Dutch Shoe Mystery by Ellery Queen Read Free Book Online Page B

Janney,’ eh?” Ellery looked quizzically at the surgeon. “A perfect get-up, I should say, Doctor.” Janney muttered, “Evidently, evidently!” Ellery turned to the nurse again. “Miss Price, is there anything else you remember? Have you covered absolutely everything that occurred while this man was in the room?”
    She looked thoughtful. “Well—if I recall correctly, something else did happen. But it wasn’t very important, Mr. Queen,” she added apologetically, turning her eyes upward to his.
    “I’m considered a good judge of unimportant things, Miss Price,” smiled Ellery. “What was it?”
    “Why, while I was in the Sterilizing Room the first time, I heard a door in the Anteroom open and a man’s voice say, after the slightest hesitation, ‘Oh, pardon me!’ and then the door swung back. At least I heard the sound of a door again.”
    “Which door?” demanded Ellery.
    “I’m sorry, sir, but I really don’t know. You just can’t make out direction of sounds like that; at least I can’t. And of course I was out of sight.”
    “Well, then! Did you recognize the voice?”
    Her fingers twisted nervously in her lap. “I’m afraid I’m not much help, Mr. Queen. It sounded sort of familiar, I suppose, but I wasn’t particularly interested, really, and I don’t know who it might have been.”
    The surgeon got wearily to his feet, looked in despair at Minchen. “God, what stuff and nonsense!” he growled. “It’s the baldest kind of frame-up. John, you don’t believe that I was implicated in this business, do you?”
    Minchen ran his finger under the collar of his gown. “Dr. Janney, I don’t—can’t believe it. I don’t know what to think.”
    The nurse rose swiftly, approached the surgeon, put her hand appealingly on his arm. “Dr. Janney, please—I didn’t mean to get you in wrong—of course it wasn’t you—Mr. Queen understands that. …”
    “Well, well!” chuckled Ellery. “A tableau! Come, now, let’s not be melodramatic about this matter. Please sit down, sir. And you, too, Miss Price.”
    They seated themselves, a trifle stiffly. “Did anything strike you as unusual, or out-of-the-way, during the time this—well, let’s call him ‘impostor’ temporarily—this impostor was in the room?”
    “At the time, no. Of course, now I can see that his not talking, and the disinfectant business, and all that—I can see now that it was funny.”
    “What happened after our precious impostor left?”
    “Why, nothing. I took it that the doctor had just examined the patient to see that nothing had gone wrong. So I just sat down on the chair and waited. Nobody else came in and nothing really happened until the operating-room staff came in from the theater to wheel the patient away. And then I followed them into the theater.”
    “Didn’t you look at Mrs. Doorn during all this time?”
    “I didn’t go over to feel her pulse or examine her closely, if that’s what you mean, Mr. Queen.” She sighed. “Of course I glanced at her now and then, but I knew she was in a coma—her face was very pale—but then, too, the doctor had examined her—well, you see …”
    “I see. I quite see,” said Ellery gravely.
    “Anyway, my orders had been not to disturb the patient unless something unexpected happened, or seemed to be wrong. …”
    “Yes, of course! One thing more, Miss Price. Did you notice on which foot the impostor placed his weight? You remember you said he limped?”
    Her body drooped wearily in the chair. “It was his left foot that seemed to be the weak one. He put all his weight on the right—just like Dr. Janney. But then—”
    “Yes,” said Ellery, “but then any one who wanted to do a thorough job of impersonation would be careful about that. … That’s all, Miss Price. You’ve been very helpful. You may go into the theater now.”
    She said, “Thank you,” in a low voice, looked earnestly at Dr. Janney, smiled to Dr. Minchen, and departed through the