Read Online Shock Treatment by James Hadley Chase - Free Book Online

a quarter to ten; then, very slowly, I replaced the receiver and got to my feet.
    By now Delaney was dead and I had killed him!
    There had been no need for him to have died! Gilda had freed herself by walking out on him — just as simply as that!
    Well, it was done now. I had to think of myself. Panic flickered in my mind.
    I heard Hamish coming, and I made an effort and pulled myself together. I moved quickly to his radiogram and began to fix the gadget I had brought with me. He joined me.
    “If that really works,” he said, “it’s just what I have been looking for.”
    I spent the next twenty minutes explaining and demonstrating how the gadget worked. I was so het up I didn’t know what I was saying, but Hamish was interested enough in the demonstration not to notice anything was wrong.
    “It’s first rate,” he said finally. “I’ll give you a cheque right away.”
    As he went to his desk I suddenly remembered that Delaney hadn’t called Doris and that put me on a spot. I had to tell Hamish I was going down to Delaney’s place. I had to have a reason if it came to an investigation why I happened to be the first to find his body.
    Maybe Doris had forgotten to call me, although I knew this was unlikely.
    “Can I use your phone?”
    “Help yourself,” Hamish said as he searched in his desk drawer for his cheque book.
    I called Doris.
    “Has anything come in?”
    “There was a lady asking for you. I gave her Mr Hamish’s number, but no one else has called.”
    My heart began to pound. Was it possible that Delaney hadn’t tried to turn the set on before the fight film began? Was it even possible he hadn’t yet touched the remote control unit and was still alive?
    “Did Mr Delaney call?”
    “No.”
    “Okay, I’ll call you later,” I said and hung up.
    I was in a jam now. If Delaney was already dead, I didn’t dare go to his cabin for the next hour. If he were alive, I must stop him touching the remote control unit.
    I didn’t hesitate. Hamish had written the cheque and had got up to examine the gadget I had fixed to the turntable. I dialled Delaney’s number. After listening to the unanswered ringing for several seconds, I hung up.
    He must be dead, I thought, and I felt really bad.
    Fortunately for me, Hamish was trying out the gadget and wasn’t paying me any attention; otherwise he would have seen the state I was in.
    He waved to the cheque lying on his desk.
    “There you are, Regan. You’re some salesman. This is the very thing.”
    “I thought of you as soon as I saw it,” I said, putting the cheque into my wallet. “I must get down to Mr Delaney’s place now. I’ve just built him about the best set I’ve ever built, and I want to make sure he is satisfied.”
    “What have you given him?”
    I explained the set.
    I had to spin out time. I didn’t dare get to Blue Jay cabin before a quarter to eleven. By then Delaney would have been dead an hour, and that should be good enough for an alibi.
    “What sort of fellow is Delaney?” Hamish asked, sitting on the edge of his desk. “I looked in on him about a week ago, but he didn’t seem to welcome me. Do you know his wife?”
    “I’ve met her,” I said cautiously.
    “Some girl!” Hamish said, admiration in his voice. “What a body she’s got! It can’t be a lot of fun for her to be tied to a cripple.”
    “That’s a fact.” I glanced at my watch. It was twenty minutes to eleven. “Is that the right time?” I nodded to his desk clock.
    “Could be a little slow. I’d say it was close on twenty to eleven.”
    “I must get going.”
    “Well, thanks, Regan. If you find anything else you think I could use, let me know.”
    I drove down to Blue Jay cabin at a moderate speed. My nerves were screwed up and my hands were clamped on the steering wheel in a knuckle-white grip. I kept wondering what I was going to find when I walked into the cabin. Would he be alive?
    There was just the chance he had been sitting on the verandah and