May 15, 2025 • 10 mins
Delve into a world where a mere accident unravels to be a cunningly planned murder. Narrated by a lawyer who dons the detective hat, this story takes you on a thrilling ride through Bolshevik headquarters, elite country clubs, and barren creek beds, before revealing the true key to the mystery. Hold onto your seats for riveting suspense!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter nine of thirty two Caliber by Donald mc gibney.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Thirty two
Caliber by Donald mc gibney, Chapter nine, look Out Jim.
A good general realizes when he is beaten and changes
his tactics accordingly. Where I had been certain of Zolnik's
(00:21):
guilt before and had planned his prosecution, Now, with the
sickening certainty that it was my sister herself who was guilty,
I began to plan her defense. Yes, I'll admit right now,
the gun convinced me. I had been certain that Jim
had not been killed through careless driving. That is why
I had been so insistent that Inspector Robinson should hunt
(00:44):
down those responsible for his death. Now that it was
too late, I cursed myself for not having let well
Enough alone and aided the coroner in giving a verdict
of accidental death. My suspicions against Zolnich had been based
on the knowledge that he had hated Jim and would
have liked nothing better than to put him out of
the way. Coincidence had brought him over the same road
(01:08):
that Jim had traveled a few minutes before his death.
This had strengthened my suspicions, but the case would have
been hard to prove, while the evidence against Helen was
too pronounced to be disregarded. Woods too had gained my suspicions,
and yet he was miles away from the murder. I
(01:28):
realized suddenly that I had been refusing to look at
the obvious in order that I might place the guilt
where I wanted to believe it lay. Yet it did
seem the irony of fate that the two men benefiting
by Jim's death should have had nothing to do with it.
Helen did it. As the awful realization of what that
(01:48):
meant came over me, I hoped for a brief second
that death would take her and so spare her the
consequences of her act. It would be such an easy
way out. I felt sure that if she died, I
could hush the whole thing up. The sun could be
bought if enough money was offered. These gruesome thoughts carried
(02:10):
me into the city almost before I knew it. I
stopped at the house to change my muddy clothes before
going to the hospital to get Mary, and learned from
the maid that mother had been asking for me. I
went quickly to her room. She was lying in bed,
and at first I thought she was asleep, but she
turned as I approached her. Is that you, Warren, she
(02:33):
asked softly. Yes, Mother Stella said that you wanted to
see me. I bent down and kissed her lightly. She
reached up and put her thin, weak arms around my neck. Warren,
is there anything wrong? If there is, you must tell
me no, Mother, what made you think that? I asked.
She slowly withdrew her arms and let them fall at
(02:57):
her side. I don't know. I see to feel that
something had happened. Just lying here, I felt afraid for
you children, and then there were so many people ringing
the bell and the telephone. I was afraid that some
accident had happened to you or Helen. I patted her
wan cheek. It's just your imagination. The only thing wrong
(03:20):
is that my dearest little mother isn't as well and
strong as her good for Nothing's son. I kissed her again,
and she smiled up at me. I'm so glad, she whispered.
I was so worried I almost choked when I got outside.
If Helen should recover and be put on trial, it
would kill mother, I felt sure, and I would be
(03:44):
left alone in this world. Downstairs, I asked Stella who
had called, and she told me the reporters had been
trying to find me all day. During the drive to
the hospital, I tried to focus my mind on Helen's defense,
but all the force seemed to have been sapped out
of me. I felt weak and miserable and unutterably lonely.
(04:09):
At the hospital, they received me with the quiet sympathy
that strengthens you in spite of yourself and gives you hope.
Doctor Forbes, who had operated on Helen the night before,
was in the office. He had just come from Helen's room,
and he reported her condition to be extremely satisfactory. There
is only one thing that worries me, he said. Your
(04:32):
sister seems to have something on her mind that keeps
her from resting as quietly as I could wish. It
is some real or fancied danger that repeats itself over
and over in her delirium. If we could only hit
on something that would ease her mind of those fears,
I should have every reason to believe she'd get well.
I say this to you because you are her brother
(04:54):
and are no doubt acquainted with what had happened to
her in the last few weeks, and may be able
to say just what it is that she fears. Perhaps
it is the accident itself, I offered. He shook his head.
It may be, but I think not. However, suppose you
step into the room and listen to what she says.
(05:14):
If we can only rid her of her fears and
get her to rest quietly, I am positive she will recover.
I shook his hand warmly and went upstairs to Helen's room.
I knew what it was. Helen feared the consequences of
her crime. The terrible fear of public prosecution for the
murder of her husband was torturing her poor delirious brain.
(05:37):
For a moment, I forgave her everything and pitied her
from the depths of my heart. The smell of ether
lay thick in the air as I walked down the
long corridor to Helen's room. I knocked softly at the door,
and a white capped nurse opened it a little way,
her fingers to her lips. I beckoned her outside and
(05:58):
told her Doctor Forbes wished me to find out if
I could, what troubled my sister's mind. As we entered,
I saw Mary sitting by the bed, holding the hand
of the poor white figure that lay death like beneath
the sheet. Helen's head was swathed in bandages. Except for
the oval of her face, she looked quite like some
(06:19):
fair nun who had set her last ave. It was
impossible to believe that it was her hand that had
fired the shot that killed Jim, and if she lived
that she would have to face the world a murderer.
Mary only glanced at me for a moment, and then
turned her eyes again to Helen's lips to catch any
sound that might pass them. As I watched her sitting
(06:42):
there so patiently, a little pale from her cramped vigil
by the bedside, a great tenderness welled up in my
heart for her. Just then, Helen's lips began to move.
At first, the words were inaudible, although Mary leaned forward
to catch them, then with a half in which there
was a perfect agony of fear. Look out, Jim, it's
(07:05):
going to hit us. Oh oh oh. The voice died
away and was succeeded by moans, low and trembling. Mary
glanced up with a startled look in her eyes. The
nurse went quickly to the bedside and soothed the impatient
hand that was plucking at the sheets. As for me,
(07:25):
my forehead was bathed in sweat and tears were running
down my cheeks. But a joy throbbed and sang through
my heart till I felt that I should suffocate unless
I left that ether filled room for the open air.
I tiptoed toward the door and caught a nod from
Mary as I passed, which said she would join me later.
(07:47):
For a second, after I closed the door, I couldn't move.
My legs failed me, and I felt I was going
to faint. Gathering all my strength, I stumbled over to
a chair by the window and sat down. I think
I should have dropped to my knees and thanked God
right there, if I hadn't feared that my prayers would
(08:07):
have been interrupted. That cry look out Jim proved not
only that Helen had nothing whatever to do with Jim's death,
but that she had tried to warn him of his danger.
It's going to hit us. What could that mean but
that my first theory was correct, That the men in
the black limousine had recognized Jim's car and had tried
(08:30):
to run him into the ditch. Schreiber and Zolnich were
at the bottom of it, after all, and Helen was innocent.
As I had hoped she would die when I thought
her guilty. Now I hoped and prayed she would live.
I recalled doctor Forbes's words. If we could only hit
(08:51):
on something that would ease her mind of those fears,
I would have every reason to believe she would get well.
I could at least tell him the cause of the
fear and leave it to him to find a remedy.
With Helen well ready to testify as to the details
of that tragic night, we could certainly bring Jim's murderers
to trial. The door opened and Mary came out. I
(09:14):
rose and walked over to her, my eyes still betraying
the emotion Helen's words had roused in me. You heard
what she said, Mary breathed. We knew she didn't do it,
didn't we, But Warren, the things she says are all
so weird and mixed up. Sometimes she talks of things
that happened just recently, and then again she babbles of
(09:37):
things that took place a long time ago when we
were kids. Once, when the nurse came into the room.
Helen began crying as though her heart would break, and
begged that we wouldn't think too harshly of her. Again,
she repeated, over and over. He didn't do it, He
didn't do it, her other fears. I replied, probably we
(10:00):
had to do with woods. But that cry to Jim
to look out is a real clue, and I'm going
to sift it to the bottom. What are you going
to do. I'm going to accuse Zolnik of Jim's murder,
going to accuse him to his face. Oh be careful, bops,
nothing must happen to you. The tone she used her
(10:21):
sweet anxiety for my safety went to my head, and
I reached out and took her in my arms, but
with a little protesting gesture, she stopped me. Please don't
be foolish Warren. Then, as she saw my spirits droop,
she added, not until Helen is well. End of chapter
nine
Chapter nine of thirty two Caliber by Donald mc gibney.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Thirty two
Caliber by Donald mc gibney, Chapter nine, look Out Jim.
A good general realizes when he is beaten and changes
his tactics accordingly. Where I had been certain of Zolnik's
(00:21):
guilt before and had planned his prosecution, Now, with the
sickening certainty that it was my sister herself who was guilty,
I began to plan her defense. Yes, I'll admit right now,
the gun convinced me. I had been certain that Jim
had not been killed through careless driving. That is why
I had been so insistent that Inspector Robinson should hunt
(00:44):
down those responsible for his death. Now that it was
too late, I cursed myself for not having let well
Enough alone and aided the coroner in giving a verdict
of accidental death. My suspicions against Zolnich had been based
on the knowledge that he had hated Jim and would
have liked nothing better than to put him out of
the way. Coincidence had brought him over the same road
(01:08):
that Jim had traveled a few minutes before his death.
This had strengthened my suspicions, but the case would have
been hard to prove, while the evidence against Helen was
too pronounced to be disregarded. Woods too had gained my suspicions,
and yet he was miles away from the murder. I
(01:28):
realized suddenly that I had been refusing to look at
the obvious in order that I might place the guilt
where I wanted to believe it lay. Yet it did
seem the irony of fate that the two men benefiting
by Jim's death should have had nothing to do with it.
Helen did it. As the awful realization of what that
(01:48):
meant came over me, I hoped for a brief second
that death would take her and so spare her the
consequences of her act. It would be such an easy
way out. I felt sure that if she died, I
could hush the whole thing up. The sun could be
bought if enough money was offered. These gruesome thoughts carried
(02:10):
me into the city almost before I knew it. I
stopped at the house to change my muddy clothes before
going to the hospital to get Mary, and learned from
the maid that mother had been asking for me. I
went quickly to her room. She was lying in bed,
and at first I thought she was asleep, but she
turned as I approached her. Is that you, Warren, she
(02:33):
asked softly. Yes, Mother Stella said that you wanted to
see me. I bent down and kissed her lightly. She
reached up and put her thin, weak arms around my neck. Warren,
is there anything wrong? If there is, you must tell
me no, Mother, what made you think that? I asked.
She slowly withdrew her arms and let them fall at
(02:57):
her side. I don't know. I see to feel that
something had happened. Just lying here, I felt afraid for
you children, and then there were so many people ringing
the bell and the telephone. I was afraid that some
accident had happened to you or Helen. I patted her
wan cheek. It's just your imagination. The only thing wrong
(03:20):
is that my dearest little mother isn't as well and
strong as her good for Nothing's son. I kissed her again,
and she smiled up at me. I'm so glad, she whispered.
I was so worried I almost choked when I got outside.
If Helen should recover and be put on trial, it
would kill mother, I felt sure, and I would be
(03:44):
left alone in this world. Downstairs, I asked Stella who
had called, and she told me the reporters had been
trying to find me all day. During the drive to
the hospital, I tried to focus my mind on Helen's defense,
but all the force seemed to have been sapped out
of me. I felt weak and miserable and unutterably lonely.
(04:09):
At the hospital, they received me with the quiet sympathy
that strengthens you in spite of yourself and gives you hope.
Doctor Forbes, who had operated on Helen the night before,
was in the office. He had just come from Helen's room,
and he reported her condition to be extremely satisfactory. There
is only one thing that worries me, he said. Your
(04:32):
sister seems to have something on her mind that keeps
her from resting as quietly as I could wish. It
is some real or fancied danger that repeats itself over
and over in her delirium. If we could only hit
on something that would ease her mind of those fears,
I should have every reason to believe she'd get well.
I say this to you because you are her brother
(04:54):
and are no doubt acquainted with what had happened to
her in the last few weeks, and may be able
to say just what it is that she fears. Perhaps
it is the accident itself, I offered. He shook his head.
It may be, but I think not. However, suppose you
step into the room and listen to what she says.
(05:14):
If we can only rid her of her fears and
get her to rest quietly, I am positive she will recover.
I shook his hand warmly and went upstairs to Helen's room.
I knew what it was. Helen feared the consequences of
her crime. The terrible fear of public prosecution for the
murder of her husband was torturing her poor delirious brain.
(05:37):
For a moment, I forgave her everything and pitied her
from the depths of my heart. The smell of ether
lay thick in the air as I walked down the
long corridor to Helen's room. I knocked softly at the door,
and a white capped nurse opened it a little way,
her fingers to her lips. I beckoned her outside and
(05:58):
told her Doctor Forbes wished me to find out if
I could, what troubled my sister's mind. As we entered,
I saw Mary sitting by the bed, holding the hand
of the poor white figure that lay death like beneath
the sheet. Helen's head was swathed in bandages. Except for
the oval of her face, she looked quite like some
(06:19):
fair nun who had set her last ave. It was
impossible to believe that it was her hand that had
fired the shot that killed Jim, and if she lived
that she would have to face the world a murderer.
Mary only glanced at me for a moment, and then
turned her eyes again to Helen's lips to catch any
sound that might pass them. As I watched her sitting
(06:42):
there so patiently, a little pale from her cramped vigil
by the bedside, a great tenderness welled up in my
heart for her. Just then, Helen's lips began to move.
At first, the words were inaudible, although Mary leaned forward
to catch them, then with a half in which there
was a perfect agony of fear. Look out, Jim, it's
(07:05):
going to hit us. Oh oh oh. The voice died
away and was succeeded by moans, low and trembling. Mary
glanced up with a startled look in her eyes. The
nurse went quickly to the bedside and soothed the impatient
hand that was plucking at the sheets. As for me,
(07:25):
my forehead was bathed in sweat and tears were running
down my cheeks. But a joy throbbed and sang through
my heart till I felt that I should suffocate unless
I left that ether filled room for the open air.
I tiptoed toward the door and caught a nod from
Mary as I passed, which said she would join me later.
(07:47):
For a second, after I closed the door, I couldn't move.
My legs failed me, and I felt I was going
to faint. Gathering all my strength, I stumbled over to
a chair by the window and sat down. I think
I should have dropped to my knees and thanked God
right there, if I hadn't feared that my prayers would
(08:07):
have been interrupted. That cry look out Jim proved not
only that Helen had nothing whatever to do with Jim's death,
but that she had tried to warn him of his danger.
It's going to hit us. What could that mean but
that my first theory was correct, That the men in
the black limousine had recognized Jim's car and had tried
(08:30):
to run him into the ditch. Schreiber and Zolnich were
at the bottom of it, after all, and Helen was innocent.
As I had hoped she would die when I thought
her guilty. Now I hoped and prayed she would live.
I recalled doctor Forbes's words. If we could only hit
(08:51):
on something that would ease her mind of those fears,
I would have every reason to believe she would get well.
I could at least tell him the cause of the
fear and leave it to him to find a remedy.
With Helen well ready to testify as to the details
of that tragic night, we could certainly bring Jim's murderers
to trial. The door opened and Mary came out. I
(09:14):
rose and walked over to her, my eyes still betraying
the emotion Helen's words had roused in me. You heard
what she said, Mary breathed. We knew she didn't do it,
didn't we, But Warren, the things she says are all
so weird and mixed up. Sometimes she talks of things
that happened just recently, and then again she babbles of
(09:37):
things that took place a long time ago when we
were kids. Once, when the nurse came into the room.
Helen began crying as though her heart would break, and
begged that we wouldn't think too harshly of her. Again,
she repeated, over and over. He didn't do it, He
didn't do it, her other fears. I replied, probably we
(10:00):
had to do with woods. But that cry to Jim
to look out is a real clue, and I'm going
to sift it to the bottom. What are you going
to do. I'm going to accuse Zolnik of Jim's murder,
going to accuse him to his face. Oh be careful, bops,
nothing must happen to you. The tone she used her
(10:21):
sweet anxiety for my safety went to my head, and
I reached out and took her in my arms, but
with a little protesting gesture, she stopped me. Please don't
be foolish Warren. Then, as she saw my spirits droop,
she added, not until Helen is well. End of chapter
nine
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