I shifted a little in my seat. “Where were you? I got back to the lodge and you weren’t there.”
She shivered. “No—I got scared and ran away.”
“What scared you, honey? Where did you go to?”
“I don’t want to talk about it, Nick. Can’t we drive on now?”
I took her in my arms and pulled her round so she faced me. “I’m sorry, baby, but this is serious,” I said. “When I got back to the lodge I found you gone and Blondie dead.”
I felt her body stiffen. “Dead? You mean someone killed her?”
I said, “Yes… someone killed her.”
Mardi began to cry softly. “Oh, Nick, and she came to warn me. She came and told me that they were coming for me. I was so scared that I ran out of the place into the woods and left her there. She said that Katz had told her that Spencer wanted us out of the way. He thought we knew too much and Katz was on his way to the lodge.”
I said, “But Spencer didn’t know we were at the lodge.”
She hid her head. “He knows everything—I tell you he knows everything.”
I drew her to me. “Well, it ain’t goin’ to do him much good now,” I said. “When the Feds, get on his tail that guy’s going to have a bad time. Listen, baby, suppose we put up at this town until the gang’s smashed up, then we can go back and get started again.”
She shook her head. “I can’t think now. Tell me about the woman… what happened, Nick? Have you told the police?”
I saw she wouldn’t relax until I told her the whole story. So, leaving out the messy details, I told her how I had come back to the lodge, how I had thought it was she who had been killed, how I had found Blondie and the whole set-up. She sat, hiding her face from me, crying softly.
“That’s how it was, honey,” I said. “You ain’t got anythin’ to cry about. Maybe she did come an’ warn you, but she had it comin’ to her. Blondie was a tough baby, you don’t have to mourn for her.”
Mardi put her handkerchief to her nose and looked at me with bright eyes. “What made her come like that, Nick?” she asked. “Why should she risk her life for—me?”
I leant forward and started the engine. “Search me,” I said. “I never would have thought she’d done a thing like that.”
As I began to roll the car, another thought struck me. “How did you know I’d be goin’ to Sarah Spencer’s?’
“I had to take the chance—I didn’t know, but I didn’t know where else to look for you. I thought if you got back to the lodge and found me gone you’d come on to her place.”
“That’s pretty cute of you, baby,” I said admiringly. “That’s pretty cute.”
We drove on after that in silence. I knew Mardi was still tense. I guessed the shock of hearing about Blondie’s death had shaken her pretty badly. I was glad when we ran into Plattsville and found a hick hotel that we could stop at.
The guy behind the desk seemed three-quarters dead, but the other quarter was enough to get us a bedroom and me a drink. When we got left on our own, I hit that bottle as hard as most bottles can be hit. Mardi sank on to the big, old-fashioned bed, her head dropping with fatigue.
I took one look at her and made up my mind. “You’re going straight into the sheets an’ sleep. I’ve gotta ring Ackie, then I’ll be up. Come on, honey, I’ll get you fixed first.”
She raised her head. “It’s all right, Nick, you go and ’phone—I can manage. You’ll be quicker if you go now.”
That was sense, so I left her and got through to Ackie on the ’phone downstairs. That guy was full of it. He just didn’t give me a chance to tell him where I was, but jumped into his story with both feet..
“Boy! You ain’t seen anythin’ like this since the San Francisco fire!” he bawled. “You gotta get into it quick. The lid’s off an’ hell’s hoppin’. I got round to the Bureau and gave them the works; at first they thought I was tight but, knowing me, they finally decided they’d do somethin’, so we all gumshoed along to the jail and had a look at Katz. Gee! That sergeant had certainly patted him around Katz was in no state to crack wise. He just opened his mouth and kept it open. That guy spilled the dope so fast, the G-men couldn’t get it down quick enough. Then they took him outside. I guess no one thought of it except me, but I wasn’t worrying my head. I stayed in the station until it was over. I wanted a story and by Golly I was getting it. The G-men an’ Katz no sooner got outside into the street than a couple of the boys opened up with a Thompson. Katz got a barrel of slugs and folded up an’ one of the G.-men caught it, then the other two started with their artillery an’ there was a grand gun fight up an’ down the street, with yours truly yellin’ the news like a broadcast commentary down the ’phone to the press-room.
“I’m tellin’ you, it was a grand five minutes. Anyway, that did it. The Federal Bureau got so mad that they raided Spencer’s place, the Mackenzie Fabrics an’ the Wensdy Wharf all at the same time. It was a grand clean-up. They’ve got ’em all. Spencer, Gus, the little fat guy, an’ the whole mob of thugs. They got enough evidence that’ll put that bunch away for fifty years, an’ I’ve got the story. It’ll be on the street in a couple of hours.”
I said, “That’s a grand bit of work. You kept me out of it?”
.”Yeah, you didn’t come in at all… like you said. Listen, brother, I was mighty glad that Katz got his, otherwise he’d have pinned Blondie’s killin’ on you. I was scared sick that he’d bring it up right away, but maybe his own troubles tied up his memory.”
I stood, holding the ’phone, going a little cold. I’d forgotten that. Katz could have got me in a jam. I was glad he was dead, I never did have any use for that guy.
“Okay, Mo,” I said, “I’m goin’ back to bed. Listen, I’ve got Mardi, and we’re keeping under cover for a bit. I’ll watch the newspapers; when the trial’s over, we’ll come back. I ain’t riskin’ that baby gettin’ drawn into it.”
“You keep out of it,” Ackie agreed. “Give her my love, an’ look after her, you tramp—she’s a grand girl.”
“You’re tellin’ me,” I said. “’Bye, pal, an’ watch yourself,” and I hung up.
I ran upstairs and into the bedroom. Mardi was sitting up in bed, waiting for ma. I could see something was wrong by the tense expression in her eyes. I didn’t say anything about it, but began to get undressed.
“I’ve had a talk with Ackie,” I said, pulling off my shirt. “He’s crazy with excitement. The whole thing’s blown up an’ Spencer’s in jail. Everyone’s in jail, an’ you an’ I don’t have to worry any more.”
She said, “Is Lee Curtis in jail?”
I stopped, holding my trousers in one hand, and stared at her. “Lee Curtis? Why worry about him? Ackie said they were all in jail.”
“But did he say Lee Curtis was in jail?” Her voice was almost hard.
I came over and sat on the bed. “What makes you ask about him… more than the others?”
She looked at me in an odd way, and shook her head. “I just wanted to know.”
There was something behind this, but I didn’t want to press it. “He didn’t mention Curtis, but he’s being taken care of, all right.”
“Oh,” she said in a flat voice, and looked at her finger-nails carefully. I sat on the bed, in my B.V.D.’s. I was beginning to feel like hell, but I couldn’t get to sleep until I got this straightened.
“Tell me, baby,” I said gently.
She looked up at me, and her eyes were big and wild. “Nick, do you love me?” she said. “Do you really love me? Not just for yesterday and to-day, but for to-morrow and all the to-morrows?”
I put my hand over hers. “You’re everythin’ to me, Mardi,” I said, and meant it.
She said, “Will you do something big for me? Something that’ll mean you love me?”