Hotline to Murder

could maintain it.

    CHAPTER 40
    Tony found the trail that went downhill from the plateau to the picnic area. He couldn’t wait for the police to get their act together and send officers to help him. He started down the trail by himself. He went slowly, being careful of his knee, shining his flashlight to the right and to the left, searching among the bushes and the shadows for signs of life.
    If he hadn’t been afraid of what had happened to Shahla, he would be enjoying himself, hiking in the cool of the evening with the lights below, knowing that even though he could see the city where millions of people lived, here he was alone.
    He had gone some distance when he heard a cry for help, somewhere below him. He shone his flashlight down the hill. At first he couldn’t see anything except dirt and brush. He moved the light in an arc, covering both sides of the trail. Then he saw somebody, off to the left of the trail.
    “Down here,” shouted the urgent voice.
    It was Shahla. “I’m coming,” Tony called. She appeared to be sitting in the brush. “Are you all right?” he asked, as he came closer to her.
    “I’ve got Nathan,” she said. “But I don’t know how long I can hold him.”
    Tony picked out Nathan with the help of the flashlight. Shahla was astride his back, with her hands on his head. He was face downwards, with his feet higher than his head, and he looked about as helpless as a man could be.
    “Where is the knife?” Tony asked, working his way through the brush toward them.
    “In the bushes.”
    Tony climbed onto Nathan’s back, behind Shahla. Nathan groaned as the additional weight pressed him further into the spines.
    “Am I happy to see you,” Shahla said. She shifted her position and sighed. “That’s better. You came along just in time. Branches were sticking into my legs, but I was afraid to move.”
    Tony saw a mess on her shoulder and said, “You’re bleeding,”
    “I am? Just another scratch. I think he got me with his knife. Even though he wanted me unmarked.” She raised her voice. “Is that why you strangled Joy instead of stabbing her? So she would be beautiful for you?” She shoved Nathan’s head into the brush and received a groan in response.
    Tony pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and pressed it against Shahla’s wound to try and stop the flow of blood. He said, “I think wearing my sweatshirt helped you. It’s loose enough so that the knife didn’t penetrate it very well. But it’s torn.”
    “It gave its life to save me.”
    “We’ll have it framed. By the way, the police should be down here shortly.”
    “Oh yes, the police. They missed all the fun.”
    ***
    Tony didn’t like hospitals. He didn’t watch emergency room shows on television. The last time he had been admitted to a hospital was when he had suffered a ruptured appendix, at the age of eleven. He didn’t visit other people in hospitals if he could avoid it.
    However, he wasn’t going home without making sure that Shahla was all right. He hadn’t realized she had other wounds besides the one on her shoulder until the police arrived and released them from their positions on top of Nathan. Then he saw that she had scratches all over her body, the most dangerous one being close to her eye. A policeman had driven her to a hospital in Culver City, and he was going there now.
    Tony had been up all night, and he felt exhausted, now that the adrenaline was wearing off. He had wanted to go to the hospital with Shahla, but she had told him to stay and help in the search for Tina. She had been adamant about it.
    So he assisted the police as they combed the level part of the park. He was reminded of the story of the man who searched for his wallet underneath a streetlight, even though he thought he had lost it in a dark alley. However, Tony had to agree that it didn’t make any sense for Tina to go back up the hill after she made it down. And she wasn’t on the trail. So why not search in the easiest place?
    There was a small fishing lake near the picnic ground. Tony walked to the lake, with the help of his flashlight. He didn’t spot anybody around the lake, but he did see restrooms. Where would a girl logically hide from a man?
    He knocked on the door of the women’s room. He didn’t hear anything so he opened the door. It was dark inside. He shone his flashlight around and called, “Tina. It’s Tony. We got Nathan. You can come out.”
    One of the stalls was locked. By standing on