Shadow of a Doubt Read Online Free Page A

to find another way in. She hadn’t brought her lock-pick tools with her because she’d only planned on having a chat with Gleason, not on breaking into his building.
    Looking up, Nancy saw her way in—a fire escape. All she had to do now was jump up, pull the ladder down, and make her way up the metal stairs.
    Nancy pressed herself against the building and cast a quick glance around the corner to make sure no one was observing her. Then she sprung up and just reached her fingertips around a metal bar. She hung on, and her weight pulled the stairs down to the cement alley. She stole up the rusted fire escape that creaked a whining protest at each of her steps.
    Within a matter of minutes Nancy wasstanding outside the fifth floor window. She peered in and saw three police officers standing at the point where the two halls met. Gleason’s apartment had to be down there. There was no way for her to get inside the apartment while the police were standing guard.
    Nancy waited, remaining flat against the brick wall and peering in the window regularly to see if the police had gone. Finally, after twenty minutes of waiting, Nancy saw two detectives and four officers head for the back stairs that were in her view.
    â€œIt’s about time,” Nancy whispered to herself. She had begun to think she’d never get inside.
    After allowing the officers a minute or two to go down the stairs—they didn’t bother to wait for the elevator—Nancy pushed up the window and ducked into the hall.
    She tiptoed quickly down the hall and around the corner to Gleason’s apartment. The police had left the door open, and that meant they were coming back. She’d have to work fast.
    Inside, Nancy found that her suspicions had been right. The whole place was turned upside down, leaving little or no chance of her finding anything. She scanned the threadbare apartment, taking in its few mismatched pieces of furniture and the dirty, stained rug.
    She stepped into the small kitchen andsearched through the cabinets, but found only a box of cereal and two packages of spaghetti. Inside the almost bare refrigerator a cold light glowed on a quart of milk and a can of coffee.
    I don’t even know what I hoped to find, she thought. Still, she forced herself to continue her search. She checked under the sofa cushions, knocked on every wall for a hidden panel, and even looked inside the toilet tank. Nothing.
    Finally she moved to the window that faced the street. Gleason’s apartment was on a corner. One side looked out over the passageway between the buildings, but the other had a view of the street. She thought she ought to keep an eye on the activities of the police while she planned her next move.
    As Nancy pulled back the frayed curtain, searching for any sign of activity below, something fell to the floor right next to her feet.
    â€œWhat in the world—?” She bent down and picked up a small, red notebook. It must have been hidden on the window frame and was dislodged when she moved the curtain. Flipping the book open, she saw that it was an appointment book, with dates, names, addresses, and phone numbers written on several pages.
    Before Nancy sat down to look at the book more closely, she glanced down at the street. There were no police officers in sight. Thatmeant they had reentered the building, and Nancy had to beat it before she got caught. She slipped the book into her bag.
    Her heart beating double time, Nancy stole to the door and inched it open. Peering down the hall, she saw no one, but she did hear the steady march of feet ascending the stairs. Perhaps six or seven people were closing in on the fifth floor.
    Easing the door back, she slid out and tore down the hall. Head down, she barrelled around the corner and pulled up short, right against a blue serge uniform with brass buttons. She was caught!
    â€œHi,” she managed to say.
    â€œHi, there, yourself,” the young officer said.