Page 102 (1/1)

In the doorway, Jericho cleared his throat and waited to be recognized He dropped the late-edition paper on Will’s desk "You ht want to read this"

" ‘Exclusive to the New York Daily News, by T S Woodhouse Museu,’ " Will read aloud He frowned and waved the paper about "What’s this?"

Evie snatched the paper away and kept reading " ‘New York City, that bustling el, Meyer Lansky, and the rest of the Brownsville Boys of Murder, Inc, have kept the bodies piling up faster than the cops can take bribes to look the other way But the Pentacle Murders have given even hardened New Yorkers the heebie-jeebies Mothers won’t let their children play stickball on the streets after dark Shopgirls spend their hard-earned dough on taxis straight home to their cold-water flats in Murray Hill and Orchard Street The Sultan of Swing, Mr Babe Ruth himself, has pro to the capture of the foul fiend But in the midst of this Manhattanit in--the Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult That’s the Museum of the Creepy Crawlies to you folks in the know’ Unc, the museum made the papers!"

Evie continued " ‘Their business is anything spooky, and anything spooky is good for business On a recent Friday, this reporter witnessed a mob scene parked outside the doors of the old Cornelius T Rathbone mansion near Central Park That’s because the curator of the erald’--oh, Unc! That’s you!" Evie exclaiure out whathiain He’s aided in his work by his niece, Miss Evie O’Neill, late of Zenith, Ohio, a comely seventeen-year-old Sheba who knows her onions about everything from witches’ coifs to the bones of Chinese conjurers But when this reporter tried to get the goods on the hunt for a killer, the dame played coy "I’m afraid I can’t comment on that," she said and batted those baby blues Fellas, start lining up There’s more than one killer in this town’ "

Evie tried to keep the grin froh after all

"Evangeline, did you speak to this Woodhouse fellow?" Will demanded

Evie’s eyes ide "Unc, I had no idea he was a reporter! He was a paying custo questions, I stonewalled him He played me for a chump, that cad!"

"You have to be more careful Develop a New Yorker’s skin" Will tapped a second cigarette against the table, packing down the tobacco before lighting it "Whatever happened to objective, truthful reporting?"

"Haven’t you heard? It doesn’t sell papers," Jericho said

"You’re so right, Unc That Woodhouse is a rat But he did mention the museum, at least," Evie said "Do you knohat this means?"

Will blein streams of smoke from his nostrils "Trouble," he said

The phone rang, startling the "We’ll meet you there"

"What is it?" Evie asked

"The Pentacle Killer has struck again"

THE BOGEYMAN

Will and Evie were e by a snified his eyes into two large, blinking blue orbs that made Evie think of an owl

"This way," the man said nervously "The police are already here, of course" He led theh a wood-paneled hallway to a plain door A brass plaque designated it the Gothic Room The smalla second door into a large rooht away--a terrible, cloying odor of smoke and cooked flesh that sat at the back of her throat

Evie’s eyes focused first on the grandeur of the rooe chandeliers At one end was a pipe organ; at the other was the letter G placed inside a sun In the center of the room, a phalanx of cops and a coroner surrounded a sasped On the altar was the badly burned body of the Pentacle Killer’s latest victim

"One of our Brotherhood found the body thisman said He stumbled over the word body and his mustache crinkled in distaste "The Most Worshipful Grand Master has been notified by cable He is aith his family"