1945 - Blonde's Requiem (17 page)

This is the biggest moment in my life! We
’
ll get along fine.
”

Marian said she hoped they would and looked a little embarrassed.
“
Don
’
t confuse the girl,
”
I said.
“
You don
’
t need to look as if you want to eat her.
”

Reg scowled at me.
“
Lay off, can
’
t you?
”
he said.
“
Stop ribbing me.
”
He turned back to Marian.
“
You
’
ll be along tomorrow?
”

She nodded.
“
I
’
m not so good at typing,
”
she confessed,
“
but I
’
ll get used to it if you
’
ll have patience.
”

He drew in a deep breath.
“
You take your time,
”
he assured her.
“
I
’
m in no hurry. Anything you want to know, just ask me.
”

“
And be careful what you ask him,
”
I said.
“
Where
’
s Esslinger?
”

“
He dropped me and went on home,
”
she returned, moving to the door.
“
I won
’
t interrupt you now, but don
’
t you think you ought to be in bed?
”

“
I
’
m going,
”
I lied.
“
Glad you had a good time. See you tomorrow.
”

Reg opened the door for her.
“
Good night, Miss French,
”
he said, making eyes at her.
“
You don
’
t know how I
’
m going to enjoy working with you.
”

Marian threw an amused glance at me, thanked Reg and left us.

“
Like her?
”
I asked casually.

Reg closed his eyes.
“
That
’
s the dame who haunts my dreams,
”
he said.
“
Where did you find her?
”

I told him.

He suddenly looked suspicious.
“
What
’
s this stuff about Esslinger? Was she out with him?
”

“
She was.
”

“
Gee! It gives me a pain the way Esslinger finds
‘
em,
”
he growled.
“
That guy has every dame in Cranville running around with him.
”

“
Well, what of it?
”
I asked, smiling at his annoyance.
“
Esslinger
’
s a good-looking kid, bright, and he
’
s a free spender . . . why shouldn
’
t they run around with him?
”

“
I don
’
t like the guy,
”
Reg said.
“
He
’
s pinched too many dames from me. He
’
s only got to look at a dame and she flops for him.
”

“
I used to be like that when I was his age,
”
I grinned, going over to the bureau for the Scotch bottle.
“
All the other kids hated my guts too, but that didn
’
t bring me out in a rash.
”

Reg sniffed and looked sour.
“
It doesn
’
t bring him out in a rash either,
”
he said.

I poured two fingers of Scotch into a glass.
“
You
’
re too young to drink, aren
’
t you?
”

“
Not when it
’
s free,
”
Reg returned with unnecessary eagerness.

“
Maybe you
’
d better watch me,
”
I said, sitting down again and swirling the amber coloured liquor round in the bottom of the glass.
“
You want a steady hand tonight. A lot depends on this picture.
”
I took a long drink, sighed and closed my eyes.

Reg got to his feet with a snort of disgust.
“
When do we go?
”
he demanded.

I squinted at him.
“
Maybe we
’
d better slide off now. We
’
ll have to be careful Marian doesn
’
t spot us. Looks like she wants to keep me in cottonwool.
”
I finished the drink, lit another cigarette and stood up.
“
Okay?
”

“
Sure.
”
Reg opened the door and looked into the passage.
“
No one around,
”
he said, and together we went down the passage into the lobby.

Nora looked up from her magazine.
“
Don
’
t you ever sleep?
”
she said to me as I went past.

“
I have my moments,
”
I said, waving to her.
“
Didn
’
t I tell you I
’
m tough?
”

“
That doesn
’
t prove anything,
”
she said, with a sneer.
“
I know plenty guys who
’
re tough, but where did it get them?
”

“
You tell me about it some other time,
”
I said, not stopping. I followed Reg out into the dark, sweltering night.

We got into a battered Ford coupe and Reg drove away from the hotel.
“
Put that dame alongside Marian French,
”
he said,
“
and what have you?
”

“
Get your mind off women for a moment,
”
I urged.
“
We
’
ve got a job to do. How far is the morgue?
”

“
Four blocks and first on the right,
”
he said, shouting to get above the roar of the car engine.

I looked at my watch in the light of a street lamp as we passed. It was eleven-thirty.

“
Who
’
s in charge?
”

“
Johnson does the night shift. No one else
’
s likely to be there. Maybe we could bust in the back way unless you want to tell Johnson what you
’
re going to do. But photographing corpses ain
’
t permitted, so maybe we
’
d better go in the back way.
”

“
What sort of a guy is Johnson?
”

“
Little geezer. We could take him without getting in a lather,
”
Reg said, slowing down as the traffic light changed to red. He stopped the car and we both lit cigarettes.
“
Breaking into a morgue isn
’
t my idea of fun,
”
he went on as he flipped the match out of the window.

I wasn
’
t looking forward to the job either, but I didn
’
t say so. My shirt clung to my back and chest and my head throbbed.

As the light changed Reg started the car rolling again.
“
Anyway,
”
he said,
“
it
’
ll be cold in the morgue. We might even freeze to death.
”

“
I hope to God we can get in without making a noise,
”
I said.
“
I don
’
t want any trouble with this Johnson guy. Even if he is a little guy it
’
s too, hot for fighting.
”

“
He won
’
t fight,
”
Reg said with a laugh.
“
He
’
d fall over if you spit in his eye.
”

We turned right at the next corner and Reg parked the car under a street lamp.

“
It
’
s only a hundred yards or so down the street,
”
he said, taking out his camera outfit and tucking it under his arm.
“
Better walk, huh?
”

I stood on the sidewalk, feeling the heat of the brick pavement through my shoes.
“
Jeese!
”
I said.
“
It
’
s hot!
”

We went down the street together, not saying anything and not hurrying. Reg paused after we had walked a while and nodded to a narrow alley, wide enough to take a car.
“
This is it,
”
he said, lowering his voice.

I glanced up and down the deserted street and then together we ducked down the alley. It was dark. There was a curious smell about the air: sweet, musty, sickish; a smell of slow decay.

“
You could use this air as a bed,
”
I whispered to Reg.
“
I
’
ll come here for my next vacation.
”

He giggled a little hysterically.
“
If you mean your last vacation,
”
he said,
“
you
’
ll come here whether you like it or not.
”

We walked softly, keeping to the middle of the alley. The blackness around us was like an enveloping blanket and we couldn
’
t see anything, not even the sky.

“
Creepy, isn
’
t it?
”
I said, feeling spooked.
“
It only wants someone to spring out on me and I
’
ll cry like a child.
”

“
Yeah? I
’
ll run,
”
Reg said with conviction.
“
Can
’
t you stop talking? You
’
re giving me the heebies.
”

Then without warning a sudden high-pitched scream came to us out of the darkness. It swelled, cut through the thick stifling air like the sweep of a sickle, and died away in a horrible, slobbering gurgle.

We stood still and clutched each other.

“
What in hell
’
s that?
”
I said, feeling the hair stiffen on the nape of my neck.

I heard Reg breathing like a badly winded horse. My own heart was going thump, thump, thump.

“
There
’
s a psychopathic hospital over that way,
”
he said in a breathless, uneven voice.
“
Maybe it
’
s one of the nuts letting off a little steam.
”

I took off my hat and wiped my face and the back of my neck with a damp handkerchief.
“
I hope to God she doesn
’
t let off another like that,
”
I said fervently.
“
That nearly ruined me.
”

We stood listening and then, hearing nothing except the faint roar of distant traffic, we walked on. The alley curved to our right and turning the bend we saw ahead a red light burning faintly over a double door.