And So To Murder Read Online Free PDF Page A

meantime, what do you do? I’ll tell you. You go blithely on shooting Spies at Sea from the original script, every foot of which will have to be scrapped when the “expert” gets here.’
    Cartwright drew a deep breath. His (leprous-red) beard was bristling.
    He extended quivering hands.
    ‘Tom, if I didn’t know you so well, I should think you were trying to wreck your own business. But the real trouble is that you’re script-mad. Look at the present situation. Look at Miss Um-Um and me. Just put a cold compress round your head and look at it!’
    Mr Hackett’s swarthy face darkened.
    ‘I’ve tried to be patient with you, Bill. Will you stop this foolishness and get out of my way?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘You realize, don’t you, that you’ll never get another job here?’
    ‘Another job here,’ breathed Cartwright. Two powerfully gloomy eyes were bent down on the producer. ‘And the man holds that over my head as a threat! In the future, anyone who even mentions films to me will be assaulted. I have had enough! Another job? I would rather drink a pint of castor oil neat. I would rather be compelled to re-read Desire . But surely there must be someone who can see reason in this thing. I appeal to you, Miss Um-Um. Don’t you agree with me?’
    Strictly speaking, Miss Um-Um did. But this was not a time to stick to the niceties of logic.
    ‘You are appealing to me, Mr Cartwright?’
    ‘I am. Abjectly.’
    ‘You want my honest opinion?’
    ‘If you please.’
    ‘Well, in that case,’ said Monica, puckering up her forehead, ‘it all depends on how you look at it. I mean, are you a producer of ten years’ experience, or aren’t you? Of course, if you’re so swollen with conceit that you think nobody knows anything except yourself; if every time anyone makes a suggestion to you you fly into a sulk and want to go out in the garden and eat worms … well, it’s not much good arguing, is it?’
    Cartwright stared at her long and hard. Then he did a little dance in front of the door.
    Mr Hackett threw back his head and laughed.
    ‘Now, now, we’ll forget all about it!’ he soothed, clapping Cartwright on the shoulder. ‘I know you don’t mean anything by it, old man.’
    ‘I’m sure he doesn’t, Mr Hackett.’
    ‘No. Bill tears up his contract about once a week; but he always comes round.’
    ‘I’m sure he does.’
    ‘Well, I’ve got to run along now. There’s some trouble on the set. It seems there was a mix-up of some sort, and somebody nearly got killed. We can’t have that. Bill, I leave Miss Stanton in your charge. Probably she’d like to look over the place. You might show her round, and then bring her over to stage three.’
    ‘But Mr Hackett!’ cried Monica, suddenly filled with alarm. ‘Wait! Please! Just a minute!’
    ‘Delighted to have seen you, Miss Stanton,’ the producer assured her, shaking hands with her and then pushing her back into her chair. ‘I hope we’ll have a long and pleasant association. If there’s anything you want to know, ask Bill. I know you’ll both have a lot to talk about. Be seeing you, Bill. Good-bye, good-bye, good-bye.’
    The door closed behind him.
    3
    For a full minute after he had gone, neither of them spoke. Then William Cartwright cleared his throat.
    ‘Madam, don’t say it.’
    ‘Don’t say what?’
    ‘Don’t say,’ explained Cartwright, ‘whatever it was that you were about to say. Something tells me that almost any topic of conversation introduced between us is likely to prove of a controversial nature. But there’s one thing I should rather like to know. Do you honestly want me to show you round the place?’
    ‘If it would not be troubling you too much, Mr Cartwright.’
    ‘Good! Then may I ask one further question?’
    ‘Yes, what is it?’
    ‘Well,’ said Cartwright, more confidentially, ‘do you really see black beetles crawling up my collar? Have you observed any latent signs of leprosy which a close medical examination