Leon nodded, slowly got to his feet and stretched.
“Well, I guess I’ll get along. I want to find somewhere to sleep. The hotel I’m staying at gives me the horrors. The room I’ve got is so small I have to use a folding toothbrush.”
“What about the girl who called on Roy? You haven’t told me about her yet,” English said.
“According to Calhoun, she was good-looking enough to be in the movies,” Leon said, stubbing out his cigarette. “He said she was wearing a black-and-white skull cap, a black suit with wide white lapels, black-and-white gauntlet gloves, and a charm bracelet.”
English paused in his pacing and looked sharply at Leon. “A charm bracelet?”
“That’s right, a gold chain with little charms hanging from it.”
“Well, I’ll be double-damned!” English said under his breath, and he ran his fingers through his hair.
“Don’t say you know her, too?”
“I don’t know. I might. I’ll let you know, Ed. Okay, come and see me after you’ve had a talk with this Mitchell girl. Here, wait a minute, let me write a check for Hennessey. Cash it yourself and give him the money, and don’t let him know where it comes from.”
“I’ll do just that thing.”
Leon waited until English had written the check, slipped it into his pocket and made for the door.
“I guess I’ll go back to the office and see if I can find out where those microphone wires lead to,” he said. “If I make a startling discovery I’ll phone you. Where will you be?”
“Phone me at my apartment after midnight,” English said, glancing at his watch. “Or maybe you’d better leave it until tomorrow morning.”
“I’ll do that,” Leon said. “So long for now.”
When he had gone, English turned off the lights, put on his overcoat and went down to where Chuck was waiting with the car.
“Miss Clair’s apartment,” English said curtly.
“Want the evening paper, boss?” Chuck asked, offering it.
“Thanks,” English returned, got into the car and turned on the reading lamp. He read through the paper as Chuck drove toward Riverside Drive. A small paragraph caught his eye. He read it, frowning, read it again, then said, “Get me to a telephone quickly, Chuck.”
“One just ahead,” Chuck said, swung over to the curb and pulled up outside a drug store.
English got out of the car and hurried across the sidewalk to a row of phone booths. He called the Alert Agency.
Leon answered.
“I’ve only just this second got in,” he said, startled to hear English’s voice so soon.
“That old fella you were telling me about, was his name Joe Hennessey?”
“That’s right. Why?”
“27 Eastern Street?”
“Yep.”
“He’s dead. It’s in the paper. He was killed by a hit-and-run driver in an alley that’s barred to traffic.”
“For crying out loud!”
“Listen, Ed, I don’t like the sound of this. It may be a coincidence, but I don’t think so. It seems to me you two were seen together, and someone decided Hennessey talked too much. I want you to go right away and get hold of the Mitchell girl. The same guy might have heard Hennessey telling you about her. Get hold of her and bring her to my apartment. Keep her there until I get back. I won’t be much longer than a couple of hours.”
“Okay, I’ll do that right away,” Leon said. “Where can I call you if anything goes wrong?”
“I’ll be with Miss Clair,” English said, and gave Leon Julie’s number. “Get after her right away,” and he hung up.
Ten minutes later he was letting himself into Julie’s apartment, which he found in darkness. He stood in the lobby, frowning.
“Julie?”
There was no answer, and taking off his hat and coat, he went into the sitting room. He crossed over to the bedroom, pushed open the door and turned on the lights.
He stood looking around the room, then walked across to the big built-in wardrobe, opened the double doors and glanced in. Among the many frocks, suits and coats hanging in an orderly line, he spotted the black suit with the wide white lapels. Above it on a shelf were a pair of black-and-white gauntlet gloves and a small black-and-white hat.
He closed the doors, stroked his jaw thoughtfully and returned to the sitting room. He stirred the fire, went over to the cellarette and poured himself a whisky and soda. Then he sat down before the fire, lit a cigarette and waited, his eyes brooding and cold.
Some ten minutes later, he heard Julie come in.
“Oh, Nick!” she said as she opened the sitting room door. “Have you been waiting long? I had a rehearsal, and there was some dope who couldn’t get anything right. I’m so sorry I’m late.”
English got up and kissed her, smiling at her.
“That’s all right. I was a little early, come to that. How are you, Julie? You’re looking pretty good.”
“I’m fine, but tired,” Julie said, taking off her camel-hair coat and sinking into an armchair. “I’m dying for a drink. Would you get me a martini?”
He began to mix the martini, shooting a searching glance at her from time to time. He thought she looked tired, and the usual sparkle in her eyes was missing.
“What’s been happening to you?” she asked, leaning back and closing her eyes. “Have you had a good day?”
“Oh, all right,” English said, and came over and gave her the martini. “I hope that’s not too dry.”
“It’s perfect,” Julie said. She drank half the martini, sighed and put down the glass. “What are you doing tonight?”
“I’m afraid I have a date in about an hour,” English said. “Something important. Sorry, Julie.”
“Oh, well, never mind. I don’t have to be at the club until ten-thirty. I’ll take a bath and a snooze. I don’t feel like having dinner. I’ll have something when I get back.”
English gave her a cigarette, lit it for her, and then moved slowly over to the fire.
“Julie, why did you go and see Roy the night he died?” he asked quietly.
He saw her stiffen and go as white as a fresh fall of snow. She looked at him, her eyes opening wide, and it startled him to see the utter fear in her eyes.
“Now look, Julie,” he went on, “you mustn’t ever be scared of me. I know you went there, and I want to know why, but that doesn’t mean you have to be frightened.”
“No, I—I suppose not,” Julie said huskily, and made an effort to control herself. How much did he know? she asked herself, her mind cold with panic. Did he know about Harry? Was this only the opening gambit? “You startled me, Nick. I didn’t think anyone knew about that.”
He smiled.
“No one does except me. Was Roy blackmailing you?”
For a moment Julie thought she was going to faint. Her heart seemed to turn over, and she felt sick.
“I found out this afternoon that Roy had been blackmailing a number of people,” English went on. “You were seen going up to the sixth floor, and I recognized the description of that suit—the magpie one I like so much. I wondered if you, too, were paying Roy money.”
Was that all he knew? she wondered, her tongue touching her dry lips.
“Yes, he was blackmailing me,” she said, and her mind darted about trying to think of a reason he would believe.
“For God’s sake!” English exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have broken his neck!”
“I didn’t want to tell you. I was too ashamed of myself.”
“But, my dear girl, you needn’t have told me why he was blackmailing you. I don’t want you to tell me now. All I’m interested in is the fact he was blackmailing you.”
Julie went limp, He didn’t know! The relief was so great she wanted to cry.
“He’s been blackmailing me for the past six months,” she said. “I had to go to his office and pay him two hundred dollars every week.”
“You should have told me,” Engli
sh said, his face hard. “The little rat! I know he was a weakling and a louse, but I never realized he had sunk as low as that. Julie, for goodness’ sake, don’t hide things like that from me again. I could have fixed Roy in a moment.”
“I couldn’t tell you,” Julie said. “But I want to tell you now.”
She realized she had to tell him some story. If she didn’t, sooner or later he would become suspicious of her. He might even have her watched. She wasn’t deceiving herself that his present sympathetic attitude would last. She knew him too well for that. She remembered sharing a room with a girl years ago in Boston. She remembered what had happened to the girl and, unable to think of a convincing story, she decided to borrow from the girl’s experience.
“You don’t have to tell me anything,” English said, and came over and sat on the arm of her chair. He put his arm around her shoulders. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Not now, it’s past history,” Julie said. “It was when I was in Boston, years ago. I was only seventeen, and I was hard up. I got an audition. It came out of the blue just when I thought I would have to give up and go home. I had nothing decent to wear. I knew if I went as I was, I wouldn’t get the job. The woman who ran the boarding house always kept money in the house. I stole it. I thought I would be able to put it back before she found it, but she caught me in the act. She sent for the police, and I was given a week in jail.”
English patted her shoulder.
“You needn’t have told me that, Julie. So what? Most of us have done something at one time or other that could have landed us in jail if we were caught. You were unlucky. Do you mean to tell me Roy was blackmailing you for that?”
“He threatened to tell the press. I would have lost my job, and then they would have got at you through me, Nick.”
English’s eyes hardened.
“I guess that’s right. Does anyone else know about this?”
She shook her head.
“Then we’ll forget it. How much did you pay Roy?”
“I don’t want to discuss that part of it,” Julie said quickly.
“Nonsense. I intend to return the money to you. How much was it?”
“Please, Nick, I don’t want you to do that.”
“What was it—five thousand?”
“Yes, about that, but I won’t take it. I mean that. It’s nothing to do with you. I’ve paid, and I’ve forgotten about it.”
“We’ll see,” English said and stood up. “Julie, when you went up there, was Roy alive?”
She nodded.
“Yes, he was alive.”
“You realize, don’t you, that a few minutes after you had gone, he died?”
Again she nodded, and her hands turned into fists.
“Would you say he looked like a man who was about to commit suicide?”
“Oh, no. He was smiling and joking. He even tried to make a pass at me. It was the first time I had been with him alone in the office. Usually the girl was there, too.”
English’s mouth tightened.
“What happened?”
“He tried to kiss me, but I got out of his way. I gave him the money and left.”
“You gave him the money? Two hundred dollars?”
“Yes.”
“You’re sure about that, Julie? It’s important.”
“Yes, I gave it to him.”
“It wasn’t found. He had only four dollars on him. Lois went through the office very carefully. She didn’t find any money anywhere.”
“Well, I gave it to him. He put it on his desk and put a paper-weight on top of it.”
English stroked his jaw, his eyes brooding.
“I think that about clinches it,” he said, half to himself. “Roy was murdered.”
Julie closed her eyes.
“Did you see anyone or hear anything when you were up there?” English went on, watching her.
“No, nothing. Only the machines in the office along the passage. They were making a lot of noise.”
“Well, someone shot him and took the money,” English said. “It didn’t walk out of the office on its own. Someone took it.”
“What will happen, Nick?” she asked, her eyes scared.
“I have a man working on it,” English said, tossing his cigarette into the fire. “There’s nothing for you to worry about, Julie. No one knows you went up there, and no one is going to know. You can forget about it.”
“But if someone murdered him, shouldn’t the police be told?”
“If it gets out that Roy ran an organized blackmail racket, I’m sunk,” English said quietly. “I’m not telling the police a thing. It’s up to them to find out for themselves. My man may find the killer, and if he does, we’ll have to decide what to do with him. There’s nothing for you to worry about in any way.” He went over to her and took her hand in his. “Now. I must run along, Julie. Have a rest and forget about this. I’ll see you tomorrow. Maybe we can take in that movie.”
“Yes, Nick.”
She got up and went with him into the lobby. While she was putting on his coat, she stood near him, watching him, her eyes uneasy.
“Nick, wouldn’t it be better if you forget all about this yourself? Must you hunt for this man? If you did find him you couldn’t hand him over to the police. He might talk and give Roy away.”
English smiled at her.
“Don’t worry your head about that. I have to find him first. Roy may have been a louse and a rat, but no one’s going to murder one of my family and get away with it. I’ll think of a way of fixing this guy when I’ve found him. Bye now.” He kissed her and patted her hip. “Don’t worry.”
He went down to where Chuck was waiting patiently.
“Take me home,” English said, and got into the car.
As Chuck drove rapidly through the dark streets, English sat still, his face thoughtful, his mind busy.
He went straight up to his apartment, let himself in and tossed his coat to a maid.
“Anyone waiting to see me?” he asked.
“No, sir.”
“No phone calls?”
“No, sir.”
English nodded and went into his luxuriously appointed study. He sat down at the desk and reached for a cigar.
When he had lit it, he sat thinking for a few minutes, then he picked up the telephone.
“Get me Police Captain O’Brien, Police Headquarters, Boston,” he told the girl at the switchboard. “As quick as you like.”
“Yes, Mr. English.”
He hung up and got to his feet, and began to pace slowly up and down. After a little delay, the telephone bell rang and he picked up the receiver.
“Hello, Mr. English. Well, well, you are a stranger,” O’Brien’s voice boomed over the line.
“Hello, Tom. How are you?”
“I’m fine. How’s yourself?”
“Oh, I’m alive. I was expecting you at the fight. Why didn’t you come?”
“You know how it is. I got a couple of murders on my hands right now. Glad your boy won. Seems like a good scrap.”
“It was all right. Look, Tom, I want a quick favor.”
“Anything you say, Mr. English.”
“Some eight years ago a girl named Julie Clair was arrested for stealing money from her landlady. She drew a week in jail. Can you check that?”
“I guess so,” O’Brien returned. “Give me three minutes.”
English sat on the edge of the desk, swinging his leg, his eyes brooding, cigar smoke drifting past his face.
In less than three minutes, O’Brien came on the line again.
“No one of that name was arrested, Mr. English. We have no record of her.”
Nick’s face hardened.
“Any record of any girl arrested for stealing money from her landlady about that time?”
“I’ll see,” O’Brien said, and there was a long pause. Then he said, “A girl named Doris Caspary—she got a week in jail because she had been caught shoplifting the p
revious month.”
English remembered Julie had once mentioned sharing rooms with a girl called Doris Caspary. Once he had heard a name he never forgot it.
“Julie Clair was a witness for the defence,” O’Brien went on. “But she wasn’t charged.”
“Thanks, O’Brien, I must have got my facts muddled,” English returned. “Don’t forget to let me know when you are coming to town. So long for now.”
He hung up and frowned down at the carpet. He had had an idea Julie had been lying the moment she had started telling him the story of the theft.
“Now I wonder what you’ve been up to, Julie?” he said half aloud. He slid off the desk and resumed his slow, restless pacing.
CHAPTER FOUR
I
E D L EON RAN OUT ONTO the sidewalk and waved at a cruising taxi.
“23A Eastern Street,” he said, jerking open the door, “and snap it up.”
“Okay, chum,” the driver said, slammed the door and let in his clutch so violently that Leon landed in a heap on the floor of the cab.
“I didn’t tell you to break my goddamn neck!” Leon yelled as he scrambled onto the seat.
“When a guy says snap it up, I snap it up,” the driver said, and sent his hack racing through the dark streets.
For the space of ten minutes or so, Leon sat with his heart in his mouth, sorry he had given the impression he was in a hurry. But when the driver reached 22nd Ward with its narrow streets, its fruit stalls and its aimless crowds overflowing into the gutters, he was forced to reduce speed almost to a crawl.
“If you’re in all that hurry,” he said suddenly, “there’s an alley just ahead that takes you into Eastern Street. It’ll be quicker for you to get out here and walk.”
“Why do you think I hired this heap if I wanted to walk?” Leon said, remembering English had told him this was the alley where Hennessey was killed. “Keep going, and don’t run anyone down.”
“I’d like to run down some of these jerks,” the driver growled, and started honking on his horn.
Leon lit a cigarette. It was all very well for English to tell him to get hold of the Mitchell girl and bring her to English’s apartment, but it was easier said than done. Probably the girl would think he was going to kidnap her, and would yell for the police.
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