Murder Queen High by Bob Wade Read Free Book Online Page B

jiffy.”
    “And we can have our cottage to ourselves,” Sin added for her own satisfaction.
    The girl put the jaguar-fur garment back in the closet. “Good. Bring Mr. Gayner down and we’ll talk till bed time.”
    “Well,” John Henry said, “then I’ll go get Mr. Gayner.” He had to brush past the black-haired girl as he moved around he bed. The perfume was as heavy as before. “I’ll be right back, Sin.”
    “Wait, Johnny!” Sin scampered after him into the living room. “I don’t want to be left alone here.”
    “Okay.”
    “And if you think I’m going by myself, you’re crazy.”
    “Okay.” He took her hand.
    The girl came in from the bedroom, clicking off the light. She straightened her lounging pajamas and coiled gracefully into her chair again. “I hope you’ll all come back. And will you shut off the lights as you go?”
    John Henry blinked. “Huh?”
    “Shut off all the lights, please. Thanks.” A flick of the switch and the room was pitch black. John Henry, looking back, imagined he could see her round eyes shining affectionately at him. “And shut the door, please, too — I like to sit alone in the dark.”
    “Sure,” said John Henry hollowly. “Sure.” He pulled the blue door shut after him and hurried Sin along the path toward the friendly brightness of the hotel.
    “I wouldn’t have had it happen for the world.” Mr. Gayner was prostrated.
    “Okay, I understand that,” John Henry said. He stood behind his wife’s chair, gripping the uprights. Sin sat there fidgeting angrily.
    The assistant manager leaned his gaunt body back in his swivel chair and clasped his hands. He seemed about to suggest a choice of low-priced caskets. “Faye Jordan is,” he mourned, “a child of whim. Whim and wealth are an uncomfortable combination. Cottage 14 has been held open for a week, pending her arrival — she paid the rental all that time, of course. When she arrived this evening, I naturally moved her into Cottage 14 — which she had specified in her telegram. A short time ago we discovered a mistake had been made in her telegram. Instead, she desired Cottage 15.”
    “Of all the silly things!” Sin exploded. “What difference does it make if it’s one cabin or another. They’re all the same, aren’t they?”
    Gayner shrugged. “Exactly the same, Mrs. Conover. Believe me, I emphasized that to Miss Jordan, but nothing would do but that she have Cottage 15. To make a long story short — ”
    “You moved our things out,” John Henry said.
    “Just next door,” Gayner soothed. “You’re now in Cottage 14. I realize and regret the embarrassment which this whole business has caused. I had expected to be on the desk when you returned. That way I could have prevented this unfortunate episode.”
    “Well, frankly,” said Sin, “this isn’t the sort of thing I’d expect at a hotel with the Las Dunas’ reputation.”
    The hotel man sorrowfully scratched his long nose. “These things happen in any catering business, madam. We consider ourselves fortunate when one of the parties concerned is reasonable. I thank you for that. Of course, I did my best in your absence — I secured permission to move your baggage between the cottages.”
    John Henry swallowed with difficulty. “Permission! Who gave you permission?”
    “Your representative here. The tooth-paste fellow. Mr. Trim.”
    John Henry stopped pacing around in Cottage 14 and plopped down on the bed beside Sin. “I know how you feel, honey.” She was lying across it, fully dressed, and he stroked her hair gently.
    “I’d rather we planned our own evenings. When everything happens at once, I get confused. When I get confused, I get scared. What’s so special about Cottage 15, anyway?”
    “Beats me.”
    “That Jordan girl’s crazy.”
    “Sure. Just don’t worry, cutie.” There were two light taps on the living-room door. “There’s our boy now.”
    He was right. Mr. Trim stood blinking on the porch, brown eyes as