1945 - Blonde's Requiem (36 page)

“
You
’
d better crack it,
”
he said sourly.
“
Macey
’
ll play hell if you foozle it.
”

“
Did you get those guards on the vault?
”

He nodded.
“
A swell assignment. They loved it. They stopped there all night in the pouring rain listening to the stiffs turning in their graves. I hope you weren
’
t fooling when you said the girls were in that tomb.
”

“
I wasn
’
t,
”
I said grimly.
“
I saw
‘
em myself.
”

“
So it
’
s Esslinger?
”
He looked at me sharply.

I shook my head.
“
Not Max,
”
I said.

He waited, but I didn
’
t say anything more. We all stared at each other while the clock ticked off the minutes.

“
The boy, huh?
”
he asked at last.

“
Maybe. I
’
ll know tonight.
”

He chewed some more and then said:
“
You
’
re smart. McArthur
’
s a friend of mine—that
’
s why I
’
m giving you a break.
”

I thanked him.

“
Macey wouldn
’
t give you a break. He
’
d bust open the vault,
”
Beyfield went on.
“
I
’
m sticking my neck out. You
’
d better crack this case.
”

“
Even if I don
’
t, I
’
ve found the bodies. That
’
s more than you
’
ve done,
”
I reminded him.

“
Yeah,
”
he said.
“
Cranville
’
s punk.
”
He brooded for a while and then went on:
“
I guess this
’
ll finish Macey, and a good thing too.
”

“
I
’
m not interested any more in Cranville,
”
I said.
“
I want to get this killer fixed and then I
’
ll blow.
”

“
It
’
s where I have to live,
”
Beyfield explained, stretching out his long legs.
“
I don
’
t want Wolf running this town, and if Esslinger
’
s washed up, he might.
”

“
Esslinger
’
s washed up all right,
”
I said.
“
He
’
ll have to go. His brother-in-law
’
s tied up with the killings, and that alone is enough.
”

“
Sure is,
”
he said gloomily.
“
Maybe we
’
ll find some other guy to stand for mayor. I don
’
t want Wolf . . .
”

“
Maybe we could fix Wolf too,
”
I said, and went on to tell him about Edna Wilson.

He listened thoughtfully and then squinted at me.
“
Not much you
’
ve missed,
”
he said.
“
If that
’
s straight, we could fix Wolf.
”

“
It
’
s straight all right,
”
I said.

He got to his feet.
“
Okay, I
’
ll do something about that.
”

“
Have a word with Latimer,
”
I said.
“
He could fix it. A front-page story in the Cranville Gazette would blow the lid right off this town. Maybe they
’
d make you Chief of Police if you played it right.
”

For a second a sour smile lit his face.
“
I
’
ve even thought of that,
”
he said.
“
Yeah, I
’
ll have a word with Latimer.
”

“
Want to be in on this?
”
I asked.

He looked at me questioningly.

“
You could come along tonight. I don
’
t want the credit so long as Colonel Forsberg knows I
’
ve done my job,
”
I explained.

His face lit up.
“
Sure,
”
he said.

“
Okay. Meet us here about seven o
’
clock. The three of us ought to be able to handle it.
”

“
I
’
ll be here,
”
he said, and moved to the door; then he paused.
“
I don
’
t like private dicks,
”
he went on, staring at the wall above my head,
“
but you ain
’
t such a bad guy.
”

I laughed at him.
“
You don
’
t have to worry about me,
”
I said.
“
Look at the dough I
’
m earning.
”

He nodded.
“
Yeah, I was forgetting that.
”
He nodded again and went out, closing the door behind him.

Reg snorted.
“
The big cheese,
”
he said.
“
He sees where he can horn in and he
’
s horning in. Why did you give him a break?
”

I lit a cigarette and sank into the armchair, which was still warm from Beyfield
’
s great body.
“
Why not?
”
I said.
“
After all, we can only go so far. After that it
’
s a police job. So long as he fixes Macey and Wolf, why should we care?
”
I inhaled and then sent a long stream of smoke to the ceiling.
“
Like to come to New York, Reg? I guess Colonel Forsberg could use you.
”

Reg stared at me.
“
You kidding?
”

I shook my head.
“
There wouldn
’
t be much for you in this place now,
”
I pointed out.
“
Audrey and I are getting married.
”

When he got through with his congratulations, I said:
“
How
’
s about it? Want to come?
”

He nodded.
“
You bet,
”
he said.
“
I
’
ll come all right.
”

I stood up.
“
That
’
s fine. Well, stick around. We can
’
t do much until tonight,
”
and I went to the door.

“
Where are you going?
”
he asked.

“
Me?
”
I grinned at him.
“
Be your age. I
’
m going to see my wife.
”

Just after six o
’
clock I entered Audrey
’
s room with a square box under my arm.

She was sitting in front of her dressing table in a flame wrap, doing her hair.

“
Where have you been?
”
she asked, swinging round and holding out her arms.

I set down the box, kissed her and sat down in the nearby armchair.
“
I
’
ve been busy,
”
I said.
“
Heard from Ted?
”

She nodded.
“
He telephoned an hour ago and asked me to meet him at Ciro
’
s Club at eight.
”

“
So it
’
s on,
”
I said, controlling my excitement.
“
Did he say anything?
”

“
Nothing that
’
d help,
”
she said.
“
He was friendly and seemed excited about seeing me. He kidded me a lot, but nothing more. You know, I still can
’
t believe…
”

“
We
’
ll soon see,
”
I said.
“
What are you wearing?
”

“
I thought a dress.
”
She looked puzzled.
“
Why? Do you want me to wear something special?
”

“
I do,
”
I said.
“
I want you to wear a white suit and a high-neck shirt or even a light sweater with a roll collar.
”

“
It
’
s too hot for that,
”
she protested, but seeing the look in my eye, she paused.
“
You mean it
’
s important?
”

“
You bet I do,
”
I said.
“
I want you in white so I can see you in the dark and I want you to wear a polo neck sweater to hide this.
”
I picked up the box and opened it.

“
What on earth is it?
”
Audrey exclaimed.

“
Just a little idea I had,
”
I said, taking out a plaster cast of her neck and shoulders. It was well made, strong, and in two pieces.
“
Now sit still a moment and let me try it on.
”

“
But why? What do you want me to wear that ghastly thing for?
”

“
With that around your neck,
”
I said quietly,
“
no one, try as he may, could strangle you. You don
’
t think I
’
m going to take any chances, do you?
”

She gave me a quick, startled look, but said nothing. She opened her wrap and I fitted the cast on one shoulder. It fitted well. Then I put the other half on her other shoulder and fixed the straps. Her throat was completely protected from an inch or so below her ears. The cast did not touch her neck and did not restrict movement. I was pretty proud of it.

“
But I can
’
t spend the whole evening in this!
”
she gasped.
“
Ted would notice it.
”

“
You don
’
t have to,
”
I said.
“
I wanted to see if it fitted. Before you leave the club, go to the ladies
’
room and put this on. I
’
ll have it ready and I
’
ll give it to you at the right time. He won
’
t notice it in the dark.
”

“
How sweet you are!
”
she said.
“
Did you really think of this yourself?
”