Johnnie (19 page)

“Wouldn’t like what?” That was Rupe’s voice behind them. “What gives now, Trudy? Why the ack-ack?”

“These two were trying to skip,” she stated.

“How stupid. Hold it steady, baby mine.”

Johnnie couldn’t see what was happening. He heard Mike’s shout, “Hey, you can’t do that!” and Trudy’s warning, “Keep those hands up, copper.”

Ruprecht pranced over to her. He was fondling Mike’s revolver with admiration.

“He took it right out of my holster,” Mike complained. “Unbuttoned my holster and took it right out.”

“You know my motto about dead cops,” Trudy warned.

“At ease.” Rupe put his arm around Trudy. His free hand held Mike’s gun. “I’ll keep them covered for you.”

“Judas,” said Mike sadly.

“You boys can sit down,” Rupe said. “Right there on the floor. It’s safe, Trudy. Johnnie doesn’t have a gun. I tried to borrow one from him earlier. I have Mike’s. Go on, sit down, fellows.”

It wasn’t very comfortable but they sat down on the worn red carpet. Mike said to Johnnie’s ear, “Who’s on who’s side here?”

“Don’t mutter,” Rupe warned.

He repeated aloud, “Who’s on who’s side here?”

“I wish I knew,” Trudy breathed.

Magda and Janssen came down together. Janssen’s mouth was too red. That indelible stuff was hard to rub off quick. Mike glared at him. Magda’s green eyes opened wide. “Why are they sitting there?”

“We’re having a picnic, darling,” Rupe drawled. “Johnnie and Mike arrived early.”

“I’m not,” Mike glowered.

Ferenz called out, “What does Dorp want now? He told us to come here.” He stopped when he saw the picnickers, walked all around them cautiously. His mouth pursed out superciliously as he moved away.

Ottomkopf was next. He glared at the two prisoners. “What now have these spies did?”

“Who’s a spy?” Johnnie demanded. “Don’t answer, let me. You’re a spy.”

“Oh hush!” Ferenz was petulant.

Dorp dived through the curtains at last. “Are we all here? We must leave at once. These men—”

“Where’s Rudolph?” Johnnie shouted suddenly. He scrambled up then gun or no gun.

Everyone looked at everyone else. All anyone saw was a frightened face. Ruprecht’s voice threatened, “Where is Rudolph?”

Ottomkopf turned on Janssen. He thundered, “Where is Rudolph?”

Mike said with evident pleasure, “He started with Trudy.”

“I turned him over to Janssen,” she said quickly.

Janssen quavered, “I don’t know. He told me he wanted to take a bath.”

“He took one bath!” Dorp roared.

“He told me he didn’t want to look for papers. He wanted a bath. I was outside his door. Then Magda came along and asked me to hunt with her. I—I—”

“Good hunting?” Mike asked with malice.

Janssen turned bricky.

“Mike,” Ruprecht ordered, “You go stand guard at the front door. Don’t let anyone in or out.”

Mike lolled on the floor. “So you want to play with me now?”

“Don’t be difficult,” Rupe said. “Johnnie and I have to search the house. We don’t want the murderer escaping while we search.”

Mike clambered up reluctantly. “I’m not doing any guarding in this house without my gun.”

“Sorry.” Rupe handed it back to him just like that. Mike looked amazed. He took it as if there were a trick. “I’ll use Trudy’s.”

Mike stuck the gun away. “How about the back door?”

“There’s only the front staircase. Guard it.”

“O.K.” Mike turned to glare at the room. “Don’t anybody be coming around with excuses. It won’t do you no good.”

“Come on, Johnnie,” Rupe said. “Give me your gun, Trudy.”

“I’m going with you, Rupe.” She moved to his side.

“Give me your gun anyway.”

“What about us?” Dorp ventured. “What do we do?”

“I don’t care what you vultures do. Only I advise you to keep your eyes on each other.” He eyed them singly. “I don’t know who got rid of Rudolph. I only know who didn’t. Johnnie and Mike didn’t because they were outdoors. Trudy didn’t. She was following them. And I know I didn’t. That leaves the rest of you.”

“Dear, what are you saying?” Ferenz’s little eyes were pained.

“He’s nuts,” Magda shrugged. “He always was.” She dug her hands into the pockets of her black velvet jacket. “I know what I’m going to do. Stay right here. I’m tired of searching this damn house. And if anyone has any ideas of making me disappear, I warn them to watch out.” She flipped out her gun. “I know how to shoot.”

“I’ll be with you, Magda.” Janssen licked his lips.

“Let’s get going, Rupe,” Johnnie said disgusted. Some girl friend. Didn’t matter to her that Rudolph had probably been killed. Just as long as there was another guy handy.

Trudy trailed Johnnie and Rupe. Johnnie didn’t like her behind him. Not with that habit she had of sticking a gun in a guy’s backside.

He scowled his face at her. “What was the idea of holding me and Mike up with your gun? Like we were the enemy.”

“Didn’t you see Dorp watching us? Besides—” She shoved past him to Rupe’s side. “Besides no matter how much I love you, Johnnie, I can’t have you and your copper monkey-wrenching my plans. Not this late in the day. Guardroom, Rupe?”

“Yes.” He headed toward Theo’s room.

“Hadn’t we ought to just look in his bathroom first?” Johnnie suggested.

“You don’t think he’s there, do you?” Rupe’s face was grim. “Well, go on and look. I’m betting on the attic. If you find him, yell.”

Trudy hesitated. “You don’t expect to find him, do you?”

“Not alive.” Rupe’s mouth was a bitter line. “But I’ll find him. And I’ll find who did it.” He halted. “You still don’t have a gun, do you, Johnnie?”

Johnnie showed his muscle. “I don’t need one.” He didn’t. He still had the bomb. He watched the two go into Theo’s room, close the door. He himself headed for Rudolph’s. He wasn’t afraid to go in, but he was almost afraid to turn on the light. He’d seen one dead man in here tonight. It wasn’t that ha’nts scared him but he didn’t like the idea of finding corpses.

He closed his eyes before he switched the light. He opened them slowly as possible. The room was empty. He stood for a moment breathing again. No one on the floor. No one under the bed. No one in the closet. He went over to the bathroom door. He knocked. He knocked three times, each time louder. Finally he opened the door a teensy crack. He closed his eyes before he did it. Drowning in a bath tub wouldn’t be something he wanted to remember. The bathroom was empty. There was one dampish towel hung over the tub. That would be the first bath. Rudolph hadn’t taken a second. Not even a yardbird from Arkansas would use the same bath towel twice, not with a pole full of big clean ones at hand. Rudolph had not taken a second bath. That was an excuse to give Janssen the slip. It hit Johnnie like a ton of bricks. That closet wasn’t just empty of dead bodies: it was empty. No coat and hat. The suitcase gone. The brief case gone. Rudolph had got away!

Johnnie ran to the window on the fire escape. He pushed it up, leaned out. That was dopey. Rudolph would have left a long time ago whether he went by window or door. He wouldn’t be hanging around waiting to be discovered. There wasn’t any doubt in Johnnie’s mind that Rudolph had skipped. Not when it was this easy. Rudolph didn’t have the chin of a thinker but it wouldn’t take much brain power for him to figure he was safer out of this house than in it. He, Johnnie, didn’t claim to be any Eisenhower but he knew he’d be safer out of here. And, this was his chance.

He leaned out the window. Somewhere below that watchman might be prowling but he wouldn’t be hard to handle. Johnnie hesitated. He didn’t hesitate long. He drew back, closed the window. He couldn’t skip without Mike. He’d brought the copper into this: he couldn’t rat out. Not and leave Mike to fight off this bunch singlehanded. Besides if he walked out now he never would know how it turned out. And he couldn’t leave without his dog tags. He was in to the finish. The finish was going to be soon. As soon as he reported that Rudolph had flown the coop.

He wasn’t going to hurry with that information. Give a guy an outside chance to get clear. He, Johnnie, might as well put up his feet and have a smoke until Rupe and Trudy came back downstairs. He plumped the pillows behind his head on the old-fashioned mahogany four poster, stretched his feet out on the blue and white tufted spread. He lit a cigarette. This was solid comfort. This was what he’d been waiting for. He took a quick one at his watch. No wonder bed felt good. Four-thirty A.M.! He’d have to remember to keep his eyes open in this rest period. A catnap might turn into a real pounding of the ear and he’d miss what was going to happen. He wished he had a bottle of Rupe’s champagne. That would wake him up. Or he wished he had Trudy around. He wouldn’t feel like sleeping if she were here. He blew a whole chain of rings—pretty good ones, too—and thought about Trudy. Bill and Hank wouldn’t believe he’d spent the evening with a blonde babe, cute as Sonja Henie, even if he could describe her to them. Nobody would.

He turned over and buried his ear in the pillow. He’d like to stay right here. Only you’d think they would furnish a mattress without lumps for Crown Princess Ermintrude of Rudamia. Maybe she knew how to avoid the bumps. Maybe…

Johnnie slid off the bed but fast. He shoved his hand under the blankets about where that hump had been. He drew out what his hand closed on.

Now he had a gun too. A gun with a silencer. The murderer hadn’t taken much pains to hide it. Maybe he’d hoped Rudolph would find it, put his fingerprints on it. Johnnie’s mouth turned wry. Big stupe, Johnnie. He’d done it all right. Now when he turned it over to the police, they’d have their murderer easy. One Pfc. John Brown. He shoved it in his pocket and he flopped down again on the bed. Hank had been right. It wasn’t safe for him and Bill to let Johnnie go off alone.

He leaned up on his elbow suddenly. Somebody outside was turning the knob of the door. Johnnie lay still. He wasn’t relaxed; he could have jumped and hit that door before it opened. But he wanted to see who it was. Maybe the murderer was coming back for his gun. Neither Trudy nor Rupe would be pussy-footing.

The door opened one small crack and then it started closing again. Johnnie sang out quick, “Come on in.” He didn’t want to have to get up and chase the intruder. His invitation worked. The door opened and Ferenz bounced through.

The big man closed the door behind him, looked around and pursed up his lips. “What are you doing?” he asked petulantly.

“Just resting,” Johnnie said.

“You’ve found Rudolph?”

“Uh uh.” He blew out a real thick ring. “He’s gone.”

“Gone?” Ferenz nearly screamed it. But softly. “Gone?”

“Uh huh.” He didn’t like fat pants with the squeaky voice.

“Where?”

“I don’t know.”

“Have you looked?”

“I don’t have to look any more. His coat’s gone. His hat’s gone. Also his bags. He’s gone all right.”

Ferenz’s face drooped down over his chins.

“There’s a fire escape outside the window.”

“You don’t have to tell me! I own this house.” But he billowed over, opened the window and peered out. “He took everything?”

“Yeah.”

“The traitor. All that money. Sixty-five thousand dollars I put up to send him back to Rudamia.”

“It wasn’t sixty-five thousand. It was seven thousand.”

“Sixty-five thousand, I tell you.” Ferenz turned a face like a tomato. An over-ripe one. “I know how much money I have spent on him, don’t I? And how does he repay? By running to Washington to get me in bad with the government!” He stuck out his head again, withdrew it, banged down the window and swirled on Johnnie. “You knew he’d gone! And you lay here resting!”

Johnnie rolled off the bed, keeping it between them and the big fellow. Ferenz looked mad enough to froth. “I was waiting for Trudy and Rupe to come back.” Johnnie opened his eyes full after he’d said that. It hadn’t occurred to him before. Maybe he’d been snipe-hunting, he and Mike. Maybe those two weren’t coming back. He made for the door.

Ferenz screamed, “Where are you going?”

He didn’t bother to answer. Ferenz was puffing on his heels. Johnnie whirred into Theo’s room, pushed aside the secret closet and bellowed up into the dimness, “Rupe, Trudy, get down here. Double time.” Silence alone answered him. He called again, “Trudy, Rupe!” There was no answer.

He plunged past Ferenz, almost knocking him down as he tore by him and down the stairs to the parlor. He swooped open the chenille curtains.

No one was in the room. No one at all.

Ferenz came to a halt behind him. He was winded. He gasped, “Are you crazy?”

“Look.” Johnnie pointed to the obvious. “They’ve all skipped. Not just Rupe and Trudy. All of them.” He swung suddenly. “Mike!”

Crash-bang answered him. He shoved Ferenz, stepped out into the hall. Mike was on the floor. So was the chair. “I wasn’t asleep,” Mike denied. “I was sabotaged.”

“They’re gone!” Johnnie shouted.

Ferenz spoke wearily. “Don’t be an ass. They’re upstairs for a bite to eat. Loathsome food. Cold sandwiches.”

Johnnie didn’t look at Mike. He stubbed up the stairs after Ferenz. He’d forgotten the lure of food.

They were stuffing placidly, Magda, Janssen, Ottomkopf, Dorp. They weren’t in the least interested in Johnnie’s appearance in the doorway. Magda spoke through a sandwich. “Where was he?”

“He wasn’t.” Ruprecht and Trudy couldn’t have helped but heard his roar. No matter how much wooing was going on. If they’d been up there.

Ferenz sat down at the head of the table. “A cup of coffee, please dear. Rudolph has left us.”

Janssen’s mouth alone dropped open. “You mean—like Theo?”

“I don’t mean anything of the sort,” Ferenz snapped. “I mean bag and baggage.” He pushed the cup away. “With what do you adulterate your coffee, Herr Dorp, soybeans? I cannot endure bad coffee. Mine I fly in once a week from South America. Doubtless Rudolph is even now en route to Washington, to the government-in-exile. There is no possible way to stop him.”

“And why not?” Ottomkopf demanded.

“My dear, do you suggest that one of us attempt abducting him from the Pennsylvania Station or from the airport? There are laws in this country.” He flung down the cake he was absent-mindedly nibbling. “I abhor pink icing!” He brushed off his fingers. “I too am leaving. I told you I did not wish to appear in this. You have involved me against my will. Pray do not bother me again—any of you.”