Authors: Helen Nielsen
Darkest Hour (25 page)
Wanda’s hand tightened on Simon’s arm. A small middle-aged woman with a ramrod for a spine had stepped forward from the group of reporters to address the dais in a quietly resonant voice: “Mr. Berlin, I am Vera Raymond of the
Los Angeles Chronicle,”
she said.
Berlin’s professionally trained smile didn’t fade, but he turned toward her as if she had become the only person in the room. He knew—he had to know because he knew about Sam Goddard—that the
Chronicle
had been defunct for many years. And he knew, too, because this was the slender thread by which his life had always hung, that there is a world of law and order and the best of people will not cross certain boundaries of conduct, except under unbearable pressure, because the civilized individual can no more live with anarchy within than a society can live with anarchy in the streets. The pressure had become unbearable for Vera Raymond. Berlin saw and his smile disappeared.
“No, don’t do that, please!” he said distinctly.
Vera Raymond had taken Sam Goddard’s gun from the trial room. It held five cartridges. She fired five times at close range. One shot would have been enough. Max Berlin was dead before his body hit the floor.
There was a great silence. Like an outgoing tide, the wall of humanity seemed to ebb away from Vera and she stood by herself in the loneliest place this side of hell.
From the corner of his eye Simon saw Hannah edging toward him through the stunned crowd. He pushed Wanda toward her. “Go home with Hannah and Chester,” he ordered. “Vegas will have to wait. I’m needed here now.” He must have had a look of terrible authority, because Wanda didn’t argue and the crowd pulled away like the parting of the Red Sea when he moved forward. Vera, still in shock, saw him approach and the first tears came to her eyes.
Simon walked toward her holding out both hands.
HELEN NIELSEN was born in Warren County, Illinois, then lived for some time in Chicago. Widely traveled in Europe, she now lives in Laguna Beach, California, where she also writes for magazines and television. Miss Nielsen is the author of many mysteries; the most recent,
A Killer in the Street
, was published in 1967.
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Copyright © 1969 by Helen Nielsen
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, corporations, institutions, organizations, events, or locales in this novel are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, used fictitiously. The resemblance of any character to actual persons (living or dead) is entirely coincidental.
eISBN 10: 1-4405-4125-6
eISBN 13: 978-1-4405-4125-4