Zell continued to collapse inside his expensive clothes. “I deny this,” he said weakly.
“So after all the fixing and doping and stealing,” Shayne said, “what it comes down to is a real estate deal. Sanchez worked fast last night, and recovered the deposition and the purchase agreement. The deal was off again, after being off and on, off and on. But who’s the sole owner of Surfside if Mom and Pop are both dead? Linda, and she’s the one member of the family who always wanted to sell. All right, back to taped action.”
The scene in the VIP lounge began to roll. Harry Zell and Mrs. Geary, drinks in their hands, went on arguing until Mrs. Geary’s head wobbled and she fell back in her chair. Zell dragged her into the washroom and scattered the pills. He smeared the glass with a towel to blur the fingerprints and came out, smoothing his hair.
In the control room, Zell was mumbling. At a word from Shayne, Dave took the tape off the feed and substituted the live pickup from the VIP lounge. Mrs. Geary’s hand lifted and she sat up, blinking. Shayne heard a cheer from the crowd.
“So that’s one murder less,” Shayne told Zell. “It still leaves you with problems.”
The fat man peered at Shayne. “Well, somebody’s going to put a hotel here sooner or later. It’s so logical.”
“That was Harry Zell,” Shayne said into the mike. “The cops have some straightening up to do now, and I think the rest of the Surfside meeting will be canceled. But don’t be too gloomy. The Flagler season starts in three weeks. If there’s anything you missed or you didn’t understand, you can go home now and see it on television.”
He handed the mike to Painter and went to the escalator. Frieda was riding toward him. Shayne didn’t wait, but went down to meet her.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Million Dollar Handle Page 18