A Kiss Before Dying by Ira Levin Read Free Book Online Page B

the notebook. Dorothy turned, looked at the books and then at him. Her questioning glance asked if he were finished.
    He nodded and smiled.  
       
    They were not to see each other that evening. Dorothy wanted to wash and set her hair and pack a small valise for their weekend honeymoon at the New Washington House. But at8.30 the phone on her desk rang. ‘Listen, Dorrie. Something’s come up. Something import ant.’
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘I’ve got to see you right away.’
    ‘But I can’t. I can’t come out. I just washed my hair.’
    ‘Dorrie, this is important.’
    ‘Can’t you tell me now?’
    ‘No. I have to see you. Meet me at the bench in half an hour.’
    ‘It’s drizzling out. Can’t you come to the lounge downstairs?’
    ‘No. Listen, you know that place where we had the cheese-burgers last night? Gideon’s? Well, meet me there. At nine.’
    ‘I don’t see why you can’t come to the lounge—’
    ‘Baby, please—’
    ‘Is – is it anything to do with tomorrow?’
    ‘I’ll explain everything at Gideon’s.’
    ‘Is it?’
    ‘Well, yes and no. Look, everything’s going to be all right. I’ll explain everything. You just be there at nine.’
    ‘All right.’
       
    At ten minutes to nine he opened the bottom drawer of his bureau and took two envelopes from under the pyjamas. One envelope was stamped, sealed, and addressed:
    Miss Ellen Kingship
North Dormitory
Caldwell College
Caldwell, Wisconsin .
    He had typed the address that afternoon in the Student Union lounge, on one of the typewriters available for general student use. In the envelope was the note that Dorothy had written in class that morning. The other envelope contained the two capsules.
    He put one envelope in each of the inner pockets of his jacket, taking care to remember which envelope was on which side. Then he put on his trenchcoat, belted it securely, and with a final glance in the mirror, left the room.
    When he opened the front door of the house he was careful to step out with his right foot forward, smiling indulgently at himself as he did so.

EIGHT
    Gideon’s was practically empty when he arrived. Only two booths were occupied; in one, a pair of elderly men sat frozen over a chessboard; in the other, across the room, Dorothy sat with her hands clasped around a cup of coffee, gazing down at it as though it were a crystal ball. She had a white kerchief tied about her head. The hair that showed in front was a series of flattened damp-darkened rings, each transfixed by a bobby pin.
    She became aware of him only when he was standing at the head of the booth taking off his coat. Then she looked up, her brown eyes worried. She had no makeup on. Her pallor and the closeness of her hair made her seem younger. He put his coat on a hook beside her raincoat and eased into the seat opposite her. ‘What is it?’ she asked anxiously.
    Gideon, a sunken-cheeked old man, came to their table. ‘What’s yours?’
    ‘Coffee.’
    ‘Jest coffee?’
    ‘Yes.’
    Gideon moved away, his slippered feet dragging audibly. Dorothy leaned forward. ‘What is it?’
    He kept his voice low, matter-of-fact. ‘When I got back to my place this afternoon there was a message for me. Hermy Godsen called.’
    Her hands squeezed tighter around the coffee cup. ‘Hermy Godsen—’
    ‘I called him back.’ He paused for a moment, scratching the table-top. ‘He made a mistake with those pills the other day. His uncle—’ He cut off as Gideon approached with a cup of coffee rattling in his hand. They sat motionless, eyes locked, until the old man was gone. ‘His uncle switched things around in the drugstore or something. Those pills weren’t what they were supposed to be.’
    ‘What were they?’ She sounded frightened.
    ‘Some kind of emetic. You said you threw up.’ Lifting his cup, he put a paper napkin in the saucer to absorb the coffee that Gideon’s shaking hand had spilled. He pressed the bottom of the cup into the napkin to