I'm a fool to kill you

THIRTY-THREE

We looked the place over, mostly the desk, but didn’t find anything. I was looking for a phone number scribbled on something.

‘Maybe the clerk knows more than he’s saying,’ I said.

‘I don’t think so,’ Jerry said, ‘I don’t think we can take the time to find out. We gotta get out of this hotel, Mr G. .’

He was right. We needed to get Ava away from this murder.

‘Jerry,’ I said, ‘any chance this man died of natural causes? Maybe a heart attack?’

‘I dunno,’ he said. ‘There are no marks, but every heart attack victim I’ve ever seen looks calm. This guy looks. . well, surprised.’

He was right, again. With his eyes wide open Gentry looked like he’d been taken by surprise.

‘OK,’ I said, ‘let’s get out of here and lock the door. Look for a back way out to the bungalows.’

We got out of the office and pulled the door shut, locking it behind us.

‘This way,’ I said, and we went in the opposite direction from the front desk. After a few false starts we found another exit from the hotel. We came up to Ava’s bungalow from the other side, and let ourselves in.

‘What’s goin’ on, boys?’ she asked.

‘Pack up,’ I said. ‘we’ve got to get out of here.’

‘Why? What’s wrong?’

‘The hotel manager got himself killed,’ Jerry said.

‘What?’

‘It’s probably murder,’ I said. ‘We’ve got to get you out of here before the police are called.’

‘What about you two?’ she asked. ‘Are you in trouble?’

‘The clerk saw us,’ I said, ‘knows that we went to see the manager.’

‘He don’t know our names, though,’ Jerry said. ‘We just need to get out of here before somebody finds the body, Miss Ava,’

‘All right,’ she said. ‘I’ll pack. But where will we go? Vegas?’

‘Not tonight,’ I said. ‘We’ll get in the cab and figure it out. We just need someplace overnight.’

‘What about my house?’ she asked.

‘Somebody may be watching it,’ I said.

‘What if they’re not?’ she asked. ‘What if whoever’s looking for me has already looked there? Besides, if I was running from somebody would I go back home?’

‘She’s got a point, Mr G.,’ Jerry said. ‘I can check her place out, see if it’s bein’ watched.’

‘All right,’ I said, ‘get your bag and let’s get going.’

‘Take me just a minute,’ she promised.

Most women, no matter how little or how much they have to pack, need a lot of time. She was true to her word and came back out in a few minutes.

‘Let’s go.’

‘Jerry,’ I said, ‘you got a bag?’

‘Nope. Figured I’d get some clothes out here.’

‘OK,’ I said, ‘we’ll pick up some things for you on the way.’

Jerry played the gentleman, took Ava’s bag and we left. At the cab we looked around to see if anyone was watching us, then we all got in with Jerry behind the wheel and Ava in the back seat.

‘Where to?’ Jerry asked.

‘I live on Vine Street, between Hollywood and Selma.’

‘Hollywood and Vine?’ Jerry asked.

‘Close by.’

‘Ava, tell Jerry how to get there.’