Ticky Edris came out of the kitchenette, carrying a jug of coffee which he put on the table. He had slept badly and was edgy. During the night he had lain in the dark and brooded about his now uncertain future. He hated being forced to leave his apartment and all because Algir was an irresponsible, unreliable sonofabitch. He glanced at Algir, the hate in his eyes scarcely concealed, as he poured two cups of coffee.
Algir sat in the armchair, smoking. He also had slept badly, and there were dark smudges under his eyes. He kept looking towards the clock, waiting impatiently for the 07.34 hours news broadcast.
‘Hasn’t the paper come yet?’ he demanded as he reached for his cup of coffee.
‘No!’ Edris went over to the cocktail cabinet and added a liberal shot of brandy to his coffee.
‘I’ll have some of that,’ Algir said.
Edris gave him the bottle and as Algir poured the brandy into his cup, he again looked at the clock. It was 07.27 hours. Had the clock stopped? He checked his wristwatch and grunted with impatience.
‘Oh, relax!’ Edris said irritably. ‘I tell you we’re in the clear! Hamilton said the cops haven’t a clue. He doesn’t think they’ll ever find out who she is.’
‘That bum! What does he know about it?’ Algir sipped his coffee, then reaching forward, he snapped on the radio.
The two men listened impatiently to the tag end of a swing number and then with even more impatience to the political news. Then finally, they stiffened to attention as the announcer continued, ‘There have been new developments in the Coral Cove murder case. The police want to interview Phillip Algir, alias Harry Chambers, last known address The Regent Hotel, Paradise City, who they believe can help them in their inquiries. Algir’s description is as follows: height six foot; weight 190 pounds; broad shoulders, blond, small moustache, blue eyes and a deep cleft in his chin. Last seen, he was wearing a fawn — coloured suit and a chocolate coloured straw hat with a red band. He was driving a convertible Roadmaster Buick, two toned red and blue, licence number NY 4599. If anyone has information concerning this man’s whereabouts, please telephone Police headquarters: Paradise 0010 immediately.’
The two men sat stunned for some thirty seconds while dance music filled the yawning silence between them. Then Algir suddenly came to life. With a muttered curse, he flung his coffee cup at Edris. The cup exploded in fragments against Edris’ chest, splashing hot coffee in his face.
‘You slob!’ Algir yelled, jumping to his feet. ‘I’ll kill you for this! God damn you! I’ll tear your stinking heart out!’
Edris slid off the settee as Algir rushed at him. Quick as a lizard he avoided Algir’s groping hands and darted into his bedroom, slamming and locking the door.
Cursing, Algir drove his shoulder against the door panel. The door quivered, but held. He stood back, panting, glaring at the door, his hands clenching and unclenching. Then the full impact of the broadcast hit him and he nearly threw up. He sat down, swallowing bile, his body cold, icy sweat beading his face, his teeth chattering.
In his bedroom, also scared witless, sure that Algir would murder him if he could get at him, Edris rushed to his chest of drawers, jerked open the lower drawer and searched frantically for the .25 automatic pistol he kept there. He couldn’t find it. Flinging everything out of the drawer, he satisfied himself the gun wasn’t there. Algir must have taken it, he thought. No one else could have taken it but Algir. His legs shaking, he abruptly sat on the bed, staring at the door like a terrified bird facing a snake. It wasn’t until Algir had drunk half the bottle of brandy and some twenty minutes had elapsed that he began to recover his nerve.
They hadn’t got him yet, he told himself. He was in a jam, but he still had a chance if he used his head. The cops would be watching the airport and the railroad station. They would be looking out for his car on the road. The Havana flight was down the drain. Even if they weren’t watching the road, he dare not use the Buick which at this moment was safely out of sight in Edris’ lock-up garage.
Well, that damned dwarf had got him into this and now he would have to get him out of it! He got to his feet and went over to the bedroom door.
‘All right, Ticky,’ he said. ‘Come on out. I won’t touch you. We’ve got to talk this one over. Come on out!’
‘I’m staying here,’ Edris said. He was changing into a dry shirt. ‘I don’t trust you.’
‘Don’t be a fool. We’re wasting time. We’re both in this. We’ve got to talk about it.’
Edris hesitated. Algir’s voice was no longer angry. He knew Algir’s temper went as quickly as it came but he wished he had his gun. He slid into another suit, then as Algir again shouted to him to come out, he unlocked the door and cautiously opened it.
Algir was standing in the middle of the room. In his right hand, he held Edris’ gun, pointing at the floor.
Edris paused. His face twitched as he stared at the gun.
‘All right, all right, you yellow freak,’ Algir snarled. ‘I’m not going to do anything to you.’
‘Gimme that gun! It’s mine!’ Edris said, moving into the sitting room.
‘You’re safer without it,’ Algir said, dropping the gun into his pocket. ‘Sit down! We’ve got to talk.’
Edris sat down, his mind busy. How had the cops got onto Algir? he asked himself. He knew if they caught him, he would talk. Algir would have no qualms about implicating him; Edris was sure of that. There was only one thing to do. He would have to catch Algir off guard and kill him before the cops did catch him.
Algir was saying, ‘We’re both in this, Ticky. It doesn’t look as if the cops are on to you or they would have been here by now. It doesn’t look as if they are on to Ira yet. They couldn’t suppress the news if they knew she wasn’t Norena. Now, listen, we stand a small chance of beating this rap. We might just make it in your Mini. If we can get as far as Miami, I know a guy who will keep us under the wraps until the heat cools. This guy has connections and he can get us onto a boat for Cuba, but it’ll cost. He’s expensive. Before we leave here, we’ve got to scrape up every dollar we can lay our hands on. So we’ve just got to make a try at the Garland loot.’
Edris stared at him. He knew what Algir was saying about getting as much money as they could together made sense, but not from the bank! That was crazy!
‘You can’t go to the bank, you hunk head,’ he snarled. ‘They’ll spot you.’
‘Who says I’m going to the bank? Until it’s time to move, I’m staying right here,’ Algir said. He pointed to the telephone. ‘Call Ira! Tell her to meet you at the café opposite the bank in half an hour. You said yesterday, if I quit, she would bring the money out. Well, that’s just what she’s going to do! I don’t give a damn how you persuade her, but persuade her! Tell her as soon as the vaults are open for her to get the money, then she must tell the guards she is feeling ill and she must leave the bank. You’ll be waiting at the cafe. Go on, telephone her how!’
Edris hesitated.
Cursing, Algir pulled the gun from his pocket and pointed it at Edris.
‘If you don’t do it, I’ll kill you! Do it, damn you!’
Edris walked slowly over to the telephone. He dialled a number after first checking in the book. A woman’s voice answered: ‘This is Mr. Devon’s residence.’
‘I want to speak to Miss Devon,’ Edris said.
The woman told him to hold on. There was a short delay, then Ira came to the telephone.
‘This is Ticky,’ Edris said. ‘I want you to meet me at the cafe opposite the bank in half an hour.’
‘Why?’ Ira demanded, her voice a little shrill.
‘Never mind why, do what I say or you’ll be sorry!’ and Edris hung up.
Algir got to his feet. He still kept Edris covered.
‘I want your share of the Wanassee take, Ticky. Twenty-five thousand. Hurry it up! I’ll keep it as security. You’re not walking out on me with Garland’s money. Hand it over!’
Edris saw the threat in Algir’s eyes and he didn’t argue. He went to a drawer in his desk, pulled it right out, groped at the back and brought out a thick sealed envelope. He threw it at Algir.
Algir tore open the envelope, satisfied himself it contained Edris’ share of Wanassee’s money, then put it in his pocket.
‘You’ll get it all back, Ticky. Now beat it! Time’s running out.’
With murder in his heart, his face convulsed with rage, Edris bounced out of the apartment, slamming the door after him.
Joe Beigler sat at his desk, his face a little drawn, his eyes a little sunken. He had been at his desk now for eight nonstop hours coping with reports, telephone calls and radio messages that kept coming in concerning Algir and the Coral Cove murder.
Every available detective was out checking on the stream of information that Beigler kept passing on. The Detectives’ room was deserted except for Beigler who wished someone had the time to bring him some coffee.
The telephone bell rang for the twelfth time in the hour.
Grunting, he scooped up the receiver.
‘That you, Joe? This is Aldwick, security guard, Florida Safe Deposit Bank.’
‘Hello, Jim, what do you want?’
‘This guy, Algir. We know him here. He’s rented a safe and he comes in and out every day.’
‘Is that right?’ Beigler came to attention. ‘What’s he doing renting a safe with you?’
‘Big gambling man, that’s his story. Registered in the name of Lowson Forester, but the description matches and I recognize him from the picture in the papers. It’s Algir all right.’
‘Look, Jim, I’ll send someone down as soon as I have a man to spare. Maybe he has something in his safe we should look at.’
‘You’re unlucky. We can’t open the safe without his key.’
‘You can bust it open, can’t you?’
‘That’s for Mr. Devon to say.’
‘Okay, as soon as I have a man I’ll send him down, but if Algir shows up before then, will you handle him?’
‘You bet. Nothing I’d like better. So long, Joe, don’t over work,’ and Aldwick hung up.
Beigler scribbled a note on a scrap of paper and spiked it. The telephone bell rang again and shaking his head, he lifted the receiver.
Ira walked into the cafe and paused to accustom her eyes to the dim light after the glare of the early morning sun. She saw Edris waving to her from the far end of the bar and reluctantly, she walked down the aisle and joined him.
She knew something was badly wrong by his tense expression and by the whiteness of his face, and she felt a chill creep up her spine. Neither of them said anything until the barman had taken her order for coffee.
She had been lucky, she told herself that Mel hadn’t come down for breakfast before she left. He would have been certain to have questioned her for leaving so early.
She had told Mrs. Sterling she had an early date and couldn’t wait for breakfast. Now she was here, she couldn’t imagine what Edris wanted, and as she stared at him, seeing the way his eyes kept shifting and the sweat beads on his narrow forehead, she felt frightened.
Edris didn’t waste any time.
‘Seen the papers this morning?’ he demanded abruptly.
She shook her head.
‘Phil’s in trouble. The cops are looking for him. We haven’t much time, baby, so listen carefully. You’re getting the Garland money.’
He slid the key Algir had cut across the table to her.
‘Oh, no!’ Ira said, shrinking away from the key.
‘Shut up! Phil can’t get it. He has to keep under the wraps so you’re going to get it.’
‘I can’t! It’s too dangerous!’
Edris snarled at her. He looked like a vicious, cornered animal.
‘Save your breath!’ He pulled from his hip pocket a copy of the Paradise City Sun he had brought with him. ‘Take a look at this.’
She stared at the photograph of Algir on the front page of the paper and at the banner headlines. With growing horror, she read that Algir was wanted for questioning by the police in connection with the murder of the unknown girl found at Coral Cove.
Murder! Algir!
She stared stupidly at Edris.
‘I don’t understand. Did he...?’
‘It’s time you did understand,’ Edris said, his voice a hissing whisper. ‘That was crap I told you that Norena was drowned. She was in the way so Phil took her from the school before he collected you and he wrung her neck. The stupid slob didn’t bury her deep enough so they’ve found what’s left of her!’
Ira thought she was going to faint. She gripped the edge of the table with both hands, steadying herself, feeling the blood drain out of her face.
‘So they’re on to him and they’re hunting for him,’ Edris went on, watching her. ‘He needs money for a quick getaway. You’re going to get it for him or we’ll all be in the cart. Understand? If they catch him, he’ll sing his head off, and you and me will be down a very deep hole.’
‘I won’t do it!’ Ira said huskily. ‘It’s nothing to do with me. I didn’t know.’
‘Oh, shut up! You’ll do it!’ Edris said viciously. ‘Do you imagine the cops will ever believe you didn’t know that Algir knocked her off so you could take her place? This is a murder rap, baby, and you’ll be nailed as an accessory. You’ll draw life. Phil and I will go to the gas box, but you’ll spend the rest of your days in another kind of box with bars. Personally I prefer gas.’
Ira shivered.
‘Now use your head. You get the money for us and you’ll be in the clear,’ Edris said. ‘They can never hope to find out who the dead girl really is so long as they don’t catch Phil. I’m leaving, but you can stay. You’re the one in the gravy. You can still keep your home and still keep in the clear so long as Phil and me get the money. Can’t you see that? This is your big chance, but you’ve got to pay for it.’ He looked at his watch. The time was 08.50 hours. ‘Now, come on, doll, tell me you’re going to do it!’
Ira sat for a long moment, motionless. If she could only get rid of these two animals, she told herself, she would do anything!
Finally, she nodded.
‘I’ll try,’ she said, not looking at him.
‘You’ll do better than that. Listen carefully: as soon as the vault is open, get the money. Stick it in your pants. Tell whoever it is you have to tell you’re feeling sick. You’ve eaten something bad or something. Ask to go home. I’ll be waiting right here. Give me the money and go home and you’ll be in the clear. Phil and I will be out of Paradise City by eleven. Do you dig all that?’
She was getting over the shock now and her panic was subsiding. This was an all or nothing chance, she told herself. Once she was rid of these two, she might even be able to hold onto this new way of life she loved so much.
‘I’ll do it,’ she said breathlessly. ‘I’ll get you the money,’ and she stood up.
Edris stared at her.
‘I’ll be waiting, baby. Remember, you slip up and we’re all done for, remember that.’
She walked unsteadily out of the cafe and across the street to the bank. She was sick with fear. She was only just beginning to accept the fact that Algir had actually murdered Mel’s daughter. She was sure if Mel ever found out, he wouldn’t believe she had had no part in the murder.
She had to get the money to get rid of these two. If they were caught! She shivered at the thought of trying to explain and convince Mel and the police she hadn’t known that Algir had murdered Norena. She knew Edris was right, they would never believe her.
The next hour passed agonizingly slowly. She sat at her desk in the accounts department aimlessly turning sheets of paper, too fearful to know what she was doing. One of the girl clerks, passing, stopped to ask her if she was all right.
‘You look terrible, Norena. Don’t you think you should go home?’
‘I’m all right,’ Ira said curtly. ‘Don’t fuss.’
The girl looked at her again, then shrugging, she went away.
As the hands of the wall clock slowly moved to 09.45 hours, Ira got up and walked across the main hall towards the vault. Aldwick wasn’t there and this surprised her. The other guard was unlocking the grill.
‘Where’s Aldwick?’ she asked, pausing as he slid back the grill.
‘Busy,’ he said curtly and handed her the pass key.
She went quickly down the steps, snapping on the lights of the vault. Reaching her desk, she paused for a long moment to listen, aware that her heart was hammering and her mouth was unbearably dry. Hearing only the hum of voices and the shuffling of feet from the main lobby, she walked quickly down the lane that led to the Garland safe.
Taking the key Edris had given her from her pocket, she pushed it into the first lock and turned the key. Then using her pass key, she unlocked the second lock. She looked back over her shoulder down the long lane, then seeing no one, she opened the safe door, snatched out the bulky envelope which she had put into the safe only a few days ago, shut the safe door and relocked it.
She pulled up her skirt and slipped the envelope inside her panties, flattening the envelope against her stomach. She adjusted the elastic band so that it was firmly against the envelope, then she dropped her skirt.
She walked quickly back to her desk, her face white, her hands trembling. She put the pass key into the desk drawer and locked the drawer. As she did so, Aldwick, the guard came down the steps.
‘Morning, Miss Devon,’ he said and looked sharply at her. ‘Mr. Devon is asking for you. He wants you right away.’ He looked at her again. ‘Something wrong, Miss?’
‘It’s all right. I’m... I’m not feeling very well. My father wants me?’
‘Yes, miss.’
‘The pass key is in this drawer. I’ll leave the key in the lock,’ she said, and nodding, she hurried up the steps and into the main hall. She made her way to Mel’s office, rapped on the door and entered. She came to an abrupt standstill when she saw Mel wasn’t alone. With him was Detective 2nd Grade Tom Lepski who was standing by the window, looking towards her. She knew at once he was a detective, and it was only by an effort of will that she came further into the room.
‘You... you wanted me, daddy?’
‘Yes,’ Mel said, getting to his feet. ‘This is Detective Lepski of police headquarters.’ Seeing her white, frightened face, he went on, smiling, ‘Nothing to be worried about, my dear. He thinks you might be able to help him... just a few questions.’
Lepski was a little puzzled. Why was the girl so obviously scared? She looked ill, as if she might faint at any moment. Why?
‘Sit down, Miss Devon,’ he said, softening his usual tough cop voice. ‘I won’t keep you long.’
This was the girl, he was thinking, who needed to wear spectacles all the time, and yet she wasn’t even wearing them in the bank!
Ira sat down on an upright chair near Mel’s desk. She gripped her trembling hands firmly between her knees and forced herself to meet Lepski’s cop stare.
‘You have seen this man?’ Lepski asked, producing a photograph of Algir and handing it to her.
Ira stared at it and nodded.
‘Yes. It’s Mr. Forester.’
‘How often did he come to the bank, Miss Devon?’
Lepski returned the photograph to his wallet and produced a notebook.
‘Every day.’
‘You went with him to unlock his safe?’
‘Yes, of course.’
‘Did you ever have the opportunity of seeing inside his safe?’
‘No. When I had unlocked the first lock, I always left him.’
‘Did he ever give you any idea what he was putting in or taking out of his safe?’
‘No.’
While he was asking these questions, Lepski was writing both questions and answers in his notebook. He had had a sudden idea and he wanted to put it to a test.
‘He left the Regent Hotel on 9th of this month, Miss Devon. He didn’t give you a change of address?’
‘No.’
‘Did he ever mention any of his friends by name?’
‘No.’
Lepski slipped in his catch question.
‘Did he ever mention a Dr. Weidman of Miami?’
‘No.’
‘Do you know Dr. Weidman, Miss Devon?’
Ira stiffened. She looked at Lepski who was writing in his notebook, his face expressionless.
‘No, I don’t.’
‘You have never heard of him?’
‘No.’
Well, what do you know? Lepski thought. Weidman had Norena’s card on his files. He had tested her for glasses and here she was saying she had never heard of him. What the hell was all this?
Play it cool, he told himself. Don’t start anything you can’t finish. He was aware that Mel was looking at him with a puzzled stare.
‘When Forester came to the bank, he always had a briefcase with him?’
‘Yes.’
‘You have no idea what was in the briefcase?’
‘No.’
Lepski wrote for a moment, then looked up and smiled.
‘That’s all, Miss Devon. You might just look at this and see if I’ve got it right. If I have, will you initial it?’
He handed the notebook to Ira who took it reluctantly.
‘What’s the idea?’ Mel asked sharply. ‘She hasn’t made a statement. What do you want her to initial it for?’
Lepski gave him a guileless smile.
‘It’s a new police regulation, Mr. Devon. Nothing to it. Just to keep our record straight.’
Mel shrugged and smiled reassuringly at Ira.
‘Read it through then, hon and initial it.’
Ira read the tiny, neat handwriting. Her instinct for danger was sounding an alarm bell. She had a feeling that she was walking into some kind of trap, but she had no idea what the trap was.
‘Yes, it’s all right,’ she said and took the ballpoint Lepski handed her. She scribbled her initials at the bottom of the page.
Lepski got to his feet, took the notebook from her and thanked her.
There’s nothing the matter with this girl’s eyesight, he was thinking. Just what could this mean?
‘Oh, one more question, Miss Devon. Have you ever heard of a girl named Ira Marsh?’
Ira seemed to shrink in her chair. Her face turned so white Mel jumped to his feet.
‘No... no. I’ve never heard of her!’
‘Norena! Aren’t you well?’ Mel asked, coming around his desk and reaching her.
‘No, daddy. I feel awful,’ Ira said. ‘I ate something last night, may I go home? I’ll be all right if I just lie down.’
Mel looked at Lepski.
‘Will you run along officer? You see how it is.’
‘Sure, sure,’ Lepski said. ‘I’m sorry,’ and with his eyes glittering with excitement, he left the room.
‘I’ll get someone to take you home, darling,’ Mel said. ‘I’m so sorry. Now, don’t you worry.’
‘Oh, don’t fuss!’ Ira said, pulling herself together. She got to her feet. ‘I don’t want anyone to see me home. I’m not dying!’ and turning, she went quickly from the room, leaving him staring blankly after her.
Ticky Edris sat with his little legs dangling, his face a mask of sweat, his shifty eyes constantly going to his watch. How much longer was she going to be? He wondered. It was now 10.43 hours. Had something gone wrong? Had someone caught her opening the safe?
Then he saw her. She came into the bar, upright, arrogant, her chin thrust out, her face white, her eyes steady. She came down the aisle between the tables without hurrying. He was suddenly reminded of her when he first met her: hard, confident and as tough as tempered steel. He wiped his sweating face as he stared up at her.
She put both hands on the table and leaned towards him, her blue eyes glittering.
‘Did you get it?’ Edris asked, wondering what had come over her, vaguely frightened by this change in her.
‘I’ll ask the questions,’ she said. ‘You murdered my sister, didn’t you?’
Edris flinched. He showed his teeth in a snarl.
‘What the hell’s that to do with it?’ he demanded. ‘She was dying. I didn’t murder her! I helped her on her way out. What do you care? Did you get it?’
‘That suicide note. Did you write it?’
‘Yeah. so what? I wrote the other letters the cops found in her apartment so the handwriting matched. So what? Did you get the money, damn you!’
‘You murdered her lover too, didn’t you?’
‘Oh, knock it off! If you must know, Phil did it. We had to set up this thing, baby. They were both in the way.’ He banged the table with his small fist. ‘Did you get the money?’
‘I got it. A cop was in the bank. He asked me if I knew a girl named Ira Marsh.’
Edris’ face went slack.
‘Yes, little man,’ Ira said softly. ‘It won’t be long now. How crazy could I have been to have done this thing with you? How crazy? They know. Well, a few more hours, not longer.’
Edris slid off his chair.
‘Give me the money! You come with me, baby. You and me can get out of here! We’ve still got a chance. Come on, give me the money!’
‘I put it back in the safe. Why should I make more trouble for myself? So long, Ticky. It won’t be long. We’ll meet again in the cop house,’ and turning, she walked swiftly out of the cafe and into the glare of the sun.
Jess Farr, seated in the rented Ford, his hands resting lightly on the steering wheel, a puzzled expression on his face, watched Ira leave the cafe opposite the Florida Safe Deposit Bank.
He had been parked under the palm trees now for the past hour. He had seen Ticky Edris arrive. He had seen Ira enter the cafe and after a few minutes come out, looking as if her world had fallen apart. He had watched her enter the bank.
He waited impatiently for Edris to appear, but he didn’t. All this puzzled Jess. Why had Edris turned up instead of Algir? It never occurred to Jess to buy a newspaper. He never read newspapers: he never read anything.
He lit a cigarette and settled himself more comfortably and continued to wait. An hour and three-quarters crawled by and he began to lose his nerve. If he remained much longer parked here, he thought, some cop would start to get nosey and then he could be in trouble. Then just as he was deciding to change his parking place, he saw Ira again come from the bank and walk quickly over to the cafe. He stiffened to attention because there was a marked change in Ira’s appearance. This was the old Ira he had known in New York. That walk. that tense, hard expression, that set of her shoulders. He flicked the butt of his cigarette out of the car window as he watched her enter the cafe. She had got the dough, he thought. He was sure of that, and he reached forward to switch on the ignition. She only remained in the cafe for a few minutes. She came out and hurried to the parking lot behind the bank. As he lost sight of her, he saw Edris come trotting out of the cafe.
He stared at Edris as other people, passing along the sidewalk, were staring. The dwarf looked half demented. His face was the colour of wax. His small mouth was twitching. His stumpy hands flopped against his sides like newly landed fish as he bounced and hopped towards his parked Mini.
What the hell was up? Jess asked himself, pressing down the starter. As Edris got into his car and slammed the door, Jess began to edge the Ford out of the parking bay. The Mini took off and headed towards Seacombe.
Jess went after it.
Lepski stood by his car, hesitating. There was one small chance he could take to set his mind at rest. Should he take it? If it didn’t come off, the Chief wouldn’t be pleased, but if it did...!
Lepski abruptly made up his mind. He got into his car, started the engine and swung the car into the traffic. Driving carefully and fast, he headed for highway 4A and for Miami.
Once free of the traffic congestion and when he had reached the beginning of the highway, he glanced at his watch. The time was 10.36 hours. He was due back at headquarters at 11.30 hours. He would certainly have to shift if he hoped to be back anywhere near that time. He spotted a patrol officer, sitting astride his parked motorcycle, checking the busy traffic. He pulled up beside him.
‘Hi, Tim,’ he said. ‘I have an emergency in my hair. Will you open up the way for me? First stop Graham Co-Ed School, Miami. Let’s get there in thirty minutes flat.’
The traffic cop grinned as he gunned his engine to life.
‘Can’t be done,’ he said. ‘Thirty-eight and a half minutes if you can keep up with me.’
Nodding, Lepski let the cop go on ahead, then he went after him. The cop opened up with his siren, and as the traffic hurriedly shifted to the right, he twisted the hand throttle.
As Lepski shoved his foot down on the gas pedal, he thought that the Chief would flip his lid if he could see him now, blasting along the highway at 124 miles an hour. The long, straight highway seemed to melt away under the flying wheels. The cars Lepski passed were grey smudges that flinched over the whoosh of air that hit them as he overtook. He crouched a little, holding the steering wheel firmly, his eyes riveted on the patrol officer’s back.
He kept fifty yards behind him, and as the speed moved slowly up to 130 miles an hour, he thought a little fearfully that a front blowout now would win him only a very modest casket and a deep hole in the ground.
Twenty minutes later, they were reaching the end of the highway and the cop raised his hand, signalling to Lepski to reduce speed. They both entered the outskirts of Miami at seventy miles an hour that seemed a crawl after the ferocious speed on the highway.
Sixteen minutes later, they were driving sedately up the carriage way leading to the Graham Co-Ed School.
Lepski pulled up and got out. His legs were a little shaky, but he grinned cheerfully at the patrol officer who grinned back.
‘Nice driving, Tim,’ he said. ‘There’s a repeat performance. I want you to take me back when I’m through here.’
‘Okay,’ the patrol officer said. ‘We’ll clip a few minutes off on the way back. The traffic won’t be so heavy.’
Lepski walked up the steps and rang the bell. Dr. Graham himself opened the door.
‘Morning, Sir,’ Lepski said. ‘Paradise City Police. I think you could help me. Could I come in?’
Graham nodded and stood aside.
‘I hope this won’t take long, officer,’ he said as he led the way into his study. ‘I have an appointment.’
‘Shouldn’t take long, sir,’ Lepski said, taking the chair Graham waved to. ‘I’m making inquiries concerning a pupil of yours: Norena Marsh Devon.’
Graham looked vaguely startled.
‘She’s left us now. She...’
‘Yeah, I know that. Tell me, Doctor, she wore spectacles. right?’
‘Yes, she did.’
‘Could she read without them?’
‘Certainly not. She always wore them. I don’t understand. What...’
‘Were the frames of her spectacles made of blue plastic?’
Graham stared blankly.
‘Come to think of it, they were blue. I don’t know about being plastic. Could you explain just why you are asking these questions?’
‘We have reason to believe that Norena Devon is the unidentified girl found murdered at Coral Cove,’ Lepski said, gravely.
Graham stiffened, shocked.
‘Good gracious! What makes...?’
‘I’ll ask the questions, doctor,’ Lepski said firmly. He took from his wallet Algir’s photograph.
‘Seen this man before?’
‘Why, yes. That’s Mr. Tebbel, Norena’s mother’s attorney.’
Lepski drew in a long slow breath. So he had been right!
‘Have you a photograph of Norena Devon?’ he asked.
‘Why, yes, I have. We always have class photographs taken at the end of term,’ Graham said, and getting to his feet he walked over to a filing cabinet. After a moment’s delay, he produced a photograph.
He crossed the room and handed the photograph to Lepski.