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Show 158 His voice was noncommital, but a tight trace of smile curved his lips "I'm performing my duty as I see it," Hugo replied stiffly. Harry Ward bit the end off a cigar and spit it into a cuspidor. He took a long time lighting the cigar, to avoid saying more, Karl suspected. "Karl," Hugo said quietly, "Mr. Bonner has been gone longer than he should have been just to call Mary Margaret. See if you can find where he is. I'll stay here in case he comes back." Karl crossed the thick carpet and opened the library door, which Bonner had shut behind him. Mary Margaret stood just outside the door as though she'd been trying to overhear what was going on inside -- not as though she'd been summoned to show Hugo around the house. Karl expected her to look embarrassed because he'd caught her eavesdropping, but instead she looked worried. "Where'd Mr. Bonner go?" he asked her. She hesitated, then in a quick, jerky motion pointed to the staircase. "Up there." Karl climbed the stairs, letting his fingers brush against the polished bannister. Since he was wearing his rubber galoshes, his footfalls didn't clatter on the wooden steps. The top of the staircase opened onto another long hall decorated with portraits like the ones below, hanging between half a dozen closed doors that lined the hall. Karl was reluctant to start knocking on one door after another to locate Charles Bonner, so he stood, undecided, at the head of the stairs. |