May 15, 2025 • 11 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 fifteen of thirty two Caliber by Donald mc gibney.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Thirty two
Caliber by Donald mc gibney, Chapter fifteen, The Answer the
Coroner and I drove out to the bridge that afternoon,
and I must admit I was mighty poor company. Mary's unreasonableness,
(00:23):
her stupid obstinacy when she knew she was wrong and
I was right. Her willingness to break our friendship at
the first opportunity gave me little room to think of
anything else. That she should risk her reputation to run
after that man was inexplicable. But it was just like
a woman. Show them a place they must not go,
(00:45):
or a man they must not see, and they will
sacrifice life, liberty, and every one else's happiness to satisfy
their curiosity. It has been true from Pandora to Pankhurst. Well,
if she could get along without me, I can get
along without her. I'm the easiest going person in the world.
But when it comes to allowing the girl you are
(01:07):
practically engaged to to make a fool of herself over
another man, I won't stand for it. I knew she
would probably come to me afterward and say that she
was sorry and she didn't know. But I made up
my mind that she would have to give me an
awfully good reason for her sudden interest in frank woods
before I would forgive her. These thoughts held my attention
(01:30):
all the way out now and again I would be
recalled from my gloom by some question from the coroner.
He was trying to solve the problem of who murdered Jim,
and I am sure that he must have thought it
strange that I was so preoccupied. As we neared the bridge,
I noticed again how scant the vegetation was on both
sides of the road. Any One wishing to murder Jim
(01:52):
would have been able to see him coming for at
least half a mile. On the left side of the
road was clay soil sparsely covered with weeds and shrubs,
while a half a mile away could be seen the
thirteenth hole of the country club golf links. When we
reached the crest of the hill leading down to the bridge,
our eyes at once caught sight of a tall maple
(02:15):
tree on the right hand side of the road, and
about two hundred yards from it. As he saw it,
the coroner gave a grunt of satisfaction. There's our tree.
We stopped the car and scrambled through the thorny bushes
that lined the road. The ground was hard clay, with
only burdock and weeds growing on it. There was nothing
that would lead us to believe that any one had
(02:37):
been there before. When we reached the tree, the corner
examined the ground around it carefully. When he rose, he
seemed disappointed. What did you expect to find here, I asked.
I didn't know what we might find if the man
who fired those shots used this tree. I thought we
might find an empty cartridge or two. There ought to
(02:58):
be at least some broken twigs or something to show
that he was up there. But I find nothing at all. Still,
the fact that the tree is where it is makes
the theory plausible. He shook his head. No, now that
I've seen how far we are from the road, I
don't think it does. Those bullet holes in the back
of the car were fired from above and behind the machine.
(03:20):
They slanted down, but not sideways. If the tree had
been at the very edge of the road, our theory
would have been acceptable. But if the murderer used this
tree two hundred yards from the road. He would have
started firing before the car came opposite, with the possibility
that the holes would have been found in the side
of the car. I'm sorry for when I saw this tree,
(03:43):
I thought we'd struck the right track. There's one thing
I can't make out, I stated, and that is the
strange cry of my sister in her delirium. Look out, Jim,
it's going to hit us, she called out. And I
would be willing to swear it had something to do
with the murder, the coroner thought a moment, then turned
to me. What else did she say? Nothing that seemed
(04:06):
to refer to the accident. All the rest was apparently delirium.
She begged forgiveness for some fancied wrong and repeated that
a certain man was not guilty of dishonesty. But her
first weird cry had to do with the murder. I'm sure.
We walked back toward the road. High overhead, we heard
the droning of an airplane, and we both stopped to
(04:29):
gaze at it. Suddenly, the coroner clapped me on the shoulder.
I've got it. What do you mean, I asked, bewildered
the airplane man, who owns an airplane around here. I
don't know. There are several at the aviation ground. What's
that got to do with it? Everything? Don't you see?
The bullets fired from above and behind, the number of
(04:52):
bullets fired, those two bullet holes in the floorboard of
the car, Everything points to an airplane. It was a hundred, yes,
a thousand times. In the war while I was over
there with my hospital unit, we used to get a
lot of cases of motorcycle dispatch riders who had been
picked off by German aviators. They machine gunned moving trains
(05:15):
and military automobiles. It is one of the simplest tricks
of a pilot's repertoire. Has woods an airplane. He was
a military pilot in the French Army and is the
head of an airplane firm. But I don't think he
has an airplane here. He could get one easy enough,
the clever devil. Look over there. He has the broad
(05:38):
sweep of the golf course is a perfect landing ground,
and this road hasn't a tree on it for miles.
He could have come down within fifty feet of the
ground and followed that car, pumping bullets into it all
the way. He had absolutely everything in his favor. For
a moment, I saw red as I pictured Jim helpless
(06:00):
before approaching death. I could imagine Helen's agony as she
saw that dim black shape coming closer and closer and
screamed in her terror, look out, Jim, it's going to
hit us. Yes, but how are we going to prove it?
I asked, that's up to us now. An aeroplane has
(06:21):
such speed that it was easy for Woods to fashion
an ingenious alibi to account for every minute of his
time on the night of the murder. But there must
be some holes in it. There always is in a
manufactured alibi. I want you to go over to the
country club and check up mister Wood's schedule of that night.
While I examined the golf links to see if he
(06:41):
landed there. We jumped into my car and drove rapidly
to the club. I went into the house by the
back way to avoid meeting people, and asked for Jackson. Jackson,
what time did mister Woods get out here on the
evening mister Felderson was killed. I expect he got ya
about six o'clock. Mister Thompson, the negro, replied, did you
(07:04):
see him at the time. Did I seize him at
that time? Let me see why? No, Sir, I don't
think so. I don't think I did. When was the
first time you did see him, Jackson? Ah, guess it
was at dinner time? Sir? He was here? Den you
sure he was here all through dinner? I asked, Yes, sir,
(07:26):
he must have been, cause he ordered dinner. What time
was he through dinner? Do you know? The Darky scratched
his head, I reckon it war just before he ordered
me to bring him that drink? And was he here
all that time? I demanded, Yes, sir, he was right here. Sah,
where did he sit? Let me see? I recollect? Now?
(07:51):
He asked me special for that table over yonder by
the winder, Can you find the boy that waited on
the table that night? The old Darky heard away, but
came back presently, leading a scared yellow boy by the sleeve. Now,
George Henry, you all quit yours contrariness. You answered the
gentleman's questions. Oh I llo, I'll whoop ya. George. Did
(08:14):
you wait on that table over there by the window
two weeks ago? Yeah, yes, sir, I've been waitin' on
that table for mon a month. Do you remember waitin
on mister Frank Wood's two weeks ago? Last Thursday night,
I asked. The boy was trembling. He rolled frightened eyes
toward Jackson, who was glaring at him. Finally he broke
(08:36):
into a wail. Oh, Pappy, Jackson does all ya's knows?
He tell me he goin' to de bath an effen
anybody ask where he go that night? To send him
in there? Just tell me what you know, George, I said,
motioning the angry Jackson away. He he sat down at
(08:58):
the table, but he ain't it nah n. The boy stuttered,
what do you mean, George? He sit down, an he
look out de winder. I'll bring him some soup. But
he got up powerful sudden like he had a call
to the telephone. An he ain't come back. Are you
sure of that, George, yes, sir? I asked him. Did
(09:19):
he want dinner after he come back? But he say
he ain't hungry. What time was it when he came back?
I asked, half past eight? Sah. I gave the boy
a dollar and he went away happy. Jackson had a
sheepish look on his face. Then mister Woods wasn't here
all through dinner. Jackson drat dat boy, he make me
(09:43):
out a liah for a dollar? He grinned. Are you sure,
absolutely sure that you saw mister Woods at half past eight?
I questioned, Yes, sir, you can't catch me up. No, mo,
I saw mister Woods at eight twenty five exactly. I
handed him a bill and went into the bar. Grogan,
(10:05):
the old bartender was there alone. Grogan, do you remember
who was in the bar between seven thirty and eight
thirty on the night of the Felderson murder? Only one
or two of the gentlemen, Sir, There was mister Farnsworth
and mister Brown, and I think mister Woods. Are you
sure mister Woods was in here? Well, no, sir, not exactly.
(10:28):
I remember mister Farnsworth and mister Brown. There were probably
some others. The reason I think mister Woods was here
was because he called my attention to the fact a
few nights after the murder there were a few gentlemen
in here and they were talking of mister Felderson's death.
Mister Woods said, in view of the fact that the
(10:49):
murderer hadn't been found, almost any one might be accused.
Some one asked him if he was worried. We all knew, sir,
that mister Felderson and mister Woods were not very friendly.
And mister Woods laughed and said that fortunately he had
a perfect alibi, and called my attention to the fact
that he was here at about the time the crime
(11:09):
was committed, and you're not so sure that he was,
I asked, Oh, his alibi is good, of course, because
he was around the club all that evening. I guess
he was here, and I don't remember it. I shook
hands with him and left far out on the golf links.
The coroner was bending over examining something on the ground.
(11:31):
When I reached him. He grabbed me by the sleeve
and pointed to barely discernible tracks paralleling each other for
almost a hundred yards. Between them ran a shallow, jagged
rut where the spade of an aeroplane had dug up
the turf. End of Chapter fifteen.
Chapter fifteen of thirty two Caliber by Donald mc gibney.
This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Thirty two
Caliber by Donald mc gibney, Chapter fifteen, The Answer the
Coroner and I drove out to the bridge that afternoon,
and I must admit I was mighty poor company. Mary's unreasonableness,
(00:23):
her stupid obstinacy when she knew she was wrong and
I was right. Her willingness to break our friendship at
the first opportunity gave me little room to think of
anything else. That she should risk her reputation to run
after that man was inexplicable. But it was just like
a woman. Show them a place they must not go,
(00:45):
or a man they must not see, and they will
sacrifice life, liberty, and every one else's happiness to satisfy
their curiosity. It has been true from Pandora to Pankhurst. Well,
if she could get along without me, I can get
along without her. I'm the easiest going person in the world.
But when it comes to allowing the girl you are
(01:07):
practically engaged to to make a fool of herself over
another man, I won't stand for it. I knew she
would probably come to me afterward and say that she
was sorry and she didn't know. But I made up
my mind that she would have to give me an
awfully good reason for her sudden interest in frank woods
before I would forgive her. These thoughts held my attention
(01:30):
all the way out now and again I would be
recalled from my gloom by some question from the coroner.
He was trying to solve the problem of who murdered Jim,
and I am sure that he must have thought it
strange that I was so preoccupied. As we neared the bridge,
I noticed again how scant the vegetation was on both
sides of the road. Any One wishing to murder Jim
(01:52):
would have been able to see him coming for at
least half a mile. On the left side of the
road was clay soil sparsely covered with weeds and shrubs,
while a half a mile away could be seen the
thirteenth hole of the country club golf links. When we
reached the crest of the hill leading down to the bridge,
our eyes at once caught sight of a tall maple
(02:15):
tree on the right hand side of the road, and
about two hundred yards from it. As he saw it,
the coroner gave a grunt of satisfaction. There's our tree.
We stopped the car and scrambled through the thorny bushes
that lined the road. The ground was hard clay, with
only burdock and weeds growing on it. There was nothing
that would lead us to believe that any one had
(02:37):
been there before. When we reached the tree, the corner
examined the ground around it carefully. When he rose, he
seemed disappointed. What did you expect to find here, I asked.
I didn't know what we might find if the man
who fired those shots used this tree. I thought we
might find an empty cartridge or two. There ought to
(02:58):
be at least some broken twigs or something to show
that he was up there. But I find nothing at all. Still,
the fact that the tree is where it is makes
the theory plausible. He shook his head. No, now that
I've seen how far we are from the road, I
don't think it does. Those bullet holes in the back
of the car were fired from above and behind the machine.
(03:20):
They slanted down, but not sideways. If the tree had
been at the very edge of the road, our theory
would have been acceptable. But if the murderer used this
tree two hundred yards from the road. He would have
started firing before the car came opposite, with the possibility
that the holes would have been found in the side
of the car. I'm sorry for when I saw this tree,
(03:43):
I thought we'd struck the right track. There's one thing
I can't make out, I stated, and that is the
strange cry of my sister in her delirium. Look out, Jim,
it's going to hit us, she called out. And I
would be willing to swear it had something to do
with the murder, the coroner thought a moment, then turned
to me. What else did she say? Nothing that seemed
(04:06):
to refer to the accident. All the rest was apparently delirium.
She begged forgiveness for some fancied wrong and repeated that
a certain man was not guilty of dishonesty. But her
first weird cry had to do with the murder. I'm sure.
We walked back toward the road. High overhead, we heard
the droning of an airplane, and we both stopped to
(04:29):
gaze at it. Suddenly, the coroner clapped me on the shoulder.
I've got it. What do you mean, I asked, bewildered
the airplane man, who owns an airplane around here. I
don't know. There are several at the aviation ground. What's
that got to do with it? Everything? Don't you see?
The bullets fired from above and behind, the number of
(04:52):
bullets fired, those two bullet holes in the floorboard of
the car, Everything points to an airplane. It was a hundred, yes,
a thousand times. In the war while I was over
there with my hospital unit, we used to get a
lot of cases of motorcycle dispatch riders who had been
picked off by German aviators. They machine gunned moving trains
(05:15):
and military automobiles. It is one of the simplest tricks
of a pilot's repertoire. Has woods an airplane. He was
a military pilot in the French Army and is the
head of an airplane firm. But I don't think he
has an airplane here. He could get one easy enough,
the clever devil. Look over there. He has the broad
(05:38):
sweep of the golf course is a perfect landing ground,
and this road hasn't a tree on it for miles.
He could have come down within fifty feet of the
ground and followed that car, pumping bullets into it all
the way. He had absolutely everything in his favor. For
a moment, I saw red as I pictured Jim helpless
(06:00):
before approaching death. I could imagine Helen's agony as she
saw that dim black shape coming closer and closer and
screamed in her terror, look out, Jim, it's going to
hit us. Yes, but how are we going to prove it?
I asked, that's up to us now. An aeroplane has
(06:21):
such speed that it was easy for Woods to fashion
an ingenious alibi to account for every minute of his
time on the night of the murder. But there must
be some holes in it. There always is in a
manufactured alibi. I want you to go over to the
country club and check up mister Wood's schedule of that night.
While I examined the golf links to see if he
(06:41):
landed there. We jumped into my car and drove rapidly
to the club. I went into the house by the
back way to avoid meeting people, and asked for Jackson. Jackson,
what time did mister Woods get out here on the
evening mister Felderson was killed. I expect he got ya
about six o'clock. Mister Thompson, the negro, replied, did you
(07:04):
see him at the time. Did I seize him at
that time? Let me see why? No, Sir, I don't
think so. I don't think I did. When was the
first time you did see him, Jackson? Ah, guess it
was at dinner time? Sir? He was here? Den you
sure he was here all through dinner? I asked, Yes, sir,
(07:26):
he must have been, cause he ordered dinner. What time
was he through dinner? Do you know? The Darky scratched
his head, I reckon it war just before he ordered
me to bring him that drink? And was he here
all that time? I demanded, Yes, sir, he was right here. Sah,
where did he sit? Let me see? I recollect? Now?
(07:51):
He asked me special for that table over yonder by
the winder, Can you find the boy that waited on
the table that night? The old Darky heard away, but
came back presently, leading a scared yellow boy by the sleeve. Now,
George Henry, you all quit yours contrariness. You answered the
gentleman's questions. Oh I llo, I'll whoop ya. George. Did
(08:14):
you wait on that table over there by the window
two weeks ago? Yeah, yes, sir, I've been waitin' on
that table for mon a month. Do you remember waitin
on mister Frank Wood's two weeks ago? Last Thursday night,
I asked. The boy was trembling. He rolled frightened eyes
toward Jackson, who was glaring at him. Finally he broke
(08:36):
into a wail. Oh, Pappy, Jackson does all ya's knows?
He tell me he goin' to de bath an effen
anybody ask where he go that night? To send him
in there? Just tell me what you know, George, I said,
motioning the angry Jackson away. He he sat down at
(08:58):
the table, but he ain't it nah n. The boy stuttered,
what do you mean, George? He sit down, an he
look out de winder. I'll bring him some soup. But
he got up powerful sudden like he had a call
to the telephone. An he ain't come back. Are you
sure of that, George, yes, sir? I asked him. Did
(09:19):
he want dinner after he come back? But he say
he ain't hungry. What time was it when he came back?
I asked, half past eight? Sah. I gave the boy
a dollar and he went away happy. Jackson had a
sheepish look on his face. Then mister Woods wasn't here
all through dinner. Jackson drat dat boy, he make me
(09:43):
out a liah for a dollar? He grinned. Are you sure,
absolutely sure that you saw mister Woods at half past eight?
I questioned, Yes, sir, you can't catch me up. No, mo,
I saw mister Woods at eight twenty five exactly. I
handed him a bill and went into the bar. Grogan,
(10:05):
the old bartender was there alone. Grogan, do you remember
who was in the bar between seven thirty and eight
thirty on the night of the Felderson murder? Only one
or two of the gentlemen, Sir, There was mister Farnsworth
and mister Brown, and I think mister Woods. Are you
sure mister Woods was in here? Well, no, sir, not exactly.
(10:28):
I remember mister Farnsworth and mister Brown. There were probably
some others. The reason I think mister Woods was here
was because he called my attention to the fact a
few nights after the murder there were a few gentlemen
in here and they were talking of mister Felderson's death.
Mister Woods said, in view of the fact that the
(10:49):
murderer hadn't been found, almost any one might be accused.
Some one asked him if he was worried. We all knew, sir,
that mister Felderson and mister Woods were not very friendly.
And mister Woods laughed and said that fortunately he had
a perfect alibi, and called my attention to the fact
that he was here at about the time the crime
(11:09):
was committed, and you're not so sure that he was,
I asked, Oh, his alibi is good, of course, because
he was around the club all that evening. I guess
he was here, and I don't remember it. I shook
hands with him and left far out on the golf links.
The coroner was bending over examining something on the ground.
(11:31):
When I reached him. He grabbed me by the sleeve
and pointed to barely discernible tracks paralleling each other for
almost a hundred yards. Between them ran a shallow, jagged
rut where the spade of an aeroplane had dug up
the turf. End of Chapter fifteen.
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