5 Detective Novels Magazine Cover — page 17: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

DEATH ALL AR on one side. His eyes were wide open and they seemed quietly resentful, al- most to the point of tears. I put the statue back on the TV set, took off my hat, and wiped my face. It was wringing wet. Mrs. Haven hadn’t moved and she didn’t now. She just. stood there, watching me. “You were a witness to this,” I said, “I had to slug the crazy fool.” She shuffled forward a couple of steps, looking straight at me. “Why’d you come back? Why?” “Don’t be an idiot. You said you’d have twenty dollars ready for me.” “What'd I tell you yesterday? I was plastered. What’d I tell you?” “To come back. You were going to start paying off your bill.” “Don’t gimme that. What'd I tell you?” I didn’t pay much attention to her. The big guy was too limp. I knelt and slapped him smartly on the face and his head rolled loosely. That didn’t help, so I drew back my hand to slap him again and that was when I saw the blood. His head had been lying in a pool of it. I ripped open his undershirt, laid my ear against his chest, and heard a whole lot of silence. I looked at him again. This couldn’t be. The guy had no right to be dead. I slapped him a couple of more times and listened again. He was dead, all right. Mrs. Haven seemed to know it, too. She was in the middle of the-room, with both hands pressed against her temples and her mouth wide open as if she thought she was screaming. I tottered to the nearest chair and fell into it. What a mess! “He’s dead, ain’t he?” she said in a Mes that didn’t seem to belong to er. I said, “Yes.” My voice wasn’t mine either. = “You killed him. killed him!” 7 “TI didn’t mean to. I couldn’t help it. I thought he was going to kill me—” I stopped short. Why was I apolo- gizing to this creature? Certainly it Damn you, you | smacked him on top of the head with the statue OUND ME 17 - CO ( () NOOO S (CO