1945 - Blonde's Requiem (28 page)

“
After me?
”
I exclaimed.
“
What do you mean?
”

“
Wolf s charging you with kidnapping,
”
Reg said patiently.
“
Macey
’
s only too glad to haul you in. They
’
re looking for you now.
”

Just then the phone rang. I scooped it up. Latimer came on the line
“
What happened?
”
I said sharply.

“
Starkey
’
s dead. Jeff shot him,
”
he told me.
“
The cops shot Jeff as he was trying to get away.
”

I drew a deep breath.
“
That
’
s fine,
”
I said.
“
That
’
s the best news I
’
ve had for years.
”

“
Glad to hear it,
”
Latimer returned,
“
but you ain
’
t got much to be pleased about. What have you been up to? Macey
’
s sworn out a warrant for your arrest.
”

“
He has?
”
I suddenly got mad.
“
Well, we
’
ll see about that. If these punks think they can push me around . . .
”
I hung up and turned back to the other two, who were watching me with interest.
“
Stick around, you two,
”
I said.
“
I
’
m going to see Wolf.
”

“
Wait a minute,
”
Reg said, quickly,
“
you can
’
t go out now. The cops are crawling all over looking for you.
”

“
I
’
m seeing Wolf,
”
I said angrily,
“
and no flatfoot in Cranville will stop me.
”

I went out of the room, jerking the door shut behind me.

A police car was pulling away from Wolf s house when I got there. I gave it a few minutes to get well away and then once more I walked across the lawn and stabbed the bell push.

Although it was just after one o
’
clock in the morning, the house was a blaze of light and the door opened almost immediately.

I shouldered the manservant aside and walked into the lobby.
“
Where
’
s Wolf?
”
I said.

The manservant stared at me with sleepy, bewildered eyes. From his expression I could see I was the last person he expected to call.
“
I wouldn
’
t advise you to see Mr. Wolf tonight,
”
he said, keeping his voice low.
“
He is very—er— irritable and——
”

“
Skip it,
”
I said shortly.
“
Where is he?
”

A voice sounded from the head of the stairs—Wolf s voice.
“
Who is it? Jackson, who are you talking to?
”“

I went to the foot of the stairs so he could see me.
“
Good evening,
”
I said, and began walking up the stairs towards him.

“
You get out of my house,
”
he thundered.
“
Jackson, call the police. Do you hear? Call the police.
”

I swung around, drawing my gun. I pointed it at the manservant, who went white and almost fell down.

“
Come on,
”
I said, threatening him with the gun.
“
Upstairs, you.
”

As soon as he passed me I covered Wolf, who stood gaping in surprised fear and rage.

“
We
’
ll call on little Edna,
”
I said, coldly.
“
Go on, both of you.
”

“
You
’
ll pay for this,
”
Wolf snarled, but he went into Edna
’
s room, followed by the manservant and myself.

Edna was in bed. She sat up with a stifled scream when she saw me.

“
Take it easy, toots,
”
I said, thinking the bruise on her chin put some character in her face.
“
Just relax and I won
’
t hurt you again.
”

I jerked open the bathroom door and shoved the manservant into the bathroom.
“
Stay there until I call you out,
”
I said, and closed the door.

“
If you think you can get away with this!
”
Wolf began, his face a dusty purple.

I pointed my gun at a chair.
“
Sit down,
”
I said.
“
We three are going to have a little talk.
”

Edna suddenly threw off the bedclothes and jumped out of bed. She was wearing a pair of salmon-pink pyjamas which made her look like an overgrown kid who had raided a lingerie shop.

“
I
’
m calling the police,
”
she said, in a voice shrill with fury.
“
This cheap dick can
’
t bluff me. If you had any guts you
’
d throw him out.
”

Wolf s face sagged a little, but he didn
’
t move. The gun pointing at his stomach seemed real enough to him.

I let her reach the telephone and then I took two quick steps, caught her wrist, ducked a savage blow she aimed at my face and tossed her across the bed. As she scrambled up I handed her a smack on her tail. It sounded like a paper bag bursting, and with a thin wail of pain, fury and fright, she wriggled hurriedly under the bedclothes again.

“
Anything more from you,
”
I said quietly,
“
and I
’
ll skin you alive.
”

She glared at me with wide, furious eyes, but she didn
’
t make any move.

I sat down so I could cover them both and lit a cigarette.
“
Now we
’
ll talk,
”
I said, looking over at Wolf.
“
It
’
s time you and I had a showdown.
”

“
You
’
re sacked,
”
he said, between his teeth.
“
You
’
re not working for me anymore. I
’
ll sue your boss and I
’
ll sue you. I
’
ll get you a stretch in jail!
”

I laughed at him.
“
Okay,
”
I said,
“
I
’
m sacked. That suits me. But I
’
m telling you something before I go. Starkey
’
s dead. He was killed half an hour ago. How do you like that?
”

His eyes showed interest, but he didn
’
t say anything. Edna gave a low cry and her face seemed to fall to pieces. She turned over in bed and began to cry, muffling her sobs in the pillow.

Wolf looked at her uneasily.

“
She
’
s his daughter,
”
I told him.
“
He planted her on you so he could know all your moves.
”

There was a long silence broken only by Edna
’
s crying. Wolf looked down at his feet, his face haggard.
“
You
’
re lying,
”
he said at last.

“
Ask her,
”
I suggested.
“
You wouldn
’
t have stood a chance of becoming mayor with her watching every move. Between the two them they could have cooked up a tale that
’
d have discredited you and maybe run you out of the town. You
’
ve been playing with dynamite with this little bird.
”

He pointed to the door.
“
Get out,
”
he said, his voice shaking with rage.

“
I
’
m going,
”
I said,
“
but you
’
re phoning Macey and you
’
re telling him to lay off me. You
’
re telling him you
’
re withdrawing the kidnapping charge or I
’
ll spread the story of your love nest all over Cranville.
”

“
I want you out of this town,
”
he said.
“
I
’
ve had enough of you. I
’
ll withdraw the charge if you
’
ll get out and stay out.
”

I grinned at him.
“
You
’
ll withdraw the charge without any conditions. I
’
m the guy who holds the whip hand. I
’
ve got the story set for the front page of the Gazette and you can
’
t stop it. I
’
ll stay here until the paper is on the streets. When Cranville hears that Edna is the daughter of a small-time gambler as well as your mistress, you
’
ll be in a sweet jam.
”

He still hesitated; so I reached for the phone and put a call through to police headquarters. When Beyfield came on the line I gave the phone to Wolf.
“
Tell him it was all a mistake. Say the kid was hysterical and wanted to frame me. Go on.
”

He had a long mumbling conversation with Beyfield and finally he went all over it again with Macey. He withdrew the charge and from the way he had to argue I guessed Macey was wild. Anyway, he made it stick in the end. He slammed down the receiver and glared at me.

I stood up.
“
Okay,
”
I said.
“
I
’
ll leave you to sort out the mess.
”
I glanced at Edna, who was still out of sight under the bedclothes.
“
Maybe you
’
d better send her away. From now on I
’
m working on my own. I came to Cranville to find three missing girls. Well, I
’
m finding them. Anyone who gets in my way is going to get hurt. You keep out of this and you may grab yourself the mayorship or you may not. I don
’
t give a damn who becomes mayor. With Starkey out of the way, the fight
’
s between you and Esslinger. That
’
s something you have to thank me for. I fixed Starkey and I
’
ll fix a lot of other guys in this town if they don
’
t play. That goes for you too.
”

I got up and walked out of the room before he could say anything. I went downstairs, opened the front door, crossed the lawn and climbed into my car.

The clock on the dashboard showed that it was one-thirty. I was tired but I wasn
’
t discouraged. I could now concentrate on finding Marian French
’
s killer.

Maybe it wouldn
’
t be easy. But I was going to find him. Cranville wasn
’
t a big town. Someone in Cranville was responsible for the killing, and if I got the right kind of lead it shouldn
’
t be difficult to run him to ground.

I returned to the Palace Hotel, went upstairs and found Audrey and Reg fast asleep. They were lying on the twin beds, still dressed, and I had to shake them before they knew I was in the room.

Audrey sat up and groaned faintly.
“
I
’
m so tired,
”
she said.
“
What happened? Did you see Wolf?
”