"
"Was it incontestible without the suicide clause?" asked Kennedy.
"Yes," replied Andrews, "and suicide is the first and easiest
theory. Why, you have no idea how common the crime of suicide for
the sake of the life insurance is becoming. Nowadays, we insurance
men almost believe that every one who contemplates ending his
existence takes out a policy so as to make his life, which is
useless to him, a benefit, at least, to some one--and a nightmare
to the insurance detective."
"I know," I cut in, for I recalled having been rather interested
in the Phelps case at the time, "but I thought the doctors said
finally that death was due to heart failure."
"Doctor Forden who signed the papers said so," corrected Andrews.
"Heart failure--what does that mean? As well say breath failure,
or nerve failure. I'll tell you what kind of failure I think it
was. It was money failure. Hard times and poor investments struck
Phelps before he really knew how to handle his small fortune. It
called him home and--pouf!--he is off--to leave to his family a
cool half-million by his death.
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