Free The Golden Circle by Lee Falk Page A

the tough one." They were at the foot of the stairs now. She pivoted, kissing him on the cheek. "Wait right here, love."
As the blonde headed upward, the Phantom stationed himself beside the wide man he suspected of being a private policeman.
The man had the dip cracker up near his face but he wasn't eating it. His head swung, lighthouse fashion, from side to side, slowly surveying the hundred or so people spread out on the sunny lawn.
Down next to the pool, Mimi was laughing at something one of the handsome young men had said. The sound of her laugh did not reach this far. She stepped back from her two admirers, still laughing. The next step she took was into air.
Her scream did carry. And before it was completed, ] she was falling. Her arms spun, her hands clutched out at nothing. The wide skirt of her cocktail dress flared out for an instant like a small parachute.
She hit the pale pool water with a great splash. She thrashed, cried out for help.
The two handsome young men looked at her, at each other, at Mimi again. One of them reached down to tug at one of his shoes.
The beefy man near the Phantom started running across the green lawn toward the pool.
Guests who had been inside the mansion were hurrying out into the sunlight to see what was wrong. The tile walls of the big pool echoed Mimi's screams.
With a glance at the house, the Phantom started walking in the direction of the pool. Mara still needed another four minutes at least.
One of the tanned young men had his coat off. He hesitated a second before diving off the side of the pool.
Mimi suddenly sank below the surface of the water.
"She's drowning, she's drowning," gasped a plump matron, biting at her knuckles.
Three and a half minutes to go. In the pool, the young man did a surface dive, knifed down toward the bottom of the water. There were marine designs on the tile squares down there. The water was perfectly clear and, even with all the thrashing going on, you could see Mimi struggling with her rescuer.
The two of them exploded to the surface. "Take it easy, damn it," said the young man.
Mimi screamed in fright, hitting at him with both fists in turn. He let go for an instant. The girl floundered, splashed out of his reach.
Only two and a half minutes left to kill.
The Phantom shrugged out of the tweed sport jacket Beth had provided him with. He'd be ready when Mimi was brought out of the water.
Finally, five and a half minutes after she'd fallen in, the girl was lifted out of the pool.
"Here, let me through," said the Phantom. "I'm a doctor." He was a dozen yards from the bedraggled pair.
A few feet from where her rescuer laid Mimi down, a portly gray-haired man said, "I'll take charge of this."
"Of course, Dr. Scortia," said the other handsome tun young man. "She'll be okay, won't she?"
"We must try mouth to mouth resuscitation," ordered the portly doctor. He went down on his knees, with some difficulty, beside the sprawled Mimi.
"Wait a moment," said the Phantom, who'd worked his way up to the group. "I'm this young woman's physician. It looks to me as though she's had another of her attacks."
"Nonsense," countered the old doctor. "I've been practicing medicine in Stevensport for forty years and I've seen a good many of them fished out of the drink. Now, please stand aside."
"I'm afraid I can't allow it," said the Phantom. "You may aggravate the poor girl's condition. If you'll just allow me to get her to my car I'll...."
"Nonsense, nonsense," repeated Dr. Scortia. "She needs to be resuscitated before...."
"Where am I?" asked Mimi, sitting up. "Oh, hello, Dr. Walker. Did I have another one of my spells? I was standing beside the pool when I got all giddy."
"Lie back down," said Dr. Scortia. "You shouldn't be "
The Phantom stepped around the kneeling doctor to take Mimi's hand. He helped her to her feet. "We'll get you to my office immediately, my dear. Everything will be fine."
"Dear, whatever has happened?" It was Mara. She held one slender hand to her