by P. N. Elrod
Chapter 10
WE WERE LAUGHING at some private joke. It was good to hear her laugh, she did it so seldom, but when I turned to look at her, she was gone and the smile within me died.
I woke from the cessation of motion as the train stopped. It was a familiar dream, I used to hate it, but not anymore because I needed the shadow memory of Maureen to know that I'd once loved her and felt alive.
She might have been saying good-bye to me this time, though. New York was behind me now, good memories and bad, and I wanted to start fresh again. That was what I told myself while threading through the crowded train station with my two bags. It wasn't much of a lie since I wasn't much of a liar, but the best for the moment, it would have to do.
Chicago was not windy today, it was late summer and the humidity was up to lethal levels. The walk from the station was unpleasant, the bags dragged hard on my arms, and the sidewalk threw the heat up in my face as though it were my fault. I was getting punch drunk from it until a hotel with the right price on the sign invited me into the shade. It was cheap, though not quite a fleabag. Later, if the money got too low, I'd end up in one of those, but not today.
Unescorted, I trudged upstairs to look for the door that fit my key. In these days of the Depression the hotel couldn't afford the luxury of a bellhop. The room was no worse than I expected, small and impersonal, with a sagging bed bolted to the floor, an ugly bureau and a chair to match, but it had a private bath and a phone and came with a fan, which I immediately turned on. I opened the window wide to let in the late-afternoon street exhaust and stripped out of my damp suit. I ran cold water in the tub and dropped in. Later on I'd hunt up a hamburger and read the papers to decide which one deserved to employ me.
The water was just rising past my chest when the phone rang.
I moaned and cursed, being one of those people who have to answer no matter what they're doing. It had to be a wrong number, the only person I knew in Chicago was the clerk downstairs. Lurching out and leaving a wet trail, I picked up the earpiece and said hello.
"Jack Fleming?" It wasn't a familiar voice.
"You got him, what is it?"
"Jack, this is Benny O'Hara from New York. You maybe remember at Rosie's bar about a year ago--
Benny O'Hara, a little guy with big ears who gave me a tip on an arson story in exchange for five bucks and a drink. I'd let the cops in on it, they caught the guys, and I got an exclusive for the paper with a by-line.
"Yeah, Fourth of July, make it look like fireworks did it, collect the insurance. I remember. "
"Listen, I saw you leave the train station and followed you. I thought you could help me--"
The same old story. He needed a soft touch, but I couldn't afford it this time. "I'm sorry, Benny, but I was just on my way out--"
"No, wait, please, this is important!" He sounded desperate, I hung on out of curiosity. "You gotta listen. I've got something big for you, a hell of a story, believe me. "
"I'm listening. "
"Can you come down and meet me in the street? I can't tell it all on the phone. Please, Jack?"
"What'll it cost me?"
"You mean what'll it give you? This one is red hot. "
"Arson again?" I joked.
"Please, Jack!" He was in no mood for humor.
"All right, I'll be out in a minute. "
"Just walk outside, turn right, and keep walking. I'll catch up with you. "
It seemed overly dramatic, maybe he did have something important. If I came to an editor with a hotshot story ready to roll.
so much the better my chances of getting a job, and with better pay. It was worth a try. I told Benny to hold tight and hung up, trying not to sound too eager.
Dried and dressed, I left the hotel, following his directions, scanning the faces around me for his. About a block later he appeared at my elbow.
"Don't look at me, for Chrissake!" he said in a low voice.
The glimpse I'd gotten was not reassuring. He always looked to be just this side of starvation, that was normal, but now he was haggard and twitching at the edges. I wondered when he'd last slept.
"Just keep walking and I'll tell you everything. "
"For how much?"
"I'll tell you. When I'm finished you can take it or leave it. "
Now, that was out of character. If I hadn't been on guard before, I was now. "Who's following you?"
"Nobody yet, I think, but we can't take chances. Just keep walking. "
I kept walking.
"Ever hear of Lucky Lebredo?"
"No. "
"He's a local gambler, owns part of the Nightcrawler. "
"He owns a worm?" I said blankly.
"It's a nightclub," he said, pained. "Used to be a big speak, then it went in heavy on the gambling when he got part of it. "
"Illegal, of course. "
"Is LaGuardia Italian? Anyway, he's a name here to some people, but keeps a low profile and stays out of the way of the gangs, so not many people know him or his piece of the club. "
"So what's this about, Benny?"
"Did Rosie tell you what I do for a living?"
"She said you were a locksmith," I replied with a straight . face.
"Rosie's a swell gal. "
"Benny--"
"Okay! I'm getting to it. I have to take advantage of an opportunity when it comes up 'cause there ain't that many of them these days for locksmiths. I gotta flop with this friend of mine, and every Wednesday he has room in his place for a big-time poker game. These guys use thousand-dollar bills like other people use matchsticks. Sometimes the game goes on for days. It's usually out-of-town guys lookin' for some fun, and there's different ones every week, but Lucky never misses a game. He's a real crazy when it comes to poker and he always wins. "
"I've heard of people like that. "
"You gotta see to believe this guy. I swear, one week he went home eighty thousand dollars ahead. You gotta figure he don't declare that on his income tax. "
"How is it they let you in on this game?"
"I don't play. My friend tells 'em I'm a bodyguard. He lends me a gat for the duration and I hang around and look tough. Some of these rubes even believe it, they treat me like Capone himself, and they tip good to boot. Anyway, I keep my eyes open and one night I decide to follow Lucky home, just to protect him, you understand. "
"I understand. "
"Well, he goes on into this house, and for a guy with that much money it ain't much of a house, so I figure he must have piles of it lying around unspent and unprotected. Maybe he might like to hire someone to guard it for him when he's out. "
"And you decided to apply for the job?"
"Naturally, but the next night when I went back he was gone, maybe off to the club, but I tried the door, anyway, and imagine my surprise when it just opened right up. I thought maybe something might be wrong inside, so I had a good look around to make sure there wasn't no burglars. "
"Go on. "
"Thank goodness there wasn't and a good thing, too, because--I swear this is the truth--he walked out the door and left the safe wide open. I mean, how careless can you get?"
"Tsk-tsk. Very careless. "
"Now, I thought it would be a shame if all that cash were to disappear into the wrong hands, so maybe I should take care of it for him. "
"Very thoughtful of you. "
"I thought so, too. There were a lot of large bills there and I don't have nothing to carry them in, so I pull out this big envelope from the safe that looks empty. There's only two sheets of paper inside, they don't take up any room, so I start stuffin' money into it and the whole kit and kaboodle leaves with me. When I get back to my flop I count things out and that's when I get a good look at those sheets of paper. "
"What was on them?"
"They look like some kid was playing with a typewriter. Both sheets are covered with a lot of punctuating junk and numbers top to bottom, both s
ides of the pages. I figure right away it's some kind of code, and I like puzzles, so I try to solve it. "
"And?"
"And it wasn't so easy, but I did it, and the stuff on those pages is enough to blow this state wide open. "
"What is it, then?"
"A blackmail list. The names are big ones, ones you wouldn't expect to be there. It gives the names, where they live, the location of the stuff that's against them, everything. I checked. "
"Oh come on, Benny. "
"I swear! I got it with me and now I gotta get rid of it. "
"Why? And why me?"
" 'Cause you're not on the list, 'cause you're new in town, and none of these mugs know you. "
"What mugs?"
"One of Lucky's boys and others. They're with the Paco gang, they been after me for days, I can't get outta town. They've got the stations covered. I can't buy a car, boat, or bicycle without them finding out. "
"And you want to foist this off on me? Turn it in to the cops. "
"Don't you see anything? There's cops on the list--judges, lawyers, newspaper people--anybody with something to hide is on it. They'd bury it and me, too, if I went to them. I tried. But you're clean, you can do something with it, you can make a story out of it. "
"What do you want from me?"
"Just some help getting out of the city. I can take care of myself from there. "
I'd always been an idiot when it came to thinking out the long-term consequences of snap decisions. "What have you got planned?"
"You're a square guy, so I can trust you. I give you a couple of notes and you go buy a car for me, but in your name, then all we gotta do is drive outta town. You drop me in some burg in the next state, then I'm on my own and can lam it from there. For that, you keep the car and the list. Lucky and his boys don't know you from whosis, so you'll be safe, too. "
"That sounds okay to me. When?"
"Right now. I gotta get out today before my nerves go. Take a turn into that alley ahead and wait for me. If things are clear, I'll be there in a minute. "
I went into the alley, walking half its length before stopping and turning around. It was dim and quiet. I took off my hat and wiped at the sweatband with a handkerchief. My only company was a one-eared cat picking through the garbage. Down the middle of the alley ran a trickle of water, and overhead someone's laundry hung dejectedly in the still air. I hoped Benny would hurry.
Long before I thought of leaving, his scrawny figure appeared at the other entrance. His gait was a peculiar hopping walk, as though he were about to break into a run and always changed his mind at the last second. He hitched up close, puffing with his eyes darting all over in nervous jerks. He was looking down at the heels for all the dough he claimed to be holding and had the calm demeanor of a chain smoker who'd just run out of cigs.
"Now we gotta be careful," he warned me, and gave me a thousand-dollar bill.
"Is this for real?" I'd never seen one before.
"Like Sally Rand's feathers. You might want to change it for smaller bills, but you can get a really good car with it. I can't cash 'em myself on account of I don't look that respectable enough, but for you it'd be easy. "
Not that easy, but maybe if I changed into my better suit I could pass muster at any bank. "Okay, now where's the list?"
"Right here and welcome to it. " He pulled out two sheets of paper folded double and gave them to me. I opened them up. As described, they were solid with typed symbols and numbers.
"How do I read this stuff?"
"It's easy, just substitution--"
Someone coughed off to the left. It was an oddly regular cough, coming three times very close together. Benny's small body jerked and three large red holes appeared in his head, chest, and stomach. He fell into the dirty little stream on his side and lay oblivious in the water, pop-eyed and forever surprised.
I won't defend my reaction, if it was cowardice or self-preservation, but I hurtled out of that alley and into the street as though my ass were on fire.
Terror is a great stimulant. Three long blocks later I was still pelting down the sidewalk at full steam, leaving a trail of disturbance and sometimes destruction as I negotiated obstacles in my path. I never looked back. The temptation was there, but it would have cost me speed and headway. I just couldn't take the risk. Heat and lack of endurance took their toll, though, and I was forced to slow down; my passage through the afternoon rush was too noticeable, anyway. I ducked into a big department store and tried to collect myself while still moving.
The list and the thousand-dollar bill were still in my hands. I tucked both away into my wallet and thought about calling for a cop. That might be a bad idea, though, since as a witness I was no good. I had, God help me, seen Benny die, but hadn't even glimpsed his killer. There could be more than one, from his talk. What story could I give, anyway? That I had accepted money from a thief to help him out? The truth wouldn't do at all, and from experience I knew I was a lousy liar. I kept moving, hoping to come up with some plan before somebody aced me.
I was just starting to feel safe and looked around. Even as a stranger to the city I had no trouble recognizing them. I'd seen the type in lineups in New York. They could look like anyone physically, but there was a hard-to-define attitude that set them apart from ordinary people.
A predator's hardness, perhaps, but I had no time to analyze the quality because they were coming after me.
I located the back exits, tore through the stockrooms, upsetting employees, and burst outside onto a narrow street where freight trucks made their deliveries. The street ran into a larger one, with more people and hopefully safety. I heard feet pounding behind me and dived into the crowds.
We played this game for nearly an hour. There were five of them, three on foot and two in a dark green Ford that followed me after I jumped into a taxi. They were smart and certainly professionals. I was a stranger in their territory and really didn't stand much chance of getting away, but had to keep trying to avoid Benny's fate.
I thought of dropping the stuff in plain sight. Perhaps that was all they were after, and I was too unimportant to bother about. It seemed right, but there was absolutely no indication they would be so cooperative. I kept going.
I was getting very tired. The taxi dropped me on Michigan Avenue, though it had given me a small respite, I'd have to go to ground soon. I needed time to rest and think and a safe place to do it in. That's when I looked up and saw the massive limestone structure of the Chicago Public Library. Libraries had often been quiet sanctuaries for me, so I went in.
The first floor was useless, too open, full of newspapers and people reading them. I took to the stairs. The second floor was a haven for civil War relics, but not for me. I puffed up to the third landing and was greeted with the welcome sight of rows and rows of bookshelves. Like a fish returning to water, I slipped between their ranks and found a vantage point where I could watch the avenue and the stairs.
I owed the taxi driver a medal for losing the Ford long enough for me to get to cover. Far below, its green roof cruised up and down the avenue for half an hour before they gave up and moved on. No dangerous-looking types came inside and I relaxed and retreated deep into the shelves.
First I'd get rid of the list, then I'd get out of town until things cooled off; maybe even go home for a while and rest. I could write up a detailed account and send copies to the local D. A. , the Feds, the papers, anybody I could think of who might be wondering who bumped off Benny O'Hara. It might not do any good, but it was as much as I was willing to risk at the moment. Seeing a man getting shot to pieces under your nose will take the starch out of anyone's backbone, and I never thought of myself as particularly brave. The last few hours had been so frightening I was ready to quit the papers altogether and go back to helping Dad at the store.
At the moment, though, I was getting hungry and felt that the promised hamburger was long overdue. The mind deals with
the shocks, but the body goes on prosaically dealing with the basics of living.
Standing on my toes, I placed the two sheets of paper on the top of one of the shelves in the back. The aisle was clear, no one had seen"me. I made a note of which section I was in, and left, knowing they were safe as they'd ever be.
I found a back stairway and used it to make my cautious way into the street again.
The coast looked clear, no green Fords, no hard men, but I kept pace with the thickest parts of the crowds for many long blocks before relaxing enough to find a cafe. A small, busy place called the Blue Diamond smelled good so I went in and managed to get a table at the back. I ordered steak with everything instead of a burger, and while I ate I made notes on a napkin about what happened in my personal shorthand. I stalled over the meal, drinking coffee and having an extra dessert so as not to put off the waitress. When it was dark I left her a good tip and ventured into the streets.
Taxis cost, but walking back to the hotel was too much for my feet.
Besides, I had no idea where it was, just the name of the street it was on. I gave it to the driver and hoped he'd take a straight route. It didn't take long, he knew his business and dropped me at the right corner as far as I could tell, although it seemed different in the dark.
I was still nerved up and tired, a bad combination.
I kept my eyes open, but wasn't too worried. The men who chased me couldn't know where I was staying since Benny had been so careful. Poor Benny.
And then it was poor me.
Two of them appeared out of nowhere. They must have been watching the whole street knowing I might come back. I was practically lifted from my feet and trotted forward. The green car came up, a door was pulled open, and I was hustled inside. The whole operation didn't take more than five or six seconds and I was being driven off to parts unknown.
The three of us staged an impromptu wrestling match in the backseat as I did my best to get out and they did their best to prevent it. Once I managed to get my hand on the door lever, but a fist hit the side of my head and another one gouged my kidneys.
"Hey, settle down back there!" the driver growled.
A few more hits and I was in no condition to continue the argument. They shoved me on the floor and kept me there facedown, their heavy feet resting with some force on my back and legs. I was dizzy from the punches and scared, and the swaying motion of the car in those claustrophobic conditions wasn't helping.
"I'm going to be sick," I said to the floor.
"What'd he say?"
A little louder, I repeated myself.
There was some laughter from the front seat, but the guys in back didn't think it was so funny. The one nearest my head took off my hat, turned it upside down, and shoved it under my nose.
"You get any puke on me and I'll pop your eyes out," he warned.
I gulped back my gorge and tried to get air in my lungs. It was a long, tough ride, but I managed to keep my dinner down. We pulled over once and the driver got out for a few minutes, leaving the engine running.
The car rocked as he squeezed back behind the wheel.
"Frank says we bring him to the boat, then you guys take a hike until he wants you again. Georgie, you take the car back to the house for me. "
"When do we get paid?"
"Tonight at the boat, the usual. "
"Come on, Fred, we been after this guy all day. "
"Then argue with Frank, I don't pay the bills. "
Someone tied a rag over my eyes and I was hauled from the backseat with my arms fixed behind me. Two men had to hold me up since I couldn't balance. I smelled and heard the water lapping all around and had immediate visions of Lake Michigan and cement shoes. I tried tearing loose, collected a breath-stealing gut punch, and was dragged down some steps. The next few minutes were confusing as I was tripped into something that felt alive under my feet. I lost balance again and without my arms couldn't stop the fall. My left elbow hit something hard and so did my knees. I tried to twist to get upright, lost it all again, and my head snapped back and the hard thing caught me behind the ear.
Despite the blindfold, lights flashed in my eyes before the dark closed everything down.
It felt like I'd been asleep for weeks and was only now coming out of it. Some men were talking and I was annoyed that they were holding their discussion in my private bedroom. I wanted to tell them to get the hell out, but my mouth wasn't cooperating yet.
"On ice and intact," a man said. I remembered his name was Fred.
"You call that intact?" was the ungrateful reply.
"He put up a fight, what can I say?"
"You boys been paid yet?"
"No, Mr. Paco. "
"Okay, here, and keep your traps shut. Get lost and forget today ever happened. Fred, you stay with me. Georgie, take the car back home. "
"Right. "
Men shuffled away. It didn't sound like a very large room and I still had a slight feeling of movement all around, which I attributed to my half-conscious state. My head hurt and I was sick in the stomach, and the more awake I got, the more hurts made themselves known. I started remembering other things, none of them too pleasant.
"What did they do to him?" said Paco.
"He took a fall when we put him in the boat. "
"Wake him up. "
Some water was dribbled in my face. That was when I realized they'd been talking about me. I thrashed around and shot fully awake and painfully alert. I couldn't move much, being firmly tied to a chair, but the blindfold was off, not that what I saw was very reassuring.
The large lump holding the water glass was Fred. The shorter, more bullish man behind him was Paco. Neither of them looked friendly.
The room was long with a low ceiling. The walls were oddly curved. I deduced we were on a boat and a big one. That explained the movement and my bad stomach; I was a poor sailor.
"He's awake," said Fred. He and Paco drew back from my field of vision.
My chair was in the middle of the bare floor facing a table. Leaning on the table was another man, darker and thinner than his friends. He unhitched his hip from his perch and came over to me. I heard a click and a slender, long-bladed knife appeared in one hand. The edge was so sharp it hurt to look at. I stiffened as he bent down near me.
"Take it easy, buddy," he said, and cut the ropes. I could hardly move as they dropped away but tried flexing my limbs. Not a good idea, they went from numb to pins-and-needles pain as the blood started resuming its job.
"You want a drink?"
I managed a nod. He made a sign and Fred brought me a stiff double whiskey. I would have preferred water, but took what was offered. It was good stuff and made things comfortably warm inside. My benefactor smiled at me, I'd have smiled back if he'd put the knife away. Fred took my empty glass and returned it to the built-in bar. He was looking at Paco as though waiting for a signal. Paco was looking at the third man, whose attention was on me.
"I think you know why you're here," he said. He had thick long lashes on his eyes, a woman's eyes, and I didn't like the expression in them.
"Stand up. "
There was no reason not to, though I wobbled a bit and had to use the chair for support. Fred came over and pulled everything from my pockets and dumped it on the table. They went through it. I said good-bye to the thousand-dollar note. They looked at me and Fred was smirking.
"I knew the little shrimp passed him something. "
"What else did you get off him?" asked Paco.
They found the napkin my notes were scribbled on, but it wasn't what they wanted.
"He's a reporter," said the third man. Fred laughed. They looked with interest at an old press pass he'd taken from my wallet and read my identification. "How long since you seen New York, Jack R. Fleming?"
"Look, I don't know what you want, I just got off the train today--"
"Did little Galligar call you
in to help him?"
"Galligar?" Probably Benny's Chicago name. "I don't know what you're talking about. This little guy starts talking to me in the street. He's got some kind of crazy story right out of Black Mask that I don't believe and says he'll give me a thousand bucks if I can get him out of town. I figure maybe the bill is a fake and he's trying some kind of new con game, then somebody shoots him so I took off. "
"Why don't you tell me the story?" he said, looking at my notes.
"He just said some guys were after him because he lifted some dough from the wrong people. "
"Who's L. L. ?"
"Louie Long or Lang, I think, I don't remember offhand. " I sank back into the chair, tired. "The initials are only for my memory, I'll make up something later. "
"What do you mean by that?"
"I'm a reporter, but I also write fiction. A real-life experience like that is too good to waste. I was thinking to do the whole thing up as a story and sell it to one of the detective magazines, maybe even make a book out of it. If I had to live on a reporter's pay I'd starve to death, so I write stories as well. "
They stared at me. For a few seconds I thought they believed it, then Paco burst into laughter. The other two joined him and my hopes sank.
They next made me strip and I swayed for several minutes wearing nothing but gooseflesh while they went through my clothes. Piece by piece they tossed everything back, even my wallet and papers, except for the large bill, which remained on the table.
"I know he had it, Mr. Morelli," said Fred, using the man's name for the first time. He didn't seem annoyed at the slip, which disturbed me. I'd heard the name before and something of the man who owned it, but saw no advantage in letting them know that, figuring my best chance with them was to pretend ignorance. "The other boys with me will tell you that, too. "
"Was he in your sight the whole time?"
"Well, no, but we were right with him and we got him--' "Put a lid on it, Fred," said Paco. "You lost him long enough for him to stash it somewhere. "
"Hide what?" I tried to sound frustrated and angry. It was easy.
"The list. "
"What list?"
"The one Galligar slipped you. "
"All he gave me was a cock-and-bull story and that money, and then someone shoots him. I figure they'd shoot me, too, so I ran. Take the money, I don't want it, just let me go. "
Morelli interrupted Paco's reply. "All right, Fleming, we will he happy to let you go and you can keep the money. I'll even give you another thousand for all the trouble we put you through. You tell us where you put the list and you can go. "
"I don't have any list!"
"I believe you. Just tell us where it is. "
"I don't know. "
He sighed. "Then we may have a problem. "
No problem for him, he just stepped back to give Fred enough room to swing. I tried to fight back and fight dirty, but he was too big, too experienced, and too fast. We broke some things up bashing around the cabin, but no one minded since I was the one falling over the stuff. I moved for the door, but he anticipated it, grabbed me from behind, whirled me around, and laid into my stomach. He stood back to catch his breath and I slid to the floor, unable to move. After a minute he hauled me up and dumped me into the chair.
Morelli bent down to my field of view. "You feel like talking yet?"
I couldn't answer right away, in fact there was only one thing I felt like doing at the moment. He saw it coming, said "Oh, shit!" and backed hastily out of the way. I had just enough strength to lean over the chair arm before giving up the steak dinner and the double whiskey onto his deck.
None of them thought it was particularly funny. I did, but wasn't laughing. I just hung over the chair arm and tried not to look at the stuff. The acid smell filled the room and drove out Morelli and Paco.
They made Fred clean it up, having decided he was to blame. He wasn't a happy man and cursed the whole time, most of his more colorful abuse aimed at me.
When Fred finished he dragged me out on the deck. There were lights way in the distance, too far for me to swim in my condition, not that he gave me the chance to go overboard. He shoved me against a rail and bent me double so I was well over the water. With a heavy arm around my neck he pried open my mouth and stuck a finger inside and nearly down my throat. I bucked against this, choking until he pulled it out, and then I retched into the black water. He did this twice more until he was certain I was cleaned out, then let me drop on the deck.
Utterly exhausted and panting like a dog, I hated Fred more than I ever thought possible. If I had a weapon or the strength, I would have cheerfully killed him.
I never had the chance, he took me down below.
Morelli and Paco were there, Morelli with one hip resting on the table much as I'd first seen him. Paco was sipping a beer next to the bar.
Fred practically carried me to the chair and dumped me in it. Except for a faint tang in the air, there was no sign of what had happened.
"You don't look so good, Fleming," said Morelli. He still had the knife out. He used it to slice the tip from a cigar and spent a minute lighting it properly. He blew the smoke in my direction. "Now, do you want to talk, or do you want to let Fred hit you some more?"
I didn't want either, so I kept quiet. Fred hit me some more.
He stopped occasionally to catch his breath and Morelli would ask me his question, get no answer, and then Fred started all over again. I harbored some hope that he'd get tired and go away, but when he did Paco took over--and he had brass knuckles.
They came as a bad surprise. Just when I thought it was impossible to hurt more he jabbed them hard into my ribs. The first time it happened I cried out and that encouraged him. He was still fresh, slightly boozed, and enjoying himself. I fell out of the chair and he kicked me until Fred put me back again. They were careful with me. They left my face alone, it'd be hard to talk through a swollen, battered mouth, and they wanted me to talk. I knew if I did and they got the list I'd die. It was a very simple conclusion, even in my present state I could grasp that. I kept quiet and let them hit me. I wanted to live that much. After a while I stopped reacting to the punches and Morelli told him to lay off.
Good old Morelli, my friend, I thought before I stopped being awake.
They took a break, had a meal, and started again. The cabin got like an oven and the air was an unbreathable mixture of sweat, cigar smoke, and booze, though the windows were open. With surprise I saw clear blue sky and sunlight lancing through white clouds. It had to be an unreal vision. Men just didn't beat up other men on days like this; then I'd get a whiff of my own stink and know otherwise.
Morelli gave me some water at one point, my tongue felt like it was someone else's property. "You can save yourself a lot of grief, Fleming.
Just tell me where you put it. "
I must have been feverish. I heard someone laugh a little and say: "Where the sun don't shine. "
He threw the rest of the water in my face. It felt good until I passed out again, which felt better.
I woke up. Something sharp in the air was burning my nostrils. 1 shook my head away but it followed. They'd turned up smelling salts from somewhere and were using them to keep me awake. It was necessary at this point, I kept conking out on them.
"Never mind that," Morelli said when my eyes finally opened. He had more water and gave it to me. It tasted odd, but I drank without thinking.
They left me alone and I started to drift away from the pain, but never quite made it, whatever was in the water wouldn't let me. My heart started pounding hard and fresh sweat broke out all over, I felt breathless. The hurts numbed by a few hours' rest began anew. To my humiliation, tears began flooding down my face. Fred and Paco found it very funny. Morelli just sat and smoked another cigar, letting them do all the work.
By mid-afternoon they took a break.
"I don't think he knows," said Paco, drink
ing another beer.
"Don't be a sap. He knows, but he won't talk. If he didn't know he'd be making up another story about it or telling us he doesn't know. But this guy don't talk at all. He knows. "
Fred yawned. "I gotta sleep," he said to no one in particular. He went out.
"Maybe we should go back and get Gordy," said Paco. "He's good at this stuff. "
"Nah, Lucky's got him busy looking for Galligar. "
Paco laughed. "He'll need a set of gills to do that. My boys took care of him good. "
"They screwed up, you mean. If they thought to shoot both of them we wouldn't be stuck here now. "
"I know, but we'll get him to talk. You wouldn't think he'd be' this stubborn, would you? Stupid, but he's got some guts. "
Their voices faded away. I dreamed about Benny, an uneasy Jewish-Catholic now buried forever without services from either faith, just another guy out of Hell's Kitchen scrambling for a buck.
I dreamed about escaping. If I could get overboard with a life preserver I might be able to make it to shore. Even the prospect of drowning looked preferable to another session with Fred and Paco. All I had to do was get up off the floor. Fat chance that, they'd done their work too well.
I dreamed about Maureen, dark hair and rare laughter, a nervous girl, looking over her shoulder, but needing love and giving it fully in return. Was she safe yet?
I dreamed, but could not rest.
Hours later I opened my eyes. The lids seemed to be the only part of my body that could still move. I felt like a shattered piece of glass held together with weak glue. The wrong touch and everything would fall to pieces. It hurt to breathe and the air was hot in my lungs. The windows were still open, but there was no ventilation.
I wasn't thinking too straight, because even that hurt, but I wanted to get to one of the windows. Once there I'd think of what to do next.
It was only ten feet away. Three steps for a healthy upright man, a few miles for me. Under it was a padded, built-in window seat. If I could get to it I would but I couldn't quite remember.
I squirmed forward six inches and rested. I'd have to go easy and keep the glue intact. Six more inches and rest. Repeat. My shoulders ached from the effort, but then so did everything else, tell them to shut up and cooperate so we can--what? Window seat. It was a little closer. Six inches and rest. Window seats have windows, windows have air, we need air. We need to rest. Oh, God it hurts Shut up. Six inches and rest.
Tears again, waste of energy, but they wouldn't stop. Eyes blurring, from tears or pain? Where was the window? Rest. Don't move, just lay down and die, serve them right. Anger. How dare they reduce me to this? How dare they make me crawl? Twelve inches that time. Anger was good, stay mad and escape. Keep crawling and hate their guts for it. Crawl so you can come back and do this to them. Crawl But the glue came apart before I was halfway there and for a long time there was nothing.
"Jeeze, you wouldn't think he'd a made it that far. " My admirer was Paco. I was looking at his shoes. I wished he'd give me a good solid kick in the head and end it all, but he was no pal to do me favors.
"Put him in the chair," said Morelli.
No, please don't bother.
They put me in the chair.
I fell out of it.
They tied me to the chair. Wrists and ankles. Rough hemp rope. I looked at it, not knowing what it was.
"Fleming. "
Oh, go away.
"Fleming. " He tilted my head back. I choked on some whiskey. Something had happened the last time I drank, but I couldn't remember.
"Wake up, Fleming. "
I was awake, unfortunately.
"Look at me. "
No, go jump in the lake. There was a lake all around us, which struck me as insanely funny. It hurt to laugh. Save it for later and laugh then, if there was a later. What was in the whiskey?
"Fleming, look at me or I'll cut your eyelids away. "
That got my attention, but I didn't look at him, only the slender knife in his hand. Yes, it was possible they could hurt me more. The look in his eyes, his dark feminine eyes, promised that much. Lightly he drew the blade across the back of my hand, sure as a surgeon. Blood welled up from the cut. Yes, he could hurt me.
"Fleming, you've got to talk to us, you've got to tell us where it is.
Believe me, we've been going easy on you. You've only got a bad bruising so far, nothing that won't heal. If you don't talk it will get worse and we'll start breaking things up inside you. You could bleed to death on the inside. Tell us where the list is and I swear on my mother's grave, I swear we will let you go. "
I almost believed him. Talk and die or don't talk and die, anyway. I'd be damned before I'd give them the time of day. They won't kill me, not unless I told them and I'd never give them the satisfaction. Stupid, Paco had said. Yes, and stubborn.
"Fleming, did you hear? Do you understand?"
I nodded or at least tried to. My head dropped so all I could see was my lap. He pushed it back and I was looking at the ceiling which kept moving around every time I blinked. Something went down my throat. I gagged and coughed.
In a little while my heart began to race. I was more alert. Fred put his hand in my field of view.
"You see these?" he asked.
Yeah. Brass knuckles. He gave me a good look at them.
"Mr. Morelli says I don't have to pull my punches anymore. "
I caught a fresh whiff of stifling cigar smoke. "Talk, Fleming. "
No, I'm too stubborn--
"Fleming"
No.
"Fred. "
Oh, God.
He hit me twice and we both felt the rib give way. I heard someone's sharp whimper and passed out.
It was daylight again when I woke. I was lying down, hot and shivering, with an ache all over as if my bones were too big for the skin and trying to bust out. Fred was looking at me. There was as much compassion in his face as a slab of concrete.
"What?" he asked, and leaned closer. I must have said something. I tried to remember.
"Leak. "
"Tell me where the list is and I'll help you. "
"I can use the toilet or the floor you want another mess to clean?"
He did not.
In the end he had to find a container to bring to me at the window seat.
When he tried to stand me up it was too much to bear. I lay helpless and watched it dribble into a tin can. There wasn't much and it was dark with blood. I was sick again and thankful there was nothing in my stomach.
He went away and told them I was awake. Somehow they kept me that way, hours or days went by. I lost track of time when the fever set in.
Morelli gave me some aspirin and had them lay off me awhile. My buddy.
The broken rib reminded me of its presence every time I breathed. Now and then I even thought of escape, but then we all dream when we're sick.
The day, from what little I saw of it, clouded over. There was some concerned talk about a storm, but no one made a move toward shore, except Fred, who, storm or no storm, wanted to go home. I heard something ominous about just one more try.
I was tied up in the chair again. The three of them were looking ragged, but still had the benefit of soap and water. I could only imagine what I was like with a thick growth of beard and no food for the past few days, not that I cared.
Morelli made his little speech, he had to repeat it several times before I understood. All I wanted was for him to douse that damned cigar so I could breathe.
Outside it began to rain. There was little wind with it, just the steady soaking kind of fall that farmers liked. Too bad it was all going to waste out here on the lake. It got dark. They turned on the cabin lights and added to the heat inside.
"Talk, Fleming. Where is the list?" He waved the lit cigar near my eyes.
I thought I was past feeling more pain or even more fear until he twis
ted it down into the palm of my hand. My tongue bulged against my teeth, I tried to tear away, vision blurred.
"Where is it?" Again and again until my wrists were bloody and my hand red with burns. My throat was raw, I wondered if I'd been screaming.
"Talk, Fleming. "
He stood back and let Fred have another try. Fred was out of patience and wanted to get to shore. He took it out on me and smashed in another rib. I felt things coming loose inside. He was finally going to finish the job, and I'd be out of my misery.
But I didn't want to die.
We were at the stern of the boat. They'd given up and were heading for shore. Morelli stood in the shelter of the hatch that led below, Paco was holding me up as Fred tied something to my ankles.
"Slick says we're not far from the house," Paco was telling Fred. "One of his boys will row you to the dock. You walk to the house and pick up the car and meet us at the pier by the club. "
"Can't he call for his car at the club or get a cab?"
"He says that's out. Lucky's got his car to look for that damned list and we gotta get back before he wises up to what we're doing. Cab drivers, we don't want; they got eyes and ears. "
"All this work and nothing to show for it. "
"Yeah, well, you gotta know when you cut your losses. " He lifted my face to his. "This is your last chance, Fleming. Where is it?"
Where was what? I couldn't remember.
"He's too far gone, Frank. "
"Fleming? Ahh, the hell with him. Hold him up, there's one more thing I been wanting to do. "
Fred held me up. Paco pulled out his gun, a big one and he aimed it at my heart. It finally dragged a response from me. My last scream drowned out its roar as he fired.
I felt nothing. A tug and a jerk of the body and then blessed release from the pain. My body was pushed backward, somersaulting into the dark water, and I sank quickly, leaving a stream of bubbles homing toward the surface. The weight of my ankles pulled me steadily down into cold, unbearable pressure. If I'd been breathing I'd have surely suffocated.
The pressure grew and grew and I began to fight it. Something inside wanted out. It seized my inert form, encompassed it I floated, just another bubble compressed into a moving plastic sphere by the water. I was going to float to heaven.
I made it as far as the surface. The thing that saved me now drove me over the water. Some instinct rushed us straight to the nearest shore.
My mind didn't question this, it was perfectly normal the way the most outlandish things are normal when you dream.
There was weight again. Solidity. Rain soaking my soaked clothes. Wind against my face, the same wind that drove away the clouds.
I looked up and winced at stars as bright as the sun.