Decker was standing now, in a much better position to mount an offensive.
The man with the razor was confused—it was plain on his face. He had one hand underneath her breast and one above, holding the razor. The gun he’d taken from the night table was in his pocket, and he didn’t have one of his own.
“I’m getting dressed.”
“Stop!”
He removed both hands from Linda’s breast, and she sprawled onto the bed.
Now was the time for Decker to move, while the razor man was trying to get the gun from his pocket.
Decker launched himself over the bed and slammed into the man waist high. He felt the razor open his back as they fell to the floor. The razor man’s hand was flailing away, trying to cut him again, while his other hand was pinned in his pocket, trying to get the gun out. His hand had closed around the gun, but there wasn’t much he could do while they were both lying on it.
Decker knew this and knew he had to act fast. He set his left hand against the floor, lifted his weight up off the man and then swung his right fist in a short, vicious arc against the man’s chin.
Decker then came down hard on the man’s wrist to jar the razor loose, just in case he was playing possum. He turned him over to get his gun out. As he put his hand in the man’s pocket, the man groaned and came awake, and his finger jerked the trigger. The gun was pointed at his own stomach. Decker felt the body jerk and then go limp.
He stood up and looked at Linda, who was sitting up in bed now.
“Are you all right?” he asked her.
“Y-yes,” she said, “but you’re not.”
“What?”
“Your back,” she said. “It’s all full of blood.”
Chapter Twenty
“You what?” Tally asked.
“Cut myself shaving.”
“Very funny,” the lieutenant said. “Where’s the body?”
“What makes you think there’s a body?”
“I can smell blood in the air,” Tally said, “and from what I can see, a lot of it is yours.”
“Can we get this man to the hospital?” Linda Hamilton asked irritably…
Decker had asked Linda if she knew anyone who would go for the police, and she said that the woman on the next floor up had a teenage son who had a crush on her. He’d go out if she asked him.
“Ask him,” he’d said.
“You’re bleeding—” she’d said, but he’d cut her off.
“Get him on his way, and then we can do something about that.”
“All right.”
“Where are your extra sheets?”
“In there,” she’d said, pointing while dressing.
He took out a sheet while she was gone and covered the body of the razor man. When she returned, she took a pillowcase from a pillow and pressed it to the cut on his back.
“It’s not as bad as I thought,” she said. “All that blood fooled me. But you’re still going to have to be sewn up.”
“After the police arrive,” he’d said. Now that they had, she wanted to get him taken care of…
“In a moment, Miss…”
“Hamilton.”
“Miss Hamilton.”
“The body’s over there,” Decker said, pointing to the lump beneath the sheet.
Tally walked over, lifted the sheet, took a look and then dropped it.
“You know him?” he asked Decker.
“No.”
“But he tried to kill you.”
“Yes.”
“But you killed him first.”
“By accident.”
“Miss?”
Linda gave Tally a withering look before answering. She also pulled another pillowcase over and replaced the first one, which had soaked through with blood.
“We were asleep,” she said, “and that man came through the window. He threatened to…to cut my—to cut me, and Decker jumped him. While they were struggling, Decker got cut, and then I heard a gun go off, and the other man was dead.”
Tally looked at Decker.
“That’s how it happened.”
“I’m sure it did,” Tally said as several other men entered the room. “Remove that one,” he said, pointing to the body.
As they began to remove the body, Decker asked Tally, “Do you know who he is?”
“Of course,” Tally said. “I know every killer and reprobate in New York.”
“And which was this?”
“This was a definite killer,” Tally said. “He was called Razor.”
Decker flinched as Linda put more pressure on the wound and said, “I wonder why.”
“Look at this,” she said, looking at his shoulder. “You’ve started the other one bleeding, too. Lieutenant, we have to get him to the hospital.”
“All right,” Tally said. “Get up and get dressed. We can finish this there.”
“All right,” Decker said. When he stood up, the loss of blood suddenly took its toll. The next thing he knew he was falling down a dark well, and Linda was shouting his name…
Chapter Twenty-one
When he woke up, he saw Linda, dressed in her uniform.
When she saw he was awake, she came over to him and said, “That’s right—this time we got you a bed.”
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” she said, taking his wrist to take his pulse. “I’ll be fine as long as we don’t talk about it—”
“But—”
“—yet.”
“Linda, I’m sorry—”
“Your back wounds have been seen to by a real doctor this time,” she said, “and I’m on duty, so I’ll have to leave you.”
She started for the door, and he said, “But this was your day off.”
“Was is right,” she said. “Right now I think I need to work. Lieutenant Tally is outside. Shall I tell him that you’re still asleep?”
“No, no,” Decker said, “send him in.”
“All right,” she said and stepped out.
Decker wondered if he’d ever see her again. Hearing that he was a bounty hunter and accepting it was one thing but being personally involved in—and threatened because of—his profession was another thing entirely.
When the door opened again, Lieutenant Tally walked in.
“That’s quite a girl,” he said.
“Yeah,” Decker said.
“Think she’s scared off now?”
“The thought had crossed my mind, Lieutenant,” Decker said. “Would you get me my clothes, please? I’m getting out of here.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Decker, play it smart for a change.”
“Which means what?”
“If you had let me put a man on you, this might not have happened.”
“Might not have,” Decker said, coming down heavy on the might. “Just for your information, I took him alive. The idiot shot himself after I had him nice and subdued.”
“I see.”
“I could have found out who hired him.”
“Could have,” Tally said, coming down heavy on the could. “Maybe if you’d tell me who you’re looking for—”
Decker shook his head.
“Does that mean you won’t tell me or that you aren’t looking for anyone?”
“Same difference.”
“So you are looking for someone,” Tally said. “I did some checking on you, Decker.”
“That’s so?”
“Yes.”
“What did you find out?”
“That you’ve never taken a vacation in your life.”
“I was due.”
“I also found out that you’re just about the best bounty man in the West.”
“Hmm,” Decker said, “I’d like to know who told you that?”
“Sorry,” Tally said, “I was sworn to secrecy.”
“I see.”
“Must be a hell of a price to bring you all the way to New York.”