Homicide Johnny (1940) by Steve Fisher

Author:Steve Fisher [Fisher, Steve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Munsey's
Published: 2011-12-16T11:31:05+00:00

13

SANDRA REACHED her first. She knelt at Arline's side, and Doctor Hale was opposite her. He felt Arline's pulse and looked up. “Heart action. A complete breakdown of her nerves. The mental and physical strain has been too much. First Armin's report; and this morning Jean Daniels' murder.”

“That must be it.”

“It is. Arline's still far from well. I noticed yesterday that she was upset. The poor kid didn't realize what she was saying. It was just the combination of everything preying on her mind.”

Sandra was grim and silent.

Hale worked over Arline for several minutes, massaging her heart, cooling her off. His eyes were feverishly hot. He picked the limp girl up in his arms and carried her to the elevator. Sandra followed.

They took Arline to her room on the third floor and put her on the bed. Hale stared down into her pretty face. “It's too bad she's had to go through this. She's not so strong as you and I, Sandra, she—” He looked up, as though he hadn't realized what he was saying. He flushed.

“Of course,” Sandra said, “if she secretly believed you were trying to hurt her, it would come out like that under strain.”

“Not at all,” he snapped. “Her words were entirely incoherent.”

“And she might be under greater duress than we think,” Sandra went on.

“Don't,” Hale said acidly, “don't say anything like that.” But he was remembering Johnny West, and Penny Lane who said: “Her father owns part interest in the Armin Chemical Company.... She used to see a man named Sock Drury in Mamaroneck... he was in love with her....” Hale shook these thoughts from his mind. “Sandra,” he said, “Arline won't be herself for hours. You'd better undress her and get her into bed before she regains consciousness. She's liable to be hysterical and raving. I'll go in and mix a solution that will quiet her....”

He walked out then, without looking back.

Sandra's cool fingers deftly stripped the clothes from Arline, and she kept quietly watching the girl's breathing. She slipped a thin silk nightgown over her, and arranged Arline under the covers.

Trembling, she turned to a wash basin and poured out a tumbler of water; she brought it back to the bed and kept stroking Arline's cheeks with the cool water. All the time she was gazing down, curiously and strangely; her long white fingers massaged the water along Arline's slim throat. Gently, Sandra's wet fingers kept massaging the pretty throat; she did not once take her eyes from Arline, and her strong fingers were a rhythm of movement.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.