"Maxwell Grant - The Shadow - 290 - Death has Grey Eyes" - читать интересную книгу автора (Grant Maxwell)

CHAPTER IX

WHATEVER Dick's opinions on the subject might be, Commissioner Weston was
quite convinced that Irene Breslon had Dick's welfare much at heart.
With his usual one-cell logic, Weston argued mentally that the girl
wouldn't have insisted on a rush trip to the apartment unless she really
feared
that something serious had happened there.
It didn't occur to the commissioner that Irene could have hoped the thing
had happened; that by playing the opposite game, she would not only be giving
herself an alibi but would have a chance to do some cover-up work for her
friends.
Those were the sort of details that would occur to Lamont Cranston, so
lately The Shadow.
Obviously a death-thrust had been well-timed. The knife men had gone to
Dick's apartment while their sniper friend was stationed at a key-spot
opposite. His work was to get in a long-distance jab should close tactics
fail;
also to cover any flight of the knife men.
Seeing some opportunity, the sniper had played the first hand and his
rifle shot, to say nothing of The Shadow's answers, had served as a signal for
the other Apaches to be on their way. They'd known, unquestionably, that Irene
was already coming here, under auspices that would keep her own escutcheon
unblemished while she was viewing the results of the Apache attack.
Even Claire Austley was fooled by Irene's solicitude for Dick, but Jerry
Trimm was another story.
There was a twitch to Jerry's sharp face which told he was puzzled over
something, and badly. He wasn't just annoyed with Claire, who for once was
actually apologetic. He had something deeper on his mind and at moments looked
ready to express it, only to stop short.
All this took place in the lobby of the apartment building, where Weston
finally left the decision to Irene.
"If you think Whitlock is in danger," declared Weston, "we'll send out a
flier for him. It would help if you had a description of those men last night,
so we could round them up. If you know anything -"
"Nothing, nothing at all," interposed Irene, quite hastily. "It was only
that it happened - well, so soon after Mr. Whitlock left us."
Irene turned appealingly to Jerry and Claire, who couldn't very well deny
that she'd been with them just before Dick left the Starview Roof. Jerry gave
a
quick nod, because it helped his own dilemma; while Claire, feeling she'd been
very stupid, decided it was policy to follow Irene's lead.
"Dick's taken a trip," assured Jerry, as soon as Claire had murmured a
few
words in Irene's behalf. "Like he said he was going to, that's all. Guess we'd
better be getting back to the party, Claire, if it's all right with the
commissioner."
It was all right with the commissioner, so they left in their cab, while
Irene, abashed at having caused all this trouble, insisted on taking the