Read Online Calamity Town by Ellery Queen - Free Book Online Page A

emotions get in the way of your thinking, Pat,’ said Ellery. ‘A situation like this calls for observation and caution. And a disciplined tongue.’
    â€˜I don’t understand…’
    â€˜One false accusation, and you might wreck the lives not only of Jim and Nora, but of your father and mother too.’
    â€˜Yes…And Nora waited so long—’
    â€˜I said there’s time. There is. We’ll watch, and we’ll see, and meanwhile it will be a secret between us…Did I say “we”?’ Ellery sounded rueful. ‘It seems I’ve declared myself in.’
    Pat gasped. ‘You wouldn’t back out now? I took it for granted. I mean, I’ve counted on you from that first awful moment. Ellery, you’ve got to help Nora! You’re trained to this sort of thing. Please don’t go away!’ Pat shook him.
    â€˜I just said “we,” didn’t I?’ said Ellery, almost irritably. There was something wrong. A sound had gone wrong somewhere. A sound that had stopped. A car? Had that been a car before? It hadn’t passed…’Cry it out now, but when it’s over it’s over, do you understand?’ And now he shook her.
    â€˜Yes,’ wept Pat. ‘I’m a snuffling fool. I’m sorry.’
    â€˜You’re not a fool, but you must be a heroine. No word, no look, no attitude . As far as the rest of Wrightsville is concerned, those letters don’t exist. Jim is your brother-in-law, and you like him, and you’re happy about him and Nora.’ She nodded against his shoulder. ‘We mustn’t tell your father or mother or Frank Lloyd or—’
    Pat raised her head. ‘Or whom?’
    â€˜No,’ said Ellery with a frown. ‘I can’t make that decision for you, too.’
    â€˜You mean Cart,’ said Pat steadily.
    â€˜I mean the Prosecutor of Wright County.’
    Pat was silent. Ellery was silent. The moon was lower now, its bosom ruffled with slate flounces of cloud. ‘I couldn’t tell Carter,’ murmured Pat. ‘It never even occurred to me. I can’t tell you why. Maybe it’s because he’s connected with the police. Maybe it’s because he’s not in the family—’
    â€˜I’m not in the family, either,’ said Mr Queen.
    â€˜You’re different!’
    Despite himself, Mr Queen experienced a chill of pleasure. But his voice was impersonal. ‘At any rate, you’ve got to be my eyes and ears, Pat. Stay with Nora as much as possible without arousing her suspicions. Watch Jim without seeming to. Report everything that happens. And whenever possible you must work me into your family gatherings. Is all that clear?’
    Pat actually smiled up at him. ‘I was being silly. Now it doesn’t seem half so bad, with you under this tree, and the moonlight touching that flat plane of your right cheek…you’re very handsome, you know, Ellery—’
    â€˜Then why in hell,’ growled a male voice from the darkness, ‘don’t you kiss him?’
    â€˜Cart!’ Pat snuggled against the black chest of the elm.
    They could hear Bradford breathing somewhere near—breathing short deep ones. Too absurd, thought Mr Queen. A man of logic should evade such encirclements by chance. But at least it cleared up the minor irritation of the sound-that-hadstopped. It had been Carter Bradford’s car.
    â€˜Well, he is handsome,’ said Pat’s voice from the tree trunk. Ellery grinned to himself.
    â€˜You lied to me,’ cried Carter. He materialized: no hat, and his chestnut hair angry. ‘Don’t hide in a bush, Pat!’
    â€˜I’m not hiding,’ said Pat peevishly, ‘and it isn’t a bush, it’s a tree.’ She came out of the darkness, too; and they faced each other with punctilio. Mr Queen watched with silent enjoyment.
    â€˜You told me over the phone that you had a