"Kenneth Robeson - Doc Savage 040 - Haunted Ocean" - читать интересную книгу автора (Robeson Kenneth)

"Must have been dead some time, the way he felt," said Renny.

Professor Callus was looking at Doc, but he did not see his lips move. But DocтАЩs companions knew their
bronze leader was on the eve of some important discovery.

"Yes, rigor mortis seems to have set in," said Doc, quietly. "It would mean this Professor Jasson was dead
some hours ago. But the man died within the past half hour."

"Why, that would seem impossible!" said Professor Callus. "I thought rigor mortis would not take place for
from two to five hours?"

"This man has been killed instantly by a poisonous injection," stated Doc. "And rigor mortis was artificially
induced to make it appear he had been dead for some time. He must have been at the door only a short time;
perhaps a few minutes."
 Chapter II. WOMAN OF VIOLENCE
WHILE Doc Savage was examining the dead man and finding him so thoroughly equipped for violence, the
ungainly Monk was encountering another form of violence. But this was very much alive. It was in the form of
a slender girl.

The girlтАЩs face would have been beautiful, under normal conditions. But when the young woman encountered
the terrifying figure of Monk before her on the stairway, her countenance was a strained, desperate mask.

The girl was red-headed. The hair was naturally and vividly red. Her deep-brown eyes were sparkling with
menace. Undoubtedly she was scared, but being red-headed, she intended doing something about it.

Monk had been unusually quiet about ascending the stairs. No person had recently descended by elevator.
The arrival of Professor Callus had apparently been the only movement of a passenger to the eighty-sixth
floor.

The red-headed girl must have seen Monk first. The apelike figure of the chemist moved around an upward
turn in the stairs. The Cold steel of an automaticтАЩs snout jammed right into his hairy throat.

"DonтАЩt move!" said a low, tense voice. "YouтАЩre him, and IтАЩll shoot!"

Monk did not know who he was supposed to be. But it seemed plainly evident the girl would shoot. The
automaticтАЩs snout quivered against MonkтАЩs tough hide.

"HowlinтАЩ calamities!" he squealed in his childlike voice. "WhereтАЩd you come from? You musta killed that guy
upstairs!"

"I said, donтАЩt move!" repeated the girl. "So you know about the murder? You were trying to get away, and you
heard Barton! Barton! Come on up here!"

The young man called Barton must have been a floor or two below where Monk had started to ascend the
stairs. His feet pounded quickly upward. He was a thick-browed, black-haired young fellow. When he saw the
position of the young woman, his face became very pale.

"Lora!" exclaimed the young man. "Who is he? Wait! Give me the gun!"