The Golden Goose by Ellery Queen Read Free Book Online Page A

And she told him all about Slater O’Shea’s return home at two o’clock, and the rest of it.
    â€œYou poor, poor kid,” muttered Coley. “Mr. O’Shea dead … Somehow, I assumed he would be around the Coronado taproom slugging it down to age eighty, at least.”
    â€œWe all did. The shock is bad enough, but Dr. Appleton’s making things worse.”
    â€œFrom all I hear about Dr. Appleton behind my bar, he’s been making things worse in this town for years, especially the life expectancy of his patients. Though I can’t see how he could do much harm to a dead man.”
    â€œNo, but he can make a lot of trouble for the rest of us, and he seems determined to do it. He claims there was nothing wrong with Uncle Slater to cause him to die so suddenly. Dr. Appleton is insisting on an autopsy.”
    â€œHe can’t get an autopsy done without the consent of the next of kin.”
    â€œHe’s making a case out of it, Coley. He just called the police.”
    Coley whistled soundlessly. “You mean to tell me old Appleton actually suspects that somebody gave your uncle a nudge?”
    â€œHe didn’t say so in so many words, but he certainly can’t think Uncle Slater committed suicide. Nobody who knew Uncle Slater could think that. Besides, he had no reason.”
    â€œHmm,” said Coley, frowning. He looked around and lowered his voice. “You say you found the body. How did you happen to do that?”
    â€œMrs. Dolan insists on the family eating dinner promptly, and it was ready, so I went upstairs to see why Uncle Slater hadn’t come down, and there he was, lying dead on the floor.”
    â€œI wonder why Appleton thinks he may have been nudged. Was there anything to indicate it?”
    â€œNot that I could see. But then I’ve never seen a dead person before, so I wouldn’t know. Maybe it’s the way Uncle Slater looked, or something. He looked awful.”
    Coley was silent again. Then he said, “Prin. The flics won’t be here for a while yet, if I know Cibola City. Let’s slip upstairs while they’re all in the other room. I’d like to take a look at the scene of the crime.”
    Prin whispered, “Coley, no!”
    â€œLook,” Coley said incisively. “Maybe Dr. Appleton has more to go on than he’s telling. If it should turn out that your Uncle Slater is full of rat poison or something, the heat’s going to be turned on the family. That includes you, and anything that threatens you threatens me. Come on, we’re wasting precious time.”
    â€œI don’t know, I …” Prin stopped miserably. Then she said, “Anyway, Dr. Appleton locked the door after he examined Uncle Slater. And he put the key in his pocket.”
    â€œKey to a bedroom door? Then it’s probably one of those ordinary big keys that will unlock any bedroom door. Is it?”
    â€œWell, yes—”
    â€œIs there another key like it in the house?”
    â€œMy bedroom door has one.”
    â€œThen let’s get it, Prin. I’m not going to leave you to the mercy of a senile sawbones and some village idiots in blue uniforms!”
    Put this way, the proposal became irresistible. So Prin led the way swiftly and softly upstairs and went for her bedroom door key while Coley waited outside Uncle Slater’s door intently listening, as if he expected to hear Uncle Slater moving around inside. There was something darkly thrilling about the whole project.
    Prin rejoined him on tiptoe, and Coley slipped her key into the lock and turned it—rather noisily, Prin thought—and the thingumajig inside snicked back. Coley opened the door and there was something darkly thrilling in Uncle Slater’s room, too. For the room itself was dark by this time, and Prin could not see a thing, anything at all, not even Coley, after she shut the door, which was thrilling enough for anybody.
    Prin