James Chase - No Orchids for Miss Blandish

The two men, guns in hand, moved across the yard.

Fenner knew before he reached Slim that he was dead. He paused by him for a brief moment. The yellow eyes looked sightlessly up at him. The thin, white, upturned face seemed defenseless and bewildered. The loose mouth hung open. Fenner turned away with a grunt of disgust.

“That’s the end of him,” Brennan said, “and good riddance.”

“Yeah,” Fenner said. He drew in a deep breath, then walked slowly towards the barn.

Miss Blandish had come down from the loft. The two short bursts of machine gun fire had told her that Grisson was dead. Now, hopelessly, she moved into the darkest part of the barn and sat down on an upturned barrel. She could hear men’s voices outside and she flinched from the sound. She dreaded the fast approaching moment when she would have to go out into the hot sunlight and face the curious, staring eyes of her rescuers.

For some moments Fenner didn’t see her. He stood in the barn doorway, looking around, and it wasn’t until his eyes became accustomed to the shadowy dimness that he did see her. He quickly realized by the tense way she was sitting, how bad this moment must be for her. He moved into the barn and paused when he was some yards from her.

“Hello,” he said casually and quietly, “I’m Dave Fenner. Your father asked me to take you home when you are ready to go. There’s no rush. You’re free now. You tell me what you want to do and I’ll fix it.”

He saw her relax slightly. He was careful not to approach closer. She reminded him of a cornered, frightened animal, ready to panic at the slightest unexpected movement.

“I thought it might be an idea,” he went on, “if I took you to a quiet hotel so you could rest for a while, get a change of clothes and then if you feel like it, to drive you home. I’ve fixed a room for you at a hotel not far from here. There won’t be any fuss. The press don’t know anything about this. You won’t be bothered. You can go in the back way of the hotel and straight to the room. Would you like to do that?”

She looked intently at him for some moments, then she said “Yes.”

“There’s a doctor outside,” Fenner went on. “He’s a nice guy. He wants to meet you. May I bring him in?”

She immediately stiffened, her eyes widening with panic.

“I don’t want a doctor!” she said wildly. “What do I want a doctor for? I don’t want to see anyone!”

“That’s okay,” Fenner said. “You don’t have to see anyone if you feel that way about it. Will you let me take you to the hotel?”

Again she stared intently at him, hesitating, then she nodded.

“I’ll get a car,” Fenner said. “You stay right here and don’t worry about a thing. You’re not going to see anyone. No one’s going to bother you.”

He turned and walked out of the barn to where Brennan waited. A crowd of soldiers and policemen were staring curiously towards the barn. Old man Waite and his two sons were gaping from the farmhouse door. Four soldiers were carrying Grisson’s body to a truck.

As Fenner approached Brennan, the Medical Officer came over. Behind him hovered a nurse.

“She’s jumpy,” Fenner said. “She doesn’t want to see anyone. She doesn’t want a doctor. She likes the idea of going to a hotel. She wants me to take her there.”

The Medical Officer shrugged his shoulders.

“That’s all right,” he said. “She must certainly be suffering from shock. It’s better to let her do what she wants. I’ll go on ahead and fix up a room at the Bonham Hotel. When she’s got used to the idea of being free, I’ll see her. How about taking the nurse with you?”

“I’d like to,” Fenner said, “but I don’t think she’d stand for it. She reacted badly when I suggested she should see you.”

“Well, all right. I’ll get off. I’ll have the nurse stand by just in case she’s needed. I’ll have everything fixed by the time you get her to the hotel. We’ve got to be sure the press don’t get at her. Once this leaks out, they’ll be around like a swarm of ants.”

“I’ll see they don’t get near her,” Brennan said grimly.

As the Medical Officer hurried away, Fenner said, “Will you get all these men out of the way and leave a car right outside the barn?”

“I’ll do it,” Brennan said. “You go in there and stay with her.”

Fenner waited long enough to see Brennan get rid of the soldiers and the police, then he returned to the barn.

Miss Blandish was still sitting on the upturned barrel. She looked up as he came over to her.

“It’s all fixed,” he said, taking out a pack of cigarettes. “You have nothing to worry about.” He offered a cigarette, and after a moment’s hesitation, she took one and accepted the light he held to the cigarette. “Your father thought it would be better to wait at home for you.” Fenner went on, lighting a cigarette for himself. “If you want him, I can get him.”

Again he saw the panic jump into her eyes.

“I don’t want him,” she said, not looking at him. “I want to be alone.”

“That’s okay,” Fenner said. “When you want him, he’ll be there.” He sat down on a bale of straw, some yards from her. “You’re probably wondering who I am,” he went on, absolutely sure she wasn’t wondering anything of the kind, but knowing the necessity of keeping the situation as normal as possible. “I earn a living as a private investigator. Your father came to me...” He went on talking easily and casually, watching, her, seeing at first no interest but as he told her about his life as a newspaperman, about Paula and about some of his cases he saw she was relaxing and after twenty minutes of continuous talking, he saw she was listening. Finally, he decided that the Medical Officer had had time to fix up a room at the hotel and he said, “Well, I don’t want to bore you too much about myself. I guess we can go now. You don’t have to worry. There’s no one outside. Are you ready to go?”

He saw panic once more jump into her eyes, but he got up and went over to the barn door and pulled it wide open. An Oldsmobile stood outside. There was no one in sight.

“It’s okay,” he said, not looking at her. “Let’s go.”

He opened the off side door of the car and left it open, then he got in under the driving wheel. He waited. After some minutes, Miss Blandish came slowly and hesitatingly to the barn door. Fenner didn’t look at her. She came to the car and got in, slamming the door shut.

Fenner drove down the uneven farm road and onto the dirt road. Miss Blandish sat away from him, staring with great blank eyes in front of her.

It took a little over forty minutes to reach the hotel at Pine Hill. Fenner, who knew the hotel, drove around to the back entrance. There was no one around. He pulled up and got out.

“Wait here. I won’t be two seconds,” he said and went quickly into the lobby where the Medical Officer was waiting.

“Room 860,” he told Fenner, giving him a key. “It’s on the top floor. The nurse has got some clothes for her. How is she?”

Fenner shrugged.

“She’s not saying much. She’s jumpy, but at least she seems to have accepted me. You get out of the way, Doc. I’ll take her up.”

“See if you can persuade her to see me,” the Medical Officer said. “It’s important I see her as soon as possible.”

“Okay. I’ll see what I can do,” Fenner said and went back to the car.

Miss Blandish was sitting motionless, looking down at her hands. She glanced up sharply as Fenner came to her. “All ready,” he said. “No one to bother you.” She got out of the car, and together, they walked into the lobby and entered the elevator.