The third key worked.
Gently, Bruce eased the front door open, praying it wouldn't make a noise. Well oiled, the massive door yielded without a sound.
As they squeezed inside, Alan's head tilted forward, indicating something ahead.
Dr Herman Holmes was visible in the hall, his back to them, as if meditating.
Silently, Bruce and Alan entered the shadowy foyer and closed the door. Bruce signalled Alan to duck behind the dark corner of a pillar with him and hide there.
After a brief interval, although desperate to keep out of sight, Bruce risked peeking out from behind the pillar.
He saw Dr Holmes still standing in contemplation where he had been when they re-entered. But now, Holmes was no longer looking towards his office. Instead, he was staring at the blank wall.
Now that he had rid himself of the intruders, and was in complete control once more, Dr Holmes had come to a different decision about what he would do next.
He had been about to lift the gas lever that would exterminate the two imprisoned women. However, with the visit of those two meddling young men, a delay had occurred. Dr Holmes could imagine how that passage of time had affected Cathleen and Karen. They had expected to die at once. Certainly, this waiting, trapped, had tortured them, weakened their resolve to resist him. Perhaps they were less ready to die. Likely, they'd had time to reconsider Holmes's demand, and probably now saw it as the lesser of two evils.
Fantasizing what it was like to have Karen naked beneath him, that soft, fresh body, to be followed by Cathleen's body, Holmes changed the direction of his next step.
He would give them another chance.
Slowly, Holmes walked to the blank wall, reached behind the broad-leafed rubber plant to the button opening the sliding door. As the wall began to slide open, Holmes reached into his pocket for the Colt.45. He pointed it into the room.
He observed Karen off to his left, on her hands and knees exploring the floor of the room, as if seeking a means of escape. He saw Cathleen seated on the examination table, crying quietly.
Both women sprang upright at the sound of the opening door and, as they realized that Holmes had returned, looked at him with dread and disgust.
'Karen!' Holmes shouted. 'Get over to the examination table where you belong, next to Cathleen!'
Obediently, Karen straightened and marched back to the table and stood beside Cathleen.
'All right, listen to me,' announced Holmes. 'I'm giving both of you a second chance. It's your last chance, and you'd be wise to take it. You, Cathleen, I want you to come up to my bedroom with me.'
There was a long interval of silence before Cathleen began sobbing loudly. 'No – no, I can't -I can't do that.'
Holmes spoke again. 'All right, that was Cathleen's death sentence. What about you, Karen? Do you want a reprieve?'
'Get out of my sight, you lousy scum, and let me die in peace!' Karen shouted.
Holmes grunted. 'You will now have your wish, each of you. I'm locking you in. I'm going to turn on the poison gas and leave it on until you choke to death. Goodbye, you fools!'
With that, Holmes stepped outside the room and pressed the button, waiting while the wall slid shut on his victims.
Pleased, he pocketed the gun, and in measured strides made for his office.
Bruce pulled back into the shadows behind the pillar.
'You heard that,' he whispered. 'We've got to act fast, right now.'
'He's got a gun,' Alan whispered back. 'If he hears us, he'll shoot us dead and kill the girls too.'
Bruce was already removing his boots. 'Take off your shoes, Alan. He's not going to hear us.'
In seconds they were both in their stocking feet.
'Let's go,' Bruce whispered urgently.
They stepped out into the foyer and crept quietly down the central hallway.
They paused.
In the dim light off to their left, they could see that Dr Holmes had entered his office. He was rubbing his hands together as he headed towards what Bruce guessed was a control panel.
Without another word, Bruce signalled Alan to follow him as he hurried on padded feet across the hall into Holmes's office.
Dr Holmes was reaching up for a lever.
Abruptly, Bruce gestured for Alan to circle around to Holmes's other side. Alan did so as Bruce closed in on Holmes directly from behind.
Holmes's finger was already on the lever.
Bruce cocked his head towards Alan.
With a shriek, Alan leaped at Holmes, hammering one fist against the doctor's arm, knocking his hand away from the lever.
Startled, wild-eyed, Holmes lunged at Alan with a fist as his free hand snaked into his jacket for the Colt.45.
Behind him, Bruce saw the gun in Holmes's hand. Instantly, Bruce grabbed for Holmes's wrist, wrenching hard. The Colt.45 wobbled in Holmes's grip, then flew to the floor.
Holmes whirled about to confront Bruce, slipped beneath a blow, and hooked out with a right and left to Bruce's jaw. The power of the punches rocked Bruce, momentarily paralysing him as he went down heavily on his back.
In a flash, Holmes kneeled, swept up the Colt.45 once more, gripped it, and spun around to fire at Alan, who was coming at him.
Bruce staggered to his feet, in a frenzy scanned the room for any heavy object – he saw the solid-looking Venus de Milo vase with its dried flowers on the mantelpiece. With both hands Bruce reached up for it and turned in time to see Holmes taking aim at the retreating Alan.
Bruce lifted the vase high above him, and with all his strength brought it down with a loud thud on the top of the doctor's skull.
The blow shattered the vase.
Clearly, it also shattered part of Dr Holmes's head.
Dr Holmes crumpled, and then pitched unconscious to the office floor. He lay spreadeagled between Bruce and Alan.
Losing no time, Bruce dropped to his knees, released the Colt.45 from the doctor's slack fingers, and shoved it into his own pocket. Turning the doctor over, he could see that Holmes was totally unconscious and fresh bright blood was matting his hair.
'He's out,' Bruce gasped.
'Thank God,' said Alan breathlessly.
With difficulty, Bruce came to his feet. 'The girls…' he croaked. 'Let's get them out of there before something goes wrong – before they die of fright.'
Alan was already on the run, out of the office and heading for the blank wall. Alan searched desperately for the button to the sliding door. At last he found it, and pressed hard.
The portion of the wall slid wide open.
Alan peered inside the room.
Cathleen and Karen were standing in front of the examination table, clinging to each other as they waited for death. At the sound of the sliding door, they both gazed with disbelief at the opening, as if they were seeing an apparition.
'Oh, Alan… Alan… it's you,' Cathleen moaned. She pulled free of Karen and stumbled towards Alan as he entered the death chamber. She threw her arms around him and he hugged and kissed her.
Bruce was in the room now, advancing on the shaken Karen. His arms went around her tightly and his mouth found her lips. He kissed her over and over again until she could scarcely breathe.
'How… how did you get here?' Karen wanted to know.
'Aunt Minna sent us to bring you back,' replied Bruce. 'Dr Holmes tried to bluff us into believing you weren't here, that you'd left, but we were suspicious of him. We managed to hide out and discover that he was trying to kill you. Then we overcame him.'
Cathleen tore away from Alan. 'Where is Dr Holmes?' she asked, still fearful. 'Where is that maniac?'
'Come along,' said Bruce.
The four of them emerged from the death chamber.
They crossed the central hall to the doctor's office. Stretched out on the floor, still unconscious, was Dr Holmes.