10-Story Detective Magazine, April 1946 — page 28: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

i] is a grudge fight. He’d stop at i have a hunch he’s eoming wer this morning te try to slap out of yo go eyes Narrowed to shits. “Y¥ a se think he might come bere bidees the studio conference?” “Yes. I’m sitting im en anythimg you say. Even if it’s only ‘good morning’.” “T’m not afraid of Turrentine. Pm not afraid of anything.” Staying up all night makes me mean. “Not anything?” I queried silkily. “Just not anything in the whole wide world?” I had dropped my hand on the Httle green and brown frog in the wet grass beside me. In spite of his frantic kick- ing, I held him firm, “Mark! Whatve you got m your hand?” Vanessa said suspiciously. She backed away from the edge of the pool, treading water, “Mark!’ she whimpered, “Mark, no! You haven’t got anything in your hand! Not really!” } opened my hand and showed her. The little frog almost made it. But not quite. OP Brer Mark closed his fingers too quick, A scream froze im Wanessa’s throat. You could see # stick there. Her lips drew back from her perfect white teeth in a grin that wasn’t a grin. ‘} threw the little brown and green frog away. It landed with a soft plop in some ferns by the white brick wall. Then I dipped my hand in the pool! to wash it off. . “Someday I’m going to tell the colum- nists,” ] threatened. She got her breath, coughed wp some water, and began to curse, Anytime she wants to, Vanessa can outswear all the juicers and grips in Hollywood. This was one of the times. “] need some coffee,” ~ your Injun boy-friend shows, me in the kitchen,” As = I told her, “if look for | WENT through a gate in the wall around the pool, crossed the dew-wet lawn and entered the house by French doors opening on the patio. Lily, the colored cook, was up and hitting the ball. The fragrance of hot java told me that. Emily Hayden’s prematurely grey head was bent ever the morning paper in the breakfast room. 1 dropped my wet hand on her neck. It felt warm. 10-STORY DETECTIVE She gasped and jumped. “Your hand’s as cold as a trout!’ Emily tried to chill me with her flaw- less eyes. She had on a tailored suit of pink tweed. “Black coffee, Lily.” 1 winked at the grinning colored cook, and flopped on the cireular breakfast seat by the win- dow, “Yep,” I told Emily Hayden. “OP Brer Mark’s been helping Vanessa with her morning swim, Turrenmtine was thumping the war drums, I thought Pd better be around in ease he drops by to put over a fast one.” The one thing in the wortd Emily Hayden and I agreed on was how dan- gerous Turrentine could be to Vanessa. A faint Tine of eoncern showed on: Emily’s smooth forehead as she got up from the table. “I’li be in my upstairs office,” she said. ¥ heard her go away. Lily hummed over the kitchen stove, New-minted sun- shine came in the breakiast room win- dow and bounced off polished silverware. It hurt Ol Brer Mark’s eyes. i tried the java. It was still too hot. I. must have dozed off. The next thing I knew I was sitting up wide awake with a mouthful of cold coffee, a scream ringing in my cars, Jarred awake by the seream, I’d automatically taken a swig from my cup. More screams, I choked on the cold coffee and fell over my own feet trying to get out from the circular table. Emily Hayden’s footsteps pounded down hardwood stairs from her office, We crashed into each other in the door to the patio. “Where?” I snapped. “it’s Lily,” she said ealmly. We ran out imto the dew-drenehed patio, Phe hoarse sereaming kept on, It came from behind the white wall around the swimming pool, We got there. Lily, the colored cook, stood against the open gate, holding. herself up with one hand and squeezing her own throat with the ether. The sereams welled up out of her steadily. “Lily, step that!” Emily ordered. Lily kept right on. Her eyes were shut tight. Her mouth opened so wide with each scream that you could see the pink lining of her throat. ‘ A big white turkish towel lay on the grass at the edge of the pool, where Lily had dropped it. Emily and !f saw ~ COMMCELOO S (©