"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 116 - Intimidation,Inc" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

ticket and the checks. He glanced at his watch; saw that it was three minutes
after eight. His face showed worriment; he feared that the building might
close
before Lenning returned.
Hurriedly, the nervous man picked up the telephone. He started to dial
Lenning's home number, thinking that the notary might be there. Meldon's
fingers fumbled their task. Clicking the receiver hook, he started to dial
again. This time, another factor stopped him. Half standing at the desk,
Meldon
became rigid.


ON a line beyond the telephone, Meldon could see the bottom of the closet
door. There, just on the fringe of the light provided by the desk lamp, he
spied a darkish, glistening blob of liquid.
At first glance, Meldon supposed it to be ink; it was a more startling
thought that made him hang up the receiver and step shakily from behind the
desk.
 Reaching the closet door, Meldon stood riveted. His later thought was the
correct one.
The spot on the floor was blood!
Slowly, mechanically, Meldon gripped the knob and drew the closet door
toward him. He stepped back with a sharp cry, as a figure came toppling
forward
to sprawl, heavy and inert, face upward on the floor.
The opening of the door had delivered a dead man, a squatty figure with a
flame-scorched, blood-dyed shirt front. The victim had been slain by a
revolver
bullet through the heart - a close range shot that had killed him instantly.
Above the shirt collar, Meldon saw a moonish face with bulging eyes,
topped by a baldish pate. The dead man was Lenning. The notary's absence was
explained.
Meldon's blurted gasp was followed by moments of tense nervous strain.
Sight of the corpse brought his senses to a high-tuned pitch. His ears caught
a
sound that they would not ordinarily have heard. Turning about, Meldon saw a
movement of the door behind the desk.
Someone had unlocked the door from the next office. That person was
Lenning's murderer. One death delivered, the fiend was creeping in to gain
another victim.
Frantically, Meldon sprang to the desk, yanked open the drawer and
grabbed
the revolver that lay there. In his excitement, he gave no heed to the
commotion
that he raised. He wanted to get the gun before the door was open, not
realizing
that his own activity would speed the man who was creeping in from the other
side.
Meldon realized his mistake as he swung about wildly with the revolver.
The door banged the wall; an attacker surged upon him. Before Meldon could