No Orchids for Miss Blandish

by James Hadley Chase

  After some minutes, Eddie found the floor getting hard. He got up and sat on the end of the bed.

  "I'm getting calluses," he said, grinning. "You get off to sleep if you want to."

  "I don't want to sleep," the girl said. "You scared the life out of me, but I'm not so scared now."

  "That's fine," Eddie said. "I scared the life out of myself too."

  The sounds in the building had died down. Some of the police cars were moving off. He wondered if Flynn had got away. He guessed he had. Flynn knew how to take care of himself.

  After a long pause, the girl said, "It was just like a movie. All that shooting... if you hadn't held my hand I would have screamed."

  Eddie looked at her with growing interest.

  "I'll hold it again any time you like."

  She gave a nervous giggle.

  "I don't feel like screaming now."

  He got up and looked out of the window. The crowded street was now deserted. The last of the police cars were moving away.

  "Well, I guess I can go. Looks like the show is over." He came over to the bed and smiled at the girl. "Thanks a lot, baby. You were swell."

  She half sat up in the bed.

  "Are you sure it's safe to go?"

  "Yeah. I can't stay here all night."

  She settled down in the bed.

  "Can't you?" She spoke so softly he scarcely heard what she said, but he did hear. He suddenly grinned.

  "Well, there's no law against it, is there? Do you want me to stay?"

  "Now you're making me blush," the girl said and hid her face. "What a question to ask a lady."

  6

  Two days later, an advertisement offering kegs of white paint appeared in the Tribune.

  Ma Grisson tossed the newspaper to Doc.

  "The money's ready," she said. "Now we've got to collect it. It'll be a soft job, Flynn and Woppy can handle it. You write to Blandish, Doc. Tell him to drive to the Maxwell filling station on Highway 71. He'll know where it is. He's to get to the Blue Hills golf course at one o'clock." She looked over at Flynn and Woppy who were listening. "That's where you boys will be waiting. He is to throw the suitcase out of the car window when he sees a light flashing. He's not to stop. Warn him he'll be watched from the moment he leaves his house. If he cooperates with the police or tries anything smart, the girl will suffer." To Flynn and Woppy, she went on, "You won't have any trouble. Blandish will be too scared something might happen to the girl. The road's straight for miles. If you're followed, drop the suitcase in the road so they can see it, and keep moving. They won't come after you because of the girl."

  "Tomorrow night?" Flynn asked.

  "That's it."

  Flynn stuck a cigarette on his lower lip.

  "Didn't you say the girl was to be knocked off, Ma?" he said, staring at Ma. "What are we keeping her for?"

  Ma stiffened. Her little eyes turned hard.

  "She'll go when we get the money."

  "Why wait?"

  "Who do you think you're talking to?" Ma snarled. "Shut your loose mouth!"

  Flynn looked over at Doc who couldn't meet his direct stare. Doc got up, muttered something under his breath and left the room.

  "What's happening to the girl, Ma?" Flynn asked. "I saw that old quack go into her room last night with a hypo."

  Ma's face turned purple.

  "Did you? If you've nothing better to do than to snoop around here, I'll have to find you something to do."

  The tone of her voice alarmed Flynn.

  "Okay, okay," he said hastily. "I was only shooting the breeze."

  "Shoot it to someone who wants to listen," Ma snarled. "Get out of here!"

  Flynn hurriedly left the room. After a moment's uneasy hesitation, Woppy followed him. The two men went upstairs and into Eddie's room.

  Eddie was in bed, reading the Sunday comics.

  "Hi, you misbegotten freaks!" he said cheerfully. "What's cooking?"

  Flynn sat on the foot of the bed. Woppy straddled a chair, laying his fat arms along the back.

  "We're collecting the dough tomorrow night," Woppy said. "The ad's in the Tribune."

  "A million bucks!" Eddie said, lying back on the dirty pillow. "Think of it! At last, we're in the money!"

  "What are you going to do with your cut when you get it?" Woppy asked.

  "I'm going to buy an island in the South Seas," Eddie said, "and I'm going to stock it with beautiful girls in grass skirts."

  Woppy laughed, slapping his fat thigh.

  "You and your women! Me--I'm going to start a restaurant. My spaghetti's going to be world famous."

  Flynn, who had been listening, his vicious face disinterested, suddenly asked, "What's going on in the girl's room, Eddie?"

  Eddie stopped laughing and stared at Flynn.

  "What do you mean?"

  "What I say. I'm in the room next to hers and I hear things. Doc goes in there. I've seen him with a hypo. Slim sneaks in there too. He was in there from eleven last night to four in the morning."

  Eddie threw the sheet off and got out of bed. "What do you mean--a hypo?"

  "You heard me. Doc had a hypo in his hand when he went into her room. Do you think he's drugging her?"

  "Why should he?"

  "I don't know--I'm asking you. Why does Slim go in there?"

  Eddie started to throw on his clothes.

  "Slim! You don't think that poisonous moron has ideas about the girl, do you?"

  "I tell you I don't know, but Ma's goddamn touchy when I mention the girl."

  "I'm going to talk to her," Eddie said. "I'm not standing for Slim relieving his repressions on that girl. There's a limit, and goddamn it, that would be the limit!"

  "You'd better not," Woppy said in alarm. "Ma won't like it. Better keep out of it."

  Eddie ignored him; to Flynn he said, "Watch the stairs. Give me a tip if it looks like Ma's coming up."

  "Sure," Flynn said and went out into the passage. He leaned over the banister.

  Eddie ran a comb through his hair, put on a tie, then went quickly down the passage to Miss Blandish's room. The key was in the lock. He turned it and entered the room.

  Miss Blandish lay flat on her back on the bed, covered by a grimy sheet. She was staring up at the ceiling.

  Eddie closed the door and went over to her.

  "Hello, baby," he said. "How are you getting on?"

  Miss Blandish didn't seem to know he was in the room. She continued to stare up at the ceiling.

  Eddie put his hand on her shoulder and shook her gently.

  "Wake up, baby," he said. "What's going on?"

  Slowly, she turned her head and stared at him. Her eyes were blank: the pupils enormously enlarged.

  "Go away," she said, her words blurred.

  He sat on the bed.

  "You know me--I'm Eddie," he said. "Wake up! What's going on?"

  She closed her eyes. For several minutes he watched her, then suddenly she began to speak. Her low, lifeless voice was like a medium in a trance talking.

  "I wish I was dead," she said. "They say nothing matters once you are dead." There was another long pause, while Eddie frowned down at her, then she went on. "Dreams... nothing but horrible dreams. There's a man who comes here, who seems very real, but he doesn't really exist. He is tall and thin and he smells of dirt. He stands over me and talks. I don't understand what he is saying." She moved under the sheet as if its weight was unbearable to her. There was again a long pause of silence, then she went on, "I pretend to be dead. I want to scream when he comes in, but if I did, he would know I was alive. He stands for hours by me, mumbling." Then suddenly she screamed out, "Why doesn't he do something to me?"

  Eddie started back, sweat on his face. The awful tone of her scream frightened him. He looked towards the door, wondering if Ma had heard her.

  Miss Blandish relaxed again. She was muttering now, moving her body uneasily, her hands twisting the sheet.

  "I wish he would do something t
o me," she said. "Anything is better than having him standing hour after hour at my side, talking. I wish he would do something to me..."

  Flynn poked his head around the door.

  "You'd better get out of here. What's she yelling about?"

  Eddie shoved him out of the room and shut and locked the door. He wiped his sweating face with the back of his hand.

  "What's going on in there?" Flynn demanded.

  "Something pretty bad," Eddie said. "She'd be better off dead."

  "Nobody's better off dead," Flynn said sharply. "What do you mean?"

  Eddie went back to his room. Flynn trailed along behind him.

  As Eddie entered, Woppy looked up at him, startled by his bleak expression.

  "Get out of here!" Eddie snarled and went over to his bed and lay down on it.

  Woppy went quickly out of the room. He looked blankly at Flynn who shrugged his shoulders.

  Eddie shut his eyes. For the first time in his life he felt dirty and ashamed of himself.

  7

  POLICE SUSPECT RILEY GANG RESPONSIBLE FOR POLICE SLAYING

  Murdered man identified.

  John Blandish pays ransom money.

  Our reporter learns the man shot to death at the Palace Hotel has been identified as Alvin Heinie, the free-lance society gossip writer. It was Heinie who informed the police that the Riley mob had questioned him concerning the movements of John Blandish's daughter, the kidnapped heiress.

  It is understood that the ransom demand of a million dollars is being paid today. Mr. Blandish, fearing for his daughter's safety has refused to cooperate with the authorities. The Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are standing by. They will go into immediate action when it is known the kidnapped girl is safe.

  The police have reason to believe that Alvin Heinie was murdered by the Riley gang as an act of revenge...

  Ma Grisson read the story to the gang who listened, grinning.

  "Nice work," Flynn said. "Riley's getting blamed for everything. I bet if the Chief of Police fell downstairs, he would say Riley had pushed him." Eddie was looking thoughtful.

  "Maybe it's okay, but I've been asking myself who did shoot Heinie. It wasn't Riley and it wasn't us. This Borg girl bothers me. I think she knocked Heinie off. Why? We do know she's connected in some way with Riley. I think we should do something about her."

  "You're right," Ma said. "Before we collect the money, we must find out where she fits in. You go into town, Eddie and ask around. You might get a lead on her."

  "Okay," Eddie said getting to his feet. "You coming with me, Slim?"

  Slim was sitting in a corner away from the rest of the mob. He was reading the comics. He didn't even look up when Eddie spoke to him.

  "You go in alone," Ma said. "Leave your rod here." Eddie went out into the hall. Ma followed him. "You go and talk to Pete Cosmos," Ma said. "He knows all the girls in town. Gimme your gun."

  As Eddie handed the .45 over, he said, "Can't you tell Slim to leave the girl alone, Ma?" Ma stiffened.

  "Mind your own business, Eddie," she said. "You're a good boy. Don't start poking your nose into something that doesn't concern you."

  "Come on, Ma," Eddie said coaxingly. "That girl's too nice to have Slim messing her around. Give her a break, can't you?"

  Ma's eyes suddenly snapped with rage. Her face turned purple.

  "Slim wants her," she said, lowering her voice and glaring at Eddie. "He's going to have her. You keep out of it! That goes for the rest of you too!"

  Eddie showed his disgust.

  "To hell with a punk who can only get a girl by filling her with drugs," he said.

  Ma struck him across the mouth with the back of her hand. It was a heavy blow and sent him back on his heels. They stared at each other, then Eddie forced a grin.

  "Okay, Ma," he said. "I was talking out of turn. Forget it"

  He left her glaring after him, her face dark with rage.

  As he drove downtown, he told himself, he would have to be careful. Ma was as dangerous as Slim. She wouldn't hesitate to shoot him in the back if she thought he was going to cause trouble in the gang about the Blandish girl. He shrugged his shoulders. He felt sorry for the girl, but he wasn't going to risk his life for her.

  He arrived at the Cosmos Club a little after two p.m. The cleaners were still clearing up after the night before. The girls were rehearsing under the direction of a little man, dressed in a blazer and white trousers. The pianist was pounding out jazz, a cigarette dangling from his lips. The girls, wearing shorts, all smiled at Eddie. He was well known at the club and popular. He paused long enough to pat a few sleek behinds and crack a joke before going on to the office.

  Pete Cosmos was sitting at his desk, reading the newspaper. He seemed surprised when Eddie walked in. Pete was a fat ball of a man with a pencil-line moustache and a liking for violent, hand-painted ties. The tie he had on made Eddie blink.

  They shook hands.

  "Hi, Pete," Eddie said, sitting on the corner of the desk. "What's cooking?"

  Pete tossed the newspaper on the floor. He shook his head, scowling.

  "That's the trouble," he said, offering Eddie a cigar. "Nothing's cooking. Since all this shooting, business has gone to hell. We only had ten people in last night: four of them were my wife's friends and didn't pay."

  "Yeah," Eddie said sympathetically. "I get the same story wherever I go. This punk Riley really seems to have started something."

  Pete lit his cigar.

  "I can't understand it, Eddie. I would never have believed Riley had the nerve to snatch that dame. He was strictly small time. He must have gone nuts. Now if it had been Ma who had pulled the job..."

  "She didn't," Eddie said. "We've been out of town all week."

  "Sure, sure," Pete said quickly catching the sudden hard note in Eddie's voice. "I haven't seen you or the boys for weeks. All the same, if I had snatched the girl, I'd be Very, very careful. As soon as the ransom's paid and the girl returned, the heat's going to be turned on that'll paralyze this town. You mark my words."

  "It's Riley's funeral," Eddie said.

  "I'd like to know where he's hiding," Pete said.

  "Who's Anna Borg?" Eddie asked casually, studying the glowing tip of his cigar.

  "What's she to you?" Pete asked sharply.

  "I want to know who she is," Eddie said. "Do you know her?"

  "Sure."

  "Who is she? What does she do for a living?"

  "She totes the gun," Pete said.

  Eddie was surprised.

  "Is that a fact? Who does she carry the gun for?"

  Pete smiled.

  "Who do you think? Riley."

  Eddie whistled.

  "Well, well! Certainly news to me."

  "I'll tell you something else," Pete said. "Anna's been left high and dry and the boys are asking why. She and Riley were like that." He held up two dirty fingers close together. "Then Riley pulls the biggest snatch of the century and Anna's left out in the cold. It doesn't make sense."

  "Maybe Riley got tired of her," Eddie said.

  "The boys say not. Anna swears Riley wouldn't have ditched her. She thinks something's happened to him."

  Eddie's face became expressionless.

  "You know women," he said with a sneer. "They'd say anything to save their face. You can bet Riley's ditched her now he's heading for the big money. She just won't admit it."

  Pete shrugged.

  "Could be. Anyway, it's not my business."

  "Is she still living at the Palace Hotel?"

  Pete looked curiously at him.

  "Why the interest in Anna?"

  "Ma wants to know."

  Pete looked surprised.

  "Yeah, Anna's still at the Palace. She has a couple of dicks parked with her. The Feds think Riley came to see her, ran into Heinie who was staying there and couldn't resist knocking Heinie off for ratting on him. They think Riley might come back to see Anna so they're waiting
for him."

  Eddie rubbed his jaw, his mind busy. Finally, he said, "I want to talk to this baby, Pete. Here's what you do: telephone her right now and tell her to come here. I'll talk to her here and the Feds won't know we've met."

  "What do you want to talk to her about?" Pete asked suspiciously. "I'm not getting Anna in trouble. She's okay with me."

  "No trouble, Pete. Do what I say. Ma's orders."

  Pete was scared of Ma. He called Anna's apartment.

  "That you, Anna?" he asked while Eddie watched him. "This is Pete. Something's come up important. I want you over here right away. No, I don't say it's a job, but it might lead to one. You'll come? Okay, I'm waiting for you," and he hung up.

  "Okay?" Eddie asked.

  "She's coming. She'll be here in half an hour."

  "Thanks, Pete. I'll tell Ma. She won't forget you."

  "I'd rather she did forget me," Pete said uneasily. "And listen, Eddie, no rough stuff with Anna."

  "Relax. I just want a brotherly talk with her." Eddie grinned. "Suppose you take a walk and leave me here. Come back in an hour."

  Pete shrugged his shoulders.

  "Well, it's time I had lunch. I guess I'd better have it."

  "And Pete," Eddie said. "You got a gun?"

  "What do you want a gun for?" Pete asked startled.

  "Come on, come on! Don't talk so much. Have you got a gun?"

  "In the top left hand drawer," Pete said.

  "Okay. You take off."

  When Pete had gone, Eddie went around and sat behind the desk. He opened the drawer and took out a .38 which he laid on the desk. He didn't intend to take any chances with a girl who carried a gun for Riley. Gun-girls had lots of nerve, and besides, he was pretty sure Anna had knocked Heinie off.

  After a wait of thirty minutes, he heard the click of high heels coming down the passage. He put his hand on the gun.

  The door swung open and Anna walked in. She was wearing a pale green summer dress and a big straw hat. Eddie thought she looked terrific.

  She was halfway across the room before she saw him. She had swung the door to as she had entered. She stopped short, the color leaving her face. Her eyes went to the gun on the desk.

  "Hello, baby," Eddie said. "Come on in. Keep your pants on. This is a friendly meeting, but let's have your handbag. Pass it over."