"Carey, M.V. - The Three Investigators 23 - The Mystery of the Invisible Dog" - читать интересную книгу автора (Carey M.V)

Prentice sniffed. "That loathsome Bortz woman is the manager, but she does not have a key to this apartment. I had a special lock installed. And if you are going to ask about servants, I don't have any. And don't even suggest that someone comes in through the windows. I don't have any windows opening on to the balcony. The windows in this room look out on to the street and they're twenty feet above the sidewalk. In the bedroom and the den, the windows overlook the church and they're also many feet above the ground. No one could possibly get in through the windows without a long ladder, and that would most certainly be noticed."

"There must be a second key," said Pete. "Someone uses it when you're not here and--"

Fenton Prentice held up his hand. "No. Oh, someone comes when I'm gone, but that's not the worst of it." Again he looked around as if afraid that he was not alone with the boys. "Sometimes he comes when I'm here. I'veа.а.а. I've seen him. He comes and he goes, and no door needs to open."

"What does he look like?" asked Jupiter.

Mr Prentice rubbed his hands together nervously. "That's the sort of question a policeman would ask," he said. "But he wouldn't believe my answer. That's why I called you instead of the police. What I see isа.а.а. not quite a person. It's more like a shadow. Sometimes I'm reading and I can feel it. I feel that there is a presence here. If I look up, I may see it. Once I saw someone in the hall--someone tall and thin. I started to speak. Perhaps I shouted. He didn't turn, but went into the den. I went after him. The room was empty."

"May I look at the den?" asked Jupiter.

"Certainly." Prentice went to a small, square hall that opened off the living room. Jupe followed him through it into a large, dimly lit room which had shelves of books, deep leather chairs, and a big antique desk. The windows here were on the side of the building. Through the open curtains Jupe could see the church next door. The organ no longer boomed and children's voices could be heard in the street; apparently choir practice was over.

"There is no way out of this room," said Prentice, "except for the door to the hall. Don't suggest a secret passage. I've lived in this apartment for many years, and I know there are no secret passages."

"How long have you had this feeling that you are being invaded by someа.а.а. some presence?" asked Jupiter.

"For several months," Prentice answered. "Iа.а.а. I didn't want to believe it at first. I thought I was imagining things because I was overtired. But it's happened so often that now I'm sure I'm not imagining things."

Jupe saw that the man wanted very badly to be believed. "I suppose anything is possible," said the First Investigator.

"Then you will take my case?" said Prentice. "You will investigate?"

"I'll have to discuss it with my friends," said Jupe. "May we call you in the morning?"

Prentice nodded and left the room. Jupe hesitated, wondering. Suddenly something stirred in the shadowy corner near the bookshelves.

Jupe stared. "Pete!" he said.

"You call me?" answered Pete. His voice was loud and hearty and it came from the living room.

"Pete!" Jupe shouted, and lunged to turn on the overhead light.

A second later the room was brightly lighted and Pete was in the doorway. "What's the matter?" he asked.

"Youа.а.а. you were in the living room when I called," said Jupiter Jones.

"Yes. What is it? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I thought I saw you," said Jupiter Jones. "Over in the corner. I thought you were standing there."

Jupe shook himself. "Must have been a shadow," he said. He brushed past Pete and went into the living room. "We'll be in touch with you tomorrow," he promised Mr Prentice.

"Very well." The man who believed he was being haunted unlocked the door and stood aside to let the boys out.

Then they heard a sound that might have been a backfire--or a shot.

Pete almost leaped through the door. He looked down over the balcony railing. The courtyard below was empty, but behind the house, someone was shouting. A gate slammed and footsteps pounded on some staircase that the boys couldn't see. Then, from a passage which led into the rear of the court, a running figure came into view. A man wearing a dark windbreaker and with a black ski hood pulled over his head raced past the pool and out through the front gate to the street.