Death Likes It Hot Read Online Free PDF Page A

each other suddenly implacable, enemies. What was going on?
    A first-rate row was beginning. “What do you mean, Mildred?”
    Mrs. Brexton laughed unpleasantly. “Don’t play the fool with me, Allie, I’m one person who.…”
    “Partner, I
had
no hearts!” squealed Miss Lung from the table, followed by a groan from Mr. Brexton.
    “For God’s sake shut up, Mildred,” Allie said this under the squeal of Miss Lung but I heard her if the others didn’t.
    “I’ve shut up too long.” Mrs. Brexton seemed to subside, though; her spasm of anger replaced by her usual unpleasant expression. I noticed her hands shook as she lighted a cigarette. Was she another alcoholic? One of course was par for any week end. Two looked like a frame-up.
    Miss Claypoole turned to me as though nothing unpleasant had been said. “I’m sure you’ll have something good to say about Boston,” she said, smiling. “I seem to be a minority here.”
    I told her I’d gone to Harvard and this forged a link between us so strong that, without another word, without even a good night to her hostess, Mrs. Brexton left the room.
    “Did I say anything to upset her?” I asked innocently. I was curious to know what was going on.
    Allie frowned slightly. “No, I don’t think so.” She glanced at the bridge tables; the others were engrossed, paying no attention to us. “Mildred isn’t well. She … well, she’s just had a nervous breakdown.”
    So that was it. “What form did it take?”
    She shrugged. “What form do they usually take? She went to bed for a month. Now she’s up and around. She’s really quite nice … don’t get a wrong impression of her. Unfortunately, she makes almost no sense and you can see she’s as nervous as a cat. We don’t quarrel with her if we can help it. She doesn’t mean to be as … as awful as she sounds.”
    “And she sounds pretty awful?”
    “She’s an old friend of mine,” Allie said sharply.
    “I’m sure she is,” I said, not at all taken aback … if you’re among eight-balls you have to be one yourself to survive and I had two more days of this ahead of me and I didn’t intend to be buffaloed at the beginning. Besides, I liked Allie. In her subdued way she was very good-looking and she had the sort of figure I like: slender and well-proportioned, no serious sags and a lovely clear skin. I imagined her without any clothes on; then I quickly dressed her again in my mind: that wouldn’t do at all, I decided. Besides, there was the luscious Liz Bessemer down the road waiting for me, or at least I hoped she was. One advantage of being an unmarried male in your early thirties is that most of your contemporaries are safely married and you have the field of single women to yourself, officially that is.
    Allie, unaware that she’d been brutally undressed and dressed again all in the space of a second, was talking about Mildred Brexton. “She’s always been high-strung. That whole family is … even Rose.” She nodded toward our hostess. “I suppose you know Rose is her aunt.”
    I said I did.
    “We met them, Fletcher and I, about fifteen years ago when Rose came East and decided to do Newport where we always go in the summers … at least we used to. Mildred’s the same age as my brother and they were, are great friends. In fact, people always thought they’d get married but then she met Brexton and of course they’ve been very happy.” I knew she was lying: if only because it seemed unlikely any man could get along with that disagreeable woman.
    “I suppose you’ve known Rose a long time.” The question was abrupt.
    “No, not very.” I didn’t know what to say, not knowing what Mrs. Veering had said.
    She helped me out. “Oh, I thought Rose said you were an old friend but then she’s so vague. I’ve seen her ask people here under the impression she’s known them for years and it’s turned out they’re absolute strangers. That’s one of the reasons her parties are so