{"product_id":"2940013743564","title":"Flat 2","description":"A shot rang out sharply, and Captain Hurley Brown did not need the\u003cbr\u003edirection of the sound to guide him to Robert Weldrake's door. He had\u003cbr\u003etried to intercept the white-faced boy, who had brushed him aside and\u003cbr\u003eentered his room, slamming the door and locking it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHurley Brown had seen that expression on a man's face before, and that\u003cbr\u003eman, too--just such another promising young officer as Robert\u003cbr\u003eWeldrake--had worn it on his return from the last of several interviews\u003cbr\u003ewith Emil Louba. A shot had followed on that occasion also. Lingering\u003cbr\u003eoutside, uneasy, smoking cigarette after cigarette, unable to seek his\u003cbr\u003eown quarters with the memory of that stricken-face before him, he was\u003cbr\u003edebating whether to insist on the boy opening his door to him when the\u003cbr\u003eshot stabbed the silence and sent him tearing up the half-dozen shallow\u003cbr\u003estairs to the locked door.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere was no answer to his knock, and he scarcely waited for any,\u003cbr\u003ePutting his shoulder to the door, he had already forced it inwards,\u003cbr\u003estraining at the lock, when McElvie, Weldrake's batman, and two officers\u003cbr\u003ejoined them; and their combined efforts burst the lock, sending them\u003cbr\u003estaggering a few paces into the room.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere was little need to raise him. They saw at a glance that Robert\u003cbr\u003eWeldrake was dead. The room was still full of an acrid smell, his\u003cbr\u003estiffening fingers clutched at his service revolver.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'That damned Louba!' muttered Brown, the first to break the silence, and\u003cbr\u003emore than one of his companions spat out vicious curses.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'If somebody would shoot him. Malta'd be a lot cleaner,' declared\u003cbr\u003eMcElvie wrathfully. Nobody disagreed with him. That Louba was the cause\u003cbr\u003eof the tragedy was accepted without debate. It was not an isolated case.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHurley Brown hated Louba. He had seen too many men ruined by him and his\u003cbr\u003ekind. He had determined to drive him out of Malta, and had already taken\u003cbr\u003esteps to interest the military authorities in the evil influence his\u003cbr\u003eestablishment exercised over the men stationed on the island.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHe had seen the disaster towards which Robert Weldrake drifted, had\u003cbr\u003etried to gain his confidence, to warn him; but the boy had been too deep\u003cbr\u003ein to extricate himself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen nothing more was to be done, and they left the still figure to its\u003cbr\u003eloneliness. Brown separated from the others and walked briskly towards\u003cbr\u003eLouba's establishment. As he entered the cabaret, which was a gaudy mask\u003cbr\u003efor the remaining and more important part of the establishment, he\u003cbr\u003ebecame aware that there was something unusual happening.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe music had ceased and general conversation had died y away. Glasses\u003cbr\u003ewere neglected and all heads were turned in the same direction. So far\u003cbr\u003eas Hurley Brown could see, it appeared to be an altercation between a\u003cbr\u003ecustomer and one of the performers, a scantily dressed dancer or singer\u003cbr\u003ewho still had one foot on the low platform at the end of the room. The\u003cbr\u003eman she faced was plump and voluble, dark-eyed, with a full florid face\u003cbr\u003eand a flamboyant style of dress.","brand":"WDS Publishing","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47079603929328,"sku":"2940013743564","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013743564_p0.jpg?v=1763589671","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013743564","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}