Fast Buck

I

Baird pushed open the door to the back entrance of the Frou-Frou Club, glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one was watching him, and then stepped into the dimly lit passage. He walked silently to Rico’s office. As he reached the door he caught sight of a movement ahead of him and looked up quickly.

Zoe Norton ducked back out of sight behind her dressing-room door, but not quickly enough for Baird to miss seeing her. He stood for a moment staring thoughtfully at the door that stood ajar, then he moved softly along the passage and pushed the door open with his foot.

Zoe was sitting at the dressing-table, making up her face. She looked a little flustered, and gave a start when she saw Baird in the doorway.

‘What do you want?’ she demanded, swinging around on the low stool. ‘Who said you could walk in here without knocking?’

Baird leaned against the doorway, his eyes on her face.

‘Hel o, Toots,’ he said. ‘I saw you peeping. Anything I can do for you?’

She felt a little sick as she looked into his cold, murderous eyes.

‘I — I don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she said defiantly. ‘As if I should want to peep at you.

Would you mind fading away? There isn’t much air in this hole, and I don’t see why I should have to share it with you.’

He studied her, then his eyes shifted to the telephone on her dressing-table and back to her.

‘Watch your step, Toots,’ he said evenly. ‘I shan’t tel you again.’

He gave her another hard, menacing stare that made her feel weak at the knees and went out, closing the door behind him. He walked thoughtfully along the passage to Rico’s office and went in.

Rico glanced up from his desk.

‘Come in,’ he said, pushing back his chair. ‘Lock the door. I’ve got news for you.’

Baird turned the key in the lock, crossed over to the desk and sat down.

‘Don’t yel at the top of your voice,’ he said softly. ‘Someone may be listening in.’

Rico looked startled.

‘What do you mean? Who’s listening in?’

‘Forget it,’ Baird said impatiently. ‘Just keep your voice down. What’s the news?’

His expression puzzled, Rico shrugged his shoulders.

‘You don’t have to worry about this place,’ he said. ‘No one listens in here.’

‘What’s the news?’ Baird repeated.

‘I’ve seen Kile. I told him you’ve looked the ground over and you think you can pull it off. We can go ahead. He’s leaving al the arrangements to us. I’ve five grand to split between us. Pret y good, huh?’

Baird lit a cigarette and stared across the room.

‘What makes you think you rate anything?’ he asked casually. ‘Who’s doing the job — you or me?’

‘We’re both in it,’ Rico said, smiling ingratiatingly. ‘But if that’s the way you feel about it, I’m willing to take two and you three.’

‘Did you find out who the man is?’ Baird asked.

‘Sure. I’ve got al the necessary dope.’ Rico opened a drawer in his desk and took out a big envelope.

‘Don’t you keep that locked up?’ Baird asked sharply.

Rico stared at him.

‘It’s safe enough. No one ever comes into my office when I’m not here. What’s biting you?’

‘Nothing,’ Baird said, flicking ash on to the floor. ‘Who is he?’

‘Paul Hater. Here’s his picture.’ Rico tossed a police photograph across the desk. ‘He shouldn’t be difficult to spot.’

Baird looked curiously at the photograph. Rico was right. Hater would be easy to identify. He was small and thin. His dome of a forehead was accentuated by heavy eyebrows and a balding head. He had deep-set, dark, staring eyes and a livid white scar that ran from his right eye to his mouth. He reminded Baird of the fanatical prison chaplain he had met when he had visited his brother for the first and only time.

‘He looks as if he’s got a screw loose,’ Baird said, tossing the picture back to Rico. ‘He won’t be difficult to spot. When do we start?’

‘Any time we like,’ Rico said eagerly. ‘The sooner the better.’

Baird nodded.

‘And the money?’

Rico tapped the envelope.

‘Plenty more where that comes from.’

‘How do you know?’

Rico laughed.

‘What’s the matter with you? Kile’s a big shot. He’s rol ing in the stuff. He and I have worked together…’

‘How do you know he’s rol ing in it?’

‘How do I know?’ Rico stared. ‘What are you driving at?’

‘Do you imagine Kile’s the top man in this set-up?’

‘Of course he is.’

‘If you’re so sure,’ Baird said, ‘how do you know?’

Rico began to look uneasy.

‘What’s cooking?’ he asked, leaning forward to stare at Baird. ‘Sounds like you’ve found out something.’

‘I’ve found out plenty,’ Baird said. ‘The moment I set eyes on Kile I knew there was something phoney about him. I’ve been digging in his back yard, and does it stink! He owes money everywhere. He hasn’t paid for that big house on Roosevelt Boulevard. He’s hanging on by the skin of his teeth, and isn’t expected to last six months.’

Rico stiffened.

‘You sure?’

Baird made an impatient movement.

‘If you hadn’t been hypnotised by his front you could have found out about him as easily as I did.’

Rico began to sweat.

‘How about this five grand?’ he asked, tapping the envelope. ‘He can’t be al that broke.’

‘Don’t I keep tel ing you? He isn’t the top man.’

Rico thought for a moment, then shrugged.

‘Does it matter? At least we’ve got the dough.’

‘I like to know who I’m dealing with. Ever asked yourself why Kile wants Hater out of jail?’

‘I asked Kile. He wouldn’t say. I don’t see why we should worry.’ Rico spread out his hands. ‘We’re getting paid for the job. The money’s good enough, isn’t it?’

‘You’re a bigger sucker than you look,’ Baird said. ‘Don’t you know who Hater is?’

Rico shifted uneasily in his chair.

‘I don’t know what you’re get ing at,’ he said. ‘Hater used to be one of the big operators about twenty years ago. He specialised in jewellery. I seem to remember he pulled off a big deal and a fence shopped him.’

‘About fifteen years back he pul ed off a four-million-dollar job and cached the stuff. It was never found,’ Baird said softly.

‘Four mil ion?’ Rico gulped. ‘It was never found?’

‘That’s right. Doesn’t the nickel drop now?’

‘You mean Kile’s after the stuff?’

‘Kile and someone else. It looks like it, doesn’t it? Why should they want to kidnap Hater? He’s only got two more years to serve. If he escapes now, he’l be on the run for the rest of his life until he’s caught.’

‘Four mil ion dol ars!’ Rico got up and began to pace up and down. ‘Jeepers! That’s dough.’

‘That’s about the first sensible thing you’ve said tonight,’ Baird said sourly. ‘And they’re paying me ten grand. That’s a laugh, isn’t it?’

Rico wiped the sweat from his forehead. He went over to the cellarette and made two highballs.

‘I’d better talk to Kile,’ he said as he brought the drinks to the desk. ‘He’l have to jack up the ante.’

‘You’l keep your trap shut,’ Baird said. ‘I’m handling this. If we play our cards right, we should collect the whole bundle.’

Rico lost colour and gripped the edge of his desk until his knuckles turned white.

‘Are you crazy?’ he asked. ‘What would we do with stuff like that? We couldn’t handle it. Four million dollars! There’s not a fence in the country who could handle it.’

Baird took off his hat and ran his fingers through his thick blond hair.

‘I don’t know why the hel I bother with you,’ he said, exasperated. ‘Haven’t you any brains? Do you think I’m mug enough to imagine you could handle the stuff? No, the obvious thing to do is to wait until Kile gets rid of it. He must know someone he can unload it on or he wouldn’t be paying us to snatch Hater. The time we move in is when Kile collects the dough. Then we take it away from him. If he knows what he’s doing, the take should be worth half a mil ion at least, probably more, and that’s better than a lousy ten grand. Now do you see what I’m get ing at?’

Rico licked his dry lips.

‘It sounds al right,’ he said cautiously, ‘but how do we know when he gets paid off?’

‘That’s something you can find out. He’s got to be watched night and day after we’ve turned Hater over to him. And another thing, we’ve got to find out who the top man is, too. And then there’s that shamus who followed me: we’ve got to find out who employed him, and why.’

Rico started out of his chair.

‘What shamus? I haven’t heard anything about a shamus.’

Baird eyed him jeeringly.

‘Don’t get so steamed up. The night I went to Red River Basin I spot ed a fat guy tailing me. I caught him napping and softened his skull for him. He was an operator working for the International Detective Agency. Someone who doesn’t mind spending dough is having me watched. Maybe it doesn’t have anything to do with the Hater snatch, but somehow I think it does. We’ve got to find out why I was being tailed, and pronto.’

Rico took a long drink. His nerves were fluttering.

‘Maybe it’s Kile,’ he said hopeful y.

‘I don’t know, but I mean to find out. How long’s this red-head been working for you?’

‘You mean Zoe?’ Rico’s face was startled. ‘What’s she got to do with it?’

‘I don’t know, but every time I’ve shown up here she’s been watching me. Maybe she’s a plant.’

‘Zoe, a plant? Don’t make me laugh,’ Rico said. ‘I’ve known her three or four years. She came to work at the club when it first opened. I knew her when she was in show business before that. She’s okay.

Maybe she’s interested in you. She has a yen for a big guy like you; she told me so.’

Baird jerked his thumb at the photograph on the desk.

‘Put that in your safe and lock it up,’ he said. ‘I think she’s mixed up in this. It’ll be easy enough to prove. Now, listen, here’s what you have to do…’

When Baird closed the door, Zoe drew in a deep breath of relief. She sat for a long minute, staring at herself in the mirror. She saw she had gone pale under her rouge, and she laughed a little unsteadily.

‘That guy sure scared the lace pants right off you,’ she said, addressing her reflection in the mirror.

‘Phew! He’s enough to scare anyone. Zoe, my child, you’ve got to be a lot more careful in the future.

Take my advice and call Ed. He’l know how to handle this.’

She got up and went to the door, opened it a crack and looked down the deserted passage. Satisfied there was no one to hear her, she shut the door again and rang Dallas’s apartment. There was no answer.

She replaced the receiver, feeling a little lost and sat for a moment thinking. It was only a few minutes after ten. Maybe Ed would blow in. He came in most nights now. Maybe he was on his way down at this very minute.

She began to finish her make-up, and while she painted her lips with a fine-haired brush, she wondered what Baird was doing in Rico’s office. She had promised Ed to find out al she could of Rico’s and Baird’s movements, and she didn’t want to let Ed down. By now she was half in love with him, and besides, he was paying her well.

She went to the door again and opened it. She hadn’t the nerve to go down the passage and listen outside Rico’s door. Baird had given her a bad scare.

Watch your step, he had said. I shan’t tell you again.

A little shiver ran down her spine as she remembered the way he had looked at her. But with Ed around, she told herself, trying to bolster up her courage, there wasn’t anything to be scared about. Baird wouldn’t dare touch her. Al the same she wasn’t going to take unnecessary risks until she had consulted Ed. He’d know how far she could go.

Leaving the door ajar, she went back to complete her make-up. Then she took off her wrap and slipped into her green evening dress. In twenty minutes she would have to go into the restaurant. It was her late night, and she wouldn’t be through until three o’clock.

She heard the door open at the far end of the passage and she jumped to her feet, running to her door to listen.

She heard Baird say, ‘What are you worrying about? We’l be back in an hour at the latest. You’re not chained to this dump, are you?’

“I shouldn’t be going out,’ Rico grumbled, ‘but I’l take a chance. Maybe nothing will blow up while I’m away.’

‘Aw, forget it. Did you lock up that envelope — the one Kile gave you?’ Baird asked.

‘It’s in my desk. It’s okay. No one ever goes into my office when I’m out. Come on, for the love of Pete, if we’re going,’ Rico said impatiently, and she heard them walk down the passage to the street door.

Cautiously Zoe peered into the passage. She was in time to see Rico disappearing into the alley at the back of the club.

She stood hesitating. Something from Kile! That’s what Ed wanted.

She ran over to the telephone, and again dialled Dallas’s number, but there was stil no answer.

Where was he? she wondered feverishly. They said they would be back in an hour. If Ed was to get a look at that envelope she would have to take action herself.

She went back to the door and looked at Rico’s door. It seemed now a long way down the passage.

Should she take a chance and get the envelope? If she went at once there couldn’t be any risk.

She started down the passage, her heart beating violently, and her knees shaky. She reached the office door, paused outside while she screwed up her courage to go in. Then she rapped softly on the door, turned the handle and pushed the door open. The office was in darkness.

‘Is anyone there?’ she asked in a quavering voice.

The silence that came out of the darkness reassured her, and she slipped into the room, shut the door and groped for the electric light switch.

The lights over Rico’s desk went on. She moved quickly to the desk and jerked open the top drawer.

The first thing she saw was a big envelope with Rico’s name scrawled on it.

As she reached forward to pick it up, the shadow of a man fell across the desk.

The shock paralysed her for a moment, then she spun around.

Baird was standing just behind her. At the door, Rico stood, white-faced, staring at her in horror.

‘Hel o, Toots,’ Baird said softly. ‘Stil peeping?’

The scream that rose in her throat was cut short as his fist smashed against the side of her jaw. She felt herself falling into dark, suffocating oblivion.

II

Adam Gillis stood under the bright lights of the Elite cinema and looked impatiently at the stream of passing traffic.

About fifty yards away, Dallas sat in his car, parked in the shadows, watching him.

From time to time Gillis glanced at his strap watch, and Dallas guessed he was waiting for someone.

He wasn’t surprised when he saw a small coupe pull out of the stream of traffic and stop within a few feet of Gillis.

Gillis opened the door and got in.

‘About time,’ he said crossly. ‘Why can’t you be more punctual? Do you think I haven’t other things 59

James Hadley Chase. The Fast Buck. 1952

to do except wait at street corners for you?’

Eve edged the car once more into the slow moving traffic.

‘I’m sorry, darling, but he didn’t leave until five minutes ago. Besides, I’m not more than five minutes late.’

Dallas started his engine and slid into the traffic after them. He had caught sight of Eve at the driving-wheel, and wondered where these two were going.

‘Has Rico been along?’ Gillis asked, lighting a cigaret e.

‘Yes. Baird got back last night. He says it’l be difficult, but not impossible. Rico said Baird’s going to get Hater out this week.’

Gillis breathed heavily. His eyes were alight with excitement.

‘Did Rico say how he was going to do it?’

Eve shook her head.

‘Preston didn’t want to know. He gave Rico the five thousand and the photograph. He’s arranged to hand over the rest of the money at the shooting-lodge as you said. That’s where Baird will take Hater.’

‘Fine,’ Gil is said. ‘Wel , we’re coming along. If anyone can do the job, Baird can.’

‘Preston’s get ing nervy, Adam. He worries me.’

Gillis shrugged indifferently.

‘Keep him going. I won’t be long now. As soon as he’s collected the money from the Rajah, I’ll move in and take over.’

‘But, darling, how can you be so sure you’l succeed?’ Eve said anxiously. ‘You just can’t take the money away from Preston like that. He’l never stand for it.’

‘Oh, yes, he wil ,’ Gillis said airily. ‘A couple of nights ago, when he was with you, I broke into his stately home. I opened his safe. What do you think I found in it?’

You — you opened his safe?’ Eve exclaimed, horrified. ‘Adam! How could you?’

‘Oh, shut up!’ he said impatiently. ‘If you’d been more helpful I needn’t have taken the risk. I told you we had to get something on Kile. Well, I’ve got it. I found Jean Bruce’s bracelet in the safe. That’d get him ten years in jail.’

Eve gripped the steering-wheel tightly.

‘How do you know it’s Jean Brace’s bracelet?’

‘My dear pet,’ Gil is said, and laughed. ‘Jean used to amuse herself with me when she felt she wanted to be a naughty girl, and I can tell you that was quite often. I’ve seen the bracelet a dozen times.’

Eve felt sick.

‘Oh! I didn’t know you knew her.’

‘There are lots of girls you don’t know I know,’ Gil is returned. ‘As a matter of fact, I’m damned sorry Jean’s dead. When she was in the mood, she could be vastly diverting.’

‘But the bracelet was stolen,’ Eve said, turning to stare at Gil is.

‘Watch the road, can’t you?’ he said sharply. ‘Of course it was stolen. The police are looking for it now. If Kile doesn’t play bal , I’m going to be one of those anonymous callers you read about in the papers and tip the police off he’s got the bracelet in his safe.’

‘You can’t do that!’

‘Not if it isn’t necessary.’

‘But how did he get it?’

‘I should worry about that. He can explain that to the police if he wants to, but somehow I don’t think he will.’

Eve drove in silence for a while, her mind frozen with fear and worry. It was still not too late to draw back. She felt she had to warn Adam again.

‘Preston’s worrying about Baird,’ she said. ‘He’s beginning to think as I do. Suppose Baird finds out who Hater is, or suppose Hater tells him about the collection?’

‘Baird is almost certain to find out who Hater is,’ Gil is said carelessly. ‘But he can’t do anything about it until the money’s paid over. I should think it’s more than possible he knows already and is planning to double-cross Kile. I’ve taken al that into account. It’s simply a matter of working faster than Baird, and I’ve no doubt I can do it.’ He glanced at his strap watch. ‘Make for the Frou-Frou Club, will you? I’ve got to meet a man there in ten minutes.’

‘Oh, Adam, I do wish you would give this up,’ Eve said feverishly. ‘It’s too dangerous. You don’t know what you’re walking into. I’l go back to the Fol ies. I can earn enough for both of us.’

‘Wil you shut up!’ Gil is snarled furiously. ‘Don’t be so damned gutless! This is the chance of a lifetime, and I’m not going to miss it!’

She drove in silence to the club and stopped the car before the lighted entrance. Dallas, fifty yards behind them, increased speed to pass them. He drove into the parking lot at the side of the club.

As he walked to the entrance, he saw Eve’s coupe driving away. He caught a glimpse of her white, set face, and guessed the talk she had had with her brother hadn’t been a pleasant one.

He entered the club. Gillis was just coming out of the cloakroom. He smiled at Dallas and came over to shake hands.

‘Haven’t seen you in weeks,’ Gil is said breezily. ‘How are you?’

‘Alive, but no more,’ Dal as returned. ‘I’ve been out of town. I thought it was time I looked up Zoe again.’

‘How did you find her?’

‘Al you said she would be.’

Gillis nodded.

‘I’m glad. Let me see, don’t I owe you some money? What was it — five dollars?’

‘Ten,’ said Dal as, ‘but there’s no hurry.’

‘Oh, but there is. One must pay one’s debts,’ Gil is said, and took out a small roll of bills from his pocket. He handed Dallas two fives. ‘Sorry to have been so long about it.’

‘That’s okay,’ Dal as said, surprised to be paid, and thinking Gillis must have put a pretty hard bite on his sister. ‘What’s ten bucks between friends? Come and have a drink.’

Gillis shook his head.

‘Not tonight. I’m expecting a blonde: one of those wild, wool y and wanton females I specialise in.

She should be waiting at the bar if she isn’t going to be late. See you some other time.’

Dallas watched the tall, thin figure walk into the bar. Then he went into the cloakroom, parked his hat and returned to the lobby. He decided he would see Zoe right away, and then keep an eye on Gillis. Zoe would be on duty in ten minutes. He would have to hurry to catch her in her dressing-room.

He went down the stairs that led to the rear of the building, along the passage to Zoe’s room. The door stood ajar. He knocked and pushed it open. The lights were on, and Zoe’s silk wrap lay across the divan. There was a smouldering cigarette end in the ash-tray. But there was no sign of Zoe.

Absently, Dallas stubbed out the cigarette, and then went back along the passage to the restaurant.

Luigi, the Captain of waiters, came to meet him.

‘Good evening, Mr Dal as,’ he said. ‘Your usual table?’

‘Not at the moment,’ Dal as said, looking beyond him into the crowded restaurant. ‘Miss Norton around?’

‘She’s not due in the restaurant until eleven-thirty,’ Luigi said, and consulted his watch. ‘About five minutes. Shall I tell her you would like her to join you?’

‘Yeah, do that. I’l be in the bar.’

Dallas went across to the lobby. Schmidt touched his cap when he saw him. He approved of Dallas.

‘Seen Miss Norton?’ Dal as asked, pausing.

‘Yes, sir. She’s in the club. I expect you’l find her in her dressing-room.’

‘She’s not there. If you spot her, tel her I’m in the bar.’

He saw Gillis sitting in a corner of the bar with a blonde girl who didn’t look much older than seventeen. She had a pretty, vicious little face, and she was leaning forward across the table so Gillis could see down the front of her low-cut gown. Gillis looked casually amused, and glanced up. He saw Dallas come in and gave him a broad wink.

Dallas called for a double Scotch and sat on a stool up at the bar and talked to the barman. He watched Gillis in the mirror behind the bar. After a while, Gillis and the girl went into the restaurant.

Dallas decided he’d have another look for Zoe.

Luigi was just coming back to the entrance after seeing Gillis and his companion to their table. He shook his head at Dallas.

‘Miss Norton hasn’t shown up yet,’ he said, and there was an annoyed look in his eyes. ‘I can’t understand it. She hasn’t been late since she’s been here.’

The waiter came up at this moment and whispered in his ear.

‘She isn’t in the club,’ Luigi told Dallas when the waiter had gone away. ‘I’m very sorry, Mr Dal as, I haven’t an idea where she is.’

‘That’s okay,’ Dallas said shortly, and went back to the lobby.

‘Miss Norton has left the club,’ he told Schmidt. ‘Did you see her go?’

‘She hasn’t been this way, sir,’ Schmidt said, looking surprised. ‘If she’s left the club she’l have gone by the back exit.’

‘Thanks,’ Dallas said, and went quickly down the stairs to Zoe’s room again. He was worried now.

What had happened to her? he wondered, as he again entered her room. He stood looking around, then he went to her wardrobe, opened it and found her hat and coat on a peg. He stood for a moment staring at them, his uneasiness turning to alarm.

If she had gone out, why on earth hadn’t she taken her coat? It was raining a little outside, and she couldn’t have gone just in her evening dress.

He went over to the telephone and dialled her home number. There was no answer, and he dropped the receiver back on its cradle.

Had she slipped up somewhere? He had warned her not to attract suspicion. He knew how dangerous Baird might be, and he cursed himself for involving her in this business.

He picked up the receiver again and called Purvis.

‘Zoe’s missing,’ he said, when Purvis came on the line. ‘It may be a false alarm, but I don’t think so.

Can you send Ainsworth over to take care of Gillis? I want to look for her.’

‘Think anything’s happened to her?’ Purvis asked sharply.

‘Your guess is as good as mine. Has MacAdam reported about Baird’s movements tonight?’

‘Baird’s in the club now.’

‘I haven’t seen him. You sure?’

‘Mac phoned through about twenty minutes ago and said he tailed Baird to the club. He’s been watching the front entrance, and hasn’t seen Baird come out.’

‘There’s a rear exit. Doesn’t the fool know?’ Dal as said angrily. ‘Wel , he can look after Gil is. I’ll tell him. Baird’s not in the club, unless he’s in Rico’s office. I’d better go along and check that.’

‘If you want Ainsworth, I’l keep him standing by,’ Purvis said.

‘Yeah, do that. I’l cal you back.’

Dallas hung up and walked down the passage to Rico’s office. He rapped sharply. There was no answer, and turning the handle he pushed open the door.

The room was in darkness, and with a grunt of disappointment Dallas was about to back out when he paused and sniffed the air. His sharp nose detected a faint smell of musk. He sniffed again. It was musk all right, and he knew Zoe’s latest fad was to use a musk perfume. He groped for the light switch and turned on the light.

The office was empty. He stood looking around, but saw nothing to excite his interest, but he wasn’t satisfied. He went over to the desk, and bending, he sniffed at the blotter on the desk. The smell of musk was stronger there, as if Zoe had touched the blotter.

Something caught his attention and he glanced down. Half hidden under the desk was a small evening bag. He knew it at once. It was the one he had given Zoe a week or so ago. He had a tight feeling in his throat as he bent and picked it up.

III

Rico sat beside Baird and stared through the windshield of the Buick as Baird drove slowly along the waterfront. The headlights of the car picked out the oily puddles, the litter and squashed fruit that covered the narrow causeway, bordered on one side by tall, dark warehouses and on the other by the river.

Rain pattered down on the roof of the car and splashed on the still water of the river. They had been driving fast for the past twenty minutes, and now they had reached the waterfront, Baird had slowed down as if uncertain where he was going.

Zoe lay on the back seat. Her wrists and ankles were tied with cord, and an adhesive bandage covered her mouth. From time to time Rico glanced over his shoulder at her. Her eyes were closed and she didn’t move. Rico was scared Baird had broken her neck as he had broken Jean Brace’s neck. It came as a sick sense of relief when he heard her moan softly through the gag.

The sight of the river made him break out into a cold sweat. The one thing he had sworn to avoid was murder, and now, he felt certain, he was going to be forced to take part in the girl’s death.

‘You won’t do anything to her?’ he said, forcing words through his stiff lips. ‘I — I won’t stand for murder…’

Baird glanced at him, and then shifted his attention back to the narrow causeway.

‘Do you want her to sick the cops on you?’ he asked softly. ‘This is a kidnapping rap: could get you the gas-box.’

Rico gulped. He hadn’t thought of that. The tiny spark of courage that had forced the words out of him abruptly snuffed out. He shut his eyes, while his heart banged against his ribs, and his mouth turned sour and dry.

The car jolted slowly on for some time, but Rico didn’t open his eyes. It wasn’t until he felt the car stop and heard Baird open the door that he looked fearfully through the windshield to see where he was.

Baird had turned off the headlights. Rico couldn’t see much in the feeble lights of the parkers. He seemed to be in a cul-de-sac. He could smell the river, but couldn’t see it. Surrounding him were high walls of rotting timber, black with tar.

‘Come on out,’ Baird said impatiently.

Rico got out of the car. His legs could scarcely support him. The rain felt cold against his feverish face. He looked up. High above him he could make out the outline of the roofs of the buildings against the rain-swollen sky. Two or three derricks hung lifelessly from the upper storeys. The warehouse had an air of neglect and disuse. But it was the silence that unnerved Rico. Only the soft patter of the rain and his own heavy, uneven breathing came to his listening ears. He had a suffocating feeling of being buried alive, and when Baird jerked open the rear door of the car, he started violently.

‘Take this,’ Baird said, turning and pushing a flashlight into Rico’s hand. ‘What’s the matter with you? Can’t you hold it steady?’

He leaned into the car, dragged Zoe out, and hoisted her over his shoulder. She struggled feebly, but he took no notice, handling her with the impersonal indifference of a slaughterman preparing cattle for the hammer.

‘Give it to me,’ he went on to Rico, and snatched the light from him. ‘Come on.’

‘Where’re we going?’ Rico mut ered, staring up at the building.

‘A place I know,’ Baird said. ‘Come on and stop yapping.’

Rico followed him through an archway into a long, dark passage. The uneven floor was strewn with refuse; an evil smell came out of the passage and sickened Rico. As they moved slowly forward, he could hear the rustle of rats ahead of them. Huge spiders scuttled into the shadows as Baird flashed his light up to the ceiling.

At the end of the passage they came to a flight of stone steps that eventually brought them into a vast barn of a room full of packing-cases, barrels, litter and the smell of damp and decay.

Baird lowered Zoe to the floor, and as he straightened up he swung the beam of his flashlight around.

‘Safe enough,’ he said under his breath. ‘No one is likely to hear her.’

Rico didn’t say anything. He leaned against one of the rot ing packing-cases and stared at Baird in horror.

No one is likely to hear her.

His mind shied away from the implication. Pain and violence had always demoralised him.

‘What’s the matter with you?’ Baird asked roughly, shining the light ful on Rico’s face. ‘Losing your guts?’

‘What are you going to do with her?’ Rico whispered, holding up his hand to shield his sweating face.

‘What do you think?’ Baird said. ‘She can tell us what we want to know. Someone’s got at her to spy on you, and we want to know who.’

He bent over Zoe, loosened the tape round her mouth and jerked it off.

‘Hel o, Toots,’ he said, kneeling by her, ‘I warned you how it’d be. Now you better start talking.

Who’s behind your racket?’

Zoe stared at him, terror in her eyes.

‘Let me go!’ she gasped. ‘Rico! Make him let me go! You’l be sorry if you don’t! I’l make trouble…’

Baird slapped her face, and her words choked off in a scream.

‘Shut up!’ he said softly. ‘Who’s behind your racket?’

‘No one, and it isn’t a racket,’ Zoe sobbed. ‘Let me go!’

Baird’s hand reached out and his fingers caught hold of Zoe’s chin. He raised her face and flashed the light in her eyes.

‘Bet er start talking, Toots,’ he said. ‘I’m in a rush. You don’t want me to persuade you to talk, do you?’

‘I tell you I don’t know what you mean,’ Zoe gasped, trying to break Baird’s grip.

‘Okay,’ Baird said, letting go of her. ‘If you want it the hard way, you can have it the hard way.’

Rico felt suddenly sick.

‘I feel il ,’ he said. ‘I — I can’t watch, Baird. Let me wait in the car.’

Baird stood up.

‘Go and wait in the car, you gutless monkey, but don’t run away.’

‘I’ll wait,’ Rico said feverishly, and began to back away.

Baird caught hold of his coat front and shook him.

‘Don’t run. If you want your share, you’re damn wel going to earn it!’

He gave Rico a shove that sent him reeling into the shadows.

‘Don’t leave me!’ Zoe screamed, struggling to sit up. ‘Rico! Don’t leave me with him! Rico! Come back!’

Rico blundered down the stairs, sweat pouring down his face. Zoe’s screams suddenly stopped and, shuddering, Rico began to grope his way along the pitch-black passage. The darkness came down on him as if a blanket had been thrown over his head. He could see nothing, and he stopped short, his heart pounding, while he tried to see where he was going.

He remembered the huge spiders, and stinking refuse on the floor and the rats, and he knew he couldn’t go on without a light. He turned and groped his way back until he reached the steps. He sat down, holding his head between his hands.

It seemed to him he sat in the evil-smelling darkness for a long time. Somewhere in the passage he could hear the busy gnawing of rat’s teeth on wood, the occasional drip of water, and the persistent patter of the rain against the walls of the building. But he didn’t pay any at ention to these noises. His ears were straining for the sound of any activity in the vast room above him. At first he heard nothing, then he imagined he heard the sound of breathing until he realised it was the curious echo of the thumping of his own heart as he sat there, his blood hammering through his veins.

The minutes dragged by. What could Baird be doing? he wondered stupidly. Perhaps after all she was talking, telling Baird what he wanted to know, and it would mean…

A long, blood-chilling scream rang suddenly through the building. It came down to Rico like the rush of wind, past him, and on down the passage, making the rats scramble up the walls in a panic of agitation.

Rico put his hands over his ears as the scream was repeated, but he couldn’t block it out. It seemed to run round and round inside his head like the rats running up and down the walls.

The screaming went on for a long time.

‘Please don’t!’ he heard Zoe cry. ‘No… Oh, no! I don’t know anything…’

Then she went back to the high-pitched screams that tore Rico’s nerves to shreds, and final y the screaming gave way to a soft moaning that was as horrible to listen to as the screaming.

The moaning kept on, until Rico thought he’d go crazy. He tried to stand up, but his shaking legs wouldn’t support him. He sat there, his hands over his ears, his eyes shut and his heart pounding. He had sweated right through his clothes, and he felt exhausted, as if he had been running without rest for miles.

He became aware suddenly that the moaning had stopped. For some moments he only heard the rustling of rats and the sound of the rain against the walls. He sat in the darkness, not moving, his nerves screwed up to meet another outburst of screaming.

Then the choked bang of a gun shattered the silence. The violence of the sound threw Rico on his knees. The echo of the shot rolled through the empty building, sending the rats scurrying madly to their holes.

Rico remained on his knees, too sick to move or think. He was still there among the slime and muck on the floor when Baird came down the steps.

‘What the hel do you think you’re doing?’ Baird asked, and dragged Rico to his feet. ‘Lost the little guts you had?’

Rico made an effort to pull himself together.

‘She’s dead?’ he asked without hope.

‘What do you think?’ Baird said. ‘I dropped her into the river. With any luck they won’t find her for months. Come on, let’s get out of here.’ He shoved Rico along the passage, under the archway to where the car was waiting.

‘I’ve got some news for you,’ Baird said as he paused to light a cigaret e. ‘That fella Dallas works for the International Detective Agency. He’s been hired by the insurance companies, who’re trying to find the stuff Hater cached. Dallas is on to you and Kile and me. We’ve been watched day and night for weeks. And listen, the top man’s Gil is, the guy who comes into your club. That red-head you were so sure about has been reporting every move you’ve made.’

Rico stood staring stupidly at Baird. He scarcely heard. The sound of the shot was still ringing in his head.

‘Kile’s going to unload the stuff when he gets it on the Rajah himself, who’s planning to gyp the insurance companies. A sweet set-up, isn’t it?’ Baird went on.

Groaning, Rico turned away and suddenly vomited.

With a grunt of disgust Baird got into the car and started the engine.

‘Come on, let’s get out of here,’ he said.

IV

Dallas found MacAdam in a bar opposite the Frou-Frou Club, where he had a good view of the main entrance of the club.

MacAdam, a dark, beefy man, who looked too big for his clothes, was nursing a pint of beer, and staring through the window of the bar, a far-away expression in his eyes.

Dallas gave him a jab in the ribs that made him spill some of his beer. He turned wrathfully.

‘Oh, you,’ he said in disgust. ‘I might have known it. I saw Gil is go in about a quarter of an hour ago. I guessed you’d be around like bad news.’

‘Where’s Baird?’ Dal as demanded.

MacAdam eyed him sharply. He didn’t like the expression on Dal as’s face.

‘What’s cooking? You look like you swal owed a bee.’

‘You’l think you’ve swal owed a goddamn hornet in a moment,’ Dal as snarled. ‘Where’s Baird?’

‘In the club, of course. Why else do you think I’m here?’

‘He isn’t in the club. Don’t you know there’s a rear exit?’

MacAdam sighed.

‘So what am I supposed to do?’ he asked, waving his beer in Dal as’s face. ‘Cut myself in half? I can’t watch the rear exit as well as the front, can I?’

‘If you’d watched the club farther down the road,’ Dal as said angrily, ‘you could have seen him if he had come out either exits.’

‘Yeah, I guess that’s right,’ MacAdam said, his face fal ing. ‘I had a thirst on me like an oil fire. I just had to put it out.’

‘Wel , he’s gone, and it’s my bet your job’s gone, too. Rico isn’t in the club, and Zoe’s missing. If anything happens to her, you’re for the high jump. I’l damn wel see to that! Get out of here and watch for Gillis when he comes out. I’m turning him over to you while I look for Baird.’

MacAdam hurriedly emptied his glass.

‘What do you think’s happened to Zoe?’ he asked, looking worried.

‘Anything can have happened to her. Get going before Gillis slips through your fingers.’

They went out on to the street together.

‘If I don’t pick Baird up, you’d better quit,’ Dal as said. He was cold with fury. ‘We’re responsible for that girl. She was one of us.’

‘Yeah, yeah; take it easy,’ MacAdam said. ‘I slipped up, but how the hel was I to know? How do you hope to find Baird? He’s got a start on you, hasn’t he?’

‘Rico owns a Roadmaster Buick. It’s a showy job, and it isn’t in the parking lot. It’s my bet they’ve taken Zoe somewhere in it. I’m going to try and trace it.’

‘Rather you than me,’ MacAdam said. ‘Sounds like you’ve got plenty of exercise coming to you.’

‘Watch Gil is and save your sympathy,’ Dal as snapped, and walked off to where he had parked his car.

The parking attendant came over as Dallas turned on his headlights. Dallas gave him half a buck.

‘Mr Rico took his car out about twenty minutes ago. I’m trying to find him. Know which way he went?’

‘He turned left and headed towards his apartment,’ the at endant said. ‘I reckon he’s gone home, although he’s never been as early as this before.’

Dallas nodded. He thought that was unlikely.

‘Mr Baird was with him, wasn’t he?’

‘That’s right.’

‘Anyone else?’

The man shook his head.

‘Just the two of them. Mr Baird was driving.’

Dallas started his car.

‘I’ll try his apartment,’ he said, and drove out of the park. Swinging his car to the left, he drove as fast as the traffic would allow him to the intersection. Straight ahead would bring him to Rico’s apartment block, but he couldn’t imagine Rico would take Zoe there: he was too cautious for that.

Dallas swung the car to the kerb, a few yards from the traffic lights. He got out and went across to a man selling newspapers, hunching his shoulders against the drizzling ram.

‘Hey, Joe,’ he said. ‘Have you seen a big Buick with yellow fenders pass this way?’

‘You mean Rico’s car?’ the man asked, and shook his head. ‘I didn’t notice it. The cop on the corner might have seen him. He’s been airing his corns for the past hour right there.’

‘Thanks,’ Dallas said, and went over to the patrolman, who looked as if his feet had taken root on the kerb. He eyed Dallas without interest as he came up. Dallas poked one of his cards at him. ‘Seen Rico’s Buick pass this way within the past twenty minutes?’

The cop read the card, nodded and handed it back. Purvis subscribed heavily to the police fund each year, and most of the cops played ball with the Agency.

‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘I seen the little rat.’

‘Which way did he go?’

‘Turned right at the lights, and headed towards the river.’

Dallas felt a little chill run up his spine. He might have guessed that’s the way they’d go.

‘Thanks,’ he said, turned and ran back to his car. He drove rapidly along West Street, turned left at the next intersection, increased his speed along the broad, deserted dock road. A couple of miles of fast driving brought him to the river. Again he pulled to the kerb and got out. He spent ten minutes trying to find someone who had seen Rico’s car before he succeeded.

A red-headed street walker volunteered the information.

‘Sure, it was heading for the old causeway,’ she told Dallas, while she ogled him from under her hat-brim. ‘It’s Rico, isn’t it? I thought I recognised him. Why worry about him, sugar? Let’s you and me have fun.’

‘Some other night,’ Dal as said, scarcely hearing what she said. ‘I’ve got to find this guy.’

‘No accounting for taste,’ the girl said, shrugging her thin shoulders. The rain dripped off her umbrella on to her sandalled feet. ‘Me — I wouldn’t look for Rico if he was the last man on earth.’

Dallas got into his car and headed along the narrow causeway. He was sure now that Baird and Rico had brought Zoe here to murder her. Why else should they come down to the river? He felt responsible for Zoe, and he drove recklessly, refusing to accept what his common sense was telling him: if they were going to murder her, they would have done it by now.

Very soon he got completely lost in the narrow alleys that ran between the derelict warehouses. It became impossible to drive fast and, exasperated, he stopped the car and got out. Rain poured down on him as he swung the beam of his flashlight up at the high buildings. He cursed softly, wondering which way to go, when suddenly he heard the sharp bang of a heavy calibre gun.

The shot sounded close. As far as he could judge it came from a building a little way up the alley.

As he broke into a run, he knew he was too late to save Zoe, and he groped for his .38 police special.

He reached the end of the alley, paused to listen again, but heard nothing. It had been somewhere near here, he thought, looking up at the row of high buildings. Their doors were boarded up, and he guessed there must be an entrance somewhere at the back. He ran down the next alley he came to and reached an intersection that he calculated would bring him to the rear of the buildings he had just passed. Then he heard a car start up. He increased his speed and raced down the alley to another intersection. As he rounded the corner he was in time to see a big car moving swiftly away from him. Its parking lights lit up its bright yellow fenders.

It was moving too fast for him to hope to overtake it. He stopped, raised the .38 and fired. The smash of glass told him he had scored a hit. The car increased speed, and before he could fire again, it had whipped around a bend and had disappeared.

He stood there for a moment, trying to think what to do next. It would be hopeless to try to find Zoe’s body. They were certain to have dumped her into the river, but if he acted fast it might be possible to get the body before the currents took it away.

He raced back to his car, scrambled in, and drove as fast as he dared back along the causeway. There was no sign of the Buick. The delay in getting back to his car, finding his way to the causeway, had given Rico too big a lead to hope to overtake him.

Dallas spotted an all-night café at the corner of West and Union. He crammed on his brakes, swung the car to the kerb and ran across the sidewalk into the café.

The place was full of steamy moisture, the smell of frying onions and hot, strong Java. A dozen dockers sat around a big table playing dominoes and drinking beer. The red-headed street walker who had identified Rico’s car, was sitting on a high stool at the bar, showing off her legs in the hope of drumming up some trade. None of the dockers seemed interested. She smiled archly at Dallas when he came in, but he went past her like a miniature hurricane and dived into a phone booth at the end of the room.

He caught Olin as he was leaving for the night.

‘I can hand you Baird on a plate,’ he said urgently. ‘Listen: it’s a safe bet Baird’s just knocked off one of Rico’s taxi-dancers. Rico’s in it, too. They’ve slung her in the river. I spot ed their car leaving and took a shot at them. I think I smashed a window. If you get moving fast there’s a chance of recovering the body before the tide gets it.’

Olin knew Dallas didn’t make mistakes. He had worked with him a lot in the past, and to Dal as’s delight he didn’t waste time asking questions.

‘If you’re pul ing me out on a false alarm I’l slap a charge on you,’ Olin said. ‘Is this the McCoy?’

‘This isn’t a false alarm, George,’ Dallas said, and the grimness in his voice convinced Olin. ‘Get some boys and come down to West and Union fast.’

‘Stick where you are,’ Olin said. ‘I’l be right with you.’

Dallas hung up and went to the bar. He ordered a double Scotch.

‘Did you find him?’ the red-head asked, hitching up her skirt so he could see the top of her stocking.

The bartender leaned over the bar.

‘Hey, you! Take it outside and peddle it in the rain,’ he said, ‘or you’l get bounced out on your fanny.’

Dallas said, ‘Pipe down. She’s a friend of mine. Give her a Scotch.’

The red-head sneered at the bartender and gave a little wiggle inside her clothes for Dallas’s benefit.

‘Let’s get out of this hole,’ she said. ‘I’ve got a swell apartment you’l love.’

‘Drink your Scotch and shut up,’ Dal as said. He finished his drink, pat ed her on the shoulder and went out into the rain.

Four minutes later he heard the first of the sirens. In another minute West Street was alive with noise and black and white police cars.

Olin leaned out of the front car and waved to Dallas.

‘Wel , you’ve certainly started something,’ Olin said, as Dallas scrambled into the car. ‘I hope for your sake you can finish it. Let’s have it quick as we go.’

‘Make for Pinder’s End,’ Dal as told the driver, and while the car shot down West Street, he gave Olin his prepared story.

‘The girl’s name is Zoe Norton,’ he said rapidly. ‘She and I sleep together when we’ve nothing better to do. Nothing serious, but I like her and she likes me.’

‘Okay, okay,’ Olin said impatiently, ‘never mind about your love-life. Where’s Baird fit in this?’

‘I don’t know,’ Dal as lied. ‘I went to the club to see Zoe tonight. Like I told you, she works for Rico.

She was missing. She’d been in the club; her hat and coat were in her dressing-room, but she had disappeared. I found her bag in Rico’s office. He had vanished, too. I found out he and Baird had taken Rico’s car and had gone off together. I traced them to Pinder’s End on the waterfront. Then I lost them. I was nosing around when I heard a shot. I was in time to see Rico’s Buick driving away like a bat out of hell. I took a shot at it, and smashed one of the windows. It’s my bet Zoe found out something about those two and they’ve silenced her.’

‘Found out what?’ Olin barked.

‘No idea, but it could be something to do with the Bruce kil ing.’

Olin snorted.

‘You don’t even know if they had her in the car.’

‘Where else is she, then?’

‘Anywhere. You’re sure about the shot?’

‘Yeah, I’m sure about that.’

‘Maybe Baird has rubbed Rico out,’ Olin said hopeful y. ‘I’l get myself good and drunk if he has.’

‘It’s Zoe al right,’ Dal as said. ‘I’m sure of it.’

‘Why the hell should they want to knock off a taxi-dancer?’ Olin asked. ‘Talk sense.’ He gave Dal as a sharp look. ‘Or are you keeping anything back?’

‘You know as wel as I do the whole of my life’s spread out for you to pick over,’ Dallas said. ‘Don’t be so damned suspicious.’

The car skidded to a standstill.

‘This is it,’ the driver said.

Dallas and Olin got out. The three other police cars emptied. The prowl boys stood around in the rain expectantly, looking at Olin for orders.

‘Where did you hear the shot?’ Olin asked.

‘Right here. It seemed to come from those buildings.’ Dal as waved at the high, dark warehouses.

‘Okay, boys,’ Olin said. ‘Get busy. Look these joints over. If you find anything, sound your whistles.’

The prowl boys broke up into parties of twos and began a systematic search of the warehouses.

‘I’m going to the waterfront,’ Dal as said. ‘Coming?’

‘Leave it to the River Police,’ Olin said shortly. ‘I tipped them off before I left.’

‘That’s where she’s going to be found,’ Dal as said, ‘and that’s where I’m going.’

Olin shrugged, but followed Dallas to the end of the alley into what appeared to be a cul-de-sac.

‘You won’t get to the river this way,’ Olin grunted.

Dallas swung his flashlight beam on the ground.

‘There’s been a car here. Look, tyre and oil marks. Where’s that lead to?’ He flashed his light on a low, dark archway. ‘Come on, let’s take a look.’

Olin followed him through the archway into an evil-smelling passage. In the mud and slush that covered the floor they could see footprints.

‘Someone’s been here, and recently,’ Dallas said.

He began to mount the stone steps at the end of the passage, stopped and sniffed.

‘Gunpowder!’ he exclaimed. ‘Can you smell it?’

‘Do you imagine I haven’t got a nose?’ Olin growled, jerking out his gun. ‘Get out of the way. I’ll handle this.’

He ran up the rest of the steps into a vast, barn-like room with Dallas on his heels. The smell of gunpowder hung in the thick atmosphere. Among the other smells Dallas imagined he could smell musk.

‘Look at that!’ Olin barked, dropping the flashlight beam to the floor. A dark-brown stain made an irregular pattern on the dirty boards: close by was a small pile of half-burned matches.

‘That’s blood.’

Dallas spotted a door in the wall. He went over to it, pushed it open. He found himself looking down at the dark waters of the river, some thirty feet below.

‘He killed her and threw her out this way,’ he said, through clenched teeth.

Olin joined him.

‘Looks like it,’ he said. ‘There’s the river boys. We’d better get them working here.’ He flashed his light on and off. In the distance a light answered. ‘They’l be up in a couple of minutes. Wait here and guide them in. I’ll get my lot together.’

Dallas sat on the floor, flashing his light on and off. At the back of the building he could hear Olin’s whistle. The lights of the police launch came closer. By the time Olin had returned, the police launch was bobbing up and down just below where Dallas was sitting.

‘There’s a body down there somewhere,’ Olin shouted. ‘It was thrown in from here. Get busy and find it. It couldn’t have drifted far.’

A powerful searchlight was turned on that lit up a big expanse of water. It made Dallas feel sick to think that Zoe was somewhere in that dark, oily grave. He sat there, smoking, for a long time, while the River Police threw out their drags and systematically combed the river.

It was over an hour before they found Zoe. By that time both Olin and Dallas had joined them on the launch.

‘Here she is,’ one of the River Police said, as the drags came in. Gently he and another cop rolled Zoe’s half-naked body off the hooks.

‘This the one you want?’ the sergeant asked, looking up at Olin.

‘Is it ?’ Olin asked Dallas.

‘I guess so,’ Dallas said huskily.

Zoe had been shot through the head. The big .45 slug had torn a chunk of her skull away. She didn’t look like the Zoe he had played around with. He stood staring down at her, a cold, sick feeling creeping over him.

‘Looks like someone’s been burning her,’ Olin said, in a hushed voice. ‘Look at the state she’s in.’

The sergeant tossed a blanket over Zoe’s broken and tortured body. His usual y red, cheerful face looked a little green.

‘Well, what are we waiting for?’ Dal as said, his voice rasping. ‘Let’s go get those two bastards.’

V

Baird saw a flash of flame in the driving mirror; at the same instant there came a crash of breaking glass. Glass splinters flew inside the car like shrapnel.

Rico cried out as he ducked down on the floor of the car. Automatically Baird’s foot trod down hard on the gas pedal. The big Buick surged forward, and he whipped it around the bend in the causeway.

He sent the big car hurtling along the narrow road. He could feel blood running down the side of his neck from a cut from a glass splinter, and he swore softly.

‘What is it?’ Rico quavered from the floor of the car. ‘Who shot at us?’

‘How the hell do I know?’ Baird snarled.

But he was quick to realise what this meant. Someone had been close by when he had shot that damned spying red-head. A car like Rico’s could easily be identified. If whoever it was cal ed the cops, and they found the body before the current took it away, Rico would be on the spot. Baird hadn’t any illusions about Rico keeping his trap shut. Any tough cop could make Rico sing like a canary, and Rico would try to pin the whole weight of the killing on Baird.

He kicked Rico hard in the ribs.

‘Get up!’ he said furiously. ‘See what the damage is!’

Rico pulled himself off the floor and looked back at the gaping hole in the rear window. With relief he saw there was no car following them, and he sank down on the bench seat beside Baird, groaning.

‘Aw, shut up!’ Baird snarled. ‘It must have been one of those shamuses who’s been following me.

Start using your head, Rico. We’ve got to take action fast if we’re going to beat this rap. He’s seen the car. We can’t get that window fixed before the cops descend on us. If they don’t find the body we can cook up some yarn, but if they do, we’re sunk!’

Rico turned cold.

‘You got me into this!’ he wailed. ‘I told you I wouldn’t stand for murder! Damn you! Let me get out of here! I’m not going to be caught with you!’

Baird swung his arm. The back of his hand caught Rico across his nose and mouth, stunning him.

‘Shut up, you squealer!’ Baird exclaimed. ‘We’re both in this! You try and walk out on me, and I’ll put a slug into you!’

Rico wilted. He lay back, his hands over his face.

‘Maybe we can tel them the car was stolen from the park,’ Baird said. ‘If you and me can fix an alibi…’

‘That shamus saw us,’ Rico said, fear steadying his nerves and let ing his rat-shrewd brain function.

‘You’ve fixed me this time, damn you! There’s no way out of it! Olin’s been waiting for something like this to break.’

‘Take it easy,’ Baird said coldly. ‘Maybe they won’t find her. We’l get back to the club and find out what’s been going on. Until we know who’s been talking we can’t do a thing.’

‘Listen!’ Rico said, stiffening. ‘Police sirens!’

Baird stamped on the brake, swung the car across the street with a screech of tortured tyres and drove up a narrow side street. He stopped the car, jumped out and stood on the sidewalk, his hand on his gun.

Fearfully, Rico peered through the broken rear window and looked towards the main street. The clamour of sirens grew louder. They watched three black and white police cars flash past, heading for Union Street.

‘That punk tipped them off fast enough,’ Baird growled as he got back into the Buick. ‘But they still mayn’t find her.’

He drove recklessly along the back streets and reached the club in under five minutes. He drove into the parking lot.

‘Get hold of yourself,’ he said, as he wiped the blood off his neck. ‘Come on out. We may be rushed for time.’

As they got out of the car, the parking attendant came over. He stared at the blood on Baird’s col ar, then his gaze shifted to Rico’s damaged nose, and his eyes popped.

‘Some drunk threw a bot le at the car,’ Baird said. ‘Smashed the rear window.’

‘Gee!’ the at endant exclaimed. ‘What did he want to do that for?’

‘Anyone been asking for me, Tim?’ Rico said, holding his handkerchief across his face.

‘Mr Dal as wanted you. I told him you’d gone home. He said he’d try your apartment.’

‘Got another car, Rico?’ Baird asked sharply. ‘We may have to go out again.’

Rico gulped.

‘There’s the Packard.’

‘Get it around the rear entrance,’ Baird said to the parking attendant. ‘We may be leaving in a hurry.’

‘Yes, sir.’

Baird caught hold of Rico’s, arm and hustled him to the rear entrance.

‘Can we trust that guy?’

‘Yes,’ Rico said. ‘Tim’s al right. He’l do anything for me.’

‘That’s swel ,’ Baird said sarcastical y. ‘Dallas fired that shot! He must have come here to see the red-head, found her missing and traced us to the waterfront. I must have been crazy to have used that damned car of yours. A blind man could identify it.’

Rico pushed open the door of his office and went in. He turned on the lights and went over to the cellarette. With a shaking hand he poured two whiskies, gave Baird one and gulped down the other. He poured more whisky into his glass and then flopped into a chair.

‘You got me into this,’ he said. ‘You’ve got to get me out of it.’

‘It’l be easy if they don’t find her, but if they do…’ Baird shrugged. ‘Can’t you find out what’s happening?’

Rico gulped down his second whisky, picked up the telephone and dialled a number. After a slight pause, he said, ‘That you, Sam? This is Rico. Listen, I want you to get down to Pinder’s End fast. The cops are there. Find out what they’re doing and cal back. It’s worth fifty if you give me some fast action.’

He hung up and looked at Baird.

‘Sam’l find out. He’l cal me back.’

‘Where’s that five grand?’ Baird demanded. ‘Get it, and get hold of every buck in the place. Get moving: we may have to dust, and dust fast!’

Rico licked his dry lips.

‘What do you mean? I can’t just walk out of here. It’s my living. What are you talking about?’

‘Get the dough!’ Baird snarled. ‘You can stay here if you want to, but if they fish her out of the river, I’m going to be wel out of reach.’

Rico closed his eyes. He had visions of Olin cornering him. He saw the room at headquarters with its one blinding light, and the big coppers crowding around him with their blackjacks. He started out of his chair, sweat running down his face.

‘Where can I go?’ he yammered, catching hold of Baird’s coat front. ‘What about the club? What the hell am I going to do?’

Baird threw him off.

‘You can come with me to Red River Basin. That’s where I’m going,’ he said. ‘Have you forgot en?

There’s half a mil ion or more to be picked up there, and it’s where Olin can’t get at us. What do you care about this lousy club if you can get your hands on money like that?’

Rico gulped and gaped at Baird.

‘It’l turn out to be another of your bright ideas,’ he whined. ‘How do I know I shan’t be in a worse jam?’

‘You couldn’t be in a worse jam,’ Baird said brutal y. ‘Get moving. Collect all the dough you can lay hands on, and make it fast.’

Rico staggered out of the room, and Baird heard him calling to Luigi. Shrugging his shoulders, Baird sat down and helped himself to another whisky. The only regret he felt for leaving town was that he wouldn’t get the chance of seeing Anita again. He had found out where she worked, and most nights he parked his car near the restaurant to watch her come out when the restaurant closed. Sometimes he followed her home, and spent a half an hour watching the light in her window, seeing her pass and repass as she moved about the room, preparing for bed. He made no attempt to speak to her, and he was careful that she shouldn’t see him. He told himself again and again he was get ing soft in the head, and he was wasting his time, but the fascination of seeing her from a distance was irresistible to him.

Rico returned ten minutes later. He carried a suitcase which he placed on the table.

‘Luigi wil look after things for me,’ he said. ‘I’ve got a couple of grand in here, and there’s the five grand from Kile. But unless I have to, I don’t want to go…’

The telephone bell rang sharply, cutting off his words. He answered it while Baird lounged in his chair and watched him.

‘Yeah, Sam. This is Rico. What’s going on down there?’ He listened, and Baird saw his face go green. ‘They have? Okay. Thanks, Sam. Come up to the club and see Luigi. He’l pay you off.’ He hung up and looked at Baird, who was already on his feet, reaching for the suitcase. ‘They’ve found her! Sam saw them hook her out about three minutes ago.’

‘Come on, then,’ Baird said. ‘Let’s get out of here fast. First stop Red River Basin.’

Rico tore at his hair.

‘Leaving all this! I’ll be ruined…’

Baird was already walking rapidly down the passage to the car park. Rico snatched up his hat and coat and rushed after him.

The dark blue Packard was waiting at the rear exit.

‘There’s another set of licence plates in the boot,’ the parking at endant said, coming up. ‘The tank’s full, and there’s a Thompson under the rear floor boards. Anything else I can do?’

‘Can you ditch the Buick?’

The parking attendant grinned.

‘I’ve already done that. I left it in a vacant lot about a mile away.’

‘Nice work,’ Baird said approvingly. ‘If they ask questions, tel them you haven’t seen us.’

‘Sure.’

Rico scrambled into the Packard.

‘Good luck, Mr Rico. I’ll stall them,’ the parking attendant said.

‘Thanks, Tim. Maybe I’ll be back,’ Rico said mournful y.

Baird let in the clutch, swung out of the parking lot, and headed up town.

MacAdam, who had been sitting in his car waiting patiently for Gillis to show, spotted Rico in the Packard. He thought he recognised Baird at the wheel. He didn’t hesitate. Instinct told him it was more important to go after Baird and Rico than to wait for Gillis.

He trod on the starter and shot his car away from the kerb.

VI

‘Peggy, darling,’ Gil is said, turning on his boyish charm and leaning across the table to catch her hand, ‘aren’t you get ing a little bored with all this? Wouldn’t you like to come back to my place? We could have much more fun alone together.’

His blonde companion screwed up her eyes to focus the tanned, smiling face that appeared to bob up and down like a toy balloon on a rough sea.

‘I’m having fun right here,’ she announced, in a voice that carried across the restaurant. ‘I don’t want to go to your dreary old place. I’ve been there, and I know what you cal fun. I’m staying right here.

Let’s have some champagne.’

Gillis’s smile became fixed. He glanced a little anxiously at the tables close to his. Some of the diners were looking at Peggy, amused smiles on their faces.

‘I think you’ve drunk enough already, darling,’ he said, keeping his voice low. ‘Come on, Peggy, let’s get out of here.’

‘I don’t want to,’ she said, with drunken obstinacy. ‘I want some champagne. I’m not asking you to pay for it. I’l pay for it myself. I’ve lots and lots of money. Hey, waiter!’ she went on, raising her voice.

‘Where’s the lousy waiter? Waiter!’

Gillis went white with suppressed fury. If there was one thing he hated, it was to be the centre of a scene. People were now staring at him, and some of them were whispering to each other.

‘Keep your voice down, you little fool!’ he said furiously. ‘You’re making a scene!’

‘I don’t care!’ the girl cried. ‘Why shouldn’t I make a scene if I want to? I’m paying for this meal, and if I want to, I’m entitled to make a scene!’

A waiter came up quickly.

‘Is there anything madam wants?’ he asked, bowing.

‘Get some champagne,’ the girl ordered. ‘My boy friend’s thirsty. He only drinks champagne if I pay for it. Don’t you, Adam darling?’

Gillis pushed back his chair. He was sweating now.

‘Sure,’ he said soothingly. ‘But excuse me a moment. I’l be right back. I’ve just remembered I’ve got to make a phone call.’

‘Oh, no, you don’t!’ the girl exclaimed at the top of her voice. ‘I’m not al that drunk. You’re not going to walk out on me just when I’m buying you champagne. Just because I won’t go back to your fusty old bedroom and let you maul me around, you’re not going to leave me flat!’

The people within ear-shot had stopped pretending to listen, and were frankly gaping at Gillis.

‘Shut your mouth!’ he snarled at her, getting to his feet. ‘You’re not fit to go to public places.’

Peggy giggled.

‘I’ve got a hundred dollars in my bag for you, Adam, darling. If you go I shan’t give it to you.’

Gillis was already walking stiff-legged down the long aisle to the exit. Sweat beaded his face as he saw people staring at him.

Peggy picked up a spoon and began to hammer with it on the table, chanting drunkenly, ‘Gigolo!

Gigolo! Dirty little gigolo!’

Gillis went hurriedly into the men’s toilet. He was so furious he could have gone back and murdered the bitch. He ran cold water into the basin and plunged his face in it.

That was the finish of him in the club. He couldn’t come here again, he told himself, as he groped for a towel. Damn her! He might have known the vulgar little fool couldn’t have held her liquor. He was crazy to have thought he could have persuaded her to go back to his room, after what had happened the first time. Then she had smashed a window, scratched his face and nearly wrecked the room. It was a wonder the police hadn’t turned up. He had thought if he could get her tight she might be more amenable. Instead, he had let himself in for this scene. To look at her you’d have thought she was an absolute pushover. He stood staring at his reflection in the mirror, while he called her every name he could think of.

Well, he wasn’t going to leave by the front entrance. She might be there to start another scene. He’d go by the back exit.

Pushing open the door on his left, he stepped into the passage that led to Rico’s office, the changing rooms and the back exit. He hadn’t taken more than a dozen steps when he came to an abrupt standstill.

Someone was talking in Rico’s office. He recognised Baird’s soft tones. He moved forward silently, opened the door next to Rico’s office and slipped into a smal , dark room used by waiters for changing into their outdoor clothes. The room smelt of damp wool and unwashed bodies, but Gillis was far too intent to notice. He put his ear against the wall and listened. He heard Baird say, ‘You can come to Red River Basin. That’s where I’m going. Have you forgot en? There’s half a mil ion or more to be picked up there, and it’s where Olin can’t get at us. What do you care about this lousy club if you can get your hands on money like that?’

Gillis held his breath so he could hear better. There was a set, hard smile on his mouth now. Already he had forgotten about Peggy and the way she had insulted him. If the little fool hadn’t made the scene he wouldn’t be listening to this conversation now.

‘It’l turn out to be another of your bright ideas,’ he heard Rico say, his voice unsteady. ‘How do I know I shan’t get into a worse jam?’

‘You couldn’t be in a worse jam,’ Baird returned. ‘Get moving. Col ect al the dough you can lay hands on, and make it fast.’

Gillis heard Rico leave the room and go down the passage in a stumbling run. What had happened?

he wondered, puzzled. Why had they suddenly decided to leave for Red River Basin in such a hurry? He hadn’t been wrong about Baird. Baird was going to gyp Kile if he could. He knew neither Rico nor Baird could hope to handle the jewellery. They would wait until Kile got the money. That’s when they’d act. Well, he was ready for them.

But why rush off like this? What did Baird mean when he said Rico couldn’t be in a worse jam?

He opened the door and moved cautiously into the passage. He edged his way along the passage to the rear exit and peered into the alley. Immediately facing him was a dark blue Packard. A man in a white coat and peak cap was standing near by. Gillis dodged back and shut the door. He heard Rico coming along the passage. He darted into Zoe’s dressing-room and pushed the door to.

The telephone bell rang in Rico’s office, and Gillis cursed himself for leaving the waiters’ changing room. Where he was he couldn’t hear what was being said. There was a slight delay, then Rico’s door opened, and he heard Rico say frantically, ‘Leaving al this! I’l be ruined…’

Baird came out of the office, carrying a suitcase. He went to the rear exit, and leaving the door wide open, climbed into the Packard.

A moment later Rico came blundering after him, struggling into his overcoat.

As the Packard started up, Gillis moved swiftly to the open door and stepped into the alley. He was in time to see the Packard shoot into the main street.

‘Anything you want, sir?’ the parking at endant asked suspiciously.

Gillis ignored him. He ran to the end of the alley and looked after the swiftly moving Packard. From across the road he heard a car start up, and he looked in its direction. He saw a dusty Lincoln pull out dangerously into the thinning traffic. It went after the Packard, cutting in front of other drivers, causing them to swerve and sound their horns. Gillis caught sight of a big fleshy man at the wheel, and he stared after him thoughtfully.

The man in the Lincoln worried him. Was he a policeman? Gillis thought that was unlikely.

Policemen usually hunted in pairs. Then who was he? What was he doing, tailing Baird?

He crossed the street and went into the bar. The barman knew him and nodded to him.

‘A Scotch, Jack,’ Gil is said, leaning against the bar. When the barman put the drink in front of him, Gillis went on, ‘Seen a big fat guy in here? He was wearing a dark green leisure jacket and a brown hat.’

The barman nodded.

‘Yeah, I’ve seen him. It’s my bet he’s a shamus. He’s been watching the club for the past hour.

Another guy joined him a while back, and they, went out together. The fat fella sat in his car and went on watching the club, the other one went into the club.’

Gillis finished his whisky and slid a five-dollar bill across the counter.

‘Hang on to the change,’ he said. ‘What was the other guy like?’

‘Tal , lanky, with a crew hair cut.’

Dallas!

‘Thanks, Jack,’ Gil is said, and pushed himself away from the bar. For the first time since he started on this business he felt uneasy. If Dallas was watching him — how much had he found out?

He stood hesitating for a moment, then walked quickly to a pay booth and shut himself in.

VII

Rico sat huddled up, staring miserably at the two pools of light from the headlamps that raced ahead of the Packard. He was sure now he had seen the last of the Frou-Frou Club, and the future yawned before him as a dark, menacing chasm. If Baird didn’t pull this job off, he would have to start all over again. Baird had nothing to lose, but it was different for him: he had established himself; he was a man of substance. He was leaving behind him a flourishing business, a newly furnished apartment, a wardrobe full of clothes, and a Buick. He must have been out of his mind to have got himself in a jam like this.

Baird said, ‘In another fifteen miles we’l be across the State line. We can get an air taxi from Lincoln Falls to Shreveport. If we get the breaks we should be in Red River Basin by tomorrow night.’

Rico didn’t say anything. He thrust his hands in his coat pockets and huddled further down in his seat.

Rain beat against the windshield and drummed on the roof of the car. There was very little traffic on the highway, and Baird kept up a fast speed.

‘Get ing this guy Hater out of the swamp isn’t going to be a picnic,’ Baird went on, ‘but it can be done. I’ve fixed a boat. As soon as we get over the State line you’d better get Kile on the phone and let him know what we’re doing.’

‘If this doesn’t come off…’ Rico groaned.

‘It’s got to come off!’

‘Even if Kile pays us when we hand over Hater, how are we to get hold of the pay-off when Kile collects it? He’l probably get it at his house. What can we do if he does? We can’t show our faces in town. How shall we know when he does collect the dough?’

‘What makes you think we can’t go back there?’ Baird asked indifferently. ‘Olin wouldn’t scare me away from any town.’

Rico began to sweat.

‘We’l walk into a trap if we go back,’ he said, sit ing upright and staring hard at Baird.

‘If you want the dough you’l have to go back. There’s no other way of get ing it. That’s a risk we’ll have to run. When Kile takes delivery of Hater we can’t afford to let him out of our sight for a second!’

Rico groaned.

‘I wish I’d never touched this,’ he said in despair. ‘It’s ruined me.’

‘You can quit any time you like,’ Baird said. ‘If you don’t want your share, say so: al the more for me.’

Rico lapsed in moody silence. He sat still staring at the broad black ribbon of the road as it fled under the wheels of the Packard.

Every now and then Baird glanced into his rear mirror. The two distant headlights he could see puzzled him. There was a car behind him that had kept a hundred yards or so in his rear ever since he had struck the highway. He didn’t think anyone was tailing him, but he couldn’t afford to take chances.

It couldn’t be the cops. They wouldn’t hang behind like this. They’d overtake and force him to stop.

Who else could it be? One of the International operators? That was possible, and his thin lips set in a hard line.

‘There’s a car behind us I don’t like the look of,’ he said, giving Rico a nudge with his elbow. ‘Keep an eye on it. I’m going to try and shake it.’

Rico caught his breath in alarm and screwed around, staring at the two blobs of light that hung steadily in the rear.

Baird gradually increased pressure on the gas pedal. Slowly the car began to build up speed. From sixty miles an hour the speedometer needle crept up to seventy.

‘He’s stil there,’ Rico said.

Baird was afraid to drive too fast in the pouring rain. The surface of the road was treacherous, and he had no intentions of having a smash-up at this stage of the game.

‘Okay,’ he said. ‘We’ll stop and see what he does.’

Gradually he slowed down the Packard.

‘He’s slowing down too,’ Rico said in alarm.

Baird swung on the grass verge and brought the Packard to a standstill.

They both watched the headlights of the approaching car. The driver appeared to hesitate, then increased speed and went past them. Baird caught a glimpse of a big man at the driving-wheel of a Lincoln.

Baird lit a cigarette.

‘We’l let him get wel ahead,’ he said. ‘Maybe he wasn’t fol owing us, but I’m not taking any chances.’

‘We’re not over the State line yet,’ Rico said uneasily. ‘We’d better get on.’

Baird grunted. There was some sense in that. He started the car engine and drove along the highway at a steady forty miles an hour.

There was no sign now of the others car’s tail lights. A mile or so up the road, Baird spot ed a side turning.

‘Maybe he’s turned off,’ he said. ‘I’l get moving again.’

He increased his speed and continued along the broad Highway.

‘Keep a look-out behind,’ he told Rico. ‘Just in case he’s foxing.’

Rico couldn’t see any light, and he remained, screwed around, watching the darkness through the rear window. After several miles, he said sharply, ‘A car behind.’

‘Same one?’

‘I don’t know. It’s about a quarter of a mile back.’

Swearing softly, Baird trod on the gas pedal. The Packard surged forward. He held it steady at seventy miles an hour, but they didn’t lose the fol owing car. Another couple of miles took them across the State line. Ahead of them lay the little town of Brentwood; beyond Brentwood, another thirty miles along the highway, was Lincoln Falls.

Brentwood was in darkness as Baird drove along the main street. It was now a little after two o’clock.

At the far end of the street he saw the lights of a solitary all-night café.

‘Maybe they have a phone here,’ he said, slowing down. ‘Get Kile and tel him we should have Hater out in three days. Tell him to bring the dough to that place of his.’

He pulled up a few yards from the café, parking the car in the shadows.

As Rico got out of the car, they both looked back along the main street. There was no sign of the following car.

‘Maybe he’s turned off his headlights and is coming the rest of the way on foot,’ Baird said, and his hand slid inside his coat and closed around the butt of the Colt. ‘You fix Kile. Tell him to make sure he isn’t being tailed. Tel him about Dal as. He’s got to be certain no one’s tailing him when he comes to collect Hater. I’l fix this guy. You get going.’

Baird watched Rico enter the café, then he moved silently away from the Packard and took up a position in a dark doorway, where he had a clear view of the street. He waited some minutes before his sharp ears told him someone was coming. He looked towards the sound, but couldn’t see any movement.

Out of the darkness came a soft scrape of shoe leather on rough ground, then he caught sight of a dark shape by the Packard.

This shamus knew his job, he thought grudgingly. He had sneaked up to within thirty yards of Baird without Baird spotting him.

Baird didn’t move. The dark, shadowy figure crept up to the Packard, satisfied himself there was no one in it, and moved silently into the light coming from the café. Baird saw the big, fleshy man who had been following him in the Lincoln.

MacAdam was jumpy. He remembered what had happened to Burns, but he had to find out what these two were up to. He knew the risk he was taking. This might be a trap, but with any luck he might have fooled them into thinking they had lost him. He moved forward to peer through the café window.

Apart from an elderly man lounging behind the counter, the café appeared to be empty, then MacAdam spotted Rico in a pay booth. There was no sign of Baird, and realising Baird could very easily be out there somewhere in the darkness, he looked quickly over his shoulder.

Baird was right behind him: the big Colt steady in his hand.

‘Get your hands up,’ Baird said softly. ‘One false move’ll be your last.’

MacAdam raised his hands.

‘What’s the trouble?’ he asked. ‘I was just going in there…’

‘Shut up!’ Baird said. ‘You don’t fool me. You’ve been tailing me since we left town.’

‘You’re crazy!’ MacAdam said. ‘Now look…’

‘Get over to my car and snap it up!’ Baird said, moving forward.

MacAdam backed towards the Packard.

Rico came hurrying out of the café. He stopped short when he saw MacAdam and his knees wilted.

‘Come on! Come on!’ Baird said sharply. ‘Frisk him. He’ll be carrying a gun.’

Rico ran his hands over MacAdam as if he were handling a snake. He took from the shoulder holster a .38 police special.

‘Get his wallet,’ Baird went on.

Rico found the wallet, opened it and found MacAdam’s buzzer and licence.

‘A shamus,’ he said bitterly.

‘Yeah,’ Baird said. ‘Okay, brother, do what you’re told and you won’t get hurt. This is where we part company. Where’s your car?’

‘At the end of the street,’ MacAdam said.

‘Let’s take a look at it,’ Baird said. ‘Get going!’

MacAdam walked stiffly down the dark street with Baird at his heels. Rico remained with the Packard. When they reached the Lincoln Baird said, ‘Open the hood and give me the rotor arm. This is as far as you go.’

MacAdam leaned forward and reached for the hood catch.

Baird set himself. He brought the gun butt down on Mac-Adam’s skull, driving him to his knees. He hit him again, then kicked his unconscious body out of his way, lifted the hood and removed the rotor arm.

He left the hood open and MacAdam lying half under the car, and ran back to the Packard.

‘That’s fixed him,’ he said, as he slid under the driving wheel. ‘It’ll take him a week to get over that smack. Get Kile?’

Rico nodded miserably. All this violence horrified him, but he was too scared of Baird to protest.

‘He said he’ll be at the lodge the day after tomorrow with the dough.’

‘He’ll get a slug in the gut if he tries anything funny,’ Baird said, starting the car. ‘Did you tel him to watch out for a tail?’

‘Yes. He didn’t seem to like it.’

‘He’s not supposed to,’ Baird grunted, and sent the car racing along the highway. After a while he went on, ‘This isn’t going to be a picnic. By the time we’ve got Hater we’l have earned every nickel of that half million. This may be a fast buck, but don’t kid yourself we’re not going to earn it.’

Rico, who had no idea what was ahead of him, huddled down in his seat and said nothing.

VIII

There was a drag to Dallas’s step as he walked up the rose-lined path to Purvis’s front door. Before he could ring the bell, the door jerked open and Purvis waved him in.

‘I was hoping you’d come,’ Purvis said, as he led the way into his study. ‘Did you find the girl?’

Dallas flopped down in an easy chair.

‘If you haven’t got a drink in this hole, for the love of Mike give me some coffee,’ he said. ‘I’m about dead on my feet.’

Purvis gave him a sharp look and went over to an electric percolator. He poured two cups of coffee and brought them across the room. He gave Dallas a cup, hesitated, then went to a cupboard and produced a bottle of brandy.

‘This any good to you?’ he asked, a little reluctantly.

‘Sure,’ Dal as said, and poured a liberal shot into his coffee. He put the bottle down by his chair, out of Purvis’s reach. He drank some coffee, sighed and poured more brandy into the cup.

‘Did you find the girl?’ Purvis repeated, as he sat down.

‘Baird and Rico kidnapped her,’ Dal as said in a flat, cold voice. ‘They took her to a warehouse out at Pinder’s End and burned her with matches. Then they shot her through the head and chucked her into the river. I got Olin on the job, and the River Police fished her out about forty minutes ago.’

Purvis breathed heavily. His thin, pale face tightened.

‘That’s bad,’ he said. ‘Sure it was Baird?’

‘Yeah. The cops couldn’t find the slug, and he hadn’t left a clue behind him, but I saw him and Rico on the spot minute or so after the shooting.’

‘His word against yours.’

‘No. I took a shot at the car; smashed the rear window. Olin’s found the car about a mile from the club. If Olin gets either of them, he’l make them talk.’

‘Does he think he can pin it on them?’

‘It’s a cinch if he knew what the motive was,’ Dal as said, looking straight at Purvis.

‘And what’s that?’

‘Zoe slipped up somewhere. Maybe they caught her listening outside the door. I’m not kidding myself they don’t know the set-up now. You should have seen the way the bastards burned her.’

Purvis stroked his nose.

‘We paid her well,’ he said uneasily, ‘but she didn’t deserve that.’

‘That’s pretty white of you,’ Dal as said heatedly. ‘This wouldn’t have happened to her if we had told Olin what we are doing. He’d have had Baird in jail by now.’

‘That’s a lot of hooey,’ Purvis said. ‘Olin’s got nothing on Baird. I know you’re feeling sore about the girl, but you can’t talk like that. If you felt like that about her, you shouldn’t have put her out on a limb.’

‘So it’s my fault?’ Dal as said, his face white and strained.

‘It’s certainly not mine. I didn’t suggest paying her three hundred dol ars.’

Dallas didn’t say anything. He ran his fingers through his hair and grimaced. He was feeling bad about Zoe.

‘What’s Ainsworth doing?’ Purvis asked, after a short pause.

Dallas drank more coffee, and as he fumbled for a cigarette, he said, ‘He’s watching Kile. At the moment we’ve lost Baird, Rico and Gil is. When I got to the club with Olin, Baird and Rico had skipped. There was no sign of Gillis. I tried to find MacAdam, but his car had gone. I’m hoping he went after Gillis. Olin took the club to pieces, but we didn’t find anything. That guy, Luigi, Rico’s Captain of waiters, talked after Olin got tough with him. He told Olin both Rico and Baird had returned to the club about forty minutes before we got there. Rico said he had to leave town in a hurry. He collected all the cash he could lay his hands on, and went off with Baird in a dark blue Packard. No one knows where he was going. Olin’s thrown out a drag-net, but so far the car hasn’t been seen. While this was going on, I searched around for MacAdam. As soon as Ainsworth reported to me, I sent him down to watch Kile. If Kile slips through our fingers, we’ve lost the lot of them.’

‘I imagine Baird and Rico have gone to Shreveport,’ Purvis said thoughtfully. ‘I think the balloon’s about to go up.’

‘Yeah,’ Dal as said. ‘Think we should tel Olin what’s cooking? He could set a trap for Baird.’

‘Red River’s not in his territory. By the time he got any action, Baird would be miles away. Besides, we’re losing sight of our objective: we want Baird to take us to the jewels. If Olin barges in now, we’re back where we started.’

‘I don’t like it,’ Dallas said. ‘The casualties are mounting up. First Burns, now Zoe: maybe it’ll be me next.’

Purvis didn’t look particularly worried.

‘I’ve been working fifteen years on this case,’ he said. ‘I’m in sight of pul ing it off. I’m not going to bring Olin in to mess it up now.’

Dallas shrugged. He felt too tired to argue. He stared down at his feet, brooding.

Rain continued to patter against the window. A car came grinding up the hill towards Purvis’s house.

Both Purvis and Dallas listened to the sound of the labouring engine. They looked at each other questioningly. The car came nearer, then passed the house and went on up the hill. Both men relaxed again. Then the telephone bell started to ring. Dallas jumped a little and spilt some of his coffee.

Purvis picked up the receiver. He said, Yes, speaking.’ He sat still, his face expressionless, his long, bony fingers tapping a tune on the arm of his chair. After a while he said, ‘Okay, and thanks. I’ll be down in the morning. Brentwood hospital? Yeah, I know how to get there. It’s before you get to Lincoln Falls. Yeah, sure.’ He hung up.

‘Who’s dead now?’ Dallas asked, his hands turning into fists.

‘MacAdam’s been found with a fractured skull,’ Purvis said slowly. He didn’t look at Dal as. ‘He was picked up in Brentwood’s main street.’

Dallas stubbed out his cigarette.

‘How is he?’

‘He’ll be all right,’ Purvis said. ‘Be some time before he gets around again, but he’s not in danger.’

‘That’s swell,’ Dal as said sarcastically. ‘Just a fractured skull. Nothing worse than a slight headache.

Baird again, eh?’

‘I guess so. A man answering to Rico’s description used the telephone in a café in Brentwood around two o’clock. A little while later MacAdam was found about a couple of hundred yards from the café. At least we now know they’re heading for Red River. There’s an airfield at Lincoln Falls. They could get a plane to Shreveport from there.’

Dallas got slowly to his feet.

‘I’d better get over to Kile’s place. If we let him slip through our fingers, we’re sunk.’

‘Rico could have been phoning Kile,’ Purvis said thoughtfully. ‘Looks as if they’re on their way to get Hater out.’

‘I can’t imagine they’re going to Red River to look at the alligators,’ Dal as said sarcastical y. ‘I’m glad I haven’t a wife and children. This job’s get ing dangerous.’

Purvis saw him to the door, and then returned to his study. He listened to Dallas’s car start up. He remained standing, his face expressionless, his eyes thoughtful long after the sound of Dallas’s car had died away.