The reporter did not stir. But on the floor beside him, a small red stain began to spread in a widening circle.
Penny and Salt saw it at the same instant and were frozen with horror.
“Ring down the curtain!” the photographer cried hoarsely. “Jerry’s really been shot!”
CHAPTER
6
AMBULANCE CALL
Penny ran across the stage to kneel beside Jerry, who lay limp on the floor. In horror, she saw that the red stain covered a jagged area on his shirt front.
“Oh, Jerry!” she cried frantically. “Speak to me!”
The reporter groaned loudly and stirred.
“Hold me in your arms,” he whispered. “Let my last hours on this earth be happy ones.”
Penny’s hands dropped suddenly to her sides. She straightened up indignantly.
“You faker!” she accused. “I should think you’d be ashamed to frighten us so! That’s not blood on your shirt! It’s red ink!”