“No, dear,” she whispered soothingly. “Look for yourself.”
Slowly, reluctantly Evelyn turned and looked full at the wall—her mother was right, it was blank. But even as she stared at it, the wall lightened and once again she gazed into the eyes of the dead man seated in the chair facing her.
“See, Mother!” she cried.
Like one carved from stone Mrs. Burnham stared at the opposite wall; motionless, almost with breathing suspended, she continued to look ahead of her. Suddenly she spoke, and it was a voice Evelyn had never heard before and would never have recognized as hers.
“I see nothing, Evelyn,” she said. “The wall is blank.”
CHAPTER XIX
BRIBERY
JAMES PALMER felt his clean shaven chin with nervous fingers and turned away from contemplating himself in the mirror with a dissatisfied scowl. Kicking aside his tumbled clothes, which lay half on, half off the bed, he hurried into the living room of his apartment in time to catch Dr. Hayden as the latter was leaving on his round of professional visits.
“Give me a bracer, Hayden,” he demanded. “My nerves have gone to pot.”
Hayden scanned him closely and noted with professional interest his bloodshot eyes and shifting, ever moving restless fingers.
“Go back to bed,” he directed. “You are not in shape to be about this morning.”