No Orchids for Miss Blandish

Chapter six

Miss Blandish was pushed into the hard light of the overhead lamp. Two pads of cotton-wool were strapped across her eyes with adhesive tape. Eddie supported her. She leaned heavily against him. His hand on her arm felt hard and warm. It was her only contact in the darkness.

From her chair, Ma Grisson stared at Miss Blandish. Before leaving Johnny’s place, Eddie had telephoned her, telling her they were on their way. She had had time to appreciate what this kidnapping would mean to her and the gang. Handled carefully and with any reasonable luck, she and the gang would be worth a million dollars before the end of the week. For the past three years, she had built up the reputation of the gang. They hadn’t made a great deal of money, but they hadn’t done badly. They were regarded by the other gangs as good third-raters. Now, because of this slim, red-haired girl they would become the richest, the most powerful and the most wanted public enemies of Kansas City.

Ma Grisson was big, grossly fat and lumpy. Flesh hung in two loose sacks either side of her chin. Her crinkly hair was dyed a hard, dull black. Her little eyes were glittering and as impersonal as glass. Her big floppy chest sparkled with cheap jewelry. She wore a dirty cream colored lace dress. Her huge arms, mottled with veins, bulged through the lace network like dough compressed in a sieve. Physically she was as powerful as a man. She was a hideous old woman, and every member of the gang, including Slim, was afraid of her.

Eddie whipped the tape from Miss Blandish’s eyes. It was a shock to her to be confronted by this old woman, sitting slumped in the armchair. At the sight of her, Miss Blandish caught her breath sharply and shrank back.

Eddie put his hand on her arm assuringly.

“Well, Ma,” he said. “Here she is, delivered as per your instructions. Meet Miss Blandish.”

Ma leaned forward. Her staring, beady eyes terrified the girl.

Ma hated talking as much as she hated talkers. She said one word when most people said ten, but this was an occasion she felt called for a speech.

“Listen to me,” she said, “you may be Blandish’s daughter but you mean nothing to me. You’re staying here until your old man buys you back. It depends on him how long you do stay here. While you’re here, you’re going to behave. So long as you do behave, you’ll be left alone, but if you start making trouble, you’ll have me to reckon with, I promise you. You’ll be sorry if you do cross me. Do you understand?”

Miss Blandish stared at her as if she couldn’t believe this terrifying old woman really existed.

“Do you understand?” Ma repeated.

Eddie nudged Miss Blandish.

“Yes,” she said.

“Take her up to the front room,” Ma said to Eddie. “It’s all ready for her. Lock her in and come down here. I want to talk to you.”

Eddie led Miss Blandish from the room. As they went up the stairs, he said, “The old girl wasn’t fooling, baby. She’s meaner than Slim, so watch your step.”

Miss Blandish didn’t say anything. She seemed crushed and terrified.

A few minutes later, Eddie joined Doc and Flynn in Ma’s room. Woppy had been sent downtown for news.

Eddie poured himself a shot of whiskey, then sat on the arm of a chair.

“Where’s Slim got to, Ma?”

“He’s gone to bed,” Ma said. “Never mind about him. I want to talk to you and Flynn. You heard what I said to the girl about making trouble? The same applies to you two. Neither of you nor Woppy are going to start trouble just because there’s a good-looking girl here. If I catch any of you interfering with her, you’ll be sorry. More gangs have come to grief through a woman than through the cops. I won’t have you boys fighting over her. That girl is to be left alone. Is that understood?”

Eddie grinned jeeringly.

“That go for Slim too?”

“Slim doesn’t bother with women,” Ma said, glaring at Eddie. “He’s got too much sense. If you thought more of your job and less about your cheap floozies, you would be better off. That also applies to Woppy and to you,” she looked at Flynn who moved uncomfortably. “You understand? You’re to leave the girl alone.”

“I’m not deaf,” Flynn said sulkily.

“And you, Eddie?”

“I heard you the first time, Ma.”

“Okay.” Ma reached for a cigarette and lit it. “This girl is worth a million dollars to us. She has been missing since midnight. By now Blandish will have alerted the cops and they will have alerted the Feds. We’ve got to contact Blandish and tell him to call off the Feds and get a million dollars in used bills ready for delivery. We shouldn’t have any trouble with him. He has the money and he wants his daughter back,” She looked at Eddie. “Go downtown and telephone Blandish. Tell him he’ll get instructions soon how he is to deliver the money. Warn him if he tries to double-cross us, his daughter will suffer. I don’t have to tell you what to say: make it raw and crude.”

“Sure, Ma,” Eddie said.

“Then get off.”

As Eddie rose to his feet, he asked, “What’s the split going to be, Ma? I’m the guy who spotted the girl. I ought to get more than the rest.”

“We haven’t got it yet,” Ma said curtly. “We’ll talk about it when we do get it.”

“And how about me?” Flynn put in. “I was there too.”

“Yeah?” Eddie answered. “If it hadn’t been for me you would have gone to bed.”

“Shut up!” Ma snapped. “Get off!”

Eddie hesitated, then meeting the hard little eyes, he shrugged and left the room. They heard the Buick start up and drive away.

“Now, you,” Ma said to Flynn. “Who knows we’re connected with Riley and his gang and with what happened last night?”

Flynn scratched his head.

“Well, there’s Johnny, of course. He saw what happened and he knows we took the girl, but Johnny’s okay. He’s burying the three stiffs and getting rid of their car. We’ll have to do something for him, Ma. Riley promised him a quarter share. The old fella expects us to see him right.”

“We’ll see him right,” Ma said, “Who else is there?”

Flynn thought for a moment.

“There’s the boy at the filling station. He saw Eddie talking to Riley. I guess he saw I had a gun. Maybe he even saw the girl.”

“No one else?”

“No.”

“I’m not taking any chances. Take care of the boy. He might talk. Get going.”

When Flynn had gone, Ma settled more comfortably in her chair. She was aware that Doc Williams was prowling restlessly around the room and seemed uneasy. She looked questioningly at him. Her relations with him were on a different level from those of the rest of the gang. He was a man of education and that was something she respected.

She knew some years ago, Doc Williams had been a successful surgeon. He had been married to a woman twenty years younger than himself. She had suddenly gone off with his chauffeur and he had taken to the bottle. A few months later, while drunk, he had attempted a brain operation and the patient had died. He was tried for manslaughter and drew five years. He was struck off the register. Flynn had met him in prison and had brought him to Ma when they came out. Ma had been smart enough to realize the advantage of having a brilliant surgeon and doctor attached to the gang. From then on, she didn’t have to worry about finding a doctor if any of her boys got shot. She kept Doc supplied with liquor and he looked after her boys.

“Handled right,” Ma said, “we’re in a safe position. I’m going to pass the word around that Riley snatched this girl. Sooner or later, the word will reach the cops. They’ll look for him and when they find he’s missing, they’ll be sure he snatched the girl.” She grinned, showing her large false teeth. “So long as they don’t dig them up, they’ll go on thinking they snatched the girl and we’ll be in the clear.”

Doc sat down. He lit a cigar. His movements were slow. His drink raddled face was worried.

“I don’t like kidnapping,” he said. “It’s a cruel, horrible business. I’m sorry for the girl and her father. I don’t like it.”

Ma smiled. Doc was the only member of the gang allowed to speak his mind or offer advice. Ma seldom took his advice, but she liked to listen to him. He was someone to talk to when she was lonely, and sometimes his advice was sound.

“You’re a soft old fool,” she said contemptuously. “The girl has had everything up to now. Let her suffer. Her old man’s worth millions. He can afford to suffer too. I’ve suffered: so have you. Suffering does people good.”

“Yes,” Doc said. He poured himself a stiff drink. “But she is young and beautiful. It is such a waste of a young life. You don’t intend to send her back to her father?”

“No, she isn’t going back. When the money is paid, we’ll have to get rid of her. She knows too much.”

Doc shifted uneasily.

“I don’t like it, but I suppose it’s not my business.” He emptied his glass and refilled it. “This is a big thing, Ma. I don’t like any of it.”

“You’ll like the money when you get your share,” Ma said cynically.

Doc stared at his glass.

“It’s a long time now since I got excited about money. There’s something I want to tell you. Slim behaved very oddly with the girl: very oddly indeed.”

Ma looked sharply at him.

“What do you mean?”

“I was under the impression that Slim had no use for women. You told me that, didn’t you?”

“Yes, and I’m glad of it,” Ma said. “I’ve had enough trouble with him without having that kind of trouble.”

“He’s interested in this girl,” Doc said quietly. “I’ve never seen him act the way he acted when he set eyes on her. He seemed smitten: like a kid gets smitten with a first love. I’m sorry, Ma, but I think you are going to have that kind of trouble with him now.”

Ma’s face tightened and her eyes snapped.

“You aren’t kidding, are you?”

“No. When you see them together, you’ll know I’m right. He seemed anxious for her to have the diamonds. He’s got them. Have you forgotten?”

“I haven’t forgotten,” Ma said grimly. “He’ll give them to me when I ask for them. So you really think he’s fallen for this girl?”

“I’m sure of it.”

“I’ll soon stop that,” Ma said. “I’m not having woman trouble in this house!”

“Don’t be too sure,” Doc said gravely. “Slim’s dangerous. He could turn on you. The trouble with you, Ma, is you won’t face up to the fact he isn’t normal...”

“Shut up!” Ma snarled. This was a forbidden subject. “I’m not listening to that crap. Slim’s all right I can handle him. Leave it that way.”

Doc shrugged. He took a drink. His face was beginning to flush. It took very little liquor now to make Doc drunk.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“I want you to write a letter to Blandish,” Ma said, changing the subject. “Well deliver it tomorrow. Tell him to have the money ready in a white suitcase. He is to put an ad in the Tribune, to appear the day after tomorrow, offering kegs of white paint for sale. That’ll tell us the money is ready. Warn him what will happen to the girl if he tries a double cross.”

“All right, Ma,” Doc said and taking his glass, he left the room.

The old woman sat for some time, thinking. What Doc had told her, disturbed her. If Slim had fallen for this girl, then the sooner she was got rid of the better. She tried to convince herself Doc was exaggerating. Slim had always been scared of girls. She had watched him grow up. She was sure he had never had any sexual experience.

She got to her feet.

I’d better talk to him, she thought. I’ll get the necklace from him. I’ll have to be careful how I sell it. Maybe it would be safer to keep it for a while. It’ll be hotter than a stove for months.

She went upstairs to Slim’s room.

Slim was lying on his bed in his shirt and trousers. The necklace was dangling between his bony fingers. As Ma entered the room, the necklace disappeared with the same incredible speed with which he could produce his knife.

Quick as he was, Ma saw the necklace although she didn’t say so.

“What are you lying down for?” she demanded, advancing up to the bed. “You tired or something?”

Slim scowled at her. There were times when his mother bored him with her stupid questions.

“Yeah I’m tired. I didn’t want to listen to all that talk downstairs.”

“You should be thankful I can talk,” Ma said grimly. “We’re going to be rich, Slim. That girl’s worth a pile of money to us.”

Slim’s face lit up and his scowl went away.

“Where is she, Ma?”

Ma stared at him. She had never seen such an expression on his face before. She stiffened, thinking, so Doc’s right. The poor fool looks smitten. I wouldn’t have believed it.

“She’s in the front room under lock and key,” she said.

Slim rolled over on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

“She’s pretty, isn’t she, Ma?” he said, simpering. “I’ve never seen any girl like her. Did you see her hair?”

“Pretty?” Ma snarled. “Why should you care? She’s just like any other girl.”

Slim turned his head and stared at her. He looked surprised.

“You think that?” he asked. “Haven’t you eyes in your head? What’s the matter with you? I’ve always thought you were smart. She’s beautiful. If you can’t see it, you must be blind.” He ran his fingers through his greasy long hair. “She’s like something out of a picture book. I want to keep her, Ma. We don’t have to send her back, do we? We’ll get the money and I’ll keep her. I’ve never had a girl. She’s going to be my girl.”

“Yeah?” Ma sneered. “Do you think she’ll want you? Look at your hands and shirt. They’re filthy. Do you imagine a snooty little bitch like her will look at you?”

Slim examined his hands. He seemed suddenly unsure of himself.

“I guess I could wash,” he said as if it was an idea that had never occurred to him before. “I could put on a clean shirt.”

“I haven’t time to waste talking this crap,” Ma said roughly. “I want the necklace.”

Slim eyed her, his head cocked on one side. Then he took the necklace from his pocket and dangled it out of Ma’s reach. There was a sudden look of cunning on his face that Ma didn’t like.

“It’s pretty, isn’t it?” he said. “But you’re not having it. I’m keeping it. I know you — if you had it, you’d sell it. That’s all you think about — money. I’m going to give it back to her. It’s hers.”

Ma controlled her rising temper.

“Hand that necklace to me!” she grated, holding out her hand.

Slim slid off the bed and faced her, his eyes gleaming.

“I’m keeping it.”

This had never happened to Ma before. For a moment she was so surprised, she didn’t know quite what to do, then her temper exploded and she advanced on Slim, swinging her great fists.

“Goddamn it! Give it to me before I hit you!” she shouted, her heavy face mottled and furious.

“Keep back!” Suddenly his knife jumped into his hand. He crouched, glaring at his mother. “Keep back!”

Ma came to an abrupt standstill. Looking at the thin, vicious face and the gleaming yellow eyes, she remembered Doc’s warning. She felt a chill crawl up her spine.

“Put that knife away, Slim,” she said quietly. “What do you think you’re doing?”

Slim eyed her, then suddenly he grinned.

“That scared you, didn’t it, Ma? I saw you were scared. You’re like the rest of them. Even you are scared of me.”

“Don’t talk foolish,” Ma said. “You’re my son. Why should I be scared of you? Now come on, give me the necklace.”

“I’ll tell you what we’ll do,” Slim said, a crafty expression on his face. “You want the necklace: I want the girl. We’ll trade. You fix it she likes me: I give you the diamonds. How’s that?”

“Why, you poor fool...” Ma began but stopped when Slim dropped the necklace into his pocket.

“You’re not having it until the girl’s nice to me,” he said. “You talk to her, Ma. Tell her I won’t hurt her I want her to keep me company. Those punks downstairs don’t like me. You’ve got Doc to talk to. I’ve got no one. I want her.”

While he was talking, Ma was thinking. Even if she had the necklace, she couldn’t get rid of it yet. It would be months before she would dare try to sell it. It wasn’t important that he should keep it for a while. What was important was this show of rebellion and her loss of authority. She eyed the knife in her son’s hand. She again remembered Doc’s warning. It was true. Slim wasn’t normal. He was dangerous. She wasn’t going to risk getting a knife stuck in her. It would be better to do what he wanted. It wouldn’t be for long. When the ransom was paid, the girl would go and Slim would forget about her and settle down. Maybe it might be a good idea for him to have a little fun with the girl. If he fancied this one, why not let him have her? Doc was always talking about frustrations and repressions. Yes, it might be an idea to let Slim have the girl. It might be good for him: give him something else to think about instead of staying in his room.

“Put that knife away, Slim,” she said moving away from him. “I don’t see any reason why you shouldn’t amuse yourself with the girl. I’ll see what I can do. Put it away. You should be ashamed to threaten your mother with a knife.”

Slim suddenly realized he had won a victory. He giggled.

“Now you’re talking sense,” he said and put the knife away. “You fix it, Ma, and I’ll give you the necklace, but you’ve got to fix it good.”

“I’ll talk to her,” Ma said and went slowly from the room.

This was the first time Slim had ever got the better of her and she didn’t like it.

Doc’s right, she thought, as she plodded down the stairs. He’s dangerous. He could get worse. The hell of it is, I’m getting old. Soon I won’t be able to handle him at all.

Chapter seven

As soon as Eddie got into town, he parked the Buick and then bought a newspaper.

The kidnapping of Miss Blandish and the murder of Jerry MacGowan were spread across the front page. He read the account quickly. There was nothing there new to him. The Chief of Police said he was following an important clue, but he didn’t say what it was. Eddie guessed that was just bluff.

He walked to a cigar store at the corner of the street. He nodded to the fat man behind the counter and passed through a curtained doorway into the poolroom.

The room was thick with smoke and full of men, drinking and playing pool. Eddie looked around and spotted Woppy by himself keeping a bottle of Scotch company.

“Hi,” Eddie said, coming over and sitting down. “What’s cooking?”

Woppy signaled to the barman to bring another glass.

“Plenty,” Woppy said. “Have you seen the papers?”

“Nothing in them,” Eddie said. He nodded to the barman as he set the glass on the table. He poured himself a drink.

“You wait for the evening edition. Remember the punk who collects dirt for Gossip? Heinie? He’s shot his mouth off to the cops.”

“What’s the idea? Since when has he been an informer?”

“The insurance people are offering a reward for the necklace. I guess Heinie wants the dough. He’s told the cops Bailey was interested in the necklace. They’ve turned over the town but they can’t find Bailey so they’re saying he and Riley pulled the snatch. Good for us, huh?”

Eddie grinned.

“I’ll say.”

“The Feds have taken over. They’ve seen Blandish. The town’s lousy with cops. You’d better watch out they don’t catch you with your rod.”

“I left it at home. I’m phoning Blandish right now and then I’m blowing. You’d better come with me.”

“Okay.” As Eddie got to his feet, Woppy asked, “How’s the redhead? Boy! Wouldn’t I like to get close to that one!”

“Better not,” Eddie said. “Ma’s on the warpath. She says to lay off the girl: got quite steamed up about it.”

Woppy pulled a face.

“There are times when Ma gives me a pain. What’s the good of having a doll like that in the house if you can’t make use of her?”

“The answer to that one is a million bucks,” Eddie said, grinning. He crossed over to the telephone booth but from the sign on the door, it was out of order. There was a booth in a drugstore across the way. He left the cigar store and paused on the edge of the curb for a gap in the traffic. While he waited, he noticed a girl standing by a nearby bus stop. She immediately attracted his attention: every good-looking girl did. She was a tall, cool-looking blonde with a figure that made him look twice. She had a pert prettiness that appealed to Eddie. He studied her face for a brief moment. Her make-up was good. Her mouth was a trifle large, but Eddie didn’t mind that. He liked the sexy look she had and the sophisticated way she wore her yellow summery dress.

Some dish, he thought I wouldn’t mind being shipwrecked with her.

He crossed the road and entered the drugstore. He shut himself in the telephone booth. Then hanging a handkerchief over the mouthpiece of the telephone to muffle the sound of his voice, he dialed the number he had got from Miss Blandish and waited.

He didn’t have to wait long. A voice said, “Hello? This is John Blandish talking. Who is it, please?”

“Listen carefully, pal,” Eddie said, making his voice hard and tough. “We’ve got your daughter. If you want her back, call off the cops. We want a million dollars for her. Get the money together in used bills, no bill larger than a hundred and put the money in a white suitcase. You’ll get delivery instructions tomorrow. Got all that?”

“Yes.” Blandish’s voice was strained and anxious. “Is she all right?”

“She’s fine and she’ll remain fine just so long as you do what you’re told. If you try anything smart she’s in for a bad time and when I say bad, I mean bad. I don’t have to draw you a blue-print. You can imagine what’ll happen to her before we rub her out. It’s up to you, pal. She’ll be okay just as long as you do what we tell you. If you don’t, you’ll get her back very soiled and very dead!” He slammed down the receiver arid walked quickly out of the drugstore, grinning to himself.

Across the road, as he again waited for a gap in the traffic, he saw the blonde girl still waiting at the bus stop. She glanced at him and then away. Eddie fingered his tie. He thought it was too bad he had to report back to Ma. He crossed the road and again looked at the girl, ready to smile at her, but she wasn’t looking at him. He moved to the cigar store and paused to look back. The girl was coming towards him. He stood waiting. She didn’t look at him. As she passed close to him, a white card fluttered out of her hand and fell at his feet. She neither paused nor looked at him. He stared after her, watching the sensuous movement of her hips, then he picked up the card. On it was scribbled: 243, Palace Hotel, West.

He pushed his hat to the back of his head, surprised. He hadn’t taken the girl for a hooker. He was vaguely disappointed. He looked after her and was in time to see her get into a taxi. He watched the taxi drive away, then he slipped the card under the strap of his wrist watch. Maybe when he had a little more time, he thought, entering the cigar store, he’d call on her.

“All fixed,” he said to Woppy. “Let’s get out of here.”

Woppy finished his drink, paid the barman and the two men walked down the street to where Eddie had parked the Buick. A Ford had just pulled into a parking space across the road. Two powerfully built men were in the car. Both of them were staring at Eddie and Woppy.

“Feds,” Woppy said without moving his lips.

Eddie unlocked the Buick. He could feel cold sweat on his face. They got into the car. Both of them took tremendous care to seem casual. The two men in the Ford still watched them. Eddie started the car and drove into the stream of traffic.

“Don’t look back,” he warned Woppy.

After a few minutes, they relaxed.

“Those punks give me the shakes,” Eddie said. “The less I have to do with them, the better my blood pressure.”

“You can say that again,” Woppy said with feeling. “This town’s crawling with them.”

They arrived back as Flynn was getting out of a battered Dodge. The three men went into Ma’s room.

“Okay?” she asked Flynn.

“Yeah. No trouble at all,” he said. “No one was around. I didn’t even have to get out of the car. He came out to fill my tank; when he had filled it, I let him have it. Nothing to it.”

Ma nodded. She looked at Eddie.

“I told him,” Eddie said. “I didn’t give him a chance to talk back, but he knows what to expect if he starts anything smart. The town’s full of Feds, Ma. The heat’s on good.” He tossed the newspaper onto the table. “Nothing in that we don’t already know. Heinie’s been to the cops. He’s told them Bailey was asking questions about the necklace. The cops are hunting for him and Riley.”

“I reckoned that would happen,” Ma said with her wolfish grin. “So long as they don’t dig up those stiffs, we’ll be in the clear. This is working out right.”

“When the girl’s returned,” Eddie said seriously, “we’ll be in trouble. She’ll talk.”

Ma stared at him.

“What makes you think she’s going to be returned?”

“Yeah.” Eddie shook his head. He glanced at Woppy who grimaced. “Seems a hell of a waste of a woman.”

“To hell with her!” Flynn broke in savagely. “We’ve got to think of ourselves.”

“Who’s going to do it?” Eddie said. “Not me!”

“Nor me,” Woppy said.

“Doc will give her a shot in the arm when she’s asleep,” Ma said. “If he won’t, I will.”

“When?” Flynn asked.

“When I’m good and ready,” Ma snapped. “You leave me to worry about that.”

Eddie sat down and poured himself a drink.

“Say, Ma, let’s have another look at the necklace. I didn’t get a chance to look at it properly.”

“It’s in the safe,” Ma lied. “Some other time.” To change the subject, she asked, “Why don’t one of you lazy slobs get dinner ready?”

Woppy got to his feet.

“Oh, hell! Spaghetti again!” Eddie groaned. “Hey, Flynn, can’t you cook?”

Flynn grinned.

“As good as you,” he said.

Eddie lifted his shoulders in despair.

“What we want around here is a woman.”

“And that’s what you’re not going to have,” Ma said coldly, “Get going, Woppy. I want my dinner.”

Eddie had taken the card he had picked up from under his watch strap. He read the address again. He thought of the girl. He decided he’d call on her that night. He turned the card and noticed for the first time there was a message written on it.

He read the message, then with a startled curse, he jumped to his feet. Written in a feminine hand were the words: What have you done with Frankie Riley?

Chapter eight

As a street clock was striking eleven, the Buick slid to a standstill near the Palace Hotel. Eddie and Flynn got out, leaving Woppy at the wheel.

“Stick around,” Eddie said. “If you see any cops, move off, but keep circling. We may need you in a hurry.”

“Rather you than me,” Woppy said and stuck a cigarette on his lip.

Eddie and Flynn walked quickly down the street to the hotel entrance. It wasn’t much of a place. They walked into the lobby which was empty. Behind the desk dozed a fat, elderly man in his shirt sleeves. He blinked open his eyes as Eddie came up.

“You want a room?” the man asked hopefully, getting to his feet.

“No. Who’s in 243?” Eddie asked curtly.

The man stiffened.

“Can’t give you information like that,” he said.

“You’d better call around tomorrow morning and ask at the desk.”

Flynn took out his gun and shoved it into the man’s face.

“You heard what the guy said, didn’t you?” he snarled.

The man’s face went white at the sight of the gun. With trembling hands, he thumbed through the register. Eddie snatched it from him. He ran his finger quickly down the list of numbers.

“Anna Borg,” he said when he arrived at № 243. “Who’s she?” He noted the rooms either side of 243 were vacant.

Flynn slid the gun in his hand and held it by the barrel. He reached forward and clubbed the man on top of his head. The man slid down behind the counter. Eddie craned his neck to look at him.

“You shouldn’t have hit him that hard,” he said. “He looks like a family man. Better tie him up.”

Flynn went around and tied the man’s hands behind him with the man’s tie. Leaving him behind the counter, they walked over to the elevator and rode up to the second floor.

“You stay here,” Eddie said, “and watch the stairs. I’ll call on the dame.”

He started off down the passage, looking for room 243.

He found it at the far end of the passage. He listened, his ear against the door panel. Then he drew his gun and stepped into the dark room. He shut the door, groped for the light switch and turned it on.

He looked around. The small room was empty and untidy. Clothes were scattered on the bed and chair. He recognized the yellow dress the girl had been wearing hanging over the chair back. The dressing table was crowded with cosmetic bottles. The contents of a large powder box had been tipped onto the carpet. When he was satisfied no one was in the room and there was nowhere for anyone to hide, he opened drawers but found nothing to interest him. He wondered where the girl had got to. He left the room, shutting the door and joined Flynn at the head of the stairs. “She isn’t around.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Flynn said. “The room next to hers is empty,” Eddie said. “We’ll wait in there. She may come back.”

“How about the guy downstairs? What happens if someone finds him?”

“I’ll worry about that when he’s found,” Eddie said. “Come on.”

They went silently down the passage to room 241, opened the door and entered. Eddie left the door open a couple of inches. He stood by the door while Flynn went and lay on the bed.

Minutes dragged by. Then just when he was beginning to think he was wasting his time, Eddie heard a sound that alerted him and brought Flynn off the bed and to the door. Both men peered through the crack in the door.

The door exactly opposite room 243 was opening slowly. A girl appeared and looked up and down the passage. Eddie recognized her immediately: she was the blonde he had seen in the street. Before he could make up his mind what to do, she had come out, shut the door and then had run across the passage and into room 243. They heard the door shut and the key turn.

“That the dame?” Flynn asked, breathing hard down Eddie’s neck. “Yeah.”

“Nice,” Flynn said. “What’s she been up to?”

Eddie opened the door wide and moved into the passage.

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. You go to the stairs.”

Flynn went off down the passage.

Eddie crossed to the opposite door. He turned the handle and pressed. The door opened. He looked into darkness. He listened, heard nothing. He entered the room.

He turned on the light switch, then he caught his breath sharply. A short fat man lay on the floor. Blood was running from a wound in his head. He had been shot. Eddie didn’t have to go closer to see the man was dead.

Chapter nine

Ma Grisson had been brooding for some time. There was an expression on her face that warned Doc Williams not to bother her. Doc was playing solitaire. He kept looking at Ma, wondering what was going on in her mind. After a while her stillness got on his nerves and he put down his cards.

“Is there anything worrying you, Ma?” he asked cautiously.

“You get on with your game and leave me alone,” Ma growled.

Doc lifted his shoulders. He got up and went to the front door, opened it and looked into the moonlit darkness. Lighting a cigar, he sat on the top step.

Ma suddenly got to her feet as if she had finally made up her mind. She went over to a cupboard and took from it a length of rubber hose.

Doc heard her movements and he looked around. He saw her climbing the stairs and he saw the rubber hose in her hand. He wondered vaguely what she was doing with it.

Ma Grisson went along the passage to the front room. She unlocked the door and entered the room. It was a small room. The window was covered with planks. There was only a chair, a small table and a mirror on the wall in the room. The threadbare carpet was dirty.

Ma shut the door and looked at Miss Blandish who was sitting up in bed, her eyes wide with alarm. In place of a nightgown she was wearing her slip. Ma sat on the bed. The springs sagged under her great weight.

“I’ve something to say to you,” she said. “Have you ever been hit with a thing like this?” She held up the rubber hose.

Miss Blandish shook her head. She had just woken up out of a troubled sleep. This visit seemed a continuation of her nightmare.

“It hurts,” the old woman said. She hit Miss Blandish on her knee. Although the blanket absorbed some of the blow, it stung. Miss Blandish stiffened. The sleepy look went out of her eyes. She struggled up in bed, clenching her fists; her eyes flashing angrily.

“Don’t you dare touch me again!” she said breathlessly.

Ma Grisson grinned. Her big white teeth made her look wolfish and strangely like her son.

“So what would you do?”

She grabbed Miss Blandish’s wrists in one of her huge hands. She sat grinning as the girl wrenched and pulled in a useless attempt to get free.

“Don’t kid yourself,” Ma said. “I may be old, but I’m much stronger than you. Now I’m going to take some of the starch out of you. Then we’ll have a talk.”

Downstairs, Doc, still sitting on the step, saw Woppy get out of the Buick and come towards him.

“Eddie back yet?” Woppy asked.

“No. What’s happened?”

Woppy pushed past Doc and went into the sitting room. Doc followed him. Woppy picked up a bottle, held it up to the light, then threw it across the room in disgust.

“Isn’t there ever anything to drink in this joint?”

Doc went to the cupboard and opened a new bottle of Scotch.

“What’s happened to Eddie?” he asked as he made two stiff drinks.

“I don’t know,” Woppy said, taking one of the drinks. “We went to the hotel and he and Flynn went in. I hung around, then I saw a couple of cops. I moved off, circled the block and when I got back, I heard shooting. More cops started arriving so I beat it.”

“Sounds as if Eddie’s walked into trouble.”

Woppy shrugged. He emptied his glass.

“He can take care of himself. I should worry.” He paused and cocked his head on one side. “What’s that?”

Doc stiffened and looked uneasily up at the ceiling.

“Sounds like the girl screaming.”

“I’ll go up and see,” Woppy said, starting for the door.

“Better not,” Doc said. “Ma’s with her.”

The two men listened to the high-pitched screaming for a moment, then Woppy, grimacing, went over to the radio and turned it on. The sudden blast of jazz drowned out the screams.

“Maybe I’m getting soft,” Woppy said, wiping his face with his handkerchief, “but there are times when that bitch makes me sick to my stomach.”

Doc drained his glass, then refilled it.

“Better not let her hear you say so,” he said and sat down.

Upstairs Ma Grisson was once more sitting on the bed, breathing hard through her thick nose. She watched Miss Blandish writhing on the bed, tears running down her face, her hands twisting the sheet.

“Now I think we can talk,” Ma said.

She began to speak. What she said made the girl forget her pain. She stared at the old woman as if she couldn’t believe she was hearing correctly. Suddenly she gasped, “No!” Ma went on talking. Miss Blandish sat up and recoiled to the head of the bed, saying “No!”

At last Ma lost patience.

“You can’t get out of it, you little fool!” she snarled. “You’re going to do what I tell you! If you don’t, I’ll beat you again.”

“No... No... No!”

Ma got to her feet and picked up the length of rubber hose. Then she changed her mind.

“I’m spoiling your pretty skin,” she said, “and that won’t do. There are other ways. I’ll get Doc to fix you. I should have thought of that before. Yeah, Doc’ll know how to fix you.”

She went out of the room leaving Miss Blandish, her head buried in the pillow, sobbing wildly.

Chapter ten

Eddie stared down at Heinie’s body, feeling sweat break out on his face. If the cops walked in now he would be in a hell of a jam, he was thinking. He looked quickly around the room. There had been no struggle. He guessed someone had knocked on the door and when Heinie had opened it, he had been shot. From the small wound in Heinie’s head, Eddie surmised the gun used had been a .25 — a woman’s weapon.

He touched Heinie’s hand. It was still warm. Heinie hadn’t been dead longer than half an hour, if that.

Eddie looked into the passage. Flynn was still watching the stairs. Eddie left the room. As an afterthought he carefully wiped the door knob with his handkerchief. Then he crossed to room 243 and tried the door handle. The door was locked. He knocked. Flynn looked down the passage at him. Eddie rapped on the door again. There was no answer. He put his ear against the door panel. He heard the sound of the window being pushed open.

“Hey, you in there,” he called softly. “Come on! Open up!”

Then the silence of the night was split by a woman’s wild screams. From the sound, the woman in 243 was leaning out of the window, yelling her head off.

Eddie jumped back from the door.

“Come on, stupid!” Flynn shouted. “Let’s get out of here!”

Eddie joined him at the head of the stairs and together the two men started down.

“Wait!” Flynn hissed and grabbed Eddie’s arm. He looked down the well of the staircase into the hall. Eddie peered over Flynn’s shoulder. Two cops, guns in hand, were standing in the hall. Suddenly, they moved to the stairs and started up them.

Eddie and Flynn spun around and darted up to the next landing. They could hear people shouting and doors opening.

“The roof!” Eddie panted.

They rushed up to the top landing. They could hear the cops pounding up after them. As they started down the long passage a door nearby opened and a scared-looking man poked his head out. Flynn hit him as he crowded past. The man fell down. From inside the room, a woman started to scream.

There was a door at the end of the passage which led out onto the roof. It was locked. Flynn fired two shots at the lock, then kicked the door open. The noise of the shots in the confined space deafened the two men. Gasping for breath, they stumbled out onto the flat roof and into the cool night air.

Running to the edge of the roof, they took a stiff drop onto the roof of the adjacent building, some fifteen feet below. The moon, hidden behind a cloud, made just enough light for them to see where they were going.

They paused for a moment, trying to decide which way they should go.

“We’d better split up,” Eddie said. “You go left, I’ll go right. Be seeing you.”

Flynn moved off across the roof away from Eddie. There was a sudden shout and Flynn turned in time to see shadowy figures appearing on the upper roof. He fired. One of the figures dropped, and he darted into the darkness.

Screened by a row of chimney stacks, Eddie paused to look down into the street. People were coming out of the various apartment blocks and crowding the streets. A police car was pulling up. From it spilled four cops. They shoved their way through the crowd to the entrance of the hotel. In the distance came the sound of approaching sirens.

Eddie moved off. He lowered himself onto another roof. Crouching in the shadows, he looked back. The roof of the hotel was now alive with moving shadows. A gun banged away from him. One of the shadows slumped out of sight.

Eddie stood, hesitating. None of the cops seemed to be coming his way. They were chasing Flynn. Eddie grinned uneasily. It had been a smart idea to split up.

He moved across the roof to a skylight. His best bet, he told himself, was to get into the building and hide up until it was safe to leave.

Suddenly, without warning, a cop came from behind a chimney stack. The two men gaped at each other, for a moment paralyzed with shock and surprise, then the cop acted quickly. He jerked up his gun, but Eddie was a shade faster. He slammed a punch at the cop’s head and brought his gun butt down on the cop’s gun wrist. The cop reeled back, dropping his gun. Eddie could have shot him, but he knew the sound of the shooting would bring the other cops.

He jumped forward, took a stiff blow to the side of his face from the cop and clubbed the cop with his gun butt.

The cop was tough and full of fight. He was trying to pull his nightstick. He and Eddie grappled. For a long moment, the two men strained together, then Eddie punched the cop off. As he came forward again, Eddie sidestepped him and hit him a crushing blow with the gun butt on the side of his head. The cop dropped like a pole-axed bull.

Panting, Eddie looked anxiously around. He could hear distant shooting. He ran over to the skylight and jerked it open. The bolt holding it in place was flimsy and it snapped at his first heave. He looked into the darkness, then swung his legs into space and dropped. He took out his flashlight and sent the beam around the room. It was full of boxes, trunks and unwanted furniture. Moving to the door, he opened it cautiously and peered out into a dark passage. He listened, then moving forward, he reached the head of the stairs. He turned off his flashlight and made his way down to the lower landing.

Police sirens were now making a deafening noise. He could hear the sound of running footsteps. There was a great deal of distant shouting. He reached the landing and peered over the banisters. Far below, he saw three cops starting up the stairs towards him.

Sweat was running down his face now. This was getting much too hot for comfort, he was thinking.

He whipped around and noiselessly entered the first room near him. The light was on in the room. A woman was leaning far out of the window, looking down at the commotion going on in the street below. He could only see her pyjamaed back and legs, and even under this pressure, he found himself thinking she had a nice shape.

He closed the door and tiptoed across to the woman. He stood close to her, waiting. She must have sensed she was no longer alone for she suddenly straightened and whirled around.

Eddie pounced on her; one hand clamped over her mouth, the other gripped her wrists.

“Make a sound and I’ll break your neck!” he said, holding her against him.

She stared up at him. She was only a kid: she couldn’t have been more than eighteen. Her blue eyes opened very wide. She looked so scared he thought she was going to faint.

“Take it easy,” he said. “I’m not going to hurt you if you don’t make a noise.”

She leaned heavily against him, closing her eyes. He could hear the sound of voices and tramping of feet coming along the passage.

He gave the girl a little shake.

“The cops are looking for me,” he said. “You’ll be all right if you don’t make a noise and do what I tell you. Come on, get into bed.”

He carried her over to the bed and slid her under the sheet.

“Don’t make a sound,” he warned as he took his hand from her mouth.

“I–I won’t,” she said breathlessly, staring up at him.

“Good girl.”

He turned off the light, plunging the room into darkness. He lay down on the floor by the side of the bed away from the door.

“If they come in here and find me,” he said, drawing his gun, “there’s going to be shooting and you could get damaged. So don’t start yelling.”

“I won’t,” the girl said, more confidence in her voice now.

He could hear doors opening and people talking excitedly. It sounded as if the cops were going from room to room.

“It’s up to you, baby,” he said from the floor, “to stall them if they come in here.” He slid his hand under the sheet and took her hand in his. He was surprised she squeezed his hand and he winked to himself in the darkness. “You don’t have to be scared of me.”

“I’m not scared,” she said.

They waited. He could hear her fast breathing and his own heart beats.

Suddenly heavy footfalls sounded outside. The door opened cautiously. Eddie lifted his gun. The girl gripped his hand hard. The beam of a powerful flashlight swung around the room. The girl gave a little scream. “Who is it?” she quavered. The light fell on her.

“Police,” a voice growled from behind the light. “You alone in here?”

“Yes... what is it?”

“A couple of gunmen loose,” the cop said. “Nothing for you to worry about. You should lock your door, miss.”

The door closed and the heavy footsteps receded.

Eddie drew in a deep breath. He let go of the girl’s hand, got to his feet and went over to the door and turned the key in the lock. He came back to the bed and sat on the floor.

“Thanks, baby,” he said. “You did a nice job. I’ll stay here until it’s quiet, then I’ll beat it. Relax, you don’t have to worry about me.”

The girl didn’t say anything. She stared curiously at him, just able to make him out in the dim light coming through the uncurtained window.

After some minutes, Eddie found the floor getting hard. He got up and sat on the end of the bed.

“I’m getting calluses,” he said, grinning. “You get off to sleep if you want to.”

“I don’t want to sleep,” the girl said. “You scared the life out of me, but I’m not so scared now.”

“That’s fine,” Eddie said. “I scared the life out of myself too.”

The sounds in the building had died down. Some of the police cars were moving off. He wondered if Flynn had got away. He guessed he had. Flynn knew how to take care of himself.

After a long pause, the girl said, “It was just like a movie. All that shooting... if you hadn’t held my hand I would have screamed.”

Eddie looked at her with growing interest.

“I’ll hold it again any time you like.”

She gave a nervous giggle.

“I don’t feel like screaming now.”

He got up and looked out of the window. The crowded street was now deserted. The last of the police cars were moving away.

“Well, I guess I can go. Looks like the show is over.” He came over to the bed and smiled at the girl. “Thanks a lot, baby. You were swell.”

She half sat up in the bed.

“Are you sure it’s safe to go?”

“Yeah. I can’t stay here all night.”

She settled down in the bed.

“Can’t you?” She spoke so softly he scarcely heard what she said, but he did hear. He suddenly grinned.

“Well, there’s no law against it, is there? Do you want me to stay?”

“Now you’re making me blush,” the girl said and hid her face. “What a question to ask a lady.”

Chapter eleven

Two days later, an advertisement offering kegs of white paint appeared in the Tribune.

Ma Grisson tossed the newspaper to Doc.

“The money’s ready,” she said. “Now we’ve got to collect it. It’ll be a soft job, Flynn and Woppy can handle it. You write to Blandish, Doc. Tell him to drive to the Maxwell filling station on Highway 71. He’ll know where it is. He’s to get to the Blue Hills golf course at one o’clock.” She looked over at Flynn and Woppy who were listening. “That’s where you boys will be waiting. He is to throw the suitcase out of the car window when he sees a light flashing. He’s not to stop. Warn him he’ll be watched from the moment he leaves his house. If he cooperates with the police or tries anything smart, the girl will suffer.” To Flynn and Woppy, she went on, “You won’t have any trouble. Blandish will be too scared something might happen to the girl. The road’s straight for miles. If you’re followed, drop the suitcase in the road so they can see it, and keep moving. They won’t come after you because of the girl.”

“Tomorrow night?” Flynn asked.

“That’s it.”

Flynn stuck a cigarette on his lower lip.

“Didn’t you say the girl was to be knocked off, Ma?” he said, staring at Ma. “What are we keeping her for?”

Ma stiffened. Her little eyes turned hard.

“She’ll go when we get the money.”

“Why wait?”

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” Ma snarled. “Shut your loose mouth!”

Flynn looked over at Doc who couldn’t meet his direct stare. Doc got up, muttered something under his breath and left the room.

“What’s happening to the girl, Ma?” Flynn asked. “I saw that old quack go into her room last night with a hypo.”

Ma’s face turned purple.

“Did you? If you’ve nothing better to do than to snoop around here, I’ll have to find you something to do.”

The tone of her voice alarmed Flynn.

“Okay, okay,” he said hastily. “I was only shooting the breeze.”

“Shoot it to someone who wants to listen,” Ma snarled. “Get out of here!”

Flynn hurriedly left the room. After a moment’s uneasy hesitation, Woppy followed him. The two men went upstairs and into Eddie’s room.

Eddie was in bed, reading the Sunday comics.

“Hi, you misbegotten freaks!” he said cheerfully. “What’s cooking?”

Flynn sat on the foot of the bed. Woppy straddled a chair, laying his fat arms along the back.

“We’re collecting the dough tomorrow night,” Woppy said. “The ad’s in the Tribune.”

“A million bucks!” Eddie said, lying back on the dirty pillow. “Think of it! At last, we’re in the money!”

“What are you going to do with your cut when you get it?” Woppy asked.

“I’m going to buy an island in the South Seas,” Eddie said, “and I’m going to stock it with beautiful girls in grass skirts.”

Woppy laughed, slapping his fat thigh.

“You and your women! Me, I’m going to start a restaurant. My spaghetti’s going to be world famous.”

Flynn, who had been listening, his vicious face disinterested, suddenly asked, “What’s going on in the girl’s room, Eddie?”

Eddie stopped laughing and stared at Flynn.

“What do you mean?”

“What I say. I’m in the room next to hers and I hear things. Doc goes in there. I’ve seen him with a hypo. Slim sneaks in there too. He was in there from eleven last night to four in the morning.”

Eddie threw the sheet off and got out of bed. “What do you mean — a hypo?”

“You heard me. Doc had a hypo in his hand when he went into her room. Do you think he’s drugging her?”

“Why should he?”

“I don’t know — I’m asking you. Why does Slim go in there?”

Eddie started to throw on his clothes.

“Slim! You don’t think that poisonous moron has ideas about the girl, do you?”

“I tell you I don’t know, but Ma’s goddamn touchy when I mention the girl.”

“I’m going to talk to her,” Eddie said. “I’m not standing for Slim relieving his repressions on that girl. There’s a limit, and goddamn it, that would be the limit!”

“You’d better not,” Woppy said in alarm. “Ma won’t like it. Better keep out of it.”

Eddie ignored him; to Flynn he said, “Watch the stairs. Give me a tip if it looks like Ma’s coming up.”

“Sure,” Flynn said and went out into the passage. He leaned over the banister.

Eddie ran a comb through his hair, put on a tie, then went quickly down the passage to Miss Blandish’s room. The key was in the lock. He turned it and entered the room.

Miss Blandish lay flat on her back on the bed, covered by a grimy sheet. She was staring up at the ceiling.

Eddie closed the door and went over to her.

“Hello, baby,” he said. “How are you getting on?”

Miss Blandish didn’t seem to know he was in the room. She continued to stare up at the ceiling.

Eddie put his hand on her shoulder and shook her gently.

“Wake up, baby,” he said. “What’s going on?”

Slowly, she turned her head and stared at him. Her eyes were blank: the pupils enormously enlarged.

“Go away,” she said, her words blurred.

He sat on the bed.

“You know me — I’m Eddie,” he said. “Wake up! What’s going on?”

She closed her eyes. For several minutes he watched her, then suddenly she began to speak. Her low, lifeless voice was like a medium in a trance talking.

“I wish I was dead,” she said. “They say nothing matters once you are dead.” There was another long pause, while Eddie frowned down at her, then she went on. “Dreams... nothing but horrible dreams. There’s a man who comes here, who seems very real, but he doesn’t really exist. He is tall and thin and he smells of dirt. He stands over me and talks. I don’t understand what he is saying.” She moved under the sheet as if its weight was unbearable to her. There was again a long pause of silence, then she went on, “I pretend to be dead. I want to scream when he comes in, but if I did, he would know I was alive. He stands for hours by me, mumbling.” Then suddenly she screamed out, “Why doesn’t he do something to me?”

Eddie started back, sweat on his face. The awful tone of her scream frightened him. He looked towards the door, wondering if Ma had heard her.

Miss Blandish relaxed again. She was muttering now, moving her body uneasily, her hands twisting the sheet.

“I wish he would do something to me,” she said. “Anything is better than having him standing hour after hour at my side, talking. I wish he would do something to me...”

Flynn poked his head around the door.

“You’d better get out of here. What’s she yelling about?”

Eddie shoved him out of the room and shut and locked the door. He wiped his sweating face with the back of his hand.

“What’s going on in there?” Flynn demanded.

“Something pretty bad,” Eddie said. “She’d be better off dead.”

“Nobody’s better off dead,” Flynn said sharply. “What do you mean?”

Eddie went back to his room. Flynn trailed along behind him.

As Eddie entered, Woppy looked up at him, startled by his bleak expression.

“Get out of here!” Eddie snarled and went over to his bed and lay down on it.

Woppy went quickly out of the room. He looked blankly at Flynn who shrugged his shoulders.

Eddie shut his eyes. For the first time in his life he felt dirty and ashamed of himself.

Chapter twelve

Our reporter learns the man shot to death at the Palace Hotel has been identified as Alvin Heinie, the freelance society gossip writer. It was Heinie who informed the police that the Riley mob had questioned him concerning the movements of John Blandish’s daughter, the kidnapped heiress.

It is understood that the ransom demand of a million dollars is being paid today. Mr. Blandish, fearing for his daughter’s safety has refused to cooperate with the authorities. The Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are standing by. They will go into immediate action when it is known the kidnapped girl is safe.

The police have reason to believe that Alvin Heinie was murdered by the Riley gang as an act of revenge...

Ma Grisson read the story to the gang who listened, grinning.

“Nice work,” Flynn said. “Riley’s getting blamed for everything. I bet if the Chief of Police fell downstairs, he would say Riley had pushed him.” Eddie was looking thoughtful.

“Maybe it’s okay, but I’ve been asking myself who did shoot Heinie. It wasn’t Riley and it wasn’t us. This Borg girl bothers me. I think she knocked Heinie off. Why? We do know she’s connected in some way with Riley. I think we should do something about her.”

“You’re right,” Ma said. “Before we collect the money, we must find out where she fits in. You go into town, Eddie and ask around. You might get a lead on her.”

“Okay,” Eddie said getting to his feet. “You coming with me, Slim?”

Slim was sitting in a corner away from the rest of the mob. He was reading the comics. He didn’t even look up when Eddie spoke to him.

“You go in alone,” Ma said. “Leave your rod here.” Eddie went out into the hall. Ma followed him. “You go and talk to Pete Cosmos,” Ma said. “He knows all the girls in town. Gimme your gun.”

As Eddie handed the.45 over, he said, “Can’t you tell Slim to leave the girl alone, Ma?” Ma stiffened.

“Mind your own business, Eddie,” she said. “You’re a good boy. Don’t start poking your nose into something that doesn’t concern you.”

“Come on, Ma,” Eddie said coaxingly. “That girl’s too nice to have Slim messing her around. Give her a break, can’t you?”

Ma’s eyes suddenly snapped with rage. Her face turned purple.

“Slim wants her,” she said, lowering her voice and glaring at Eddie. “He’s going to have her. You keep out of it! That goes for the rest of you too!”

Eddie showed his disgust.

“To hell with a punk who can only get a girl by filling her with drugs,” he said.

Ma struck him across the mouth with the back of her hand. It was a heavy blow and sent him back on his heels. They stared at each other, then Eddie forced a grin.

“Okay, Ma,” he said. “I was talking out of turn. Forget it”

He left her glaring after him, her face dark with rage.

As he drove downtown, he told himself, he would have to be careful. Ma was as dangerous as Slim. She wouldn’t hesitate to shoot him in the back if she thought he was going to cause trouble in the gang about the Blandish girl. He shrugged his shoulders. He felt sorry for the girl, but he wasn’t going to risk his life for her.

He arrived at the Cosmos Club a little after two p.m. The cleaners were still clearing up after the night before. The girls were rehearsing under the direction of a little man, dressed in a blazer and white trousers. The pianist was pounding out jazz, a cigarette dangling from his lips. The girls, wearing shorts, all smiled at Eddie. He was well known at the club and popular. He paused long enough to pat a few sleek behinds and crack a joke before going on to the office.

Pete Cosmos was sitting at his desk, reading the newspaper. He seemed surprised when Eddie walked in. Pete was a fat ball of a man with a pencil-line moustache and a liking for violent, hand-painted ties. The tie he had on made Eddie blink.

They shook hands.

“Hi, Pete,” Eddie said, sitting on the corner of the desk. “What’s cooking?”

Pete tossed the newspaper on the floor. He shook his head, scowling.

“That’s the trouble,” he said, offering Eddie a cigar. “Nothing’s cooking. Since all this shooting, business has gone to hell. We only had ten people in last night: four of them were my wife’s friends and didn’t pay.”

“Yeah,” Eddie said sympathetically. “I get the same story wherever I go. This punk Riley really seems to have started something.”

Pete lit his cigar.

“I can’t understand it, Eddie. I would never have believed Riley had the nerve to snatch that dame. He was strictly small time. He must have gone nuts. Now if it had been Ma who had pulled the job...”

“She didn’t,” Eddie said. “We’ve been out of town all week.”

“Sure, sure,” Pete said quickly catching the sudden hard note in Eddie’s voice. “I haven’t seen you or the boys for weeks. All the same, if I had snatched the girl, I’d be Very, very careful. As soon as the ransom’s paid and the girl returned, the heat’s going to be turned on that’ll paralyze this town. You mark my words.”

“It’s Riley’s funeral,” Eddie said.

“I’d like to know where he’s hiding,” Pete said.

“Who’s Anna Borg?” Eddie asked casually, studying the glowing tip of his cigar.

“What’s she to you?” Pete asked sharply.

“I want to know who she is,” Eddie said. “Do you know her?”

“Sure.”

“Who is she? What does she do for a living?”

“She totes the gun,” Pete said.

Eddie was surprised.

“Is that a fact? Who does she carry the gun for?”

Pete smiled.

“Who do you think? Riley.”

Eddie whistled.

“Well, well! Certainly news to me.”

“I’ll tell you something else,” Pete said. “Anna’s been left high and dry and the boys are asking why. She and Riley were like that.” He held up two dirty fingers close together. “Then Riley pulls the biggest snatch of the century and Anna’s left out in the cold. It doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe Riley got tired of her,” Eddie said.

“The boys say not. Anna swears Riley wouldn’t have ditched her. She thinks something’s happened to him.”

Eddie’s face became expressionless.

“You know women,” he said with a sneer. “They’d say anything to save their face. You can bet Riley’s ditched her now he’s heading for the big money. She just won’t admit it.”

Pete shrugged.

“Could be. Anyway, it’s not my business.”

“Is she still living at the Palace Hotel?”

Pete looked curiously at him.

“Why the interest in Anna?”

“Ma wants to know.”

Pete looked surprised.

“Yeah, Anna’s still at the Palace. She has a couple of dicks parked with her. The Feds think Riley came to see her, ran into Heinie who was staying there and couldn’t resist knocking Heinie off for ratting on him. They think Riley might come back to see Anna so they’re waiting for him.”

Eddie rubbed his jaw, his mind busy. Finally, he said, “I want to talk to this baby, Pete. Here’s what you do: telephone her right now and tell her to come here. I’ll talk to her here and the Feds won’t know we’ve met.”

“What do you want to talk to her about?” Pete asked suspiciously. “I’m not getting Anna in trouble. She’s okay with me.”

“No trouble, Pete. Do what I say. Ma’s orders.”

Pete was scared of Ma. He called Anna’s apartment.

“That you, Anna?” he asked while Eddie watched him. “This is Pete. Something’s come up important. I want you over here right away. No, I don’t say it’s a job, but it might lead to one. You’ll come? Okay, I’m waiting for you,” and he hung up.

“Okay?” Eddie asked.

“She’s coming. She’ll be here in half an hour.”

“Thanks, Pete. I’ll tell Ma. She won’t forget you.”

“I’d rather she did forget me,” Pete said uneasily. “And listen, Eddie, no rough stuff with Anna.”

“Relax. I just want a brotherly talk with her.” Eddie grinned. “Suppose you take a walk and leave me here. Come back in an hour.”

Pete shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, it’s time I had lunch. I guess I’d better have it.”

“And Pete,” Eddie said. “You got a gun?”

“What do you want a gun for?” Pete asked startled.

“Come on, come on! Don’t talk so much. Have you got a gun?”

“In the top left hand drawer,” Pete said.

“Okay. You take off.”

When Pete had gone, Eddie went around and sat behind the desk. He opened the drawer and took out a .38 which he laid on the desk. He didn’t intend to take any chances with a girl who carried a gun for Riley. Gun-girls had lots of nerve, and besides, he was pretty sure Anna had knocked Heinie off.

After a wait of thirty minutes, he heard the click of high heels coming down the passage. He put his hand on the gun.

The door swung open and Anna walked in. She was wearing a pale green summer dress and a big straw hat. Eddie thought she looked terrific.

She was halfway across the room before she saw him. She had swung the door to as she had entered. She stopped short, the color leaving her face. Her eyes went to the gun on the desk.

“Hello, baby,” Eddie said. “Come on in. Keep your pants on. This is a friendly meeting, but let’s have your handbag. Pass it over.”

She hesitated, then tossed her handbag on the desk. Eddie scooped it into a drawer. He put the gun in the drawer beside the bag.

“I don’t have to introduce myself, do I?” he said.

She had recovered from the shock of seeing him. The color came back to her face. She moved to a chair and sat down. She crossed her legs, showing him her knees before adjusting her skirt.

“I know who you are,” she said.

He took out a pack of cigarettes, got up and offered her a cigarette. She took it and he lit it. He sat on the edge of the desk close to her.

“What was the idea handing me your address and then yelling for the cops, baby?” he asked. “You nearly had me in trouble.”

She let smoke drift down her nostrils. She didn’t say anything.

“Don’t act sullen, baby. You and me could get along fine together,” he said.

“Could we?” Her blue eyes were cold. “Where’s Frankie?”

“What makes you think I know where Frankie is?”

“You and Flynn met Frankie the night he disappeared. You met him at the filling station outside La Cygne. The boy there is a friend of mine. He called me. He said you and Flynn had guns. The next day, the boy was found shot through the head. Where’s Frankie?”

Eddie was a little startled by this information. He saw now Ma had been smart to have thought of getting rid of the boy.

“I don’t know, baby,” he said. “I guess he’s holed up some place. You should know more about him than I do.” Anna continued to stare coldly at him. “What did you want to pull a gun on Frankie for?” she asked.

“Bailey was jumpy,” Eddie said. “I didn’t pull a gun, it was Flynn. There was nothing to it. He had the Blandish girl with him. I was a dope not to recognize her. If I had recognized her, I’d’ve taken her from Frankie, but I didn’t. I’ve been kicking myself ever since. He told me she was a new girlfriend and I fell for it. I let him drive away.”

Two spots of red showed on Anna’s cheeks and her eyes flashed angrily.

“I don’t believe Frankie would walk out on me,” she said. “I think something’s happened to him and you know what it is.”

“You’re wrong, baby,” Eddie said. “I’m just as much in the dark as you are, but I’ve got a few ideas.”

“What ideas?”

“Forget it,” he said, shaking his head. “Why rake over dirt? I know what the boys are saying, but they could be wrong.”

“What are the boys saying?” Anna demanded, her eyes glittering.

“They say Riley’s walked out on you. He’s fallen for this Blandish girl.”

Anna jumped to her feet.

“That’s a lie! Frankie loves me! I know it’s a lie.”

“Sure, sure,” Eddie said. “It could be, but where is he? Why hasn’t he contacted you? When he lays his hands on the ransom, is he going to give you any of it? Doesn’t look like it, does it?”

She began to move around the office. He could see he had undermined her confidence in Riley.

“That Blandish girl’s a beauty,” he went on. “You know it could be that Riley has ideas about her. You’d only be in the way if you were with him. I’m not so sure the boys are wrong about you and Riley. I guess he’s taken you for a ride.”

She confronted him.

“Shut up!” she shrilled. “Frankie wouldn’t do a thing like that to me!”

“They all say that,” Eddie said and moved over to look out of the window. He could see he had said enough. After a moment or so, she came over and stood by him.

“What am I going to do?” she said. “I haven’t a dime.”

“I’ll lend you some money,” Eddie said. “I like you, baby. How much do you want?”

“I wouldn’t take money from you!”

“Okay, suit yourself. Any time you’re short or in trouble, let me know. Pete’ll tell you how to contact me. I’ve got to get moving. Forget Frankie. You’re wasting your time thinking you’ll hear from him. When he gets the ransom he’ll have all the girls after him. So long, baby.”

He went out of the office leaving Anna staring out of the window, tears scalding her eyes.

Chapter thirteen

Flynn looked at his watch.

“Another five minutes,” he said to Woppy who was nursing a Thompson machine gun. “Sweet Christ! I’ll be goddamn glad when this caper’s over.”

“Yeah,” Woppy said. “Still Ma says it’s a cinch and she always knows what she’s talking about”

“Then what the hell are you sweating for?” Flynn demanded.

The two men were sitting in the Buick which was drawn up by the side of the road in the shadows of a clump of shrubs. They had a clear view of the road ahead.

“You aren’t so calm either,” Woppy said, taking out a dirty handkerchief and mopping his face. “What’s the time now?”

“Oh, shut up!” Flynn snarled. He was wishing Eddie had come with him. Woppy got on his nerves. With Eddie, he always felt if they got in a jam, they would get out of it, but Woppy was too excitable. He jumped off the deep end the moment anything started.

“I can hear a car,” Woppy said.

In the distance, headlights appeared above the crest of the road.

“Here he comes!” Flynn said. He scrambled out of the car, pulling a powerful flashlight from his pocket.

The approaching car was traveling fast. When it was about three hundred yards from Flynn, he started flashing the light.

Woppy watched, his hands clutching the machine gun, his heart hammering. Suppose the car was full of Feds, he thought. Those boys never took chances. They would storm past, spraying lead.

The approaching car slowed down. Flynn could see there was only the driver in the car. Blandish was obeying orders all right, he thought. The car swished past him. From the window a bulky object fell and thumped onto the road. The car went on, disappearing into the darkness.

Flynn blew out his cheeks. He ran to the white suitcase and picked it up.

Woppy put down the machine gun and started the car. Flynn scrambled in. He put the suitcase on the floor between his feet.

“Get going!” he said.

Woppy stepped on the gas pedal and the car surged forward. Flynn twisted around and stared through the rear window. They drove fast for three or four miles. No cars followed them.

“It’s okay,” Flynn said. “Let’s get home.”

When they walked into the sitting room, Ma, Slim, Eddie and Doc were all waiting. Flynn dumped the suitcase on the table.

“No trouble, Ma. It went like you said.”

Ma got slowly to her feet and walked over to the table. She snapped back the twin locks of the suitcase. The others crowded around her. Even Slim seemed mildly excited.

She lifted the lid. They all stood staring at the neat packs of bills. They had never seen so much money in their lives.

“Man! Doesn’t that look good!” Eddie said. “Man oh man!”

Slim hung over the money breathing heavily, his mouth hanging open.

“Well, there it is!” Ma said, trying to speak calmly. “A million dollars! At last!”

“Let’s split it up, Ma,” Eddie said. “I’m itching to spend some of my share. Come on! What’s the split going to be?”

“Yeah,” Woppy said, so excited he couldn’t keep still. “What am I going to get, Ma?”

Ma closed the lid of the suitcase. She looked at each man in turn, then she moved heavily to her armchair and sank into it.

The gang watched her, puzzled.

“What’s biting you?” Eddie asked impatiently. “Let’s have the money.”

“Every one of those bills in that case has a number,” Ma said. “You can bet your life the Feds have a list of the numbers. This money is so goddamn hot, it’s on fire.”

“What are you saying?” Eddie demanded, startled. “Can’t we use the stuff?”

“Sure you can if you want a free ride to the gas chamber,” Ma said. “I’m telling you it’s suicide to spend it.”

“Then what the hell did we get it for?” Flynn snarled.

Ma crackled.

“Okay, boys, relax. I’ve taken care of that angle. I’m trading this hot money to Schulberg. He’s willing to sit on it for years, but in return we only get half a million. Still half a million of money you can use is better than a million you can’t use.”

Slim suddenly spat in the fireplace.

“Talk!” he said in disgust. “That’s all you do. Talk!” He went over to the couch and lay down on it. He started to read the comics.

“That’s not so hot, Ma,” Eddie said. “I was expecting a split of two hundred grand.”

Ma laughed.

“I dare say you were.”

“What’s the split then?” Woppy asked looking anxious.

“Each of you is getting three hundred dollars,” Ma said, “and not a dollar more.”

“You kidding? Three hundred bucks?” Eddie said, his face turning red. “What is this?”

“That’s your spending money,” Ma said. “Each of you is entitled to one hundred thousand dollars, but you’re not getting it. I know you boys. If you got your hands on money that size, you’d make a splash that would put the Feds onto you in a week. You couldn’t resist throwing your money around. That’s the way most hoods get caught. They just can’t resist flashing their bankroll and the Feds know it.” She pointed her finger at Eddie. “What story would you tell the Feds if they asked you where you got all your sudden money from? Go on, tell me.”

Eddie started to say something, then stopped. He was quick to see Ma was talking sense.

“You’re right, Ma. This is a hell of a thing, isn’t it? I thought I was going to be rich.”

“Now I’ll tell you what’s going to happen to the money,” Ma said. “We’re going into business. For years now I’ve been wanting to go into business. You boys are going to handle it for me. I’m going to buy the Paradise Club. It’s on the market. We’ll redecorate it, get girls, a good band and we’ll make money. With half a million bucks, we’ll be able to turn the joint into something high class. I’m sick of running a small time gang. We’re moving into big time. From now on, we’re going to be in business. How do you like it?”

The four men relaxed. Slim was the only one who wasn’t listening. He continued to read the comics.

Doc said, “You certainly got a brain in that head of yours, Ma. I’m for it.”

“Me too,” Eddie said. “It’s a swell idea.”

“Suits me,” Flynn said.

“You going to have a restaurant, in the club, Ma?” Woppy asked. “Could I cook?”

Ma grinned.

“You can cook, Woppy. We each will own a fifth of the club’s profits. You’ll all be in the money and you’ll have a reason for being in the money.”

“Wait a minute,” Eddie said. “Suppose the Feds want to know how you financed the deal. What then?”

“That’s taken care of. Schulberg will say he lent me the money. That’s part of the deal.”

“You’ve certainly thought of everything,” Eddie said. “When do we start, Ma?”

“Right away,” Ma said. “The sooner the better. I’ll buy the club tomorrow.”

Flynn said, “And now there’s the girl to be got rid of. Have you talked to Doc about her yet? And where are we going to bury her?”

The genial atmosphere exploded into pieces. Ma stiffened. She went white and then red. Doc’s beaming smile slipped off his face. He looked as if he was going to faint. Slim dropped the newspaper and half sat up, his yellow eyes gleaming.

“Bury her?” Slim said. “What do you mean? Talk to Doc about what?” He swung his feet to the ground.

“Nothing,” Ma said quickly. She looked as if she could kill Flynn.

Eddie decided this was the opportunity for a showdown.

“Just what is going to happen to the girl, Ma?” he asked, edging away from Slim who had got to his feet.

Ma hesitated, but she realized this was no time to back down. Without looking at Slim, she said, “She’s got to go. She knows too much. When she’s asleep...”

“Ma!”

Slim’s voice, slightly high pitched, made them all look at him. He was glaring at his mother, his yellow eyes smouldering.

“What is it?” the old woman asked. She felt a chill of fear around her heart.

“She belongs to me,” Slim said, speaking slowly and distinctly. “No one touches her unless they want to reckon with me first. She belongs to me and I’m keeping her.”

“Look, Slim, don’t be foolish,” Ma said. She spoke with difficulty. Her mouth felt dry. “We can’t keep her. It’s too dangerous. She’s got to go.”

Slim suddenly kicked a chair out of his way. His knife jumped into his hand. Woppy and Doc hurriedly backed away from Ma, leaving her to face Slim alone. She stiffened as Slim began slowly to move towards her.

“Then you’ll reckon with me,” he said viciously. “Do you want me to cut your throat, you old cow? If you touch her — if anyone touches her — I’ll cut you to pieces!”

Eddie slid his gun into his hand. Ma saw the move.

“Put that gun up!” she said hoarsely. She was terrified Eddie was going to shoot her son.

Slim turned on Eddie who backed away.

“You hear me?” Slim screamed. “She’s mine! I’m keeping her! No one’s touching her!”

He stared around at each of them in turn, then he went out, slamming the door behind him.

There was a long pause. Ma was pale. She went slowly to her chair and sat down. She looked suddenly old.

Eddie and Flynn exchanged glances. Eddie shrugged and made for the door. Flynn followed him out of the room.

Woppy, sweating, sat on the couch and pretended to look at the comics. Doc poured himself a stiff drink. The silence in the room was painful.

Slim stood at the head of the stairs, listening. He grinned to himself. At last he had shown his power. He had scared them all. From now on, he was going to have his rightful place in the gang. Ma was going to take second place. He looked down the passage at Miss Blandish’s room. It was time he stopped sitting by her night after night. He must show her he wasn’t only master of his mother, but master of her too.

He started down the passage, his yellow eyes gleaming. He took the key out of the lock after unlocking the door. He went into the room and locked the door.

Miss Blandish watched him come across the room. She saw his new confidence and she guessed what it was to mean to her.

Shuddering, she shut her eyes.