“Very gruesome, Doctor.”
“Well, you know best. You’re liable to have a fine case of hysterics on your hands.”
“I’ll risk it.”
Dr. Worth left and closed the door. There again swept over Lieutenant Valcour, with the solitude, that indefinable feeling of some lurking dread. There were voices crying out to him from the subconscious, warning him of dangers that were very real, very close at hand—but the messages were indecisive, as are all instinctive things which fall beyond the charted seas of any human knowledge.
Nurse Vickers came in without the formality of knocking. Her glance toward the bed was professional and not coloured by any sign of nervousness.
“Thank you for coming, Miss Vickers. I’ll only bother you for a minute.”
“No bother at all, Lieutenant.”
“There is just one thing I want to know: who was in the room with you and your patient at the time of the shooting?”
“Why, I couldn’t say, Lieutenant, exactly.”
“Why not, Miss Vickers?”
“Because I wasn’t there myself. I was down in the kitchen making some coffee. I left Roberts with Mrs. Endicott. You see, there wasn’t anything that had to be done except just to be there. I’m sure it was quite all right.”
“Of course it was. I’m not suggesting for a minute, Miss Vickers, that I thought otherwise.” Lieutenant Valcour studied the woman for a second