{"product_id":"2940013750784","title":"Madame Storey Intervenes","description":"In order to recuperate from the strain of the tremendous publicity that\u003cbr\u003efollowed upon her success in the famous case of the Smoke Bandit, Mme.\u003cbr\u003eStorey retired for a few days to the house of her close friends, the\u003cbr\u003eAndrew Lipscombs, who lived in the Connecticut hills remote from any\u003cbr\u003eneighbor. I accompanied my employer, since she insisted that I needed a\u003cbr\u003eholiday as well as herself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe simply locked up, our offices and went away, leaving the telephone to\u003cbr\u003ering, the mail to accumulate, and the hordes of curiosity-seekers to\u003cbr\u003emill around the door as they would. We supposed that we had kept the\u003cbr\u003eplace of our retreat a secret from all, but that fond hope was soon\u003cbr\u003edissipated. Late on the night of our arrival, as we were playing bridge\u003cbr\u003ewith our friends in the blessed quietude of their house, my employer was\u003cbr\u003ecalled to the telephone.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eShe returned to the card table with the grave remote look that I knew so\u003cbr\u003ewell, her working look, and my heart sank.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Well, Bella, we have another case,\" she said.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eI laid down my cards. It was useless to protest, of course.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"There's been a terrible affair down at Fremont-on-the-Sound,\" she went\u003cbr\u003eon. \"A gentleman has been found shot dead in his study, and a young girl\u003cbr\u003ehas been arrested. The man who called me up, evidently the girl's lover,\u003cbr\u003ebegged me to come and try to get her off. His voice coming through the\u003cbr\u003ereceiver had an extraordinary quality; young an manly; shaken with grief\u003cbr\u003eand agitation; yet proud and confident of his girl; it won me\u003cbr\u003ecompletely. I said I would drive right down.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Murder?\" said Mr. Lipscomb, startled, \"and so close to, us? Who's been\u003cbr\u003emurdered?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Cornelius Suydam.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Good God!\" cried our host, springing up. \"Why, he's the great man of\u003cbr\u003ethe neighborhood. His house, Fernhurst, is one of the show places! Who\u003cbr\u003eis said to have killed him?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The girl's name is Laila Darnall.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBoth Mr. and Mrs. Lipscomb stared at my employer in a stupefied fashion.\u003cbr\u003eThe former was the first to find his voice.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Merciful Heaven!\" he gasped. \"She's his ward! Said to be richer than he\u003cbr\u003eis. An exquisite young creature; a sort of golden princess; we see her\u003cbr\u003ebeing whisked about in automobiles from one great country house to\u003cbr\u003eanother. Oh, this will create a terrible sensation! Who called you up?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"He called himself Alvan Wayger.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I never heard of him.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A sort of princess!\" Mrs. Lipscomb echoed, aghast. \"With everything in\u003cbr\u003ethe world a girl could wish for! Why on earth should she want to kill\u003cbr\u003eher guardian?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"I don't know,\" said Mme. Storey. We must go and find out. Will you lend\u003cbr\u003eme a car and a chauffeur?\"","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47162778910960,"sku":"2940013750784","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013750784","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}