by S G Read
Pruitt turned to Carter who was watching Carl the paper burn.
‘Shouldn’t you do something even if he’s one of Clo’s men?’ Pruitt asked.
‘I would do something but I haven’t got any more gas with me!’ Carter replied.
CHAPTER 6
They held Cally in the office until Clo arrived. She was surrounded by Clo’s men, all of them intent on causing her distress in some way or the other and making sure she knew it. She had caused them a lot of trouble. They were also making sure she was still there when Clo returned. She felt the anger and hate around her, the room smelt of men, some of whom badly needed a bath. Probably their yearly bath she thought.
‘Some of you need a bath!’ She complained and a hand hit her round the face.
She had never felt so alone. Her efforts to see her pa had been thwarted at every step so far and she still did not know if the Dermot Doyle in hospital was her pa. If he was, how come he had worked for Clo all this time with out her knowing? She thought back to some of the fights she had been involved in, some were because someone had called her father names; mainly Billy Watts and she punched him out for it! She thought about her mother who left to live with her father, he was her grandfather, a police officer! Things started to fall in place. Clo's return interrupted her thoughts.
‘Well girl we meet at last.’ He said as he sat opposite her. ‘I’ve been looking forward to meeting you!’
Cally was afraid but tried not to show it.
‘Is it true that my pa worked for you?’ She asked, not just to make conversation but she was also interested in the answer.
‘It is but he obviously thought I wasn’t paying him enough so he helped himself to some of my money. I’m hoping you can help me find it!’ There was iciness in Clo’s tone that Cally did not like.
Emil Shultz began to wonder where Dill was. Bertram Dill had been his book keeper for four years now and he was as near to a friend as Emil got. Good, honest bookkeepers were hard to come by and he wanted to make sure he kept this one. He stood up.
‘Bring the car round Chuck, I’m going to pay Clo a visit.’
The drive across Chicago in his brand new Rolls Royce silver ghost was a pleasure to him, he especially liked it when people stopped and stared at him and the car. They drove into the hotel car park and stopped next to the main door, Emil was like Clo in that respect, why walk when you have a car? Especially a car like his silver ghost. His two bodyguards jumped out and checked the hotel before Emil climbed out. One held the elevator for him while the other dissuaded anyone else from wanting to use it at the same time.
The man on the hotel reception desk picked up the phone as soon as Schulz was in the lift, to warn Clo of Schulz’s arrival. Arnold Phillips walked in as Clo was talking to Cally and whispered in his ear.
‘What here?’ Clo asked.
‘In the elevator.’ Arnold replied.
‘Barney, take the girl to room 114 and keep her quiet. Marco you sit by the door to make sure Spotty’s clowns don’t take any interest in the room!’
Barney did as Clo ordered and dragged Cally away, struggling, to room 114 and Marco locked her in with Barney, after Barney had handcuffed her to the bedstead, to make doubly sure she did not escape. She had to sit on the left side of the bed facing a window. He had handcuffed her in such a way to make sure she could not do a lot to stop him from taking advantage of her, by handcuffing her left arm to the brass bed head. To reach the bed head her left arm crossed her body.
Barney had done it that way, so he had more freedom to explore her young body as he sat next to her. He sat on her left side to make sure there was no way she could do anything to stop him. The other end of the handcuff was just under the brass decoration on the top of the iron frame.
Flanked by one man and preceded by the other, Emil walked to Clo’s office. He walked in unannounced and sat in the chair he expected to be waiting for him.
‘I seem to have mislaid my book keeper Luigi; can you shed any light on the matter?’
‘Dill did call and look through our books. He said he thought there was some money missing, we sent him out with the money and Toby drove him back to your place or that was the plan.’
‘Well he didn’t arrive. Is this Toby about?’ Shultz replied.
‘Harry, see if Toby’s in the rest room.’
‘Yes boss.’
Harry had learnt to read between the lines with Clo. Clo meant waste Toby and make sure it was before Spotty could talk to him. Harry looked in the rest room but there was no sign of Toby. He returned to Clo’s office.
‘No sign of him boss.’
‘Then find him and be quick about it!’ Clo ordered. 'We need to ask him where Dill is.
‘Yes boss.’
Before Harry could move Shultz added. ‘Michael will go with you, to make sure you don’t have any trouble.’
Both Harry and Clo knew not to argue. Now Harry had to lead Mike round while someone else disposed of Toby.
-Bad luck for Toby-! Harry thought. -Not being in the room has cost him his life-! He was glad he had been there or it might have been him!
Drummond collected his bicycle from where Cally had dumped it on the grass and headed for the Dolphin. He had no idea what to do, or even if he could do anything to help but he knew he had to try, Caleb had told him to look after her. He knew Cally reckoned she could look after herself, maybe she could escape, and if she did at least he would be there to help! He pedalled non stop until he came to the hotel then pedalled as far as the fence by the towpath. He parked the bicycle, just as Cally had and climbed the fence to get on to the towpath.
The towpath went behind the hotel and it was those rooms that Caleb reckoned were used for anything they did not want anyone to know about. He studied each window in turn but saw nothing of Cally. He passed a tree with a rubber inner tube hanging on a rope from a branch, the wind causing it to swing from side to side. He settled down to wait and hope.
As he sat there, he thought about telling Caleb but Caleb expected him to come back with the girl and that was what he intended to do! Drummond had looked after himself before Caleb had found him, so one night in the open would not kill him. Drummond sat facing the river watching the water rushing by; it came from his right and disappeared under a bridge to his left. He turned to his right to watch the back of the hotel for sign of Cally, he felt utterly useless, blaming himself for not running faster on the way to the hospital.
Barney walked to the door to make sure it was securely locked, as he did not want to be disturbed and stood by the locked door to look Cally up and down. Her dress was still wet, dirty and torn in places. She sat on the bed watching him in return; he was on the fat side and was one of those men who smell no matter how much they try to cover it up with perfume. He was the one who had handcuffed her left hand to the bedstead and she sat awkwardly with her left arm across her, leaving her right arm free and near the bedstead. The bedstead was exactly like the one she had at home, what was left of home. She knew that if she unscrewed the knob on top, she would be able to slide the handcuff off but with the fat man in the room with her, that was not going to be easy!
Barney walked over to the bed and sat on the bottom end, far away from Cally and she was relieved. But he slid along the bed toward her and put his right arm round her waist. Cally tried not to flinch but it wasn’t easy, the smell of his perfume with his normal smell mixed with it, was overpowering. His other hand landed on her bare left knee and started moving up, under her skirt! She did not panic, although that is far from what she felt, she thought of a way out of this.
She did notice that he was very intent on what he was doing, to the point of not knowing what was going on elsewhere and she tried to unscrew the knob but it would not move. She had a choice, stop him now if she could or let him have his fun until she had the knob off then smash it into his ugly face. She chose the second and tried the knob again, the progress of his hand as in neared her private area gave her a lot more st
rength. The knob moved with a squeak and she let it go immediately.
‘Don’t be afraid I won’t hurt you.’ Barney said obviously thinking she had made the noise herself as he closed in on his target. He had been here before and she would soon be another of his young conquests.
Cally started again. She turned the knob further and further as his hand made slow but steady progress up her thigh and into her underpants. Finally the knob came away in her hand. When the knob was free in her hand she moved it into a more comfortable position just before he could touch her, where she did not want to be touched by him and smashed it into his nose as hard as she could. Barney clutched his face with a loud moaning noise and rolled off the bed. Marco knocked the door.
‘The boss said keep her quiet not make it sound like a brothel!’ He whispered urgently, not understanding Barney’s liking for pre puberty girls, Marco liked something he could get a grip on and not slide off.
Cally slid the handcuff up the bedstead and over the threaded bit until she was free. Then using two hands she leaned down and hit Barney on the head with the knob.
‘That’s for touching me,’ she whispered then turned away but turned back and hit him again, ‘and that’s for sitting next to me you smelly man.’
Barney rolled on the floor moaning. Cally took the chair from the corner of the room and used it to wedge the door shut, as she had done outside the restaurant; she was learning. When she lifted the chair Barney cowered in case she hit him with that as well but she more interested in finding a way out. She looked out the window; she was on the second storey so she could not jump out of the window.
The river was too far to jump into and from that height, even though she was a good swimmer, it would probably kill her or at least knock her out so she drowned. Next to the window, she saw a wire that ran across the river to a lower building on the other side. Cally dismissed the idea of climbing down the wire out of hand but with the absence of any other way of escaping, she kept returning to look at it. In the end, she tried to open the window, to see how strong the wire was but the window was screwed shut.
She looked about for some means of opening the window. The chair would do it but as soon as she smashed the window the man outside the door would come in and stop her escaping. On a dresser to the left of the window stood a metal jug, the dresser top was shaped like a bowl and the jug usually contained water. This jug was empty but it would serve the purpose she wanted.
Before she walked to the window, as Barney was starting to get up she hit him with the metal jug, using the handle as a fulcrum. Barney slumped onto the floor again.
Marco settled back into his chair after hearing the loud moaning and frowned. Should he stop Barney from doing what he did to young girls, to this particular girl? If he hurt her Clo would kill Barney but would he blame him as well? It was dilemma for him but he stayed in the chair. It might make her more willing to help them if they threatened her with more of the same.
Cally readied herself then smashed the window again and again until she could climb through; there was no turning back now. The man outside the door heard the noise and unlocked the door but when he tried to get into the room, the chair stopped the door from moving.
‘What’s going on Barney?’ Marco asked through the door. ‘The boss did say you weren’t to hurt her until he had his money!’
There was no answer from Barney; Cally had used the jug well!
‘Come on Barney open up!’
With no reply, Marco started hitting the door with his shoulder to open it. Cally heard him and climbed out of the window. When she tested the wire she did not think it felt very strong but it was all she had! She threw the loose end of the handcuff over the wire and caught it with her free hand. As she caught it she heard the door splinter, it was now or never! She launched herself off the window ledge and glided down until she was nearly the other side of the river. Suddenly the wire she was sliding down pulled free from the building in front of her and she started to fall towards the river. Not content with just dropping her in the river the wire snaked back and wrapped itself round her.
Again, she found herself supported but this time she was swinging back toward the hotel, the last place she wanted to be and with the added possibility of smashing into the wall.
Her concern soon changed, the wire broke free from the hotel and she started to fall again, at the same time the wire snaked back from that direction and lassoed her as well. Wrapped in the wire she fell into the river with only her feet free. She swam using her feet, submerging and then surfacing. Struggling to free herself until she managed to free one arm then a car inner tube landed beside her and she grabbed hold of it gratefully. The current was strong and she drifted away from the hotel at a good speed, something else she was grateful for.
Marco heard the glass break and quickly unlocked the door but he could not move it very far. He decided he wanted in and smashed at the door with his shoulder. After several attempts the door gave way and he managed to get inside the room. He saw Barney on the floor and the girl on the window ledge. He drew his gun but the girl launched herself into the air and slid down the telephone wire. He ignored Barney and ran to the window. Barney hauled his weight up the dresser and followed him to the window. They saw the wire one end come free and Cally swing back toward the Dolphin only for the end nearest them pull free of the wall. Marco tried to grab hold of it, he wrapped his hand round it and tried to hold on but it pulled straight out of his hand. They both watched as she fell into the water, still wrapped in the wire.
Drummond saw the glass break in the window and then saw Cally on the ledge. He watched awe struck as she slid down the wire, admiring her pluck, she was some girl! Then the wire broke and wrapped itself round her. He watched as she swung back toward danger then the wire came free completely and she was dumped in the river. He ran to the inner tube and struggled with the knot in the rope. He glanced up and was glad to see her surface only to go under again. He pulled the inner tube free from the rope and hurried to the river bank but Cally was nowhere to be seen. He waited. Suddenly she surfaced and she had freed one hand. He knew he only had one chance, for if the inner tube was out of her reach the current would carry it away before she could reach it. He threw it with all his strength and it landed just behind her. He saw her arm encircle the inner tube and felt a huge feeling of relief. He could only watch as she drifted away at speed. A shout above made him look up. Two men were looking out of the window and they were looking at him! He jumped the fence, picked up his bicycle and pedalled furiously downstream trying to catch Cally. He knew that Clo’s men would not be far behind him!
Marco and Barney saw the boy, who lived with blind Caleb, throw her the inner tube and then, when he saw them looking at him, they watched him pedal away.
‘Clo isn’t going to like this!’ Marco warned.
He watched as Cally drifted down the river clinging to the inner tube.
‘What do we do?’ Barney asked.
‘We follow her but first we tell Clo!’ Marco replied emphatically.
‘Do you think that’s wise?’
‘Wiser than not telling him!’ Marco answered.
Marco walked to Clo’s office and whispered in Clo’s ear.
‘Gone shopping?’ Clo asked. ‘You know I said she shouldn’t be left alone in the shops! Go with her and bring her safely back here!’
‘Yes boss.’ Marco replied and hurried out.
‘Women, they aint happy unless they’re spending my money!’ Clo complained.
‘As long as it’s your money Luigi, I don’t give a shit!’ Emil replied. ‘I want the money your bookkeeper stole back where it belongs inside a week or your men will be looking for a new boss!’
‘That won’t happen Emil, I assure you!’ Clo declared.
Clo liked his position and no one would take it from him, not even Emil Shultz! If it meant a war that was what Shultz would get!
Lieutenant Stone checked witness statements from people in
front of the hospital, they all reported seeing the girl walking toward the hospital but before she reached it two men in a car snatched her. And the description of the car resembled one of Clo’s cars down to the dented fender. Clo’s got the girl! That means she’s at the hotel. Find me a judge, one who isn’t on Clo's payroll and who will give me a warrant to search the place!’
‘What now?’ Sergeant Grogan asked.
‘Wait until tomorrow and we’ll be fishing that girl out of the lake!’ The lieutenant replied. ‘After he has got what he wants from her! And I understand from reports that one or more of his men like girls that age!’
‘This aint going to go down too well,’ Grogan declared, ‘Pruitt come with me, we’re off to see a judge! I know one who, I don’t think, is on the take! I guess I am about to find out.’
The phone rang in Clo’s office.
‘Clo here.’ Clo answered when he picked up the phone. ‘They are? What are the chances of them getting one? You did? Why? Oh I see, don’t worry we’ll deal with it! We have plans for things like this.’ He put the hand piece back in its cradle. ‘We’ll be having company; Lieutenant Stone is coming here to search the place, just in case we are hiding anything, or anyone. Get on to St Teresa’s orphanage and get them to send over some kids and a few nuns Arnold, that ought to make us look spectacular and put his nose right out of joint.
It took Grogan an hour to find a judge who was willing to sign the warrant. As soon as he arrived at the precinct, they were on their way, armed for bear and ready for anything. The cars screeched to a halt and armed police officers flooded into the building expecting trouble. A party of orphanage children were playing in the hotel and a group of nuns sat in an anti room away from the bar. The police drew a blank everywhere. Clo sat in his office drinking tea with Emil Shultz, apparently deep in conversation. No one argued, there were no complaints and they did not find the girl! Outside, Lieutenant Stone slammed his fist against the car roof.
