He bent over her, lifted an eyelid, straightened and grinned at me.
‘Hello. You seem to be having quite a time. I heard you yell. Was he going to knife you or were you two playing a game?’
I wiped my face and the back of my neck with my handkerchief before saying, ‘He seemed a little worked up. I don’t think he knew what he was doing. He’s hopped to the eyes.’ I looked a little anxiously at the naked heap of arms and legs on the floor. ‘You hit her pretty hard. I hope you haven’t damaged her. She belongs to a client of mine.’ He waved an airy hand.
Don’t worry about her. You have to treat these junkies rough. Besides, I’ve had a bellyful of them these past three days. They’ve been fighting and screaming at each other non-stop, and I like my sleep.’
I continued to wipe my face and neck. I was sweating quite a lot. The long carving knife on the carpet gave me the horrors.
‘You live here?’ I asked.
For my sins. Just across the way. Nick Perelli’s the name, in case it interests you.’ I told him who I was.
I’m grateful to you. If you hadn’t hit that goon he would have stuck that knife into me.’
Perelli smiled. His swarthy, thin face had a jeering, humorous expression. He wasn’t a badlooking guy: a little like George Raft, come to think of it. His clothes were good, and he wore them well.
‘So you’re the fella who runs Universal Services, are you? That’s a nice racket. Wish it belonged to me.’
‘It has its low moments. This is one of them. I’d like to put it on record if there’s anything I can do for you now or in the future, let me know. It’ll be on the house, and you’ll get our Grade A service.’
‘I’ll remember,’ he said, and grinned. ‘Right now I’m pretty well fixed, but you never know.’ He stuck his toe into the girl’s side and gave her a little nudge. ‘Is this one of the services?’
‘One of the less pleasant ones. I came here to take her back to her father.’
Think he’ll be pleased to have her back? I wouldn’t be if she belonged to me. I wouldn’t want her back if she was going away with a yacht.’
I fetched the blanket and dropped it over her.
‘Her old man’s only one degree better than she is. What’s the bouncer downstairs going tosay when he sees me carrying her through the lobby?’
‘Maxie?’ Perelli laughed. ‘He’ll hang out the flags. He’s been longing to get rid of her, only Barratt scares him. I’m on my way to meet my girl. We can go down together. I’ll see he doesn’t bother you.’
‘Fine,’ I said. ‘I’d hate to be run in for kidnapping after what I’ve just been through.’
‘The bathroom’s through there if you want to tidy up,’ he said, pointing. ‘You look a bit of a wreck. I’ll watch her until you get back.’
I went into the bathroom and repaired the damage as best I could. Even after a wash and I had pinned up the torn lapel I still looked as if I’d been wrestling with a wild cat.
I came out, gathered up the unconscious girl in the blanket and heaved her over my shoulder.
‘Nice if she comes round in the car.’
‘She won’t,’ Perelli said with confidence. ‘When I sap them, they stay sapped.’
We got her into the elevator without anyone seeing us.
‘Do you usually carry a sandbag when you go to meet your girl friend?’ I asked as the elevator sank between floors, He grinned.
‘Never without one. I play cards for a living, and a cosh is the best way to settle postmortems. I get quite a few.’
‘Well, you certainly know how to use one.’
There’s nothing to it. The secret is to hit them hard. A tap only makes them mad.’
The elevator came to a silent stop and we marched out into the lobby.
The girl behind the desk started out of her chair and gaped at us. Her hand fluttered along the desk and one finger poked into the bell-push. The bouncer in the bowler hat materialized from behind his pillar like a jack-in-the-box. He look one look at me and the girl draped over my shoulder, made a growling noise deep down in his throat and started purposely towards me.
‘All right, Maxie; relax,’ Perelli said. ‘We’re only clearing out a little garbage. There’s no need to get excited.’
Maxie stopped in mid-stride. He stooped to peer at the girl, and as soon as he recognized her he lost his belligerent look.
‘Oh, her! Where are you taking her?’
‘What do you care so long as we take her?’ Perelli inquired.
Maxie chewed this over in his mind.
‘I guess that’s right. Hasn’t Barratt got anything to say about her going?’
‘He’s asleep at the moment,’ I said. ‘We thought it would be a shame to wake him up.’
Maxie eyed the scratches on my face and whistled softly.
‘Yeah. I guess I haven’t seen you two guys.’ He looked across at the girl behind the desk. ‘Did you hear, Grade? We ain’t seen nobody.’
The girl nodded and went back to her funnies. Maxie waved us to the door.
‘Careful there’re no cops around.’
We went down the steps into the sunshine. There were no cops around.
I laid the unconscious girl along the back seat of the Buick and closed the door.
‘Well, thanks again. It wouldn’t be an over-statement to say you saved my life.’ I gave Perelli my card. ‘Don’t forget; anywhere, any time, I’ll be glad to even the score.’
An easy thing to say, but the way it worked out I was scrabbling around like a monkey with a can tied to its tail, three weeks later, trying to make good my promise.
III
Jack Kerman, long, lean and dapper, lay full length on my divan; an immaculate figure in a bottle-green flannel suit, cream silk shirt and brown buckskin shoes. On his chest he balanced a highball, while he beat time a little drunkenly to the swing music coming from the radio.
Opposite him I relaxed in one of those down-to-the-ground easy chairs, and looked through the open windows at the moonlit Pacific, while I tried to make up my mind whether to go in for a swim or mix myself another drink.
Wingrove’s daughter was an almost forgotten memory; Perelli just another name. Ten days had gone past since I had returned the unconscious little junkie to the bosom of her family, and so far as I was concerned the case was closed.
‘It’s about time I had a vacation,’ Kerman said suddenly. This continual grind is giving me ulcers. What we should do is to shut up the office for a couple of months and go to Bermuda or Honolulu. I’m bored with the local talent in this burg. I want a little more fire; grass skirts instead of lounging pyjamas: something with a little zing in it. How about it, Vic? Let’s do it. We can afford it, can’t we?’
‘Maybe you can, but I’m damn sure I can’t. Besides, what would we do with Paula?’
Kerman took a long drink from his glass, sighed, and reached for a cigarette.
‘She’s your funeral. That girl is a menace. All she thinks about is money and work. You might tell her not to keep picking on me. To hear her talk, you’d think I don’t earn my keep.’
‘Do you?’ I said, shutting my eyes. ‘Do any of us? Anyway, a vacation is out, Jack. We’re getting on top and we’ve got to stay on top. If we shut the office, we’d be forgotten in a week. You can’t stand still in a job like this.’
Kerman grunted,
‘Maybe you’re right. I’ve a redhead who’s costing me a pile of dough. I don’t know what’s the matter with her. She thinks I’m made of money. Mind you, she’s not a bad little thing. She’s willing, and that’s what I like about a girl. The trouble with her is…’
The telephone bell began to ring.