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Page 43
"How could that cause Stella's death?" Phelps, at first quite
upset apparently by Kennedy's discovery, now was lapsing again
into his hostile mood. His question was cynical.
"Try to recall Miss Lamar's actions," Kennedy went on, patiently.
"What was she supposed to do in the very first scene? 'The
portieres move and the fingers of a girl are seen on the edge of
the silk. A bare and beautiful arm is thrust through almost to
the shoulder and it begins to move the portieres aside, reaching
upward to pull the curtains apart at the rings.'"
"Do you mean to tell me--" Phelps's eyes were very wide as he
paused, grasping the scheme and yet disbelieving--unless it all
were a bit of fine acting--"do you mean to tell me it is possible
to calculate a thing like that? How would anyone know where her
arm would be?"
"It is simpler than it sounds, Mr. Phelps." Kennedy was suddenly
harsh. "There is only one natural movement of an arm in that
case. The culprit was undoubtedly familiar with Miss Lamar's
height and with her manner of working. It is a bit of action
which has to be repeated in both the long shot and close-up
scenes. Jameson here can tell you how many times a scene is
rehearsed. There probably were a dozen sure chances of the needle
striking the girl's bare flesh. You will see from the position of
the holes that it was arranged point downward and slightly turned
in, and on a particular fold of the curtain, too; showing that
some one placed it there only after a nice bit of calculation.
Furthermore, it was high enough so that there was little chance
of anyone being pricked except the star, whose death was
intended."
Phelps either seemed convinced, or else he felt it inadvisable to
irritate Kennedy by a further pretense of skepticism.
A point occurred to me, however. "Listen, Craig!" I spoke in a
low voice. "Remember all the emphasis you placed upon the fact
that she would cry out. She was not supposed to cry out in that
first scene."
"No, Walter, but if you'll read the second, the close-up, you'll
see that the script actually calls for a cry. Now suppose she
makes an exclamation in the first instead. Nobody would think
anything of it. They would assume that she had played her action
a little in advance, perhaps.
"And then consider this, too! Miss Lamar, receiving the scratch,
would cry out unquestionably. But she has been before the camera
for years and she is trained in the idea that film must not be
wasted uselessly. She would not interrupt her action for a little
scratch because in these circumstances any little startled
movement would fit in with the action. By the time the scene was
over she would have forgotten the incident. It would mean very
little to her in the preoccupation of bringing the mythical
Stella Remsen into flesh-and-blood existence. The poison,
however, would be putting in its deadly work."
"Wouldn't it act before the thirteenth scene--" I began.
"Not necessarily. As a matter of fact, an actress, in the
excitement of her work, might resist the effects for a much
longer period than some one who realizes he is sick. Some day I'm
going to write a book on that. I'm going to collect hundreds of
examples of people who keep plugging along because they refuse to
admit anything's the matter with them. It's like Napoleon's
courier who didn't drop until he'd delivered his message and made
his last precise military salute."
One other thought struck me. "The blood spots on the curtain
cannot be Miss Lamar's if, as you say, the scratch brought no
blood."
"How about the nocturnal visitor who removed the needle in the
dark? Can't you imagine him pricking himself beautifully in his
hurry."
"Good heavens!" I felt the chills travel up and down my spine.
"There may be another fatality, then!" I exclaimed.
Kennedy was noncommittal. "It would be too bad for justice to be
cheated in that fashion," he remarked.
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