The Famous Dar Murder Mystery

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Authors: Graham Landrum
harp to Spain but had made a side trip to Borderville, Virginia-Tennessee, a place that some people believed, albeit erroneously, to be out of the way.
    â€œSuppose you just tell me all you know about him,” I said.
    â€œOh,” Ethel began, “he’s a very nice man. Arthur knows him—plays golf with him now and then and of course he belongs to the club. His wife was very nice—southern girl—died suddenly about eight years ago—very sad!
    â€œHe’s highly regarded as a musician and has his own conservatory—the Garcia School, I think he calls it. People come from just about everywhere to study harp with him. The harp is such a beautiful instrument—let me see …”
    There was a pause before Ethel went on. “I read—that’s it—he’s gone abroad, concert tour. Oh, he’s just very fine.”
    â€œEthel,” I said, “are you where you are comfortable?”
    â€œYes,” she said, “Why?”
    â€œGood, because I have a long story, and you’ll find it interesting.” I told her about the whole adventure and my problems with Butch Gilroy.
    â€œYou don’t mean it!” she said when I had finished. “But then I have always said that a Regent, if she is worth anything, can handle any crisis, and you are a Regent. Now what can I do to help you?”
    â€œYou’ve already done a lot,” I replied. “But suppose you give me a description.”
    â€œHe’s very good looking,” she said. “Maybe sixty or more. His parents were refugees—perhaps came to America about
thirty-six. Yes, I’d say he is at least sixty—dark, of course—lots of wavy hair.”
    â€œCould it be a wig?” I interrupted.
    Ethel laughed. “Yes, it is. Much too good to be true. Well, let’s see—I would say the features are regular. Rather heavy eyebrows. Rimless spectacles. Not quite six feet tall. Medium build—very expensive clothes—always. His wife had money.”
    â€œDoes he have relatives there?”
    â€œNo—none here, I think. I could ask.”
    â€œDo,” I said, “and I can’t thank you enough.”
    As soon as we disconnected, I knew what I had to do. I was positive that the person who used García’s ticket on USAir had not been Garcia. I was going to build a fire under Butch Gilroy and make him do the right thing. I immediately called Al Manley at the Banner-Democrat and told him I was absolutely sure that the corpse in question was Luis Garcia Valera of the Garcia School of Music in Santa Barbara, California, that he was known internationally, and that efforts were being made through a friend to locate the next of kin.
    I explained that I knew Ethel through the DAR. He kept asking me specific questions, and I hardly knew whether I should pull back before plunging into such notoriety as the Banner-Democrat could create. But I went right ahead.
    The next morning I read the following story:

    DAR IDENTIFIES BODY
    Transcontinental Cooperation of Women’s Organization Provides Information
    The body discovered ten days ago by representatives of the Old Orchard Fort Chapter, DAR, of Borderville has now been identified as that of the internationally known musician and
educator Luis Garcia Valera, according to Mrs. Henry Delaporte, Regent of the chapter.
    A clue picked up at Three City Airport led to Santa Barbara, California, where Delaporte contacted DAR member Ethel Muehlbach. Through Muehlbach an accurate description of Garcia was secured. “The body we found in Brown Spring Cemetery tallied in every way with the description furnished by Mrs. Muehlbach,” Delaporte stated. “I have not the slightest doubt that the man buried as a pauper here last week was in reality a musician of international reputation,” she added.
    Delaporte and Muehlbach became acquainted when both were delegates in 1983 to Continental Congress, an

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