The Galton Case Read Online Free Page B

The Galton Case
Book: The Galton Case Read Online Free
Author: Ross MacDonald
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waiting, Cassie,” the old woman said. “What on earth were you doing?”
    “Preparing your food. Before that I played some badminton with Sheila Howell.”
    “I might have known you two would be enjoying yourselves while I sit up here starving.”
    “Oh come, it’s not as bad as all that.”
    “It’s not for you to say. You’re not my doctor. Ask August Howell, and he’ll tell you how important it is that I have my nourishment.”
    “I’m sorry, Aunt Maria. I thought you wouldn’t want to be disturbed while you were in conference.”
    She stood just inside the doorway, still holding the tray like a shield in front of her. She wasn’t young: close up, I could see the fortyish lines in her face and the knowledge in her blue eyes. But she held herself with adolescent awkwardness, immobilized by feelings she couldn’t express.
    “Well, you needn’t stand there like a dummy.”
    Cassie moved suddenly. She set the tray on the table and uncovered the food. There was a good deal of food. Mrs. Galton began to fork salad into her mouth. The movements of her hands and jaws were rapid and mechanical. She was oblivious to the three of us watching her.
    Sable and I retreated into the hallway and along it to the head of the stairs which curved in a baronial sweep down to the entrance hall. He leaned on the iron balustrade and lit a cigarette.
    “Well, Lew, what do you think?”
    I lit a cigarette of my own before I replied. “I think it’s a waste of time and money.”
    “I told you that.”
    “But you want me to go ahead with it anyway?”
    “I can’t see any other way to handle it, or handle her. Mrs. Galton takes a good deal of handling.”
    “Can you trust her memory? She seems to be reliving the past. Sometimes old people get mixed up about what actually happened. That story about the money he stole, for example. Do you believe it?”
    “I’ve never known her to lie. And I really doubt that she’s as confused as she sounds. She likes to dramatize herself. It’s the only excitement she has left.”
    “How old is she?”
    “Seventy-three, I believe.”
    “That isn’t so old. What about her son?”
    “He’ll be about forty-four, if he’s still extant.”
    “She doesn’t seem to realize that. She talks about him as if he was still a boy. How long has she been sitting in that room?”
    “Ever since I’ve known her, anyway. Ten years. Occasionally, when she has a good day, she lets Miss Hildreth take her for a drive. It doesn’t do much to bring her up to date, though. It’s usually just a quick trip to the cemetery whereher husband is buried. He died soon after Anthony took off. According to Mrs. Galton, that was what killed him. Miss Hildreth says he died of a coronary.”
    “Is Miss Hildreth a relative?”
    “A distant one, second or third cousin. Cassie’s known the family all her life, and lived with Mrs. Galton since before the war. I’m hoping she can give you something more definite to go on.”
    “I can use it.”
    A telephone shrilled somewhere, like a cricket in the wall. Cassie Hildreth came out of Mrs. Galton’s room and moved briskly toward us:
    “You’re wanted on the telephone. It’s Mrs. Sable.”
    “What does she want?”
    “She didn’t say, but she seems upset about something.”
    “She always is.”
    “You can take it downstairs if you like. There’s an extension under the stairs.”
    “I know. I’ll do that.” Sable treated her brusquely, like a servant. “This is Mr. Archer, by the way. He wants to ask you some questions.”
    “Right now?”
    “If you can spare the time,” I said. “Mrs. Galton thought you could give me some pictures, perhaps some information.”
    “Pictures of Tony?”
    “If you have them.”
    “I keep them for Mrs. Galton. She likes to look at them when the mood is on her.”
    “You work for her, do you?”
    “If you can call it work. I’m a paid companion.”
    “I call it work.”
    Our eyes met. Hers were dark ocean blue.
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