It was a glossy five-by-seven photograph of a bed with two people in it, a man and a woman in the standard divorce-court pose. They had been unpleasantly awakened by a private detective with a camera. The man, tousled and scowling, was beginning a threatening gesture. The woman at his side had raised herself on her elbows and the sheet had slipped, exposing most of one breast. Her expression was oddly relaxed as she looked at the camera, all but smiling. I wasn’t really surprised to see that it was Anna DeLong.
She was younger but easily recognizable. There was nothing in the folder but the single picture. I turned it over; there was nothing on the back.
I looked at my watch, but before I had time to see what it said I heard a key being slipped into a lock.
I snapped off the light. I had to move fast. Apparently something had gone wrong with Lorraine’s plans, and she was back early. I shuffled the folders together, keeping out the one with Anna’s picture in it.
There was a sudden stamping in the other room, an exclamation, a small scuffle.
“Obliged,” a man’s voice said. “I was wondering how I’d get in. Nice of you to remember old Chad.”
I went on stuffing folders into the envelopes, hoping I could get out the window before anybody looked in the bedroom. I stopped abruptly. It wasn’t Lorraine who answered.
“Let go of me,” Anna’s voice said. “Let—go of me.”
“Stay loose, daughter,” Burns said easily. “I’m not about to harm you.”
I waited an instant, thinking fast. The little Japanese camera was where Lorraine had left it, loaded for bear.
Anna must have come for the picture, and I decided that the thing to do was to let her find it. Picking up the camera, I screwed down the focus, aimed it at the picture and opened the shutter. I rewound the film rapidly and removed the cartridge.
The struggle in the living room continued. The coffee table with its neat array of Fortunes tipped over and Anna cried out.
I returned the envelopes to the garment bag and unscrewed the clamps that held the window. A moment later I was on the fire escape. I left the sash up several inches from the bottom. The fight seemed to be over.
Burns said, “Aw—put it away, baby. That could go off and injure somebody.”
“It won’t be me,” Anna said. “You’re the one it’s pointed at.”
“What’s got into you all of a sudden?” Chad complained. “I’m only trying to push a few bucks.”
“Stand still and be quiet. I have to think.”
For a moment I heard nothing. Then Chad said, “You used to be with Leo, didn’t you? You look different in cheaters, but I recognized you the minute you came down the street. We both of us know that old Leo had some nice things going, and the minute you took out that baby .25 I said to myself, why not offer this lovely little lady—”
“I said be quiet.”
“How can I be quiet? I’ve got to talk you out of pulling that trigger.”
I raised the window a few more inches. I recognized the note in his voice. He was about to jump her. He’d been a little drunk when I saw him, and he’d probably had a few drinks since. He wouldn’t be impressed by a girl holding a .25.
He continued. “That Leo was a smart onion. He wouldn’t leave a set of directions, so any old slob could walk in and start taking. But you knew his methods. You can kind of sort things out. You don’t want to be in the limelight. Tell me who to collect from and I’ll do it.”
“I only want one item,” Anna said after a pause. “You can have everything else.”
“Now I call that a fine offer,” Burns said heartily, “and I’ll take it. Some folks might think you happen to know there’s only the one item that’s worth squeezing. But what’s the use of being on this earth if you can’t trust your fellow creatures? What kind of item?”
“It’s personal,” Anna said.
“And you’re the one he was squeezing? That must have been pure delight for Leo. I wouldn’t care if I did a little squeezing like that myself.”
He chuckled. He was still chuckling when he grabbed her. I saw them in the bedroom doorway as I slid through the window. He was trying to shake the gun out of her hand. She kicked at his legs. For an instant, as her arm swung around, the gun was aimed directly at me. I ducked, and Anna saw me. She jerked her arm hard, turning Chad so his back was to the doorway.
He swore and swung at her. Coming up behind him, I caught his arm in the crook of my elbow and twisted, bringing him around to meet a hard upward left to the side of the jaw. It was a good punch, and it caught him with everything hanging. For a fraction of a second both his feet were off the floor. He went backward and fell over the coffee table. The copies of Fortune cushioned his fall. I went after him, ready to nail him again if he tried to get up.
He had wrenched Anna’s automatic out of her hand as he fell. I saw it on the rug. He was staring at me stupidly. I kicked at the automatic and he rolled and batted it away from my foot. He got it before I could get my own gun. We were both in motion. There was only one way he could stop me, and he fired to my left, a little high but low enough to make me realize that the next shot would be on the target.
I stopped with my hand inside my coat. He was panting, his shoulders against the sofa.
“You surprised me, Ben. Where were you, on the fire escape? All this interest—it goes to prove my point. There’s money here.”
“I don’t suppose you want to divide it in three?”
“I don’t even want to divide it in two unless I have to. Just spread your arms out to the sides. All the way. If I’m going to have any peace of mind I’ll have to take that gun you were diving for.”
I opened my arms but backed away a step. In the bedroom, Anna was going through bureau drawers.
“I don’t like other people to handle my gun,” I said. “It’s one of the things I’m eccentric about.”
“And how would you feel about being gut-shot with a .25?”
“I wouldn’t like it,” I said. “But wouldn’t that be pretty drastic for someone who’s working on spec?”
“On spec, Ben? I admit I was prospecting when I came to call, but now I’m getting more hopeful, I really am.”
I went on backing until I could see into the bedroom without turning away from Burns. Anna was checking the closet.
“Before you shoot me,” I said, “you might listen for a minute. Then we can put the guns away and talk percentages.”
He came to his feet, the automatic almost hidden in his big hand.
“Move it along, Ben. Maybe somebody reported that little bang.”
“We’re both outsiders here. Lorraine and Leo have been working on something, and she seems to think it may pay off in big bills. She needs a stand-in for Leo. She made me an offer. What do you think? Should we move in?”
He relaxed, not in the way be was standing but around the eyes. “That’s right open-minded of you, Ben. I still want that pea-shooter.”
It didn’t take Anna long to find the picture. As she came out of the bedroom, Chad stepped forward and pushed the automatic against my stomach.
“Don’t be shy with me, Ben. This won’t hurt.”
I said to Anna, “What did you find, somebody’s picture?”
Burns’s face twisted, but he didn’t look around. He reached inside my coat and fumbled with the .38, which was held by the spring clips in the holster. Anna passed him, going to the door of the bathroom.
“If that’s my gun he’s holding on you,” she said coolly, “don’t worry about it, Ben. There was only one bullet in it and he used that.”
“Don’t believe her, Chad,” I said.
The twitch convulsed one entire side of his face. He glanced away from me to Anna.
“What have you got there?”
“Nothing that would interest you,” she said.
“Let me see that!”
Anna went into the bathroom, locking the door. For an instant Chad was pulled in too many directions. He made a move
to follow her. Bringing my arms together, I clapped both hands over his ears, and then chopped at his wrist. He dropped the automatic. I knew from the look on his face that there were noises inside his head. I took out my .38, and because I didn’t want any more trouble from Chad, I slapped him with it. He sighed and pitched forward.
Stepping around him, I tried the bathroom door. Inside, I heard a rush of water.
I picked up the .25 and released the clip, knowing even before it fell into my hand that it was fully loaded. Anna came out of the bathroom without the picture, which had just been confided to the New York sewer system. I ejected the live round from the chamber and snapped it into the clip.
“It was loaded, after all,” she said. “I’m dreadfully sorry. He might have shot you.”
“I don’t think so,” I said. “Chad never shot anybody. That was for your benefit, so you’d realize you were dealing with a hard man. Are you ready to go?”
She looked down at Burns, who lay perfectly still, his toes turned in. “Is he alive?”
“He’s breathing. You and I are going to carry him downstairs. That won’t be easy.”
“Why not just leave him?”
“We’re in the same business. Besides, I kind of like him. How much of him do you think you can carry?”
“About one-tenth,” she said.
That left quite a bit for me. I flopped him over. He was breathing harshly, and the smell of bar whiskey was very strong. I hoisted him to a sitting position. Putting forth a tremendous effort, I raised him to his feet and threw one of his arms over my shoulders. Anna came in under the other and we managed to get him halfway to the door.
“Maybe we’d better drag him,” she gasped.
I shifted my grip. He was beginning to sag. Without the help of a block and tackle all I could do was see to it that he landed on the sofa. He was still bouncing when the door opened and Lorraine came in. She was giggling, having just been goosed by her escort.
“Don’t!” she shrieked. “Please don’t! No, don’t!”
Chapter 12
What she saw in her living room cured her of the giggles. She took a quick breath and gave a highly convincing scream which raised the short hairs on the back of my neck.
It seemed to have the same effect on the man she was with. Lorraine had prepared me for a randy old goat in his second adolescence. She had exaggerated. There are many Hollywood actors his age still playing romantic leads. He wore horn-rimmed glasses, and there were downward lines at the corners of his mouth, as though he might be secretly miserable, but that was the only mark his face showed of thought or trouble. You see similar faces every day on the business pages, uncandid portraits of second vice-presidents who have just been promoted to first vice-president. He had a huge bottle of champagne under his arm. The cad had been planning to get that little sixteen-year-old girl drunk.
“What—” Lorraine said helplessly. “Who—”
“Police officers,” I said. “There’s been a robbery. Don’t be alarmed. I’d be very much surprised if anything was taken.” I looked at the man. “Is this your apartment?”
He cleared his throat so violently that he nearly blew off his glasses. “Well—no, actually. The young lady—”
I turned to Lorraine. “Your neighbor here saw a man on the fire escape. She called the precinct and luckily we were only a block away. He sapped my partner. I don’t want to wait for an ambulance so I’m taking him in. You’ll probably have some detectives before I get back.”
I tugged Burns forward so I could try getting him up on my back in what is known as the fireman’s carry, although it would take two normal-sized firemen to carry Burns. The little pull brought him back to his senses.
“Gates!” he yelled, and drove one of his fists into my face.
It landed on my nose, where even a feeble blow can be painful. I was out of balance, and I went back on my hands. He yelled something and came down at me. Anna caught him from above, delaying him enough so I could grab his arms.
“Chad!” I said. “It’s me.”
“I know damn well it’s you! You—”
“You’re going to be just fine, Chad,” I said, shaking him. “Nothing but a whack on the head.”
He finally gathered that something had happened while he was unconscious. Looking up, he saw Lorraine and her victim, who was clutching the doorknob. The wayward muscles jumped in Chad’s cheek.
“Now do you remember?” I said. “He swung a sap at you when you opened the door. I had my hands on him but he got away.”
Groaning, he closed his eyes. I helped him up.
“I’ll take him to St. Clare’s,” I told Lorraine. “When the detectives get here tell them I’ll be right back.” As we passed the man with the champagne I gave him a hard look. “Don’t leave until we get your name and address.”
Anna came with us. I thought Chad was putting more weight on me than was necessary. When the door closed behind us Anna said in a low voice, “We’d better get out of the way or we’ll be trampled. That man isn’t giving anybody his name and address.”
Chad laughed. I put him in the elevator and punched the button for the lobby.
“So that’s what she has in the oven,” Chad said excitedly. “Here’s how we work it, Ben.”
I pressed the red emergency button and the elevator jolted to a stop between the fifth and the fourth floors. “He won’t wait for the elevator,” I said. “He’ll walk down. Let’s give him a couple of minutes.”
“Ben!” Chad cried. “Use the old noodle. What the situation calls for, it calls for a tail. He’s going to rush right home to mama. We find out where he lives and start cranking out hundred-dollar bills. We can still say we’re cops. We don’t cut the doll in at all. Right?”
He pressed the lobby button.
“Wrong,” I said, hitting the emergency button again.
“I don’t get you, Ben!” He tried to pull me from the control panel. “You only have to smell the guy. He smells of tailor-made suits and cars and Miami Beach.”
I took out my .38 and let him pull me all the way around. The .38 clunked against the side of his head. He subsided gently.
“I thought you said you liked him,” Anna said.
“I said I kind of liked him.” I put my gun away. “How long would it take a man in a hurry to get down seven flights of stairs? About three minutes?”
“Make it four. I wouldn’t say he gets much exercise.” She laughed. “The poor girl is going to be furious. What did you think of that dress? You probably liked it, but I know that kind of figure. She’ll start getting chubby in a year or so. Too bad.”
She was excited and jumpy, and kept rubbing the tips of her middle fingers against her thumbs, not quite snapping them.
“Ben—have we been through enough together so I can call you Ben?”
“I think so.”
“Let me get my thank-you’s out of the way. You were a very welcome sight, climbing in from that fire escape. I don’t think you can know how glad I was to see you. But how in heaven’s name did it happen? What were you doing out there?”
“You know the answer to that. I had to find out which of my little menagerie had a connection with Moran.”
“I see. And now I suppose you’d like an explanation from me?”
“Make it a good one.”
She prodded the inside of her cheek with her tongue. “I’ll have to be hazy on some of the details. I knew Leo years and years ago, when I was too young to have much sense. You may have gathered that he was an attractive man. I was fascinated and flattered, and before it was over I was a little scared. Leo liked to hedge his bets, and after I broke with him I knew he kept a photograph as a souvenir. I won’t say any more about it except that I wouldn’t want anybody to see it who knows me now. It’s been hanging over me like that sword in the story. I found out he’d still been living in the old place. I had a set of keys, which I never dared to use when he was alive. I asked some questions in the neighborhood and
found out that he’d been living with a girl, which didn’t surprise me. I waited till she went out. Chad Burns saw me and followed me in.”
She stopped. I said, “That’s not all?”
“Isn’t it enough?”
“Not nearly enough,” I said. “What kind of jobs did you do for Leo—the same that Lorraine’s doing now?”
By this time she was less excited. She took off her glasses, polished them on a handkerchief and put them back on, putting on at the same time the personality I had seen her wearing at the Popes’.
“I can’t stop you from drawing your own conclusions, Mr. Gates.”
“Ben,” I said.
“Ben, then. But I didn’t say I did any jobs for Leo. I’d be foolish to admit anything.”
“When did you see him last?”
“Not for years. And that’s really all I can tell you. Aren’t those three minutes about up?”
“Four. How about the slug in my coffee last night?”
“I don’t want to talk about that. If you were a real policeman, here’s where I’d yell for a lawyer. Don’t you see? One question would lead to another. I couldn’t be sure what I’d be letting myself in for.”
I held my thumb over the lobby button. “You’re under no legal compulsion to talk to me. You can spit in my eye and all I can do is wipe it off.”
“I have no intention of spitting in your eye. Try to understand, Ben. I had such a wonderful feeling of release when that picture went down the drain! I’ve suffered enough. I don’t feel any neurotic desire to be punished for anything I may have done for Leo. All I want to do is forget it. Maybe people like you won’t let me, but I’m not going out of my way to spread it around.”
I pressed the button and we started down. “I’ll have to tell Mr. Pope what I’ve found out so far—”
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