Beauty And The Bounty

by Robert J. Randisi

  “Jeez,” Bendix said, “that shouldn’t be no trouble at all, huh?”

  When they reached the hotel Decker asked Bendix, “Do you have a suit?”

  “Hey, I live in this town, don’t I?” Bendix asked. “Of course I have a suit.”

  “Come back later, and be wearing it.”

  “I don’t have to come back,” Bendix said.

  “Why not?”

  “Duke gave me a room in the hotel.”

  Decker wondered how Duke made any money if he was always giving away rooms.

  “All right, then meet me in the lobby at eight and we’ll hit some of the other hotels in the Square.

  “I’ll be there.”

  As they went past the front desk the clerk said, “Mr. Decker?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Mr. Ballard wanted me to tell you that he’s waiting in your room for you.”

  “What for?”

  The clerk shurgged, but then added, “I did notice that he had his tailor with him.”

  “Tailor?” Bendix said, laughing. “And you asked me if I had a suit?”

  “Mine has a bullet hole in it,” Decker said.

  “Well, let’s hope we can avoid having that little problem again.”

  “Amen.”

  “The tailors in this town are thieves!”

  Chapter Twenty-five

  “Mr. Decker?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Could you move a little to your left, please?”

  “Is this thing going to be ready by tonight?” Decker asked Duke.

  “Of course,” Duke said, but Decker noticed the outraged look on the face of the tailor, a small, pudgy man with surprisingly graceful fingers. “My man is the best.”

  “I hope so.”

  “Stand still, please!” the tailor said.

  Decker frowned, but stood still.

  “How did it go at Van Gelder’s?” Duke asked.

  “I don’t think he likes me.”

  “Small loss.”

  “He also didn’t like the idea that Johnny Bendix was with me. You didn’t tell me that Bendix worked for Van Gelder.”

  “Bendix works for anyone who’ll pay him. He’s worked for Van Gelder before, and he’s worked for me and a lot of others. He’s loyal, though, to the one he’s working for at the moment.”

  “So I understood.”

  “What do you think of him?”

  “He’s smart, and he’s got good instincts. Is he any good with that gun?”

  Duke nodded.

  “And with his hands. He’ll watch your back about as well as it’s ever been watched, Decker.”

  “I hope so.”

  “Where are you going tonight?”

  “Just going to hit some of the hotels in the Square, see if I can spot anybody.”

  “I still don’t see how you can hope to find someone when you don’t even know what she looks like.”

  “I’m not completely in the dark.”

  “Oh no?”

  “Well, you saw the drawings on the poster. There is a similarity among them all.”

  “Around the eyes, yes, but you forget what women can do to their eyes with makeup, you know. Probably change the entire shape of them. Besides, you’d have to be real observant to even notice.”

  “And I’m not?”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “What did you mean?”

  “I don’t know what I meant,” Duke said. “I just wish you’d forget your business and come and join me in mine.”

  “There!” the tailor said.

  “Done?” Decker asked.

  “Finally.”

  “All right. Let me get this off and you can get it ready by tonight…right?”

  The tailor looked at Duke, and then said, “Right.”

  Decker removed the suit, gave it to the tailor and saw him to the door. Then he turned and addressed himself to Duke’s last remark.

  “I told you before, Duke, I appreciate the offer, but the hotel business is not for me.”

  “Why not? Lots of good-looking women, good food, nice place to live—”

  “You’ve got to stay in one place.”

  Duke stared at his friend and then said, “Yeah, I can see how that would be a drawback for you.”

  “Well, now that we agree on that, why don’t you get out and let me get some rest. I’m going to have a late night, tonight.”

  “How’s the shoulder?”

  “A little rest would help.”

  “Okay, okay, I’m going.”

  “Will you be dealing tonight?”

  “Yes, why?”

  “Just like to know where you’ll be in case I need you.”

  “I’ll be dealing. The game’s starting to get interesting. Maybe you’ll have time to sit in again before it’s over.”

  “We’ll see,” Decker said.

  As Duke left, Decker relaxed on the bed. Sitting in on a poker game, where he would more than likely be cleaned out, was the furthest thing from his mind.

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Julie Landan was resting on her bed. She’d had a full afternoon of shopping, and had returned to her hotel exhausted. She didn’t know how rich men’s wives managed to do this every day.

  Johnny Bendix spent the afternoon in the Ballard Hotel saloon, playing low-stakes poker and drinking beer. He had found the morning with Decker interesting, and was looking forward to seeing the man in action that evening.

  Toward late afternoon, he picked out one of the girls who worked the saloon and took her up to his room.

  After all, it was all free.

  Annie Tucker was nervous.

  She knew that Margot had told Van Gelder that she’d left the hotel early that morning, and yet the whole afternoon had passed without Van Gelder calling for her.

  What did he have up his sleeve?

  She thought about Big Harry and shuddered.

  She was glad she’d gotten Sally away from Van Gelder, whatever it might cost her.

  On one hand, Sally Tucker was happy, and on the other, she was not.

  She was glad that she had a nice job in a good hotel with pleasant people to work with, but she was still worried about her sister, working at the Alhambra for Van Gelder.

  She hoped that Decker would be able to help Annie, the way he had helped her.

  Van Gelder sat in his room, watching Margot as she slept on his bed. The sheet was on the floor and she was naked. Her skin was very pale, and she had big breasts that barely flattened out when she lay on her back. She was eager to please, uninhibited and inventive in bed.

  Still, she wasn’t Annie Tucker.

  He stroked his jaw and wondered about his feelings for Annie. They were stronger than he liked to think, but if he let her get away with making a fool of him, he’d be the laughingstock of San Francisco.

  Maybe he’d give her one more chance.

  Just one.

  Big Harry sat in the dining room of the Alhambra Hotel. He knew that Van Gelder wouldn’t be pressing him for his plan concerning the Ballard House, but he was in a hurry to get the job done, anyway. That’s why he was annoyed that Ballard had put on extra security—and they were good boys, too.

  Well, he’d gotten some good boys of his own.

  Three of them were seated at the table with him, and he was buying them drinks.

  “What’s the job, Harry?” Seidl asked.

  “The Ballard Hotel.”

  “What do you want done to it?” Murphy asked.

  “Go and have some dinner,” Harry said, “maybe do some gambling. Complain about the service.”

  “How hard do you want us to complain?” Palmer asked.

  Harry gave them all long stares and said, “Hard.”

  Mark Sideman thought that Victor Van Gelder was ready to be taken.

  He’d been working for the man for two years, getting paid less than he was worth, taking all the shit Van Gelder threw his way, watching and waiting for a sign of weakne
ss—and now he’d seen it.

  Annie Tucker.

  Wasn’t it always a woman?

  Walking past the dining room Sideman saw Harry talking to three men. Van Gelder had probably made some arrangements with Harry for a job, and kept Sideman ignorant of it.

  Sideman was supposed to be Van Gelder’s business manager, but he didn’t like being kept out of the rest of Van Gelder’s business affairs. He thought he deserved better.

  And by God, he was going to get it.

  Chapter Twenty-seven

  When Decker got down to the lobby, Bendix was already waiting, looking remarkably resplendent in a black suit, similar to the one Decker was wearing. He wondered if Bendix had been to see Duke’s tailor.

  “Do you have a gun?” Decker asked.

  Bendix held back the left side of his jacket to show Decker the shoulder rig. Decker himself was wearing the shoulder rig that Duke had given him, but recalling the way the gun had snagged on his suit jacket the night of the shooting, he had made a few trial runs with it in his room before leaving.

  “You fellas look like a couple of high rollers,” Duke said, coming up behind them.

  “Might get lucky,” Bendix said.

  “You never know,” Decker said.

  “You never know,” Duke agreed.

  “Have you got your extra security on tonight?” Decker asked.

  “Sure. Why? You expecting anything, tonight?” Decker shrugged.

  “Tonight’s as good a night as any. Just have them keep their eyes open.”

  “They will. I’ll be around, too. I decided to have someone else deal tonight.”

  “Well, watch your step.”

  “I was just going to tell the two of you the same thing.”

  Portsmouth Square was packed with hotels that were also gambling houses. The Parker House, the El Dorado, the Empire, the St. Charles and the Varsouvienne were just a few of them.

  Decker chose the Parker House as their first stop of the night. Bendix entered first, followed by Decker. Bendix would stand at a roulette table, or a blackjack table, and Decker would move about the room. When Bendix received a nod from Decker he would move into the dining room, again followed by Decker.

  In leaving the hotel they did it the opposite way. Decker would leave the dining room first, followed by Bendix, and they’d move out of the gambling casino in the same manner, just in case there was someone there who recognized Decker and harbored some ill will.

  After the Parker House they went to the El Dorado, and then to the Verandah, which featured as its entertainment a one-man band. The man blew a set of pipes that were tied to his chin while he beat a drum on his back with a set of sticks that were fastened to his elbows. He held a pair of cymbals in his hands, and stomped the floor with his feet. He was certainly not artistic, but he was energetic and loud.

  The Bella Union offered something a little more dignified, a Mexican string quartet—two harps, two guitars and a flute—and the Aguila de Oro had a black chorus.

  When they entered the Varsouvienne it was getting late and Bendix put his hand on Decker’s arm.

  “What are we looking for?”

  “I told you—”

  “You must have some idea, or you wouldn’t be looking.”

  “I’m looking for a woman with a certain cast to her eyes and eyebrows, who might look like she’s gambling with her own money.”

  “Oh.”

  “Then again, she might be on a gentleman’s arm, betting with his money.”

  “Well, Jesus, don’t make it any easier.”

  Along the way Decker had also been having a drink or two at each bar, asking if anyone knew a woman named Julie Landan. Up until now, he had received only negative replies—or negative stares.

  After the Varsouvienne Decker said, “All right, one more stop and then we’ll call it a night.”

  “Don’t tell me, let me guess,” Bendix said. “The Alhambra?”

  “You guessed it.”

  “This should be interesting.”

  Chapter Twenty-eight

  They entered the Alhambra together, choosing at this point to abandon any pretense of not being together, and now watching each other’s back.

  “You want to gamble, or drink?” Bendix asked.

  Decker looked around for Annie Tucker, and when he didn’t see her in the casino he said, “Drink.”

  “How about something to eat?”

  “Sure, why not?”

  “Unless you think that’s pushing it.”

  “I don’t think they’ll poison our food.”

  Bendix made a face at the unpleasant thought, and they walked to the dining room, where there were not only tables, but a small bar. Decker saw Annie Tucker standing at the bar with a man, looking bored. The man was looking at her with obvious relish.

  Decker and Bendix were seated, and Bendix saw Decker look towards the bar.

  “Annie Tucker a friend of yours?” Bendix asked.

  “Does everyone in town know who she is?”

  “Anyone who’s ever been in Portsmouth Square does. When Van Gelder first hired her he squired her around on his arm, taking her to dinner at all the Portsmouth Square hotels.”

  “And then he turned her into a whore.”

  Bendix shrugged.

  “Who knows what turns a woman into a whore, but I’ll giver her this. She’s not just a whore. That lady has a lot of class.”

  “To much for this place, I think.”

  “You may be right.”

  Finally, Annie Tucker’s bored eyes began to wander about the room and fell on Decker. He waved her over. She said something to her companion, put her hand on his arm, and then walked over to Decker’s table.

  “This isn’t smart, you know,” she said to Decker. She looked at Bendix and said, “Mr. Bendix.”

  “Miss Tucker.”

  “Not particular about the company you keep, I see.”

  “Would you join us for something to eat?” Decker asked.

  “Oh, sure. That’s all Van Gelder would have to see.”

  “Don’t tell me he doesn’t like me?” Decker asked.

  “He didn’t tell me in so many words—”

  “Does he know you were at the Ballard House earlier today?”

  The worried look came over her face and she said, “I don’t know.”

  “What do you think?”

  “I think he knows, but I don’t know why he hasn’t asked me about it.”

  “Annie, why don’t you just leave here with us and come over to the Ballard House.”

  “I can’t.”

  “You don’t have to work there, just stay with Sally for a while.”

  “I can’t,” she repeated more stridently than before.

  “Then maybe Sally was right.”

  “About what?”

  “She said she thought Van Gelder had something on you to keep you here.”

  “She said what?” Annie Tucker asked, looking surprised.

  “Maybe she’s a little smarter than you give her credit for.”

  “She may be smart, but she’s wrong,” she said. “Van Gelder has nothing on me.”

  “Then why stay?”

  “It’s…it’s a job, and I couldn’t get paid as much anywhere else.”

  “Come on,” Decker said, “there are plenty of hotels in the Square who could pay you as much.”

  “But they won’t.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She frowned and said, “I have to go back to work before someone sees us talking.”

  “Annie—” he said as she turned away, but stopped short when he—and Annie—both saw Mark Sideman watching them from the doorway. She nodded to Sideman, then walked over and rejoined her companion at the bar. She looked much more animated now, probably for Sideman’s benefit.

  “What’s going on?” Bendix asked. “That wasn’t what I understood we were coming here for.”

  “Just doing a favor for a friend,” Decker said. �
��You really want to eat here?”

  “No. Let’s go.”

  They got up and left, walking past Sideman, who said nothing.

  On the way back to the Ballard House Bendix said, “She was right, you know.”

  “About what?”

  “About no one else in the Square hiring her. Not when they know she belongs to Van Gelder.”

  “What do you mean, she belongs to him?”

  “Like everything else he has, she’s his property.”

  “That’s ridiculous. Nobody owns anybody,” he said, and then thinking of the war he added, “Not anymore.”

  “You got a lot to learn about San Francisco.”

  When they reached Duke’s hotel they saw that there had been some excitement. There was a broken window in the front, and three men were lying in the street. On the porch, there were three other men who looked as if they had been in a fight, but certainly looked better than the three on the ground. When Clint got closer he saw that the three men on the porch were the men Duke had hired as extra security. One of them was very large and powerfully built.

  Decker and Bendix skirted the three fallen men and ascended the steps to the porch.

  “Hi, Johnny,” one of the men said, around his fist. He was sucking on a knuckle.

  “Hi, Danny,” Bendix said to Danny Peoples. “A little trouble?”

  “Nothing we couldn’t handle.”

  “Glad to hear it.”

  Decker and Bendix entered the hotel and saw Duke in the lobby. He was bleeding from a cut lip, and his clothes were in a state of disarray—hell, they were in shreds—but Decker saw a sparkle in the older man’s eyes that he hadn’t seen there in a while.

  “You look like shit,” Decker said.

  “Come into my office for a drink,” Duke said, “and I’ll tell you all about it.”

  Chapter Twenty-nine

  They went into Duke’s office, accepted a drink each, and then listened while he told them the story…

  “Apparently,” Duke began, “the three men came into the hotel together, and right from the start it appeared they were looking for trouble. They went to the dining room, however, and I had only placed Danny Peoples there. I was expecting any trouble to start in the casino, so I had put Sam Mitchum and Carlos Caliente in there.