Kill as Directed by Ellery Queen Read Free Book Online

the highest moral character and of sound financial background—people who are willing to pay as much for our discretion as for the drugs. As for the actual transactions—”
    â€œYour night-club chain,” Harry exclaimed.
    â€œExactly.” The millionaire crushed out his cigar and leaned back in his huge baronial chair. “I don’t go west of the Mississippi. My distribution points—drops, if you will—are here in New York, in Philadelphia, in Washington, Miami and in Chicago. In each of these cities, under dummy ownership, I own several small, exclusive clubs. In each club the manager is one of my key people, and it’s the manager who makes the delivery and accepts payment—in cash, naturally. And there you have it, my boy. Oh, I should add what must be obvious—I have a doctor on my payroll in each of the five cities. Is there anything else you would like to know, Harry?”
    Harry Brown was silent again. Then he mumbled, “That woman with the bullet wound I treated. Who was she, a client?”
    â€œGood heavens, no!” Gresham said; he actually sounded shocked. “We don’t have that kind of client, Harry. She’s an employee. Sometimes there’s violence in our ranks, no matter how careful we are. As I said, it doesn’t happen often. When it does, we take extraordinary measures to keep it within the family, so to speak.”
    â€œAnd,” asked Harry dryly, “if the little family misunderstanding happens to wind up in a murder, Gresham? What’s your family doctor expected to do with the corpse—grind it up for hamburger?”
    â€œHarry,” said the millionaire in a pained voice. “In the unfortunate event that an individual dies in one of these episodes, we take him off your hands. You have nothing to do with—ah—disposal. Actually, it’s happened only half a dozen times in the last twenty, twenty-five years—and in three different cities, at that. Don’t worry about things of that sort. We have resources and connections that would astonish you. Anything else?”
    â€œYes,” Harry Brown said grimly. “The matter of—”
    â€œOh, excuse me,” Gresham said. “I almost forgot your retainer.” He took a check from his desk drawer and reached over to lay it softly before Harry. “For a year in advance, Harry. Twenty-five thousand dollars.”
    Dr. Harrison Brown stared down at it. He grew very pale. He did not touch the check.
    â€œAnd you’ll earn more, Doctor. I paid you five hundred dollars when you treated the lady with the bullet nick. That was chicken feed—I didn’t want to startle you. Hereafter, on the rare occasion when you’ll have to treat one of our special patients, you’ll receive a fee of five thousand dollars per patient. Such fees will be in addition to your yearly retainer. And now, what were you going to ask me?”
    Harry thought bitterly, You clever bastard. He looked up from the check and said, “Lynne Maxwell. I want an explanation.”
    â€œOh! Yes, of course, Harry,” said Kurt Gresham, and his round mouth flattened sadly. “Most, most unfortunate thing. I won’t conceal it from you. She was a client. The first case of its kind we’ve ever had. She tried to commit suicide by taking a deliberate overdose. And then, as often happens, regretted it. She phoned the manager of the club where she always made the pickup—and, of course, under the unusual circumstances, he quickly got word to me. I got a couple of my security people to drive over to her apartment. They found her-dead.”
    â€œSo you had them plant her body in my place, Gresham,” Harry said wearily.
    â€œI’m so sorry, Harry.” The colorless eyes remained round and without guile. “But I did feel I had to impress you with our—ah—resources. I wanted you to realize that we can go through locked doors