Punch with Care by Phoebe Atwood Taylor

Author:Phoebe Atwood Taylor [Taylor, Phoebe Atwood]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mystery
Publisher: Wildside Press LLC
Published: 2020-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

“There, see? I knew I was right about her!” Cumming’s whisper grew louder as the figure moved out of earshot. “She’s the one with the motives! She took Boone out of the Lulu Belle, and then she did something that caused that strange noise I heard, and then I fooled her by coming on the scene! She never would have guessed anyone was in the house then—no cars outside—and so she lured me away and over to the boat house, and then after locking me up, she went and really hid the body—”

“Not so loud, doc!” Asey reached down and took his flashlight from its clamp on the steering gear.

“And now that it’s dark, she’s sneaking over to unlock that padlock! Probably she figures I’m asleep and won’t hear her, and if I should, she can rush off into the night—” Cummings got out of the roadster and at once stepped on a twig which snapped and sounded to both of them like the explosion of a blockbuster. “Oh, God, I’m sorry Asey! No Boy Scout in me at all! I’m as contrite as—”

“You better shush—an’ watch your step!”

Asey spoke with such firmness that the doctor meekly obeyed, and kept silent as he followed Asey on tiptoe along the lane.

The pair paused on the edge of the clearing by the boat house.

Ahead of them, the beam of Layne’s little flashlight was focussed on the trussed-up figure on the ground.

“Jack?” she said uncertainly. “Jack!”

Asey suddenly found himself grinning from ear to ear.

“Jack Briggs!” Her voice was suddenly sharp. “What happened to you!”

While Asey gave himself a certain amount of credit for having wondered once or twice about the fellow, he had never felt more pleased to discover that he’d guessed wrong. He should have put more faith in Gerry’s judgment, he thought. He should have known at once that this couldn’t have been her colonel, even though the nickname had seemed so apt and appropriate.

“I thought you said he was Stin—” Cummings began hoarsely.

Asey shushed him.

“Oh!” Layne said irritably. “Oh, damn! Of all times for you—”

Turning suddenly, she climbed into the roadster and swung her light over the dashboard.

“Trying to find headlights!” the irrepressible Cummings announced in a whisper. “Silly, silly girl! She couldn’t find cm without a guide book in that monstrosity of a car! Couldn’t—”

He broke off as Asey stepped forward and snapped on his own light.

“All right!” he said briskly. “Hold it! What’s going on here? What’s the idea?”

Layne gave a little start, and stared into the darkness for a second before she turned her light back at Asey.

“What is going on here?” she retorted evenly and without apparent fear, but Asey noticed that the light wavered in her hand. “What are you doing here? This is private property! Who are you?”

“I’m Asey Mayo. Dr. Cummings,” he spoke the doctor’s name very distinctly, “who is this girl, d’you know?” In an undertone, he added, “Yes, you do, an’ to your great surprise!”

“Why, it’s Layne Douglass!” Cummings sounded sincerely bewildered.

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.