I'll Get You for This

1

THEY had told me that Paradise Palms was a pretty nice spot, but when I saw it, I was knocked for a loop. It was so good I stopped the Buick to gape at it.

The town was built along the semi-circular bay with its miles of golden sand, palm trees and green ocean. The buildings were compact, red roofed with white walls. Tree-lined avenues led into the town from four directions. Flower-beds decorated the sidewalks. Every tropical flower, tree and plant grew in the streets, and the effect was like a dream in Technicolor. The colours hurt my eyes.

After I’d stared at the flowers, I concentrated on the women, driving in big luxury cars or walking along the sidewalks, or even riding bicycles. It was as good as an Earl Carrol show. There wasn’t a woman who hadn’t stripped down to the bare essentials. My eyes hadn’t overeaten themselves like this in years.

As a curtain-raiser for a vacation, it couldn’t have been better. And that’s what I was on: a vacation. Four months of working the gambling joints in New York had been a pretty hard grind. When I had acquired a roll of not less than twenty grand I had promised myself a real vacation with all the trimmings. By the time I’d saved fifteen, I nearly threw it up, but, somehow, I kept on, in spite of the bags under my eyes, a couple of bullet wounds and a flock of opposition. You don’t win twenty grand without making enemies. I made plenty. It got so bad that I was driving around in an armoured car, putting newspapers on the floor around my bed so no one could get at me without waking me, and toting a gun, even in my bath.

I got my roll and I got a reputation. They said I was the fastest gun-thrower in the country. Maybe I was, but I didn’t tell anyone that I practised two hours a day, wet or shine. I killed guys, but it wasn’t murder. Even the cops said so, and they should know. Every time I killed a guy I made sure he had the drop on me first, and I had witnesses to prove it. I’d worked it so I could pull a gun and shoot before the other guy could squeeze his trigger. That wanted a lot of doing; it meant hard work, but I stuck at it, and it paid dividends. I was never even arrested.

I had acquired my roll, bought the Buick, and here I was, ready for a vacation in Paradise Palms.

While I was gaping at the women, a traffic cop came over. He actually saluted me.

“You can’t park here, sir,” he said, resting his foot on my running board.

Imagine: a cop calling me “sir".

“I’ve just blown in,” I said, starting my engine. “It’s taken my breath away. Boy! This certainly looks good.”

The cop grinned. “It gets you, don’t it?” he said. “I gaped plenty when I first arrived.”

“It sure does,” I said. “Look at those dames. They make me feel I have X-ray eyes, and that’s something I’ve always wanted. I’m scared to look away in case I miss something.”

“You should see ’em on the beach,” the cop said wistfully. “They’re no more self-conscious than a tree.”

’That’s the way I like my women.”

“So do I,” the cop said, shaking his head, “but it doesn’t add up to anything here, except a strained eyesight’ and a stiff neck.”

“You mean they’re hard to make?”

He whistled. “Takes a piano mover to throw ’em over.”

“I’m good at moving pianos,” I said, and asked him where I could find Palm Beach Hotel.

“Some joint,” he said, sighing. “You’ll like it there; even the food’s good,” and he gave me directions.

I reached the hotel in two or three minutes, and the reception I got would have satisfied Rockefeller himself. A flock of bellhops grabbed my luggage, somebody drove the Buick to the hotel garage, and a couple of pixies, dolled up in blue and gold fancy dress, would have carried me up the steps if I’d let them, and if they’d had the strength.

The reception clerk did everything except go down on his hands and knees and knock his head on the floor.

“We’re delighted to have you here, Mr. Cain,” he said, handing me the register and a pen. “Your rooms are ready, and if you’re not satisfied with the view you have only to let me know.”

I wasn’t used to this line of treacle, but I made out that I was. I told him I was pretty fussy about views, and the one he’d arranged for me had better be good.

It was good. I had a private balcony, a sitting-room and a bedroom with a bathroom attached that only Cecil B. de Mille could have designed.

I went out on the balcony and looked across the beach, the palms and the ocean. It was terrific. To my left, I could look into some of the other rooms of the hotel. The first one I looked into was as good as a peep-show you sometimes find in a back street in New York; only it had more class. The dame was an eye-stopper. She was wearing a couple of dumb-bells in either hand. Maybe she called it exercising in the nude. I caught her eye. Before she ducked out of sight, her smile said: “We could have fun together, big boy.”

I told the reception clerk who’d come up with me that the view was swell.

When he had gone, I went back onto the balcony, hoping to see some more of the dumb-bells, but I’d seen all there was to see.

I hadn’t been out on the balcony more than three minutes before the telephone rang. I answered it, thinking maybe it was a wrong number.

“Mr. Cain?”

I said as far as I knew it was.

“Welcome to Paradise Palms,” went on the voice: a rich, fruity baritone with a dago accent. “This is Speratza talking. I manage the Casino Club. I hope you’ll come over. We’ve heard about you.”

“You have?” I said, pleased. “That’s swell. Sure, I’d like to come over. I’m on vacation, but I still gamble.”

“We have a line place here, Mr. Cain,” he said, goodwill oozing from every pore. “You’ll like it. How about tonight? Can you make it?”

“Sure. I’ll be over.”

“Ask for me: Don Speratza. I’ll see you’re fixed good. You got a girl?”

“Not right now, but there seem to be plenty kicking around.” “But not all of them are obliging, Mr. Cain,” he said, laughing. “I’ll fix you with one who knows her way around. We want you to have a good time while you’re with us. We don’t often have such a celebrity. You leave the girl to me. You won’t be disappointed.”

I said it was pretty nice of him and hung up.

About ten minutes later the telephone rang again. This time it was a bass voice that said it belonged to Ed. Killeano. I didn’t know any Ed. Killeano, but I said I was glad he had called.

“I heard you were in town, Cain,” the voice said. “I want you to know we’re glad to have you here. Anything I can do to make your stay a pleasant one be sure to let me know. The hotel will tell you where you can find me. Have a good time,” and before I could think of anything to say he rang off.

I was human enough to call the desk and ask who Ed. Killeano was. They told me in a hushed voice that he was the City Administrator. They made it sound like he was Joe Stalin.

I thanked them and went back to the balcony.

The sun shone on the golden beach, the ocean sparkled, and the palms nodded their heads in the lazy breeze. Paradise Palms still looked wonderful, but I was beginning to wonder if it was too good to be true.

I had a hunch that something was cooking.

2

I drove down Ocean Drive. The traffic was heavy, and I moved slowly, the damp, salt smell of the sea in my nose, the pounding of the surf in my ears.

It was the kind of night you read about in books. The stars looked like diamond dust on blue velvet.

Two blocks further up I came upon a lighted drive that led to a big building with one of those fancy fronts made of marble or glass or porcelain or something—a kind of powder blue with “Casino” in sizable letters on a ledge at the top of the first floor. The whole building was lit by indirect lighting, and the over-all effect was pretty nice.

The Negro doorman’s brass buttons gleamed in the light. He pulled open the door of the Buick, and another Negro stepped forward to drive the car to the garage.

I walked in under the blue canopy and found myself in a corridor fined on both sides with discreet private dining-rooms with numbers on the doors. At the other end of the corridor was an arch and beside it was the booth occupied by a blonde hat-check girl.

“Check, Mister?” she asked nasally.

I wolfed her over. She was wearing a tight little bodice in sky blue satin, open all the way down the front and laced together loosely by black silk cords. Apparently she had nothing on under the bodice. It was one of those outfits that keeps everyone warm except the wearer.

I gave her my hat and a friendly leer.

“That’s a nice view you have there,” I said courteously.

“The night some guy doesn’t make that crack I’ll drop down dead,” she returned, sighing. “It’s part of my job to have a nice view.”

I paused to light a cigarette. “A view to what?” I asked.

“No dice. That gag’s transparent with age.”

“Sorry,” I said. “I don’t often come to a joint like this. I’m a home lover, and one gets kind of old-fashioned in fife’s little backstreams.”

She looked me over and decided I was harmless. “That’s all right by me,” she said, smiling. “I like variety. The trouble here is that all men seem cast in the same mould.”

“But surely some are more mouldy than others?” I said.

She giggled. Three men came up to check their hats, so I drifted on through the arch into as sweet a night club layout as you would wish to see, done in pastel shades with indirect lighting and with a beautiful crescent-shaped bar on one side. It was a terrific room with a place for an orchestra and small dance floor made of some composition that looked like black glass. Out of the floor, out of blue and chromium boxes, grew banana trees with broad green leaves and clusters of green bananas. Vines clung to the trunks of the trees, bearing fragile blossoms; pink, orange, bronze and henna. Half the room had no roof and overhead were stars.

A fat bird came up to me and gave me the teeth, which was supposed to mean he was glad to see me. He wore patent-leather shoes, dark trousers, a Dubonnet-red cummerbund and a white drill coat tailored like a mess jacket.

“Give me Speratza,” I said.

He gave me the rest of the teeth, including a couple of gold inlays.

“I am the manager, please,” he said. “Is there something I can do?”

“Yeah,” I said. “Drum up Speratza. Tell him Chester Cain has blown in.”

If I’d said I was King George VIth I couldn’t have got a faster double-take.

“A thousand apologies for not recognizing you, Mr. Cain,” he said, bowing in half. “Senor Speratza will be enchanted. I will have him informed you have arrived.” He swung round and signalled frantically to a dressed-up dummy who was posed by the bar. The dummy shot away like he had a rocket in his pants. It was a pre-arranged, regal routine, and it impressed me as it was meant to impress me.

“Nice place you have here,” I said for something to say. I was only giving him half my attention. The other half was reeling under the impact of the women in the joint. They were something to see. Even a horse would look over his shoulder at them. A dark woman in a red dress drifted past as I was about to compliment him further. She stopped me in mid-stride. She had the most provocative walk I had ever seen. Her hips were sheathed in this red silk, pulled so taut that light rippled over the fabric as she moved. They flowed under the dress like heavy and seductive liquid, like molten metal.

“We hope you’ll like it here, Mr. Cain,” he was saying, as if he’d rushed around and built the place as soon as he’d heard I was coming. “May I introduce myself? Guillermo at your service. Would you care for a drink?”

I tore my eyes away from the woman’s hips and said I was glad to know him and a drink would be swell.

We went over to the bar and put our feet on the elegant brass rail. The bar was glistening and spotless but the barman hustled up and wiped it mechanically, his eyes on Guillermo.

’What’ll it be?” said Guillermo.

“A little bourbon, I guess,” I said.

The barman gave me three inches of the finest bourbon I’d ever encountered. I said as much.

At this moment a tall man with a terrific torso appeared at my side.

“Senor Speratza,” Guillermo said, and faded out of the picture.

I turned and looked the newcomer over. He had everything in the way of good looks a man could want. He was as big as a house, his eyes were black and the whites of them like porcelain. His hair was rather long and curled a little over his temples. His skin was cream-rose. He was really handsome in a Latin way.

“Mr. Cain?” he said, offering his hand.

“Sure,” I said, and shook hands.

He had a grip like a bear’s, but then so have I. We cracked each other’s bones and pretended we weren’t hurting each other.

He said how pleased he was to meet me, and how he hoped I’d enjoy my stay at Paradise Palms.

I admired his place and told him they had nothing like it in New York. That seemed to please him.

By that time I’d finished my bourbon, and he called the barman.

“Two,” he said. “Take a good look at Mr. Cain because I want you to remember him. Whatever he wants is on the house, including his whole party.”

The barman nodded and gave me a quick up-and-down, and I could tell there wasn’t a chance he would ever mistake me for anybody else.

“All right?” Speratza asked, beaming at me.

“Swell,” I said.

“I don’t know what your plans are, Mr. Cain,” he went on, after we had dipped into the bourbon, “but if you want a little relaxation and a mild gamble, you could do worse than spend

some of your time here.”

“That’s just what I do want,” I said. “I’m figuring on a quiet time, and a little company when I feel that way.” I fiddled with my glass and then went on, “I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but frankly, I’m a little puzzled by all this attention.”

He laughed. “You’re modest, Mr. Cain,” he said, shrugging. “Why even in this little place, far from anywhere, we’ve heard of you. We’re glad to offer hospitality to such a successful gambler.”

“I appreciate it,” I said, and shot him a hard look. “But I’d like to get this on record for all that. I’m on vacation: that means I’m not working. I wouldn’t be interested in any proposition from anyone. I don’t suggest that I am going to be propositioned, but this build-up is a little overwhelming. I don’t kid myself that I’m all that important. So pass the word around. I’m not in the market for anything except a vacation, and persuasion makes me mad. So if you still want to entertain me, go ahead, but it’s all right by me if you want to put up the shutters and send me home.”

He laughed silently and easily as if I’d cracked the funniest gag in the world.

“I assure you, Mr. Cain, you won’t be propositioned. This town is small but very rich. We’re hospitable people. We like distinguished visitors to have a good time. All we want is for you to relax and enjoy yourself.”

I thanked him and said I would.

But in spite of his smoothness and his easy laugh, I had a feeling that he was jeering at me.

3

After we had chit-chatted a while, and had worked through some more of the bourbon, Speratza said he guessed I was about set to enjoy myself, and how about a girl?

“Well, how about her?” I said.

“I’ve asked Miss Wonderly to look after you,” he told me, showing his big white teeth in a knowing smile. “I’ll have her come over. If she’s not quite your type, say so, and I’ll introduce you to some of the others. We have a lot of girls working for us, but Miss Wonderly rates high with us.”

I said I hoped Miss Wonderly would rate high with me.

“I’ll be surprised if she doesn’t,” he returned, and with another smile of goodwill, he set off across the restaurant.

I looked after him and wondered how much longer it would be before he or whoever it was behind this civic welcome would demand payment. I was as sure as I could be that someone was sweetening me for a shake-down of some description.

A tall, distinguished man with white hair and a dark strong face had been looking at me. He was standing alone at the far end of the bar. He looked like a judge or a doctor or a lawyer, and his tuxedo looked like it had been cut by an angel.

I saw him beckon to the barman and say something to him. The barman gave me a quick look, nodded and turned away The white-headed man came over to me.

“I understand you are Chester Cain,” he said curtly.

“Sure,” I said.

He didn’t seem friendly so I didn’t offer to shake hands.

“I’m John Herrick,” he said, looking straight at me. “You haven’t heard of me, but I have heard of you. Frankly, Mr. Cain, I’m sorry to see you here. I understand you are on vacation and I only hope it is true. If it is, then I hope you won’t stir up trouble here.”

I stared at him. “Thank God someone’s sorry I’ve arrived,” I said. “I was getting to think my welcome was genuine.”

“This town has enough trouble without importing wild gunmen,” Herrick returned quietly. “I suppose it would be too much to ask you to give us no cause to complain?”

“You’ve got me wrong,” I said, laughing at him. “I’m not so wild. And listen, so long as I’m left alone, I’m the nicest guy on earth. It’s only when people start crowding me that I get nervous, and when I’m nervous maybe I do get a little wild.”

He regarded me thoughtfully. “Forgive me for being so blunt, Mr. Cain. I am sure if you were left alone you would behave as well as anyone of us. But I think it might be as well if you changed your mind about staying in Paradise Palms. I have a feeling that someone will crowd

you before long.”

I looked down at the bourbon.

“I’ve got the same feeling,” I said, “but I’m sticking around for all that.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Mr. Cain,” he said. “You may easily regret your decision.”

I felt Speratza at my elbow.

Herrick turned abruptly away and walked across the room and out into the lobby.

I looked at Speratza and he looked at me. There was just a flicker of doubt in his eyes that told me he was uneasy.

“That was not one of the Welcome Committee,” I said.

“You don’t have to worry about him,” Speratza said, flashing on his smile. It cost him something, but he did it. “He’s running for election next month.” He pulled a little face, and added, “On a Reform ticket.”

“Seems anxious to keep Paradise Palms a nice clean town,” I said dryly.

“All politicians have platforms,” Speratza said, shrugging. “No one takes him seriously. He won’t get in. Ed. Killeano is the people’s choice.”

“That’s nice for Ed. Killeano,” I said.

We looked at each other again, and then Speratza waved.

A girl came across the room towards us. She was wearing a bolero for a dinner jacket of blue crepe. Her skirt, split eight inches up the side, was of blue crepe, too, but her blouse was red. She was a blonde, and I bet every time she passed a graveyard the corpses sat up to whistle after her.

By the time I’d recovered my breath, she was standing at my side. Her perfume was Essence Imperiale Russe (the perfume that quickened the pulse of kings). I can’t begin to describe what it did to my pulse.

Speratza was looking at me anxiously.

“Miss Wonderly,” he said, and raised his eyebrows.

I looked at her and she smiled. She had small glistening teeth as white as orange pith.

“Suppose you let Miss Wonderly and me get acquainted?” I said, turning back to Speratza. “I think we’ll get along fine together.”

He looked so relieved that I laughed.

“That’s fine, Mr. Cain,” he said. “Maybe we’ll see you in a little while upstairs. We have four roulette tables or we could make up a game of poker for you.”

I shook my head.

“Something tells me I won’t be gambling tonight,” I said, and taking Miss Wonderly’s arm I walked with her over to the bar.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Speratza go off, and then I gave the whole of my attention to Miss Wonderly. I thought she was terrific. I liked the long wave of her hair, and her curves — particularly her curves. Her breasts were like Cuban pineapples.

“This calls for a drink,” I said, beckoning to the barman. “What part of Paradise did you escape from?”

“I didn’t escape,” she said, laughing, “I’m out on parole, but I thought it was just another job. I know different now.”

The barman looked at us.

“What’ll you have?”

“A green parrot,” she said. “It’s Toni’s special.”

“Okay,” I said to the barman. “Make it two.”

While the barman was fixing the drinks, I said, “So you don’t think it’s just another job?”

She shook her head. “I read character,” she said. “I’m going to have fun with you.”

I winked at her. “That’s only half of it. What shall we do? I mean, let’s map out a programme.”

“We’ll have a drink, then dinner, then dance, then we’ll go to the beach and swim Then we’ll have more drinks and then—”

“Then—what?”

She fluttered her eyelashes.

“Then we’ll see.”

“That sounds exciting.”

She pouted.

“Don’t you want to dance with me?”

“Sure,” I said.

I had a feeling I wasn’t going to move a piano tonight.

The barman put down two large glasses, three-quarters filled with green liquid. I made a move to reach for my roll, but he had already gone.

“I can’t get used to this on-the-house business,” I said, picking up the glass. “You will,” she said.

I took a long gulp at the drink, and hurriedly put the glass on the counter. I clutched at my throat, coughed and closed my eyes. The stuff seemed to explode in my stomach, but a moment later I felt like I was sitting on a cloud.

“Phew! That stuff kind of sneaks up on you,” I said, when I could speak.

’Tom’s very proud of it,” she said, sipping her drink. “It’s wonderful! I feel it going right down to my toes.”

By the time we’d finished the green parrots we were behaving like we’d known each other for years.

“Let’s eat,” she said, sliding off the stool, and taking my arm. “Guillermo has a special dinner for you.” She squeezed my arm and smiled up at me. Her eyes were frankly inviting.

Guillermo was there to see us into our seats. Above us were the stars. A warm breeze came in from the sea. The orchestra was playing a dreamy melody, and trumpets rolled muted notes like balls of quicksilver, round and smooth. The food was as incredibly good as the wine that went with it. We didn’t have to bother to say what we wanted. The food came, we ate and marvelled at it.

Then we danced. The floor was not overcrowded, and we swept around in wide circles. It was like dancing with Ginger Rogers.

I was thinking that this was the best evening I’d ever spent when I spotted a thick-set man in a green gaberdine suit who was standing near the band. He had a flat, evil-looking puss, and he was watching me with a vicious gleam in his eyes. When he caught my eye, he turned abruptly and ducked out of sight behind a curtained exit.

Miss Wonderly had seen him, too. I felt the muscles in her back stiffen, and she missed step so I nearly stubbed her toes.

She broke away from me.

“Let’s swim,” she said abruptly, and walked towards the lobby, keeping her face averted.

I caught a glimpse of her in a mirror.

She was pale.

4

I drove along the coast road to Dayden Beach, a lonely strip of sand and palms a few miles from the Casino.

Miss Wonderly sat by my side. She was humming a tune under her breath, and she seemed to have shaken off her depression.

We coasted along in the moonlight. It was hot, but the breeze from the ocean came in through the open windows of the Buick.

“We’re nearly there,” Miss Wonderly said. “Look, you can see it now.”

Ahead was a ring of palms close to the surf. There was no sign of life, and it looked good.

I drove the Buick off the road and down on to the sand until it turned too soft, then I stopped, and we got out.

In the far distance I could see the bright lights of Paradise Palms, and could hear the faint sound of music. The night was still, and sounds carried easily.

“Pretty nice,” I said. “What shall we do?”

Miss Wonderly had pulled up her skirt to her knees, and began to roll down her stockings. Her legs were slim and muscular.

“I’m going in,” she said.

I went around to the back of the car, unlocked the boot and took out a couple of towels and my trunks. It took me less than two minutes to shed my clothes. The warm breeze against my skin felt swell. I came around the Buick. Miss Wonderly was waiting for me. She was in her white brassiere and pants.

“That’s a hell of a swim suit.” I said.

She said I was right, and took them off.

I didn’t look at her.

We walked across the strip of sand, hand in hand. The sand was hot, and we sank in up to our ankles. I eyed her as we began to wade through the surf. A sculptor could have cast her in bronze for a perfect thirty-four, and he’d never have to do anything more about it. I was surprised I could take her so calmly.

We swam out to a moored raft. The sea was warm, and when she hoisted herself on to the raft, she looked like a sprite from the ocean bed.

I floated around the raft so I could study her in the moon-light. I’ve known plenty of women in my day, but she was a picture.

“Don’t,” she called; “you’re making me shy.”

I came up on to the raft and sat beside her.

“It’s all right,” I said.

She looked at me over her shoulder, then leaned against me. Her back was warm, but the tiny drops of water on her skin felt cold against me.

“Tell me the story of your life,” she said.

“It wouldn’t interest you.”

“Tell me.”

I grinned at her. “Nothing happened much until I went into the Army. I came back from France with a lot of sharp-shooting medals, a beautiful case of shell-shock and an itch to gamble. No one wanted me. I couldn’t get a job. One day I got into a poker game. I kept in that poker game for three weeks. We shaved, ate and drank at the table. I made five grand, and then someone got mad. I hit him with a bottle, and he pulled a gun on me. Guns don’t scare me. I was in the Ardennes push. Anything that a punk gambler starts after that is kid’s stuff. I took the gun away and beat the guy soft with it. We went on playing with him under the table. We used him as a rug.”

She crossed her arms over her breasts and kicked the water gently. “Tough guy,” she said.

“Uh huh,” I said. “I didn’t like that gun. It made me think. One of these days, I thought, some guy will pull a gun on me, and he’ll know how to use it. So I bought myself a gun. I wanted to be better at gun-play than anyone else. You see, after messing around in the Army you get a kind of pride in doing things better than the next guy. I stuck in a room in a tenth-rate hotel and practised pulling the gun from my belt and pulling the trigger. I did that six hours a day for a week. I guess I got smooth. I haven’t met a guy yet who can draw faster than I can. That week’s work saved my life five times.”

She shivered. “They said you were ruthless, but now I’ve seen you, I don’t believe it.”

“I’m not,” I said, and put my hand on her thigh. “I’ll tell you what happens. A punk comes along who thinks he’s a world beater. He thinks there’s no one as good as he is. Maybe he’s slaphappy or drunk or something. I don’t know. But whatever it is, he thinks he’s so good that he must prove it to everyone. No one cares whether he’s good or not, but the punk doesn’t understand that. So what does he do? He looks around for a guy with a reputation, and he calls on the guy and starts trouble. He reasons that when he’s licked this guy, he’ll stand ace-high. And he usually picks on me.” I swirled the water with my feet. “I take everything he gives me, because I know I can beat him any time I want, and I don’t care for killing guys. There’s no sense in it. So I sit there and let him rib me. Maybe I’m wrong, because it encourages him, and he goes for his gun. Then I have to kill him because I’ m fond of myself in my odd way, and I don’t want to die. Then people say I’m ruthless, but they’re wrong. I’ve been crowded, and I can’t help myself.”

She didn’t say anything.

“And it’s going to happen here,” I went on. “Some smart punk in this town thinks he’s good, and he’s arranged an elaborate set-up to show this town that he can pull a fast one on rne. He’s getting me into a position so he can crowd me. I don’t know who he is or when he’s going to start, but I know that’s what’s going to happen, and something tells me that you are in this too.” I smiled at her. “But whether you know what’s in the wind, or whether you’re just part of the extravagant trimmings, remains to be seen.”

She shook her head. “You’re crazy,” she said. “Nothing’s going to happen.”

“That still doesn’t tell me whether you’re for me or against me,” I said.

“I’m for you,” she said.

I put my arm around her and swung her legs across mine so she was sitting on my lap. She leaned against my chest, her hair, damp and perfumed, against my cheek.

“I knew it would be fun with you,” she said.

I took her chin between my ringer and thumb and raised her face. She closed her eyes. She looked white, like a beautiful porcelain mask in the moonlight. I looked down at her, then I kissed her. Her lips tasted salty. They were firm and cool and good. We stayed like that while the raft rode the ripples; and I didn’t care what was going to happen, even though I was sure that something was going to happen.

She pushed away from me suddenly, slid off my lap and stood up. I looked at her. Her beauty gave me a hell of a buzz. She dived in as I grabbed at her, and swam away from me. I sat there and waited. After a while, she turned and came back. I tilted the raft down into the water so she slid up it on her stomach. She lay close to me, her chin in her hands, flat, her ankles crossed. She had a beautiful little back.

“Now tell me the story of your life,” I said.

She shook her head. “There’s nothing to tell.”

“There must be. How long have you been here?”

“A year.”

“Before then?”

“New York.”

“A show girl.”

“Yes.”

“How did you meet Speratza?”

“I met him.”

“Do you like him?”

“He’s nothing to me.”

“You take care of his distinguished visitors?”

“That seems to be the idea.”

“Who else beside me have you taken care off?”

“No one.”

“So I’m Paradise Palms’ first distinguished visitor?”

“You must be.”

“Like the job?”

She rolled over on her back. “Yes,” she said, and looked at me.

I could see from the expression in her eyes that from now on I’d be wasting time by staying on the raft.

“Come on,” I said. “We’ll go.”

She was the first to hit the water.

5

“I want to show the young lady the view from my balcony,” I said to the night clerk, as he gave me my key. I expected him to remind me that this was a respectable hotel, or at least leer, but he didn’t.

He bowed. “I’m delighted you find the view worth showing to madam,” he said. “Is there anything I can send up for you, Mr. Cain?”

I made sure he wasn’t being sarcastic, but he seemed to be falling over himself to give me service.

“Some Scotch would be nice,” I said.

“There is a stock of liquor in one of the cupboards in your sitting-room, Mr. Cain,” he returned. “Mr. Killeano sent it over with his compliments not an hour ago.”

I nodded. “That was a nice thought,” I said. I didn’t show him that I was surprised.

I walked with Miss Wonderly across the deserted lobby to the elevators.

She looked at me, raising her eyebrows.

“He’s just crazy to give me a good time,” I said, shrugging.

“He’s ready to come up and tuck us in.”

She giggled.

The house dick passed us. I could tell he was the house dick by the size of his feet. He didn’t seem to see us.

The elevator attendant and the bell-hops looked through Miss Wonderly as if she was the invisible woman. All these lackeys certainly had a swell line in tact.

The clock over the reception desk showed two-twenty. I wasn’t even sleepy.

As we walked along the broad, thickly carpeted corridor to my room, I said, “Do you know this guy Killeano?”

“And I was hoping you were thinking only of me,” she said, reproachfully.

“I got a split mind,” I said. “I think of two things at once.”

I unlocked my door, and she followed me in. I never did get an answer to that question.

When I closed the door I found I didn’t have a split mind after all.

Miss Wonderly disengaged herself, but only after I got a buzzing in my ears.

“I came to look at the view—remember?” she said, but I could see by the rise and fall of her chest she wasn’t much colder than me.

“It’s a swell view,” I said, and we went across the room to look at it. As I passed a mirror I saw my mouth had a smear of lipstick on it. I even got a bang out of that.

We stood on the balcony. The moon was like a pumpkin. The traffic had gone to bed, and only a straggler or two roamed along the coast road.

I undid the buttons of her blouse. She’d taken off her bolero coat on her way up. She leaned against me and held my hands.

“I don’t want you to think I do this with everyone,” she said, in a small voice.

“All right,” I said. “This is the night reserved for you and me.”

“I know, but I don’t want you to think—”

“I don’t.”

She turned and slid her arms around my neck. We stood like that for a long time. It was pretty nice. Then I carried her into the bedroom and put her on the bed.

“Wait for me,” I said.

I undressed in the bathroom, put on a silk dressing-gown and went into the sitting-room. I nosed around in the various cupboards until I found Killeano’s gifts. He’d sent me four bottles of Scotch, a bottle of brandy, and Whiterock. I took the brandy and went into the bedroom.

She was in bed. Her hair had dried and it lay like spilt honey on the pillow. She looked up at me and smiled.

I poured two brandies. I gave her one, and sniffed at the other. It had a nice bouquet.

“You and me,” I said

“No, just to you,” she said.

“All right, and then to you.”

I drank.

She put her glass down on the bed-table without touching it. Her eyes were wide and dark.

I looked at her, feeling a chill run down my spine. The liquor grabbed at my stomach.

“I should have thought of that,” I said.

The room revolved slowly, then tilted.

“Killeano’s gift,” I heard myself mumbling. “But not for the bride.”

I was staring up at the ceiling. The lights were going out the way a movie-house dims its lights. I tried to move, but my muscles wouldn’t work. I felt rather than saw Miss Wonderly get out of bed. I wanted to tell her to be careful not to catch cold, but my tongue was like a strip of limp leather.

I heard voices—men’s voices. Shadows moved across the wall. Then I rode down a dark shute into darkness.

6

I began to crawl up the dark well towards the tiny pinpoint of light at the top. It looked a tough job, but I kept at it because somewhere close a woman was screaming.

Then quite suddenly I was at the top of the well, and sunlight blinded me. I heard myself groan, and as I tried to sit up, the top of my head seemed to fly off. I grabbed hold of it and rode

the pain, cursing. The woman kept on screaming. The sound chilled my blood.

I made the effort. The floor tilted under my feet as I stood up, but I crossed the room. I walked like I was breasting a hundred mile gale.

I reached the bedroom door, clung on to the doorpost and looked into the sitting-room.

Miss Wonderly was standing pressed against the opposite wall. Her arms were widespread, her hands flat on the egg-blue paint. She was as bare as the back of my hand, and her mouth hung open. As I looked at her, she screamed again.

My head felt as if it was stuffed full of cotton wool, but the scream wormed its way through and jarred all the nerves in my teeth.

I shitted my eyes from her to the floor. John Herrick lay on his back, his arms bent stiffly to the ceiling, his hands clenched. The front of his forehead was shoved in, and black blood stained his white hair and formed a gruesome halo around his head.

Heavy fists beat on the door. Someone shouted.

Miss Wonderly drew in a shuddering breath and screamed again.

I crossed the room and slapped her face. Her eyes rolled back until only the whites showed and she slid down the wall to the floor. She left two damp marks from her shoulders and hips on the egg-blue paint.

The door flew open and half the world burst in.

I faced them. They came so far and then stopped. They looked at me, they looked at Miss Wonderly and they looked at John Herrick. I looked at them.

There was the reception clerk, the house dick, a bell-hop, two ritzy-looking women, three men in white flannels and a fat man in a lounge suit. Right in front of them all was the evil-faced guy in the green gaberdine suit I’d noticed watching me at the Casino.

The two ritzy dames started screaming as soon as they saw Herrick. I didn’t blame them. I felt like screaming myself. But it made the man in the gaberdine suit mad.

“Get those bitches outa here!” he snarled. “Go on, get out, all of you.”

The reception clerk and the house dick stayed, but the rest of them were shoved out.

When the door closed, the man in the gaberdine suit turned to me.

“What’s going on?” he demanded, clenching his fists and shoving out his jaw.

I guessed from that dumb crack he was a copper. He was.

“Search me,” I tried to say, but the words wouldn’t come. My mouth felt like it was full of rusty three-inch nails.

Moving like he was in church, the big house dick tip-toed across the room, into the bedroom. He came back with a blanket which he self-consciously draped over Miss Wonderly. She lay on her back, her arms and legs grotesquely spread out, her eyes closed.

“Who’s this guy?” the man in the gaberdine suit asked, turning to the reception clerk, and pointing at me.

The reception clerk looked like he was going to throw up. His face was pale green.

“Mr. Chester Cain,” he said, in a far-away voice.

That seemed to give the ugly guy a buzz.

“Sure?”

The reception clerk nodded.

The guy faced me. His flat puss was loaded with viciousness.

“We know all about you,” he said. “I’m Flaggerty of the Homicide Bureau. You’re in a hell of a jam, Cain.”

I knew I had to talk if it killed me.

“You’re crazy,” I said. “I didn’t do it.”

“When I find a rat with your reputation locked in with a murdered man I don’t have to look all that far to find his killer,” Flaggerty sneered. “You’re under arrest, and you’d better start talking.”

I tried to think, but my mind wasn’t working. I felt like hell, and my head throbbed and pounded.

The reception clerk plucked at Flaggerty’s sleeve and pulled him away. He started whispering. At first Flaggerty wouldn’t listen. Then I caught Killeano’s name, and that seemed to hold Flaggerty. He looked at me doubtfully, then he shrugged.

“All right,” he said to the reception clerk, “but it’s a waste of time.”

The reception clerk left the room. He had to force his way through the crowd outside in the corridor, and three or four of them tried to squeeze into the room. Flaggerty slammed the door in their faces. Then he went over to the window and stared out.

The house dick touched my arm. He offered me a glass of whisky.

I took it and drank it. It was just what I needed.

I said I would have some more.

The house dick gave me another shot. He stood smiling stupidly at me, a blend of servility and horror in his eyes.

Then quite suddenly the cotton wool in my head dissolved, the pain went away and I felt as fine as could be expected under the circumstances. I asked the house dick for a cigarette, and he gave me one and lit it for me. His fat hairy hand was trembling.

“Make the punk at home,” Flaggerty said from the window. He was watching me now, and he held a snub-nosed automatic in his hand. “Stay where you are, Cain,” he went on. “I’m not taking any chances with you.”

“Skip it,” I said. “I know it looks bad, but she’ll tell you what happened as soon as she comes to the surface. I don’t know a thing about it.”

“They never do,” Flaggerty sneered.

“I wouldn’t say anything, Mr. Cain,” the house dick whispered. “Not until Mr. Killeano comes.”

“Is he coming?” I asked.

“Sure. You’re a guest here, Mr, Cain. We want to get you out of this mess if we can.”

I stared at him. “I guess there’s no other hotel in the world with such service,” was all I could think to say.

He simpered at me, but avoided my eye.

I looked over at Miss Wonderly. She was still out, and I made a move to go to her.

“Hold it, Cain!” Flaggerty barked. “Stay where you are.”

I had a feeling that he’d shoot if I gave him half a chance, so I shrugged and sat down.

“You’d better get that dame out of her faint,” I said. “She’s got plenty of talking to do.”

“See what you can do with her,” Flaggerty said to the house dick.

The big man knelt beside her. She seemed to embarrass him, because he just stared and did nothing.

I looked around the room. Cigarette butts filled the ashtrays. Two bottles of Scotch stood empty on the mantelpiece. Another lay on the carpet and a big damp patch showed that it had leaked. There was a stink of spirits in the room. The rugs had been kicked up, a chair overturned. The stage had been set to look like a drunken orgy. It looked like a drunken orgy.

On the floor by the dead man was a heavy Luger pistol. The butt of the pistol had white hair and blood on it. I recognized the pistol. It was mine.

I sat staring at it, and I felt spooked. Unless Miss Wonderly started talking I was in a sweet jam. I hoped she’d start talking soon.

We sat around for half an hour without saying anything. Miss Wonderly moved once or twice and moaned, but she didn’t come out of her faint. It was the longest faint on record. Maybe she wanted to earn herself a title.

As I was beginning to lose patience, the door was thrown open and a short, square man, wearing a big black hat, bustled in. He reminded me of Mussolini when Mussolini used to shake his fist from his balcony. He took in the room at a glance, and then came straight to me.

“Cain?” he said, offering his hand. “I’m Killeano. There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll see you get a straight deal. You’re my guest, and I know how to look after my guests.”

I didn’t shake his hand. I didn’t get up.

“Your political rival’s dead, Killeano,” I said, eyeing him up and down. “So you’ve got nothing to worry about either.”

He lowered his hand hurriedly and looked at Herrick.

“Poor fellow,” he said. I swear there were tears in his eyes. “He was a grand, clean fighter; this is a great loss to the Administration.”

“Save it for the newspapers.” I advised.

We were all posed there like a bunch of dummies when Miss Wonderly sat up and started to scream again.

7

Killeano turned out to be quite a guy for getting things organized. “We’re going to be fair to Cabin,” he said, thumping his fist on the back of a chair. “I know it looks bad for him, but he’s my guest, and I’m going to see he gets a break.”

Flaggerty muttered under his breath, but Killeano was the boss.

“So what?” Flaggerty asked, shrugging. “Why waste time? I want this guy down at headquarters for questioning.”

“We don’t know he’s guilty,” Killeano barked, “and I won’t have him arrested until I am satisfied you’ve got a case against him. We’ll question him here.”

“My pal.” I said.

He didn’t even look in my direction. “Keep that weman quiet,” he went on, pointing at Miss Wonderly, who sat alone, weeping into the house dick’s handkerchief. “I don’t want her shooting of her mouth until we’ve heard the other witnesses.”

I smoked and looked out of the window while Killeano yelled down the telephone and got things organized. Finally he had everything the way he wanted and we started. The reception clerk, the house dick, the elevator boy, Speratza and the barman from the Casino had been collected and lined up in the corridor outside. They were told to wait.

Miss Wonderly was taken into the bedroom in charge of a stout woman in black who’d been rushed up from the local jail to keep an eye on her. They told her to get dressed.

There were two tough-looking cops who stood behind my chair and pretended they weren’t going to slug me if I showed any signs of walking out on the assembly. There was Flaggerty, two plain-clothes dicks, a photographer and a doctor. There was a stenographer, a pop-eyed little man, who sat in a corner and scribbled away as if his life, and not mine, depended on him getting it all down straight. Then there was me, and, of course, my pal, Killeano.

“All right,” Kilieano said. “Now we start.”

Flaggerty nearly fell over himself to get his claws into me. He stood in front of me with his jaw thrust out and an ugly look in his beady little eyes. “You’re Chester Cain?” he demanded, as if he didn’t know.

“Yeah,” I said, “and you’re Lieutenant Flaggerty, the boy who hadn’t any friends to tell him.”

Killeano jumped up. “Look, Cain, this is a serious matter for you. Maybe you’d care to cut out the gags?”

“I’m the fall guy,” I said, smiling at him. “Why should you worry how I handle this louse?”

“Well, it won’t do you any good,” Killeano muttered, but he sat down.

Flaggerty was moving about restlessly, and as soon as Killeano had settled, he started in again.

“All right,” he said. “You’re Chester Cain, and you’re a gambler by profession.”

“I don’t call gambling a profession,” I said.

His face went a dusty red. “But you admit you earn your living by gambling?”

“No. I haven’t started to earn a living,” I told him. “I’m just out of the Army.”

“You’ve been out four months, and during that time you’ve been gambling?”

I nodded.

“You’ve made a heap of dough?”

“Fair,” I said.

“You call twenty grand just fair?”

“It’s not bad.”

He hesitated, then decided to let it go. He’d established that I gambled.

“Is it true you murdered five men in four months?” he suddenly shot out.

Killeano jumped to his feet. “Keep that out of the record,” he exclaimed, his little eyes wide with indignation. “Cain killed those men in self-defence!”

“He killed them!” Flaggerty shouted back. “Think of it! Five men in four months! What a record! Self-defence or not, it’s appalling, and every decent citizen in this country is appalled!”

Killeano sat down, muttering. I guess he wanted to be thought a decent citizen too.

“Come on,” Flaggerty snarled, standing over me. “You killed those five men, didn’t you?”

“Five punks with the trigger itch tried to shoot me and I defended myself,” I said quietly. “If that’s what you mean, then I did kill them.”

Flaggerty swung around to the stenographer and threw out his arms.

“A self-confessed killer of five innocent men!” he bawled.

That got Killeano on his feet again, but I was getting sick of this.

“Skip it,” I said to Killeano. “The facts are on record and the New York D.A.’s given me a clean bill. Who do you think cares what a lousy small-town copper says? Save your breath.”

Flaggerty looked like he was going to have a hemorrhage.

“Get on with it,” Killcano snapped, sitting down and giving me a hard look.

“We’ll see who cares or not,” Flaggerty said, clenching his fists. “Now I’ll tell you something.

You came to Paradise Palms because you knew it was a gold mine, and you planned to clean up at the gambling tables.”

“Aw nuts!” I said. “I came here for a vacation.”

“And yet you ain’t been in town a few hours when you rush around to the Casino,” Flaggerty sneered.

“I was invited by Speratza,” I said, “and not having anything better to do, I went.”

“How long have you known Speratza?”

“I don’t know him.”

Flaggerty raised his eyebrows. “So you don’t know him? Ain’t it odd Speratza should invite you over to the Casino when he didn’t know you?”

“Most odd,” I said, grinning at him.

“Yeah,” Flaggerty said. He took a step forward. “Maybe he didn’t invite you. Maybe you invited yourself because you wanted to horn in and clean up fast.” He was wagging his finger in my face and yelling at the top of his voice.

“Don’t do that,” I said gently, “unless you want a poke in your pan.”

He turned round, crossed the room, opened the door and hauled in Speratza.

Speratza was wearing light blue trousers, very neat, with pleats at the waist; and his coat was a kind of mustard colour and flared out so wide at the shoulders that he looked bigger than a house. The lapels of his coat came out in a peak about eight inches long on each side and in the left one there was a white rosebud. I bet there were some women who’d swoon at the sight of him.

He smiled around, took a look at Herrick’s body under the blanket, and switched off the smile. He looked at me, then looked away fast.

I lit another cigarette. In a moment or so, I’d know where I was heading.

I found out quick enough. Speratza said that he hadn’t called me. He claimed he didn’t even know I was in town until he saw me in the Casino. He went on to say that he’d heard of my reputation, and he was sorry to see me in this place.

Then I knew for sure that I was being taken for a ride. I called Speratza a liar, and he looked hurt. But he had nothing to worry about. It was his word against mine, and mine was a drug on the market.

Flaggerty got rid ot Speratza and came back looking like the cat that’d swallowed the canary.

“Lying won’t get you anywhere, Cain,” he said. “You’d better watch your step.”

“Go take a nap under a falling axe,” I said, and blew smoke in his face.

“You wait ’til I get you to the station,” he snarled

“You haven’t got me there yet,” I reminded him.

Killeano told Flaggerty to get on with it.

“You met Herrick at the Casino?” Flaggerty demanded, after he’d choked down his rage.

“That’s right.”

“He told you to get out of town?”

“He advised me to get out of town,” I corrected him.

“Then what did you say?”

“I said I’d stick around.”

“You told him to go to hell, and you said if he didn’t keep his snout out of your business you’d fix him.”

“Moonshine,” I said.

Flaggerty called in the Casino barman who said I had threatened Herrick. “He said ‘You keep your snout out of my business or I’ll push it through the back of your head’,” the barman told Flaggerty. He looked shocked and sad.

“How much did they pay you to recite that little piece?” I asked.

“Never mind, Cain,” Flaggerty snapped. He turned to the barman. “Okay, that’s all. You’ll be wanted at the trial.”

The barman walked out, still shaking his head.

“Then you returned to the hotel with this woman,” Flaggerty went on, pointing to Miss Wonderly, who’d been brought in. She looked out of place in her blue crepe in the sunshine. She looked unhappy too. I winked at her, but she wouldn’t catch my eye. “You two got drunk. She passed out, and you got brooding about Herrick. You figured he might be dangerous, and might upset your plans, and that made you mad. So you called him and asked him to come over, because you thought you could scare him to lay off you.”

“Don’t be a dope,” I said. “I was the sucker who passed out. Ask baby-face over there. She’ll tell you. Better still, get that bottle of brandy in the next room; it’s full of shut-eye medicine.”

“What brandy?” Flaggerty demanded.

One of the cops went into the bedroom. He came back after a moment or so.

“No brandy,” he said.

There wouldn’t be,” I said, shrugging. “Well, ask her. She’ll tell you.”

“I don’t need to ask her!” Flaggerty roared. “The hotel telephone operator has a record of a call made by you at two o clock this morning. We’ve traced that call to Herrick’s residence. Ten minutes after the call Herrick arrived here. He asked the reception clerk for your room number, and the bell-hop brought him up to this room. How do you like that?”

“Very cosy.” I said.

“You and Herrick talked. You were drunk and vicious. You’re a killer, Cain. You don’t think twice about killing. You’re as mad as a mad dog! Herrick wouldn’t scare, so you hit him with your gun. You were so goddamned drunk you forgot all about him the moment you’d done it. And I’ll tell you why. You wanted that floozie. She was in bed waiting for you, wasn’t she?”

I laughed at him. “Ask her. She’s my witness.” I look at Miss Wonderly. “Listen, baby, last night you said you were for me. Well, here’s your chance. You’re the only one who can bust this frame wide open. I’m relying on you. They’ve got me in a sweet jam. There’s nothing I can do about it. But if you have the guts, you can tell the truth, and that’ll put me in the clear. We had a swell time together. We can still have a swell time together. Only you’ve got to be on my side. Now tell them.”

“Wait,” Killeano said, starting to his feet. His expression was a nice blend of suspicion and doubtful friendliness. He gave the idea that in spite of wanting to help me, he was gradually being persuaded that I was as guilty as hell. It was a nice act. He crossed the room and stood over Miss Wonderly. “Your word in a court of law hasn’t much value. You’re in a jam yourself. If Cain didn’t kill Herrick, then you must have killed him. I’ll tell you why. The door was locked on the inside! So don’t lie. Maybe Cain was nice to you, but you’ve got to tell the truth because you just can’t afford to lie.”

I saw then that they had taken care of everything. If Miss Wonderly said I had passed out, then they’d hang the murder on her. They wouldn’t care so long as they hung it on someone.

“Okay, baby,” I said. “Lie if you want to. He’s right. They’ve been a little too smart for us.”

“I’m not talking,” she said, and began to cry.

That was right up Flaggerty’s street. He grabbed hold of her arm and yanked her out of her chair. “You’ll talk, you floozie!” he bawled, and shook her so her head snapped back.

I’d left my chair and reached him before the two cops could move.

I spun him around and hit him in the mouth. It was a sweet punch, and I felt my knuckles grate on his teeth. He went over backwards, spitting blood. It did me a power of good.

Then the cops jumped me, and one of them bounced a nightstick across my head.

I came round as Flaggerty was sitting up. I had a bump on my head, but he had lost a couple of teeth.

Killeano sorted us out.

After a while the atmosphere quietened down, but Flaggerty was still too groggy to continue questioning. Killeano took over. He stood in front of Miss Wonderly, his short fat legs astride.

“Unless you tell us what happened you’ll be arrested,” he said to her.

“What does it matter?” I said, rubbing my head. “Why do it the hard way? Tell ’em you passed out, and know nothing about it. They’ve got all the witnesses they want.”

One of the coppers slapped me across the mouth.

“Shaddap,” he said.

“That’s going to be too bad for you,” I said, and the look in my eyes made him edge away.

Miss Wonderly looked at Killeano and then at me. She was pale, but there was a light in her eyes that gave me hope.

“He didn’t do it,” she said. “It was a frame-up. I don’t care what you do to me. He didn’t do it! Do you hear? He didn’t do it!"

Killeano looked at her as if he couldn’t believe his ears. His fat face went yellow with rage.

“You bitch!” he said, and slapped her hard across her face.

One of the cops wound his night-stick across my throat and held on. I couldn’t move: I couldn’t breathe.

Flaggerty and Killeano just stood looking at Miss Wonderly. She held her burning cheek and looked back at them.

“He didn’t do it!” she repeated, wildly. “You can keep your rotten money. You can kill me. But I won’t go through with it!”

I gave a croaking cheer.

Killeano turned to Flaggerty. “Arrest them,” he said, in a thin reedy voice. “We’ll get her on an accessory rap. And soften both of them.” He looked at Miss Wonderly. “You’ll be sorry for this,” he said, and crossed the room, opened the door and went out. He closed the door gently behind him.

8

“Get that punk dressed,” Flaggerty said, “and watch him.” The two cops and the two plain-clothes dicks convoyed me into the bedroom. “Are we going to have a swell time with you when we get you to headquarters?” one of the plain-clothes dicks said. He was a massive guy with a red, rubbery face and hard green eyes.

His name was Hyams. The other dick was thin and dyspeptic. He had a long red nose and his ears were so big they made him look a taxi-cab with its doors wide open. They called him Solly.

“I hope I have a good time too,” I said, smiling at them.

The copper who’d slapped me dug me in the ribs with his night-stick. “Get dressed, wise guy,” he said. “I’m one of the boys who’ll work over you.”

I climbed into my clothes. They went over each garment before handing it to me. They weren’t taking any chances.

Solly said, “I hope Flaggerty lets me handle that diz.”

“He’ll handle her himself,” Hyams said. “But, I’d like to be a fly on the wall.”

“What a break!” Solly exclaimed, licking his lips. “Fancy taking a tutz with her build to pieces.”

“Yeah, and legally at that,” Hyams said.

They grinned at each other.

I fixed my tie and put on my coat. If I didn’t start something soon, it’d be too late. Once they got us down to headquarters, it was going to be just too bad for us. From the look of these thugs, Belsen would be a picnic to what they’d do to us.

“Come on, punk,” Hyams said, “and listen, if you start anything, we’ll shoot first and apologize after. We don’t want to kill you before we’ve had a chance of working on you, but we will, if you try anything smart.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I said. “I’ve only read about the third degree. I’d like to experience it.”

“You will,” Solly said, looking at me out of the corners of his eyes.

We went into the sitting-room.

Flaggerty was pacing up and down. Miss Wonderly sat in a chair, and the stout woman stood behind her.

Flaggerty grinned at me. He looked nasty. There was a gap in his teeth and his lips were swollen.

“Five men in four months,” he said, standing in front of me. “A killer, huh? Well, we’ll show you what we do to killers. You’ve got two weeks before you come before a judge. That means two weeks of hell for you, Mr. Killer Cain.”

“Don’t be dramatic, you big-mouthed pixie,” I said.

The big Irish cop, who’d slapped me before, clouted me from behind with his club. I staggered forward and ran into a bang in the jaw from Flaggerty. They were two juicy wallops, and I went down on my hands and knees.

Flaggerty gave me the boots. I got my head out of the way, but his heavy toe-cap sank into the side of my neck.

“We don’t want to carry the creep.” Hyams said, worried.

Flaggerty drew back. “Get up,” he snarled.

I was lying near the blanket-covered body of Herrick, and I pretended to be dazed. I put my hand over my eyes so they couldn’t see what I was looking at: peeping out from under the blanket was my Luger. They’d forgotten to pick it up, and when they’d covered Herrick, they’d covered the gun.

Flaggerty was bawling at me. “Get up, you louse, or I’ll boot you again!”

“I’m getting up,” I said, crawling slowly to one knee. I acted like I was half dead.

The blood-smeared gun butt was six feet from me. I tried to remember if any of the dicks carried guns in their hands. I didn’t think they did. They were all too cocky, now they were sure I was unarmed.

Flaggerty booted me.

I flopped over on top of Herrick. It gave me a funny feeling to lie on the body, stiff in death. My hand closed around the gun butt. It was slippery with blood, but I didn’t care.

I stood up.

Flaggerty’s face turned green when he saw the Luger. The other guys turned into waxworks.

“Hello,” I said. “Remember me?”

I didn’t point the gun at them. I held it loosely, and I stepped to the wall so I could see everyone in the room.

“Well, come on,” I said, smiling at them. “We were going to headquarters for fun and games.”

They didn’t move or say anything.

I looked over at Miss Wonderly. She was sitting on the edge of her chair, her eyes round with wonder.

“Just a bunch of weak sisters playing at tough guys,” I said to her. “You coming with me, baby?”

She got up and came over. Her knees were knocking, and I put my arm around her waist.

“Can you be useful?” I asked, pulling her against me.

“Yes,” she said.

“Go into the bedroom and pack some of my stuff in one of the bags. Take the best stuff, and leave the rest, and hurry.”

She went past the waxworks without looking at them, and disappeared into the bedroom.

“Any of you guys know how fast I can pull this rod ?” I asked cheerfully. “If you’re curious, just give me the chance to show you,” and I stuck the gun down the waist-band of my trousers.

None of them moved. There were eight of them, and the stout woman. They were too scared even to bat an eyelid.

I lit a cigarette and blew smoke at Flaggerty.

“You boys have had your fun,” I said, “and now I’m going to have mine. I came here for a vacation. All I wanted to do was to have a good time and spend my roll. But you thought you’d be smart. You wanted to murder Herrick because he was in your way. You picked me for the fall guy, and you nearly got away with it. If you hadn’t been so dumb, you would have got away with it. You killed Herrick, but you haven’t killed me, and you’ll find I’m a lot harder to kill than Herrick. I’m going to find out why you wanted Herrick out of the way, and then I’m going to complete his job. I’m here until I’ve taken this town to pieces and found out what makes it tick. I’m here until I’ve bust your Administration wide open: try to stop me if you can. I don’t like being crowded by a bunch of small-town yeggs. It hurts my pride.”

Still they didn’t say anything.

I beckoned to the Irish cop.

“I want you, brother,” I said.

He came towards me like he was treading on egg-shells; his hands above his head.

I let him get to within six feet of me, then I hauled off and busted him in the nose. He staggered back, banged into Flaggerty, and they both sat on the floor.

They remained like that. The cop’s nose began to bleed.

Miss Wonderly came out of the bedroom, carrying one of my grips.

“Wait by the door, honey,” I said.

I walked over to the window, pulled back the curtain, and collected the cigar box I’d hidden behind the pelmet. The box contained eighteen grand: my vacation money.

Although I didn’t even bother to watch them, they still didn’t flutter a muscle. I guess my reputation stood pretty high in Paradise Palms or else they were plain yellow through to their jaegers.

“We’ll go,” I said to Miss Wonderly.

She opened the door.

“So long,” I said to Flaggerty. “Come after me if you feel like it. I’m itching to be forced into a fight, but I don’t shoot first. I don’t have to.” I winked at him. “I’ll be seeing you.”

He sat on the floor hating me with his eyes, but he didn’t say anything.

I took Miss Wonderly’s arm and we crossed to the elevator.

The cage doors slid back the second or so after I’d rung.

“Going down, sir?” the attendant said. It was the guy who’d sworn he’d taken Herrick up to my room.

I pulled him out of the cage, and hit him between the eyes. He fell down and lay as quiet as a mouse.

I pushed Miss Wonderly into the cage and stepped in myself.

“Going down,” I said, smiling at the attendant, and closed the cage doors.