Figure it Out For Yourself

'Have you seen Mr. Dedrick?' she demanded, staring up it him. The light from the room fell on her face. She was lovely in a hard, cold way, with good eyes and a firm mouth and chin. At a guess she would be about thirty, and not the type I would have expected to be a rich woman's secretary. Her clothes were expensive-looking, and she wore a silk evening wrap over a winecoloured, strapless evening dress with the confidence and grace of a model.

Kerman shook his head.

'Please look for him. Both of you. Search the house.'

I nodded to Kerman.

'Phone the police first, Jack.'

Whilst Kerman was using the telephone, the girl went to look at the chauffeur. I watched her, saw the colour leave her face, but as I went to her, she pulled herself together and turned away.

'Come out on to the terrace,' I said. Kerman will look for Mr. Dedrick.' I put my hand on her arm, but with a little shiver she shook it off and walked out on to the terrace again.

'This is dreadful,' she said. 'I wish you would try and find Mr. Dedrick instead of hanging around me. Why did he 'phone you? Does he know you?'

'I run Universal Services. He's probably seen one of our advertisements.'

She put her hand to her face, and leaned against the balustrade.

'I'm afraid that conveys nothing to me. What is Universal Services? I have only been in Orchid City for a few hours.'

'We handle any job from divorce to grooming a cat. Mr. Dedrick wanted a bodyguard, but I'm afraid we arrived a little late.'

I saw her flinch.

'I can't believe it. Please make sure he's not in the house. He must be here!'

'Kerman's looking now. I understood from Mr. Dedrick that he had only just moved in here, and was alone with his chauffeur. Is that right?'

'Mr. Dedrick has rented this house for the summer. Mrs, Dedrick and he have been staying for a few days in New York,' she explained, speaking rapidly. 'They have just come back from Paris. Mr. Dedrick flew from New York a few days ago. He went on ahead to make the arrangements about the house. Mrs. Dedrick arrives tomorrow. I came with him to make sure everything in the house was in order. We have rooms at the Orchid Hotel. Mr. Dedrick said he was going to look over the house this evening, I was to join him later,'

'I see.'

Kerman came out on to the terrace.

"No one in the house,' he said.

Take a look around the garden.'

He gave Mary Jerome a quick, interested look and went off down the terrace steps.

'He's never mentioned being kidnapped to you, has he?'

'Oh, no.'

'What time did he leave his hotel?'

'At seven-thirty.'

'He called me at ten past ten. I wonder what he was doing for two hours and forty minutes here. Have you any idea?

'I suppose he was looking over the house. I wish you would go after your friend and help him. Mr. Dedrick might be lying in the grounds - hurt.'

I began to get the idea that she wanted to get rid of me.

'I'll stick around until the police come. We don't want you kidnapped.'

'I - I don't think I can face any more of this. I'll go bock to the hotel,' she said, her voice suddenly husky. 'Will you tell them, please? I'll see them at the hotel.'

'I think it would be better to wait until they come,' I said quietly.

'No; I think I'll go. He - he may be at the hotel. I think I ought to go.'

As she turned, I caught her wrist

'I'm sorry, but until the police come, you must stay.'

She stared up at me, her eyes hard in the moonlight.

'If you think it is necessary.'

'That's the idea.'

She opened her bag.

'I think a cigarette...'

She did it very smoothly. I found myself looking down at a .25, aimed at my midriff.

'Go in there!'

'Now, look...'

'Go in there!' There was a dangerous note in her voice. 'I'll shoot if you don't go in!'

'You're playing it wrong, but have it your own way.'

I walked into the lounge.

The moment I heard her running down the terrace I jumped to the balustrade.

'Head her off, Jack!' I bawled into the darkness. 'But watch out; she has a gun!'

Then I legged it down the terrace after her.

There came a spiteful crack of the .25, and a slug buzzed past my head. I dodged behind a tub of palms. More gun-fire, and an excited yell from Kerman. Then a car engine exploded into life; the gun fired again and the car went furiously down the drive.

I raced to the end of the terrace, intent on following her in the Buick, but she had taken care of that. Her last shot had gone through the off-side rear wheel.

Kerman came out of the darkness.

'What goes on?' he demanded indignantly. 'She tried to shoot me.'

V

We sat together before the empty fireplace in the library while a stony-eyed cop stood by the door and watched us without appearing to do so.

We had told our stories to Detective Sergeant MacGraw, and now we were waiting for Brandon. As soon as MacGraw learned who Dedrick was, he said the Captain of Police would want to see us. So we waited.

In the next room a squad of the Homicide boys were at work, dusting for fingerprints, photographing the body and the room, and prowling around for clues.