JК
The Case of the Velvet Claws :: Гарднер Эрл Стенли
Страница: 113 из 149”
“Why I never heard of such a thing!” she said.
He grinned at her. “Oh, yes, you did! You knew that it was a showdown right then, and you shot him. He fell, and you rushed out of the place, but you played it pretty smooth at that. You dropped the gun on the floor, knowing that it could be traced to Harrison Burke and could never be traced any farther. You wanted to get Harrison Burke in it, so that he’d have to get you out. And you wanted to get me in it for the same reason. You went down and telephoned Burke and told him that something had happened, and that his gun would be found, that he’d better get out and lie low, and that his only hope was to keep sending me plenty of money so that I would go ahead with the case.
“Then you telephoned to me and got me to come out there. You told me that you recognized my voice as the voice of the man who was in the room with your husband because you wanted my help, and also because you wanted to fix it so that I couldn’t prove an alibi if you wanted to spring this business about recognizing my voice in the apartment.
“You figured that if you could drag me and Harrison Burke both into the mess, we’d get you out while we were getting ourselves out. You figured that I’d get busy and square the thing some way, with Burke’s money back of me, and the fact that I was in a jam to spur me on.
“You figured that you could pretend you didn’t realize just how much you had me in your power by saying that you recognized my voice as that of the man in the room with your husband.
“Also, you figured that if you got in a position where they commenced to put the screws on you, you’d switch the whole thing to me, and let Burke and me fight it out between us.”
She was staring at him now her face chalkwhite, her eyes dark with panic.
“You’ve got no right to talk that way,” she charged.
“The hell I haven’t!” he said. “I’ve got proof.”
“What kind of proof?”
He laughed harshly. “What do you think I was doing all the time you were being questioned last night?” he said. “I got in touch with Harrison Burke, and we got in touch with the housekeeper. The housekeeper was trying to protect you, but she knows that you came in with Burke and that your husband called to you as you went upstairs. She knows that he was looking for you earlier in the evening, and that he had your purse, and had found the two receipts with my signature on them.
“When you had the receipts made out without any name on them, you thought it would be all right.
“Why I never heard of such a thing!” she said.
He grinned at her. “Oh, yes, you did! You knew that it was a showdown right then, and you shot him. He fell, and you rushed out of the place, but you played it pretty smooth at that. You dropped the gun on the floor, knowing that it could be traced to Harrison Burke and could never be traced any farther. You wanted to get Harrison Burke in it, so that he’d have to get you out. And you wanted to get me in it for the same reason. You went down and telephoned Burke and told him that something had happened, and that his gun would be found, that he’d better get out and lie low, and that his only hope was to keep sending me plenty of money so that I would go ahead with the case.
“Then you telephoned to me and got me to come out there. You told me that you recognized my voice as the voice of the man who was in the room with your husband because you wanted my help, and also because you wanted to fix it so that I couldn’t prove an alibi if you wanted to spring this business about recognizing my voice in the apartment.
“You figured that if you could drag me and Harrison Burke both into the mess, we’d get you out while we were getting ourselves out. You figured that I’d get busy and square the thing some way, with Burke’s money back of me, and the fact that I was in a jam to spur me on.
“You figured that you could pretend you didn’t realize just how much you had me in your power by saying that you recognized my voice as that of the man in the room with your husband.
“Also, you figured that if you got in a position where they commenced to put the screws on you, you’d switch the whole thing to me, and let Burke and me fight it out between us.”
She was staring at him now her face chalkwhite, her eyes dark with panic.
“You’ve got no right to talk that way,” she charged.
“The hell I haven’t!” he said. “I’ve got proof.”
“What kind of proof?”
He laughed harshly. “What do you think I was doing all the time you were being questioned last night?” he said. “I got in touch with Harrison Burke, and we got in touch with the housekeeper. The housekeeper was trying to protect you, but she knows that you came in with Burke and that your husband called to you as you went upstairs. She knows that he was looking for you earlier in the evening, and that he had your purse, and had found the two receipts with my signature on them.
“When you had the receipts made out without any name on them, you thought it would be all right.