"I'm afraid that two of the three bodies, including Mrs. Manning's, went down with the fuselage of the airplane in deep water. I should think that it is unlikely in the extreme that it will ever be recovered."

"Oh, how terrible."

"Mr. Potter, do you know if Elizabeth Manning had any life insurance?"

"Why do you ask?"

"It occurs to me that you might need an affidavit to establish death. I can supply that, having been a witness, and there was another witness, who I'm sure would be glad to do the same."

"Oh, good. Yes, there was a small insurance policy,

little more than enough to cover the burial expenses.

You are an attorney, you said?"

"Yes, I practice in New York."

"I suppose there will be an inquest."

"Yes, I should think so."

"I wonder if you would undertake to act for this firm in the matter of obtaining a death certificate and any other legalities which might arise. I'm afraid that Mrs. Peters could not afford to send me down the, re, and in any case, I

would find it physically impossible to make the trip."

"I'm leaving St. Marks to return to New York the middle of next week, but until that time I would be happy to handle any details that might come up, including the death certificate."

"It me give you my address and phone number."

Stone wrote down the information.

"You may send your bill here."

"I would be glad to render this small service as a courtesy to Mrs.

Peters," Stone said.

"You are very kind, sir. Ah..." He paused as if unwilling to mention something. "Mr. Barrington, Libby spoke with me before she left, and I was under the very distinct impression that she expected to realize some financial benefit from the estate of her former husband.

Are you aware of any such benefit? Even a modest sum would mean the world to Mrs. Peters."

Stone winced. "I am aware that there was no mention of the first Mrs.

Manning in Paul Manning's will,"

'::' he said, "and that the alimony required by his divorce decree had expired."

"Yes, I'm afraid that is correct," Potter said. He

: sighed deeply. "No bequest, eh?"

"I'm afraid not, but I will raise the subject with Mr. Manning's widow."

"Would you? I would be so very grateful. Mrs. Peters's health is not good, and I'm very much afraid that without her daughter's help she will be unable to afford to stay in her apartment, and I don't know where she would go."

"I'll speak to Mrs. Manning about it," Stone said, "and I'll be in touch with you on my return to New York next week."

"Good. I won't mention this to Mrs. Peters until I hear from you; I wouldn't want to get her hopes up, you know."

"I understand," Stone said.

"One other thing, could you learn the name of the insurance company representing the owners of the airplane? If it crashed because of a mechanical problem, Mrs. Peters might be eligible for a payment from the policy."

Stone was anxious to get off the phone before he was saddled with any other duties. "Yes, yes, I'll inquire about that."

"I'll look forward to hearing from you, then." "Good-bye, Mr.

Potter."

Stone hung up and lay back on the bed. It was worse than he could have imagined, and he didn't know whether Allison would honor her agreement.

He went back to work and tried not to think of the old lady at the piano in Palm Beach.

CHAPTER.

The inquest was held in the same village hall that had been used for the inquest into the death of Paul Manning, the coroner was the same, and the jury was indistinguishable from the first one. The only difference was the absence of Sir Winston Sutherland, who, apparently, could see no political advantage in attending. Stone and Thomas gave their testimony, and then the mechanic employed by Chester's air taxi service was called and questioned by the coroner. "State your name,"

the coroner said. "Harvey Simpson," the mechanic replied. He was I black and appeared to be in his early forties. "Mr. Simpson, are you a fully qualified aircraft mechanic?" "Yes sir, I am. I done my training in Miami, and I

worked in Fort Lauderdale for eight years before I come home to St.

Marks."

"How long had you done mechanical work on

Chester Appleton's airplane?" "For eleven years." "The same airplane?"

"No, sir; Chester bought this one six years ago." "Was the airplane in good condition?"

Harvey Simpson straightened in his seat. "Yes sir, it certainly was.

I did an annual inspection on the airplane last month; I always kept it right up to snuff."

"What about the port engine?"

"That was the newest of the two. I installed it eight months ago, and it only had five hundred and ten hours on it."

"How long is an engine good for?"

"That one was rated for two thousand hours."

"So Chester had only used a quarter of its expected life?"