Treasure of the Golden Cheetah Read Online Free PDF Page B

Finch,” said Jade. “Thank you for making such haste.”
    Finch recovered himself and strode forward. “Why am I not surprised to see you involved in this, Miss del Cameron?” He turned his head towards Sam. “And Featherstone, too. Ah, Thompson. And I believe you’re Lord Dunbury, aren’t you?”
    Avery made a slight bow. “If we are through with the introductions, Inspector, may I suggest that you see to the problem at hand?”
    Finch forced a thin smile. “Indeed. Tell me what happened.” He bent to examine the bodies.
    Avery, Neville, and Harry all looked to Jade and Sam to explain. Sam stepped forward after Jade shrugged and pointed to him. “We didn’t witness everything, Inspector,” he said. “We were inside and heard a scream. A woman, an actress, ran into the room. Her dress appeared to have blood on it. She fainted and Miss del Cameron and I went outside to see if her attacker was still in the area. We found this man, Mr. Graham Wheeler, lying just as you see him.” He pointed to the other man. “The native wasn’t dead, although his position suggested he’d been choked to the point of it. He pulled that knife from Mr. Wheeler’s chest and plunged it into his own before we could stop him.”
    “And this actress you spoke of, where is she now?”
    “She’s inside with my wife and Mrs. Thompson,” said Avery. “They took her into a ladies’ room after reviving her.”
    They heard another car drive up. “That will be the doctor,” said Finch, rising. He turned to the closest constable. “Go and fetch him. Bring him around here first. We’ll see to this Miss . . . ?” He stopped and looked at Jade.
    “Bebe Malta,” she said. “She’s part of a motion picture crew from California. Harry is taking them to Kilimanjaro to film.”
    “And you?” Finch asked.
    “I’m seconding the safari.”
    “Ah,” Finch said, looking at Harry. “You should warn them that she attracts corpses.”
    “If you’re implying—” began Sam, his voice low.
    Mr. Finch held up his hand in a placating manner. “I’m suggesting nothing of the sort, Featherstone. So kindly do not take a swing at me, as you Americans quaintly put it.”
    The doctor, a middle-aged man, arrived and shook hands with Finch. “Dr. Mathews, good to have you back in the colony,” said the inspector. He quickly summarized the events as he’d been given them. “It appears to be an open-and-shut situation, but you will, of course, wish to examine these men yourself. Mr. Wheeler, here, has several smaller cuts on his forearms and face, but it is clearly the stab to the heart that killed him. I will, of course, question this Miss Malta, but I imagine the native attacked her, and Wheeler rushed to her rescue, getting stabbed in the process.”
    The doctor knelt beside the bodies and studied them. “This spot on the native’s jaw,” he said, pointing with his pencil, “appears to be a developing bruise, possibly where Mr. Wheeler struck a blow while warding off the knife with his forearms. Finally, he grappled with the man, trying to choke him.” He separated the two bodies and pointed to the native’s neck, where the finger marks showed up as darker impressions on the brown skin. “Unfortunately for our friend, he didn’t debilitate his opponent quickly enough and was stabbed. What I find most odd, though, is why the man should stab himself.” He looked up at Jade. “You say you saw this?”
    Jade and Sam both nodded.
    “I expect that this man has a record of violence and didn’t care to be captured again,” said Finch.
    “Possibly,” murmured the doctor, “but his pupils are quite dilated. Of course, it is dark outside, but still . . . I should like to run some chemical tests on his blood. He may have enhanced his courage with some drug. Note the numerous scratch marks on his chest. Now look at the skin under his nails. He did this to himself.”
    Finch agreed and, after a cursory survey of the surrounding area,