The Naked Face by Sidney Sheldon Read Free Book Online

said.
    “What kind of promise?” Burke asked warily.
    “If they are trying to trick you, then they want you to dosomething violent so they can have you locked up… But you’re too smart for that. No matter how they provoke you, I want you to promise me that you won’t do anything to them. That way, they can’t touch you.”
    Burke’s eyes lit up. “By God, you’re right,” he said. “So that’s their plan! Well, we’re too clever for them, aren’t we?”
    Outside, Judd heard the sound of the reception room door open and close. He looked at his watch. His next patient was here.
    Judd quietly snapped off the tape recorder. “I think that’s enough for today,” he said.
    “You got all this down on the tape recorder?” Burke asked eagerly.
    “Every word,” Judd said. “No one’s going to hurt you.” He hesitated. “I don’t think you should go to the office today. Why don’t you go home and get some rest?”
    “I can’t,” Burke whispered, his voice filled with despair. “If I’m not in my office, they’ll take my name off the door and put someone else’s name on it.” He leaned toward Judd. “Be careful. If they know you’re my friend, they’ll try to get you, too.” Burke walked over to the door leading to the corridor. He opened it a crack and peered up and down the corridor. Then he swiftly sidled out.
    Judd looked after him, his mind filled with the pain of what he would have to do to Harrison Burke’s life. Perhaps if Burke had come to him six months earlier…And then a sudden thought sent a chill through him. Was Harrison Burke already a murderer? Was it possible that he had been involved in the deaths of John Hanson and Carol Roberts? Both Burke and Hanson were patients. And they could have easily met. Several times in the past few months Burke’s appointments had followed Hanson’s. And Burke had been late more than once. He could have run into Hanson in the corridor. And seeing him several times could easily have triggeredhis paranoia, made him feel that Hanson was following him, threatening him. As for Carol, Burke had seen her every time he came to the office. Had his sick mind conceived some menace from her that could only be removed by her death? How long had Burke really been mentally ill? His wife and three children had died in an accidental fire. Accidental? Somehow, he had to find out.
    He went to the door leading to the reception office and opened it. “Come in,” he said.
    Anne Blake rose gracefully to her feet and moved toward him, a warm smile lighting her face. Judd felt again the same heart-turning feeling that had hit him when he had first seen her. It was the first time that he had felt any deep emotional response toward any woman since Elizabeth.
    In no way did they look alike. Elizabeth had been blond and small and blue-eyed. Anne Blake had black hair and unbelievable violet eyes framed by long, dark lashes. She was tall, with a lovely, full-curved figure. She had an air of lively intelligence and a classic, patrician beauty that would have made her seem inaccessible, except for the warmth in her eyes. Her voice was low and soft, with a faint, husky quality.
    Anne was in her middle twenties. She was, without question, the most beautiful woman Judd had ever seen. But it was something beyond her beauty that caught at Judd. There was an almost palpable force that pulled him to her, some unexplainable reaction that made him feel as though he had known her forever. Feelings that he had thought long since dead had suddenly surfaced again, surprising him by their intensity.
    She had appeared in Judd’s office three weeks earlier, without an appointment. Carol had explained that his schedule was full and he could not possibly take on any new patient. But Anne had quietly asked if she could wait. She had sat in the outer office for two hours, and Carol had finally taken pity on her and brought her in to Judd.
    He had felt such an instant powerful emotional reaction