"Quick!Comequick!Patricksdead!
"
"Whosseaking?
"
"Mrs。Maloney。Mrs。PatrickMaloney。
"
"YoumeanPatrickMaloneysdead?
"
"Ithinkso,
"shesobbed。
"HeslyingonthefloorandIthinkhesdead。
"
"Berightover,
"themansaid。
Thecarcameveryquickly,andwhensheoenedthefrontdoor,twoolicemenwalkedin。Sheknowthemboth-sheknownearlyallthemanatthatrecinct-andshefellrightintoachair,thenwentovertojointheotherone,whowascalledOMalley,kneelingbythebody。
"Ishedead?
"shecried。
"Imafraidheis。Whathaened?
"
Briefly,shetoldherstoryaboutgoingouttothegrocerandcomingbacktofindhimonthefloor。Whileshewastalking,cryingandtalking,Noonandiscoveredasmallatchofcongealedbloodonthedeadmanshead。HeshowedittoOMalleywhogotuatonceandhurriedtothehone。
Soon,othermenbegantocomeintothehouse。Firstadoctor,thentwodetectives,oneofwhomsheknowbyname。Later,aolicehotograherarrivedandtookictures,andamanwhoknowaboutfingerrints。Therewasagreatdealofwhiseringandmutteringbesidethecorse,andthedetectivesketaskingheralotofquestions。Buttheyalwaystreatedherkindly。Shetoldherstoryagain,thistimerightfromthebeginning,whenPatrickhadcomein,andshewassewing,andhewastired,sotiredhehadntwantedtogooutforsuer。Shetoldhowshedutthemeatintheoven-
"itstherenow,cooking
"-andhowshedsliedouttothegrocerforvegetables,andcomebacktofindhimlyingonthefloor。
"Whichgrocer?
"oneofthedetectivesasked。
Shetoldhim,andheturnedandwhiseredsomethingtotheotherdetectivewhoimmediatelywentoutsideintothestreet。
Infifteenminuteshewasbackwithaageofnotes,andtherewasmorewhisering,andthroughhersobbingsheheardafewofthewhiseredhrases-
"。。。actedquitenormal。。。verycheerful。。。wantedtogivehimagoodsuer。。。eas。。。cheesecake。。。imossiblethatshe。。。
"
Afterawhile,thehotograherandthedoctordeartedandtwoothermencameinandtookthecorseawayonastretcher。Thenthefingerrintmanwentaway。Thetwodetectivesremained,andsodidthetwoolicemen。Theywereexcetionallynicetoher,andJackNoonanaskedifshewouldntrathergosomewhereelse,tohersistershouseerhas,ortohisownwifewhowouldtakecareofherandutheruforthenight。
No,shesaid。Shedidntfeelshecouldmoveevenayardatthemoment。Wouldtheymindawfullyifshestayedjustwhereshewasuntilshefeltbetter?Shedidntfeeltoogoodatthemoment,shereallydidnt。
"Thenhadntshebetterliedownonthebed?
"JackNoonanasked。
No,shesaid。Shedliketostayrightwhereshewas,inthischair。Alittlelater,erhas,whenshefeltbetter,shewouldmove。
Sotheylefthertherewhiletheywentabouttheirbusiness,searchingthehouse。Occasionallyoneofthedetectivesaskedheranotherquestion。SometimesJackNoonansokeathergentlyasheassedby。Herhusband,hetoldher,hadbeenkilledbyablowonthebackoftheheadadministeredwithaheavybluntinstrument,almostcertainlyalargeieceofmetal。Theywerelookingfortheweaon。Themurderermayhavetakenitwithhim,butontheotherhandhemayhavethrownitawayorhiddenitsomewhereontheremises。
"Itstheoldstory,
"hesaid。
"Gettheweaon,andyouvegottheman。
"