A Mask for the Toff Read Online Free PDF Page A

open front door, which was seldom locked; Dr. Mason hadn’t troubled to close it. There was no car immediately opposite. Rollison went into the porch, peered along, and saw a car parked at the far end of Gresham Terrace; it hadn’t been there when he had arrived, and Mason lived only three doors away. Rollison tried to pick out the figure of a man standing near the car, but couldn’t be sure whether it was a man or a shadow. If he went farther into the street, whoever was there would know what had gone wrong.
    The sound of the engine of the car suddenly shattered the quiet. Headlights stabbed out, bathing the houses opposite the end of the street in powerful light. The car moved off and swung round the corner.
    â€œNow I can take a deep breath,” Rollison confided to the looming grey houses. “See you later, Sam.”
    Back in his own front hall, he closed the door quietly. He could hear Mason talking, presumably to Jolly, but the voices did not come from the living-room. He didn’t know whether the girl had been hurt, but hadn’t much doubt that a bullet had silenced her scream. He went into the room, where a door was open at the far end near the dining-alcove. This led to the passage, the bedrooms and the kitchen.
    There was a sound, as of tearing.
    Rollison went along and paused at the open door of the spare room. The girl lay on the bed, her dress off, a silk slip leaving her arms and shoulders bare; Mason was supporting her with one arm. Her eyes were closed, and there was a patch of lint and cotton wool on her forehead, above the right eye.
    Jolly was tearing a pillow-slip across and across into narrow strips.
    Rollison said: “Didn’t you bring bandages, Doc?”
    Mason glanced up.
    â€œOne day I’ll be doing this to you, only it will be a waste of time.”
    He took a strip of the pillow-case and began to bandage the girl’s head.
    â€œHow bad?”
    â€œIt could be worse,” said Mason. “Glancing wound, the bone wasn’t touched. She’s a lucky woman. She might be all right tomorrow, but it might be several days before you can get any sense out of her. I’ll be able to tell you in the morning if she ought to be moved to hospital.”
    Rollison nodded. Mason finished the bandaging, and lowered the girl’s head gently on to the pillow. Jolly stepped forward and covered her with blankets and eiderdown. On the foot of the bed was a brassiere and a narrow suspender belt, on the floor a pair of silver shoes. Rollison crossed to the bed and turned the sheet down; the string of pearls was still round the lovely neck.
    He put his hands behind her neck and unfastened the pearls, then drew them away gently. He took the string to the light and inspected the lustre thoroughly, holding them up, turning his head this way and that. At last he frowned, screwed the string up and tossed it into the air.
    â€œNow what are you looking so clever about?” asked Mason gruffly.
    â€œJust asking myself questions. Robbery wasn’t the motive, or she wouldn’t have been allowed to keep two thousand pounds’ worth of oyster babies, would she?”
    â€œAre they real?”
    â€œThey’re as much real pearls as you’re a real doctor,” Rollison said. “Thanks a lot—come and have a drink for your trouble.”
    â€œYou’ll get a bill,” said Mason, “but I’ll have that drink.”
    Rollison dropped the pearls on to the handsome walnut desk which stood slantwise across a corner, within hand’s reach of the trophy wall, then opened a cabinet and displayed a connoisseur’s variety of bottles and glasses. Mason glanced at the wall, shook his head as if to say that all this was beyond him, then took a whisky and soda. All was quiet now. Jolly came in from the hall, still looking pale.
    â€œCome and help yourself,” Rollison said. “Then get to bed, Jolly.”
    â€œI’m quite all