The Toff In Town

by John Creasey

  “I know they said so,” said Barbara, “but I’ve kept hoping that——” She broke off, and pushed her fingers through her hair. “I feel so ungrateful, she told him. “Thank you—thank you so much for what you’re doing. I know someone’s watching the flat all the time, I’m not so frightened now.”

  “You’ll be looked after,” promised Rollison.

  There was no point in staying, so they left her alone in the flat and walked downstairs. In the hall, Grice stopped and asked abruptly:

  “Didn’t I see one of Ebbutt’s men along there?”

  “Yes,” said Rollison. “He might know something about Allen’s movements,” said Grice. “I’d like to see Allen—as a friend of yours, for a start, not as a policeman,” he added gruffly.

  “Stay in the car and I’ll find out what Dann knows,” promised Rollison.

  He went along to the doorway where Ebbutt’s man had taken cover. Dann came out of his hiding-place as Rollison called his name, but did not advance into the street.

  “Grice is around, isn’t he?” he demanded.

  “He’s turning his blind eye,” said Rollison. “When did Allen leave—and how did Mrs. Allen get away, Bert?”

  “Allen walked out on ‘is own two legs, ‘alf an ‘our ago,” said Bert “Had a dame wiv him. Some dame! Talk about a blonde, she was a blonde beauty all right!”

  “Oh,” said Rollison slowly, for a picture of Pauline Dexter appeared in his mind’s eye. “Was Allen followed?”

  “Sure—Sam went after ‘em,” said Dann. “Same as old Sniffer Lee went after Mrs. Allen s’arternoon. She was picked up by a coupla men who bundled ‘er into a cab an’ then neely ran Sniffer down,” Dann went on. “Sniffer told Bill—didn’t yer know?”

  “I knew something about it,” said Rollison. “So they’re getting rough, are they?”

  “I’ll give ‘em rough,” growled Dann. “Trouble was, Sniffer ‘ad ‘ad a couple.”

  “Don’t be hard on him,” said Rollison. “All right, Bert I should wait on the landing outside the flat until morning, but don’t let Allen see you if he comes back. Telephone Jolly when he arrives, will you?”

  “Okay,” said Bert, and withdrew into the shadows.

  Rollison walked back to Grice’s car and climbed in. Grice crashed his gears as he turned out of the carriage-way of Byngham Court Mansions, and was still in a silent, reflective mood. Rollison was not sorry. The stories which he had been told showed him with what care, cunning and ruthlessness Merino and his men were acting.

  “Well?” asked Grice at last.

  Rollison told him the East Ender’s story.

  Grice lapsed into further silence which was not broken until they were in Piccadilly. Then, squeezing between two buses, and with a taxi in front and another behind, he chose to re-open the conversation.

  “I’ll do what I can, Roily. At least I agree with you that the girl will crack under the strain if it lasts any longer. I shouldn’t do too much in the way of pulling strings, if I were you—it might upset the Old Man’s apple-cart.”

  “What can you do on your own?” asked Rollison.

  Grice manoeuvred the car out of the traffic and speeded along Piccadilly—a sure indication of his frame of mind.

  “Whatever official action we take, we’ll have to move slowly,” he said. “We’ll put out a general call for Blane, but there’s only your description to go on and, unless he’s got a record, it won’t be easy to get news of him. I wouldn’t advise tackling Merino and this Dexter woman yet, in any case—I’d just watch them. I shall have them watched,” he added, “but my men won’t interfere unless their hands are forced. I’d like to see Allen— still as a friend of yours!—but if you can’t make him talk, I’m pretty sure I can’t. I’ll put all this to the Old Man, and I think he’ll see reason.”

  “You’re a friend, Bill! You’ll let me know what he decides,” asked Rollison.

  “Yes,” said Grice. “Now go carefully, Roily.”

  “I will,” promised Rollison.

  He watched Grice drive off, then hurried upstairs, and Jolly opened the door as he reached the landing.

  “Here we are,” said Rollison, stepping in and tossing his hat to a peg. “Grice is giving us breathing space,” he announced with satisfaction.

  “I am not altogether surprised, sir,” said Jolly, “especially after Mrs. Allen’s visit” He retrieved the hat and held it out to Rollison. “Mr. Higginbottom telephoned ten minutes ago, sir.”

  Rollison took the hat. “Yes?”

  “Apparently Allen and the woman Dexter have gone to Lilley Mews,” said Jolly. “It occurs to me that you will want to go there at once, sir.”

  It was dark in the mews. The only light came from the windows of Pauline Dexter’s flat—and that from the side windows. Rollison, glad of the darkness, walked across the cobbles. The main garage was closed, all of the lock-up garages were also shut. He reached his own, and tapped—a short and a long tap —and waited for Snub to open the door.

  There was no response.

  He peered through the window, but it was too dark to see anything inside. He tapped again. The noise sounded loud in the mews. He stopped when he heard the plodding footsteps of a man, probably a policeman, in the near-by street. The footsteps passed, and Rollison, satisfied that Snub was no longer watching the flat from the lock-up garage, turned and looked at the lighted windows. Snub might have taken it upon himself to break in, and listen to what passed between Allen and the actress.

  Then he heard, a sound.

  It was low-pitched, a gasp or moan—and it came from Number 5. He turned sharply and looked at the sliding door. It was open an inch—he hadn’t noticed that before, but now he could see that it was not flush with the wall. He put his fingers into the little gap and pushed the door open further. Utter silence reigned—but was broken suddenly by another moan.

  Rollison turned from the door and looked right and left— and then walked up and down the mews, making sure that no one lurked in the shadows. Satisfied, he hurried back to the lock-up, and widened the opening until there was room for him to get through. He stepped inside as another moan reached his ears. He took a pencil-torch from his pocket and flashed it on. The thin beam of light made eerie patterns on the shining body of the car—and then shone on Snub, who lay huddled up on the back seat! His hands and wrists were tied—that much Rollison saw in a quick glance—and something poked from his mouth; a handkerchief. In spite of that gag, Snub had managed to make some noise.

  Rollison opened the door.

  “All right, old chap,” he said. “You needn’t——”

  Then he heard a rustle of movement behind him, and darted back, out of the car—but as he did so, something hit him on the back of his head. A second blow followed, much heavier than the first; he lost consciousness.

  When he came round his head was aching badly, and he could not move his arms and legs freely. The pain ran from the back of his head, down his neck and across his back. He did not at first remember what had happened, but as memory crept back, he realised the truth. A man had been waiting in the garage, Snub had been allowed to make that noise, or else the assailant had made it, luring Rollison into the garage.

  He kept his eyes closed, and tried not to think.

  Minutes passed

  He thought at first that he was bound to a bed or a couch, then discovered that he could move his arms freely, he wasn’t tied up. It was pitch-dark, and he wasn’t sorry; any light would hurt his eyes. The blood drummed through his ears with the effort of movement, and he lay still again.

  Everything was quiet.

  Yet—he could hear something. Faint sounds—very soft music. It wasn’t far away. He tried to move his head again, in spite of the pain which shot through it, but he could see nothing, and the drumming of the blood sent the other sound away. It might be his imagination. He relaxed again, and became aware of something he hadn’t noticed at first—perfume.

  Where was he?

/>   The perfume gave him a clue—and now that he was more capable of thinking and reasoning, he realised that he was lying on a comfortable bed or couch. This might be Pauline Dexter’s room. He couldn’t remember the scent, but it was a woman’s room, anyhow.

  He had no idea how long he had been here, and could not guess how long it was since he had come round. Two things were important. He was alive and free to move. But he mustn’t move too quickly. That bump over the head had been pretty hard, and

  What about Snub?

  He felt sick with alarm as he thought of the youngster; then the alarm faded, for he remembered that Snub had been breathing. There was no reason to think that Snub would have been killed and he, Rollison, left alive. Odd how he took killing for granted in this business, although as yet—and as far as he knew—Merino had not ventured murder.

  He heard a door open.

  Something clicked, and a light appeared at the foot and sides of a door which was opposite the end of the bed. The glow was only a glimmer, but it enabled him to see the outline of the bed, his legs—they weren’t tied—and a wardrobe near him. He turned his head. Near him, on a bedside table, was a lamp; he had only to stretch out his hand and switch it on.

  Someone walked along the hall.

  The footsteps faded.

  A sound—it was music, perhaps from a radio set which was toned down—crept into the room. Then the footsteps returned, and he heard a woman humming in a lilting voice.

  Then the door closed again, and the light disappeared.

  Rollison put his hand to his side and groped for his cigarette-case. He found it, and drew it out. Then he groped for his lighter, and thumbed that clumsily. The light from the flame hurt his eyes. He lit the cigarette, then held the lighter further away, to get used to it. It needed filling, and the flame soon died down, He let the cap click back, and put both lighter and case into his pocket. The little red glow near the end of his nose was hardly a light at all, until he drew at it—and then all he could see was the tip of his nose.

  He sat up.

  Springs creaked faintly; it was a very comfortable bed. He hitched himself up to a sitting position. The blood drummed painfully through his ears and the back of his head seemed to lift from his neck, but he set his teeth and sat upright, and gradually the pain eased. Next time he moved, putting his left hand towards the table-lamp, there was less pain.

  He found the switch and pressed it

  A subdued light filled the room.

  He closed his eyes against the pain, but gradually opened them. He was able to recognise the room it was the flat in Lilley Mews, Pauline Dexter’s bedroom. On the dressing-table was a photograph of the girl, and next to it, that of a film-star masquerading in the guise of a Greek god.

  Rollison put his feet to the floor.

  The pile of the carpet saved him from making any sound, but the bed creaked again. After a while, when he had pressed his feet firmly to the carpet, he stood up. He thought at first that he would faint with the sudden pain, but it cleared slowly and soon he stood upright. He knew that he would be practically useless in any emergency, with a head as bad as this. He stepped to the dressing-table with its long, frameless mirrors, and sat on the stool. There was nothing the matter with his face or forehead. He put up his right hand and touched the back of his head gingerly—and winced with pain. He manoeuvred the side mirrors, so that he could get a back-view of his head.

  There was a large swelling, but as far as he could see the skin wasn’t broken.

  He finished the cigarette, feeling thirsty. He looked round the room, and saw a hand-basin in one corner. He reached it, half-filled a tooth-glass with water and, without troubling to rinse it out, gulped a little.

  He finished the water greedily.

  All the time he could hear that faint music.

  He went to the door and tried the handle, quite expecting to find the door locked—but it was not He pulled it open. Odd, that he should be quite free to move about as he pleased. There was no sense in it.

  A light flashed on, so bright that he gasped aloud and whipped his hand to his eyes. He saw nothing for some time except a red light through his eyelids. He leaned against the wall, recanting his thoughts—they hadn’t let him roam at will; this had been done so that he would think he could escape and then have his hopes dashed.

  “Put that—light out,” he muttered at last, and opened his eyes a fraction, peered through a crack in his fingers.

  “Oh, is it as bad as that?” asked Pauline Dexter, as if distressed. “What a shame! But you’ll soon be better. Come in and have a drink.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  “REQUEST”

  SHE slipped her arm through his and led him into the drawing-room. In a corner a radio was playing soft orchestral music, the air which she had hummed a little while before. She helped him to sit on a settee and, when he grunted as his head touched the back, she made a moue of sympathy and, handling him gently, pushed a cushion behind him so that he could sit upright Then she pulled a pouffe near, and lifted his legs on to it

  “You’ll soon feel better,” she said. “Whisky? Or perhaps you ought to have coffee, after that blow.”

  She went to a table near the electric fire. On it was a round glass coffee-bowl, and the coffee seethed and bubbled over the heat of a tiny methylated spirit lamp. Two cups were by the coffee-bowl, and she poured out.

  “Milk?” she asked, “No, you ought to have it black, with plenty of sugar.”

  She was dressed in a cream-coloured silk dressing-gown, fastened round the waist with a wide scarlet sash. On her feet were scarlet satin slippers. The frilly lace of her nightdress, or pyjamas, showed above the neck of the dressing-gown. Her hair was a mass of loose golden curls, her complexion pink as a child’s; and she wore only a slight touch of lipstick.

  She stirred the coffee and brought it to him.

  “Thanks,” muttered Rollison.

  After a few minutes his head grew easier and he was not so affected by the light. She pulled up a fireside chair and sat in front of him, leaning forward with her arms folded.

  “You must feel terrible,” she remarked. “Your eyes are all bloodshot, did you know? And they look glassy. But they haven’t marked you, thank goodness—there are so few good-looking men about, that I hate to think of one of them having his looks spoiled.”

  “Very considerate of you,” murmured Rollison.

  She laughed, and her teeth glistened and he could see the tip of her tongue.

  “So you can still find a retort,” she marvelled. “I wish Merino hadn’t taken the steps he has done—I’m quite serious,” she added, as if he had shown that he disbelieved her. “I always think that persuasion is much better than violence, but he’s so used to having his own way. The trouble is that this way has often worked for him in other countries. He’s not English, you know—he’s a Cuban.”

  “Indeed,” said Rollison.

  “Although I suppose one ought to call him a cosmopolitan,” said Pauline musingly.

  “Committing crimes all over the world,” said Rollison.

  That depends on how you look at it,” the girl said. But now that you’re here and we’re alone, I’ve a favour to ask. I hope you’ll grant it because if you do, you’ll save yourself and the Aliens and perhaps a lot of other people a great deal of inconvenience.”

  “Merino’s already asked me,” said Rollison, “and I am not in the mood to go abroad.”

  “Oh, I don’t mean that,” said Pauline, her eyes wide and starry. “I always thought that he was silly to try to bribe you, but he’s been used to getting what he wants by offering money— or rather jewels—to V.LP.s. He’s been a jewel merchant for so long that he forgets there are other values. He hasn’t really found his own level in England. I shouldn’t be foolish enough to ask you to leave England. I won’t even ask you to keep away from the Aliens I Frankly I’m a little afraid that if Merino loses his temper he might kill Bob Allen, and I’m fond of the boy. Besides
—the police would have to be consulted if murder were done, wouldn’t they?”

  “I think they’d appreciate it,” said Rollison.

  She laughed again.

  “You’re rather sweet,” she remarked. “Is that cushion comfortable? You wouldn’t like another behind your head?” When he said “no”, she took a cigarette from a box near her, lit it, and then put it to his mouth—as he’d done to Allen. “Now you look better,” she said, “I like a man to smoke. Now, to my request! I want you to persuade Bob Allen to go through with the broadcast on Saturday, and to say exactly what I’ve told him to say. He can easily work it into his script, that can be arranged without the slightest trouble.”

  “So he’s objecting, is he?” remarked Rollison.

  “He’s so stubborn,” said Pauline. “He flatly refuses to do what I ask, but I feel sure he will listen to you. He may not have shown you much respect so far, but he’s impressed by you. If you exert yourself, you can arrange it——”

  “So all I have to do is exert myself,” murmured Rollison.

  “Yes—and not too much, I shouldn’t think,” said Pauline. “Of course, you won’t want to do it, I know that, but I think you will. He’s a nice lad, isn’t he?”

  “Allen? He——”

  “Oh no. That boy who works for you,” said Pauline, looking at him with mock innocence; suddenly he wanted to wring her neck. “The one with the funny little nose—I wanted to laugh when I first saw him, I should imagine he makes a lot of people feel like that. Isn’t it odd,” she went on, taking a cigarette, “that some people are born cheerful and everywhere they go they make friends and spread brightness and happiness, so to speak, and others—rather like your man Jolly—spread gloom. What is the boy’s name?”

  “Higginbottom,” answered Rollison.

  “Oh no!”

  “James Higginbottom,” said Rollison firmly.