The Case of the Lonely Heiress (The Perry Mason Mysteries Book 2) by Erle Stanley Gardner & Erle Stanley Gardner

Author:Erle Stanley Gardner & Erle Stanley Gardner [Gardner, Erle Stanley]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Publisher: MysteriousPress.com/Open Road
Published: 2020-04-07T00:00:00+00:00

13

Marilyn Marlow sat under the glare of a pitiless light which threw every fleeting expression on her face into sharp visibility.

The detectives and officers who sat in a circle around her were vague, indistinct, shadowy objects back of the glare of this light.

“Can’t you get that light out of my eyes?” she asked.

“What’s the matter?” Sergeant Holcomb’s sneering voice asked. “Are you afraid to let us see into your eyes?”

“I’m not afraid to let you see into my very mind,” she said indignantly, “but that thing gives me a headache. It’s wearing me out. The glare is like driving at night when you’re tired and meeting an endless string of headlights.”

“Come, come,” Sergeant Holcomb said, “let’s not talk about the light. Let’s talk about the case. The quicker you tell us about that, the quicker the light will go off.”

“Those diamonds you’ve got on,” another voice said, “where did they come from?”

“I’ve told you where they came from. My mother was a nurse. She nursed George P. Endicott for months before he died. He knew he was going, along toward the last, and he gave her the family jewelry. He said there was no one to take over after he was gone.”

“Except two brothers and a sister.”

“He cared nothing about them. They never came to see him while he was in the sanitarium. It was only after he died that they became affectionate. Then they moved into his house and took charge of everything they could get their hands on.”

“Rather vindictive, aren’t you?” Sergeant Holcomb said.

“I’m simply trying to tell you the truth.”

“Okay,” a voice from the shadows said, “what about the diamonds?”

“These were some of the jewels. He gave them to my mother and I inherited them from my mother when she … when she passed away.”

A voice that was rasping and taunting, a voice which seemed only to make sneering, sarcastic, nasty remarks, came from far back in the shadows, hurtling another accusation at Marilyn Marlow. “Your mother was a nurse. She was nursing Endicott. She had a lot of dough when he kicked the bucket. How do you know she didn’t help ease him out of the picture?”

Marilyn Marlow started to get up out of the chair. “Are you accusing my mother of murder?” she blazed. “Why, you …”

A big hand clapped down on her shoulder and pushed her down. “Sit down, sister. Just answer questions. Never mind pouring on the abuse. Now, when did you see Rose Keeling last?”

“I … I can’t remember just when it was.”

“Saw her today, didn’t you?”

“I … I can’t remember just when … I saw her….”

“Oh, quit stalling. Bring that other dame in, Joe.”

A door opened. A woman came in who stood as a vague, indistinct object back in the very dim shadows beyond the brilliant light.

“Take a look at her,” a voice said. “Ever seen her before?”

Marilyn Marlow said, “I can’t see who it is.”

The sneering voice said, “You ain’t the one we’re talking to. We’re talking to the witness.

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