the fellow, coming up into my place like that!”
shouted at him.
Joe was elated. It had been
THEY all hurried past the open door, then up unexpectedly easy. The taxi was sliding away the stairs. There was a terrific clatter from at top speed, skidding around corners, upstairs. Joe knew that was Post hammering vanishing completely away from the scene of on the locked door. And he knew that he the murder.
couldn’t wait. He stepped back out to the Suddenly, Joe sat up taut. His lips went hallway. The street door was still open. He dry. Sweat dampened his forehead. The paused a brief moment, then, as calmly as he handbag! He had left the handbag up there in could, walked out.
Stacker’s room—They could trace him by that Just outside he was brought to a full bag.
stop; standing on the sidewalk was a
Joe leaned forward, touched the driver uniformed policeman. The patrolman eyed on the shoulder.
him dubiously.
“Stop!” he yelled.
“Well,” Joe said, rapidly, “they got
The taxi skidded to a stop. The driver him all right.”
turned and stared at him.
“Yeah?” said the patrolman.
“What
the—”
“Sure,” said Joe, lightly. “My pal,
“Go back!” Joe said wearily. “Take me Stacker, left me to take care of him. It was a back to where you picked me up!”
cinch—just a little guy, no bigger than me.
They got him now. Sent me down to ask you THE driver muttered his astonishment, swung to come up and help him.”
the cab about and headed back. He was taking The patrolman ran up the Steps to the his time now.
house, not waiting for Joe, Joe walked away,
“Go
fast!”
urged
Joe. “Fast as you
trying not to appear to be hurrying. He can!”
reached the next corner, was just turning it, In less than ten minutes from the time when he thought he heard a commotion back he had left, Joe was stepping out of the taxi.
at the front door of the rooming-house.
He paid the driver, stood on the sidewalk, He was out of sight now. He felt the
thinking rapidly. He was thinking of what he urge to race away. But he knew that would be had heard Stacker tell Post out there in the difficult. They would be after him at once.
corridor—that some one named Carson would He stopped suddenly. There, at the call him if there was any trouble.
Suicide Satchel
7
Down on the next corner, away from
close to the door.
the rooming house, was a drug store.
There were no voices, nothing to
Joe speeded in that direction, entered indicate that there was anyone in the room.
the store, spoke to the clerk.: “Who runs the Stacker, no doubt, had left in response to the rooming house down in next block?”
phone call. And the officers would have
“Mrs. Buzzel,” the clerk said nothing to wait there for.
promptly. “But I don’t think you’d like it In a moment, Joe grasped the knob,
there—she’s a crabby old witch.”
turned it, pushed. The room was in darkness.
“Okay,” said Joe. “That’s all I need to He closed the door again. He jabbed the light know.”
button. There was no one in the room. He He stepped to the phone booth, made for the divan.
thumbed the directory, found the number, The handbag was there!
dialed it. A lady’s voice answered presently, A moment later he was walking
rather irritably. Joe had torn a sheet from the quickly out of the room, carrying the handbag; back of the directory, held it over the down the stairs to the front door. He snapped mouthpiece, lowered his voice.
off the night latch, opened the door, peered
“Let me speak to Stacker,” he said.
out cautiously.
“And tell him to make it snappy.”
There was still no one in sight. He was
“Oh, all right,” said the woman, out on the sidewalk and walking briskly down grudgingly.
the street in a few seconds—down toward the Joe waited. Soon came the sound of
corner where Louis had killed Slausen an hour Stacker’s voice: “Hello.”
or so before.
“Carson talking,” said Joe. “Trouble.
Come right over.”
JOE was breathing easier now. He was within
“But—”
a step or two of the corner. So he had slipped
“Can the chatter. Big trouble. Got to through, after all! He was thinking again of get it fixed up. Come right over.”
Mary, of the wedding in the morning, of their He snapped the receiver on the hook,
life together, of—
stepped out into the drugstore, killed a few A large man emerged from the
minutes looking over the magazine rack. shadows, then another. The two men were Then, disregarding the curious stares of the directly in front of him. He found that he clerk, he stepped out, walked briskly down the could not pass them, and he stopped.
street toward the rooming house.
One of them turned a flashlight on
The street was deserted now. Joe him.
turned and walked up the front steps, tried the
“Say, Bill,” said one of them, with a door. It was locked. He quickly walked down note of surprise, “this looks like the guy we’re the steps again, then went along the alleyway looking for!”
by the side of the house.
“Yeah,” said the other. “The guy with He hesitated a moment. Everything the handbag. Come along with us!”
was quiet. He climbed in through the pantry Joe found his voice: “With—with you!
window as he had before. There he stood still, Where to?”
listened. The house seemed utterly quiet. In a
“Headquarters,” said the man.
little while he was walking noiselessly along Joe was simply swept along. The two
the second-floor corridor toward the rear. He detectives had a car around the corner. They stopped just outside Stacker’s room, his ear seemed to be having fun kidding him.
Secret Agent X
8
“Help the goy with the handbag, Bill,”
“Sure. We was up there talking to
said the one who took the wheel.
Stacker, and he was giving us a line about Joe moved his hand back. “No,” he
you. But we kind of figured him in on the protested. “I’ll—”
deal. He was supposed to be a pal of
But the one called Bill took the Slausen’s—the guy that got wiped out. But he handbag from him, put it carefully in the back really put him on the spot for Louis, see?
of the car. Then he got in with Joe. In a few Well, the phone call came for him and he went minutes they were walking into a stone out and a couple of our boys tailed him and he building. And before long they were sitting in went straight to a pal of Louis’ named Carson.
a bare-looking office.
Louis was there, too. And our boys got the They were both looking him over, lowdown on the whole thing. The hoods intently, from his soft felt hat to his small-figured it for a pinch and started shooting. But sized shoes.
they didn’t get away with it. Our men shot
“Yeah,” said one of them. “He answers back, and Slausen, Louis, Carson—all of ’em the description, all right, Bill.”
were killed. Good thing. Saved the state trial
“Sure he does,” said Bill, who was
costs.” He paused. “That phone call done it!”
staring at Joe. “You ain’t denying it, are you?”
Joe stammered: “But I—”
JOE drew a long breath. “Here’s my address,”
“Wait a minute.” The phone bell had
he said, writing on a piece of paper. “And my interrupted. The detective called Bill reached name. I been working for Mosen & Rand, for the instrument, listened, chuckled, said Wholesalers, for the last year. You can get me
“okay” several times, then hung up, grinned at any time you want me. Can I go now?”
the other detective, and turned to Joe again.
The two detectives exchanged glances.
“You ain’t denying you seen that killing?”
“Okay,” said the one called Bill.
Joe’s lips moved, but he couldn’t talk.
“Any time after noon,” said Joe. “I’m
“Lemme help you,” said the other getting married—” he looked at the clock—
detective. “It was this way. You was walking
“in six hours.”
along, toting your handbag, and you run into a
“Good luck. And don’t forget your
guy named Louis Delano. Delano sees a handbag,” said Bill.
chance to frame a stranger, and he stops, you.
Joe wasn’t forgetting it.
Then another guy comes around the corner
“What’s in it?” asked the other officer.
and Louis drills him and drives away. But
“History,” said Joe. “Ancient history.
another guy named Stacker pokes his long In four volumes—three small and one large.
nose in—and you beat it!”
Goodnight!”
Joe nodded slowly. “I guess I have to Outside he got in a taxi. The taxi took tell you the truth—”
him to the entrance of the park. He walked in
“Sure you do,” Bill said the park to the lake, stopped there, looked enthusiastically. “You was a witness! Trouble around.
is these witnesses to gang killings are always He unlocked the handbag, opened it.
scared and beat it. But you’re gonna do your His hand went in four times, and each time it part for law and order, ain’t you?”
came out his arm made a swinging motion.
“Sure I am,” said Joe. “But—”
Far out in the lake dropped three
“Attaboy! Well, this case is cleared up automatic pistols and a sawed-off shotgun.
in a hurry. That’s all due to the phone call!”
“Phone call?” said Joe, startled.
Suicide Satchel By J Page 2