i
were taken by Rev. W- M.
pastor oif Parkhill United
Rev. W. A. Walden, presi-
the London conference, and
Scabie, chairman •’f Middle
MRS. W. SHIPWAY
IS LAID TO REST
most
the
she
Ken.
After a lingering illness, Mrs. W.
Shipway passed away at the resi
dence Ailsa 'Craig. Deceased, who
has been confined to her room for
some weeks, was among the
favorably known residents of
town. Beside her husband
leaves three daughters, Mrs.
Simpson and Miss Marjorie, of Ail
sa Craig and Irene, of Toronto-, also
three sons, Jaimes, Jack and Will.
The funeral was held to Carlisle
cemetery and was largely attended.
Services were conducted by Rev. J.
E. Blackwell, of the Anglisan church
in the absence of her pastor, Rev.
Mr. MoLean, of the Presbyterian
church.
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The Exeter Times-Advocate A. J. CLATWORTHY
Vhone No. 12,