Wait Until Midnight Read Free Page A

you went to Mrs. Delmont's house at such a late hour?" she said.
    As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she realized that she had blundered badly. Heat rose in her cheeks. There was only one reason why a wealthy, obviously virile man such as Adam Grove might have called upon Elizabeth Delmont at two in the morning.
    Mrs. Delmont had been a very beautiful woman possessed of an alluring figure and a sensual manner that had certainly captivated Mr. McDaniel, the elderly widower who had been one of the sitters at last night's séance. The medium had no doubt had a similar effect on a number of gentlemen.
    "No, Mrs. Fordyce, Elizabeth Delmont was not my mistress," Adam said, as though he had read her mind. "In point of fact, I had never encountered her until last night. When I did find her it was much too late for an introduction."
    "I see." She fought back the hot blush and tried to project a worldly air. She was supposed to be a widow, after all; a lady possessed of some experience of the world. `"Forgive me, Mr. Grove. This entire conversation has taken an extremely odd turn. I had no idea that Mrs. Delmont had died."
    "Murdered was the word I used." Adam studied her thoughtfully. "You said this conversation was not proceeding along the lines that you had anticipated. Tell, me, why did you believe that I had come here today?"
    "To be quite truthful, I assumed that you had mistaken the address," she admitted.
    "If that was the case, why did you not instruct your housekeeper to verify that I had the correct number?" he asked with a depressing sort of logic.
    "I confess, I was curious to know the nature of your news." She spread her hands wide. "We rarely receive callers who come upon business of grave importance here, you see. In fact, I cannot recall any such visitors in the whole of the three years we have lived here."
    "We ? "
    "My two aunts live with me. They are out at the moment, taking their morning exercise. Aunt Emma and Aunt Milly are great believers in the importance of brisk daily walks"
    He frowned. "I did not see their names on the list of sitters. You say they accompanied you to the séance last night?"
    She did not like the way this was going. It was beginning to feel as though he was interrogating her.
    "Yes," she said, treading carefully now. "They did not want me to go out alone at night. Mrs. Delmont had no objection to their presence."
    "Why did you attend the séance? Did you really believe that Elizabeth Delmont could communicate with spirits?" He did not bother to conceal his scathing opinion of such a notion.
    His sarcasm annoyed her. She felt obliged to defend her actions.
    "I would remind you, sir," she said very crisply, "that a great many eminent, educated, well-respected individuals take spiritualism and other psychical matters seriously."
    "Fools, the lot of them."
    "A number of societies and clubs have been formed to conduct research into psychical events and to investigate the claims of mediums. Several learned journals in the field are published regularly." She reached across her desk and snatched up the copy of New Dawn that had arrived yesterday. "This one, for instance. It is published by the Society for Psychical Investigations, and I assure you the articles are well documented."
    "Documented nonsense." He moved one hand in a dismissive manner. "It is obvious to any logical person that those who claim to possess psychical powers are all charlatans and frauds"
    "I daresay you are entitled to your opinion," she retorted. "But forgive me for pointing out that it does not imply an open, inquiring mind."
    He smiled humorlessly. "How open is your mind, Mrs. Fordyce? Do you really take the business of manifestations and spirit voices and table rappings seriously?"
    She sat a little straighter in her chair. "As it happens, I have recently conducted some research of my own."
    "And have you discovered any mediums you consider to be genuine? Mrs. Delmont, for instance?"
    "No," she admitted,