“Is this Ernest Hemingway?”
“You expecting the Pope?”
“No,” I said.
“Well you’ve got ten minutes for your interview. I’m going out fishing this afternoon and I don’t have time for this. Pauline shouldn’t have promised I’d call you back.”
“This isn’t an interview,” I said.
“You told my wife it was an interview.”
“I needed to talk to you.”
“If you’re trying to get me to read a manuscript, forget it. I don’t have time for this bullshit.”
“No manuscript,” I said. “I’m calling to warn you that someone is on his way to Key West who I believe may be intending to hurt you.”
Hemingway let out a loud laugh. “Let him try. Who is this guy anyway? Someone didn’t like one of my books?”
“His name is Henry Greeley.”
“What did I do to set him off?”
“I’m not sure,” I said. “I think he believes you stole the idea for The Sun Also Rises from him.”
“I remember the name now,” Hemingway said. “He sent me a letter. I wrote him back and set him straight. I don’t steal ideas. Got plenty of my own. He’s not the first to try to screw me out of a few bucks with such a claim. It’s an occupational hazard. Nobody’s ever tried to kill me though. They don’t want to kill the golden goose. That’s me if you don’t get the metaphor.”
“I felt I should warn you,” I said.
“I consider myself warned,” Hemingway said. “Are you really a reporter for the New York Daily Post?”
“I am.”
“Tell you what,” Hemingway let out another full-barreled laugh. “You call me next week and if this guy shows up, I’ll give you an interview on how I beat the crap out of him. I’m a boxer you know.”
“I didn’t.”
“Well I am. Not that I expect this guy to show up. Call me and I’ll give you an interview either way. Right now I’ve got to go. Got myself some fish to catch.”
I shook my head when I found myself listening to a dead phone. I wished Hemingway no harm and hoped I was wrong about why Greeley was on his way to Key West.
As I put down the phone I heard footsteps running across the dance floor. I hurried over to the safe room, but I hesitated before opening the panel. I decided the footsteps belonged to a single person, and that person was wearing high heels. Not likely a copper.
Throwing open the office door I watched as Alice ran toward me. Tears streamed down her face. She was carrying a crumpled hat and her hair was twisted out of place, as if it had been caught in the blades of a slow moving fan. The right sleeve of her blouse was shredded and her skirt was ripped along the seam. Rage flared deep within me when I saw the bright red mark on her cheek and a smear of blood on the corner of her lip.
I reached out, touched her chin, and she flinched as I lifted her face and looked for bruises. “What happened?” I asked.
“There was a copper waiting outside the club when we got back,” she said. “He arrested Mister Granger.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
I took out my handkerchief and dabbed at Alice’s bloody lip. “Who did this to you?”
“A copper. Had a big scar here,” Alice ran a finger from her lip to her ear. “Tall and skinny.”
“Boyle.” I looked beyond her into the shadows, wondering if he might have followed her into the building. We seemed to be alone, which was too bad. If Boyle had walked in right then, I would have strangled him with my bare hands. I was angry enough to kill the bastard and enjoy doing it, Sing-Sing be damned.
After taking several deep breaths to calm myself, I led Alice over to the bar. Once I got her settled into one of the stools I poured her a shot of Four Roses. Handing her the whiskey, I came out from behind the counter so I wouldn’t be tempted to help myself to the hard stuff. She looked pale, and I half expected her to keel over and pass out. Her hands were trembling as she set her purse and hat on the counter.
I slid onto the stool next to her and kept my voice low as I tried to sooth her fears. “Tell me what happened.”
Alice needed both hands to lift the glass to her lips and she still spilled about half the whiskey. I cupped my hand and brushed the liquid away from her and onto the floor.
“I need another,” she said.
I reached for the glass. “Maybe later. Right now you need to tell me what happened.”
“Mr. Granger had the cab pull around back and we carried everything we’d bought for you into the back storeroom. We walked out together to go pay the driver and the copper came out of nowhere. He had his gun out and he ordered us to turn around. Then he cuffed Mr. Granger’s hands behind his back. He flashed his badge at the cab driver and told him to get lost. I’ve never been so scared in my life.”
I took out my Luckies and shook one out for her. I had to hold her hand steady to light it, but after a couple of drags she seemed almost at ease.
“Did Boyle take Ed away?”
Alice sucked on her cigarette as if she was drinking soda from a straw and refused to meet my eyes. “He told Mr. Granger to get down on his knees, and then he asked me where you were. I said I didn’t know and he grabbed my arm, swung me around, and started pawing at my clothes. When I tried to push him away he backhanded me across the mouth.
“Mr. Granger managed to get to his feet, but the copper pointed the gun at him and told him he was under arrest. He jammed the gun into Mr. Granger’s back and ordered him to start walking. It was like he forgot about me. I waited until they turned the corner of the building and then I ran inside and found you.”
“You did the right thing.” I said.
“You think he’ll hurt Mr. Granger?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “I’m going to call Mary Rutledge and let her know what’s going on. She may be able to find out where Boyle took Ed. Maybe she can get him released. Why don’t you go upstairs and clean up.”
Alice snatched up her purse and then hesitated. “I’m pretty sure Mr. Granger had the tickets in his coat pocket when the copper grabbed him.”
When I heard that my stomach did a little jig. This meant there was a good chance Boyle would find them and realize where I was heading. Not a good omen. I was glad now that I’d accepted the envelope of money from Ed. “I can buy new tickets,” I said.
I thought she was going to cry again, but instead she blurted out, “I can’t do this, Jim. I thought I could, but I can’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“I can’t go with you to Key West. I’m not cut out for this. I came to New York to become a singer, not a gun moll.”
I put my hand on top of hers and patted it. “I understand. Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m so sorry.” She began to sob. Clutching her purse and hat to her chest, Alice slid off the stool.
After she left I made my way back to Ed’s office. This time when I called, Mary answered. I told her Ed had been arrested and that I was going to Key West alone.
“What happened to the canary?” Mary asked. “I thought we agreed she was going with you.”
“She’s scared out of her mind,” I said. “Can’t say as I blame her. I think Boyle’s gone off the deep end. At this point I’m more worried about Ed than I am about getting out of town.”
Mary was quiet for a moment. When she spoke, she sounded subdued. “I’ll call around and see if I can find out where they took Ed. You still at the club?”
“Where else would I be?”
“Give me the number. I’ll call you back as soon as I can.”
I rattled off the number and she said, “Don’t go anywhere until you hear back from me.”
I was getting damn tired of playing this waiting game. I wanted to run back to the storeroom and grab the things Ed and Alice bought for me. I needed to pack so I could be ready to move out as soon as I heard from Mary, but I was afraid to leave the office in case she called.
It was another hour before I heard from Mary. She sou
nded exhausted. “Nobody seems to know where he is.”
“How can that be?”
“I suspect Boyle took him to one of the station houses and didn’t sign him in. The coppers want you for killing Belcher. They’re covering for Boyle.”
“I can’t leave Ed hanging like this,” I said. “Call the D.A. and tell him I’m turning myself in.”
Before Mary could answer I heard a voice behind me. “You can’t do that, Jim.”
I jumped at the sound and turned to find Joe standing in the doorway. I spoke into the phone. “Hold on a minute, Mary.” To Joe, I said, “Boyle arrested Ed and we don’t know where he took him.”
“Alice called me and told me all about it. I came in to help.”
“It’s too late. I’m going to take up the D.A. on his offer to turn myself in. I can’t abandon Ed.”
“Ed’s gone round and round with the coppers before. He’s going to get pushed around a little, but he's tough.”
I gripped the phone in my hand and pointed it at him. “Boyle wants me and he’s going to do everything he can to make Ed talk.”
“Ed’s been roughed up before. He won’t tell Boyle where you are or where you’re going. They can’t hold him forever. I think your girlfriend’s going to have to go with you after all. Alice feels bad, but she’s not going to change her mind.”
“I’ll go by myself.”
Joe shook his head. “Won’t work. I heard on the radio the coppers have cancelled all leaves. They must have decided you didn’t leave town. They’re out there in force looking for you. I passed through Grand Central on my way in. The coppers are watching every single guy who gets on the trains. I’m betting it’s the same story at Penn Station. To be honest, I’m not sure you can get past them no matter what you do.”
“All the more reason Mary can’t come with me.”
“Why don’t you leave it up to her?”
“He’s right, Jim,” Mary said over the phone.
“You heard what Joe said?” I asked.
“I did,” she said. “I’ll be at the club within the hour. I need to run home, change, and pack a bag.”
“Give me a minute to think about this.”
“Nothing to think about,” Mary said. “I’m going to talk to my boss right now. I’ve got some vacation time coming and he doesn’t need to know where I’m going, or why.”
“Boyle may come looking for you. At least call me when you get to your apartment.”
“All right.” I could hear the exasperation in her voice as she added. “I’ve got to go now.”
She hung up the phone and it was clear to me that she wasn’t going to change her mind.
I placed the receiver down and looked over at Joe. “I don’t like this.”
“We decided last night you going with a dame would offer you a better chance of not being recognized. Tell me, what happens if the coppers nab you trying to get out of town?”
“At the very least I’ll be arrested. More likely I’ll be shot on the spot.”
“Maybe you should hide out here until things cool off,” Joe said. “Nobody knows about the safe room.”
“That place is no better than a cell. Besides, if I’m not going to give myself up, I’ve got to go after Greeley. He’s my only hope of proving my innocence.”
Joe shrugged. “This brings us back to the fact that you’ve got a much better chance of getting out of town if you travel as a couple.”
“I can’t put Mary in danger. Look what happened to Alice. She was traumatized by what happened this afternoon. On top of that, Ed’s disappeared. I won’t be able to live with myself if something bad happens to Ed or Mary because of me.”
“Alice will get over it, and the first thing I did after Alice phoned was to call Jeb Conner, Ed’s lawyer. Maybe Mary couldn’t find Ed, but Jeb’s been around a long time. He knows whose palms to grease. As for Mary, I get the feeling that if you left without her she might catch the next train to spite you.”
“I don’t seem to have a choice in the matter.”
“What time does your train leave?”
“Ed had the tickets with him when the copper grabbed him.” I touched my hand to the pocket where I’d put Ed’s envelope. “We’ll have to buy new tickets.”
“The coppers can’t watch everyone, but they’ll be thick around the ticket windows.”
“They’ll be roaming through the passenger cars as well as watching who gets on board,” I said.
“It’s going to take more than a little luck to get by them,” Joe said. “I think we need to come up with some kind of a disguise for you.”
I nodded and edged around Joe. “Let me give it some thought. Right now I’ve got to get ready to leave. Everything Ed bought for me is in the storage room. I’m gonna haul the stuff to the office and get packed.”
“I’ll give you a hand.”
We walked through the club together. There were perhaps a dozen boxes and a new suitcase piled alongside a beer keg on the storage room floor. I turned to Joe. “Does Ed keep a spare key for his car here?”
“In the till, in case he loses his keys.”
“I’m thinking maybe you should run over to his place and get the car.”
Joe looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “Why?”
“You can come back and pick me up. We’ll drive over and meet Mary at her apartment. If the coppers see her coming in here carrying a travel bag, they’re going to get suspicious. Afterward, you can take our bags and check them for us while we catch the subway to Penn station. Check the luggage under your name, and I’ll start calling myself Joe.”
“They’ll be looking for someone carrying baggage,” Joe said as my words sunk in. “It’s a good idea. Didn’t you tell Mary to call you when she got home?”
“I did.”
Joe grabbed the suitcase and two of the boxes. “I’ll let you get the rest of this stuff. We’ve got to get moving.”
Once we had everything laid out in the office, Joe turned to me. “Come with me for a second, Jim. I’ve got something for you.”
Curious, I followed at his heels. He stepped behind the register, reached down, and brought out a stubby little revolver.
“Take this,” he said.
I hesitated, and then took the gun from his hand. The grip felt hot and I was surprised at how heavy it was. The gun seemed to vibrate in my hand as if it had a mind of its own. I looked up at Joe and he smiled.
“I hope you don’t expect me to shoot it out with the coppers,” I said.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
I carried the gun to Ed’s office, set it on the desk, and tried to pretend it wasn’t there as I began sorting through the packages. Ed’s purchases included socks and underwear, a pair of black shoes, four shirts, three ties, two pairs of slacks with a matching jacket and a lightweight trench coat. He’d also bought me a new razor, soap and a strop.
As I was setting everything out, a rustling at the doorway startled me. Snapping my head around, I discovered Alice watching me. She had on a white robe and had scrubbed off all of her makeup. It made her look all of fifteen years old and I felt bad about what she’d been put through. She held a book in her right hand and she turned it so I could read the title, The Sun Also Rises.
“I forgot to give it to you.”
“Thanks.” I waved her in and when I started to throw things into the valise, she hurried over, handed me the book, and nudged me out of the way.
“Let me do this for you. It’s the least I can do.”
As she approached the desk she saw the gun and hesitated. Her eyes widened, and she reached out to touch it.
“Is it real?”
I moved it away from her. “Joe thinks I may need it.”
Alice nodded, and began removing everything I’d already packed from the bag. “Shoes go first,” she said. “You want to pack so when you get to where you’re going your clothes are as wrinkle free as possible. The way you were tossing everything around you would have looked li
ke a hobo by the time you got to Florida.”
She was right. I wasn’t a big traveler, and even without living out of a bag my suits tended to have a lived-in look about them.
I watched her work. She was quick and efficient. When she finished and closed the bag, I grabbed it and swung it off the desk.
“You’ll never make it,” she said.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“I was listening to the radio upstairs. The coppers are searching all trains and boats leaving the city. They’ve also set up roadblocks.”
Joe walked in, cleared his throat, and said, “They can do a fair job of watching the depots and the docks, but they can’t search every train. And there’s no way they can do a thorough search of every car leaving town. The coppers figure if they can convince Jim he doesn’t have a chance of getting out of town, he’ll give himself up. By the way, I stopped and filled the gas tank. The car’s parked out in the alley.”
Alice started chewing on her lower lip and shifted her eyes from me to Joe and back again. “So if the safest way for Jim to get out of town is by car, why is he taking the train?”
Joe looked at me, I looked at him, and he laughed.
“You’re a genius, hon,” he said. To me he added, “You had the right idea about using the car to get your bags to the train, but we didn’t think it through enough. I can drive you to Boston.”
“D.C. would be better,” I said. “They must know I went to school in Boston. They might figure it’s the logical place for me to go. Washington’s a little further from New York, but I have no connections in D.C. I can buy new tickets when we get there. In fact, now Mary won’t have to come along with me.”
Joe snorted. “Give it up, Jim. She’s already made up her mind.”
“You aren’t going to be able to drive us,” I said. “Friday’s one of your biggest nights. You can’t walk away from it. With Ed missing, you need to be here.”
“Shit, I didn’t think of that,” Joe said. “The coppers are bound to keep someone around to watch the place. If I close up, they’re gonna get suspicious.”
“I can drive you,” Alice said.
The Storm Killer Page 18
