“It’s a funny thing,” I said, “but no one seems to like me.”
Lydia, seeing me close, lashed out again and caught me on the knee. I hurriedly got to my feet. “Will you quit kicking me around?” I said, stepping away from her.
The guy who had hit me was bearing down on me again, but Peppi stopped him. “Wait,” he said, “don’t hit him again. I want to talk to him.”
He then turned and helped Lydia to her feet. She looked as if she were going to make another rush at me, but he jerked her round, “Cut it out!” he said. “What happened?”
It came out like a bursting dam. She told how I had got the gun, taken her into my apartment and knocked her cold; how I had taped her up and taken her to the top floor of an empty warehouse by the river and left her there, and how some bum had found her and released her.
All the time she was talking she was glaring at me, and when she was through she made a sudden dive in my direction, but Peppi grabbed her arm and shoved her back. “Get out,” he said, in his little hissing voice, “you’re not hurt and you’ve had a lucky break. I want to talk to this guy. Maybe I’ll let you at him later.”
She gave a look that’d stop a runaway horse and then she went out, leaving me alone with Peppi and the muscle man.
“Okay, Lew,” Peppi said, “just watch him. If he acts dumb, you can have him.”
I sat down again. “Go on,” I said bitterly, “don’t mind me. Put me up for auction.”
Peppi came over and helped himself to a cigar from a box on the table. “You don’t seem to be so clever after all,” he said.
“Can I help making mistakes?” I said, shrugging. “I’m just good at ’em, that’s all.”
“Well, this makes a big difference,” he went on, blowing a cloud of smoke into my face,
“we can talk now.” He began wandering about the room. “I’ve got this Shumway girl. You were right.”
I looked at him in disgust “You always were a liar,” I said, “you got the other too?”
Peppi smiled, “Arym, do you mean?”
“Is that her name?”
“Why not? She’s just the opposite to Myra. I think its a good name, don’t you?”
“Myra backwards?”
“Yeah, Myra backwards in every way. Your girl’s a good girl.”
“Where do you get that my girl stuff?” I asked, trying to look bewildered.
“I know,” Peppi smiled, “otherwise I wouldn’t have bothered. Now there’s no chance of you getting away until I say so, you may be interested in some details. Then we can talk business.”
“Go ahead,” I said airily, “I’ve got nothing to lose.”
For all that, I was interested. There was a lot to clear up and if Peppi wanted to talk I wouldn’t stop him.
“Ansell was right. There were two girls,” Peppi said, flicking ash into the empty fireplace.
“It wanted believing, but it didn’t take me long to see how it all added up.”
“I bet it didn’t,” I said bitterly, “you were always a smart guy. Didn’t some columnist say you had more brains in your little finger than you had in your head?”
“Shall I hit him?” Lew asked casually, puffing a short rubber club from his hip pocket. Peppi shook his head, “Not yet,” he said, “there’s time for that.” He turned back to me,
“You remember this guy Kelly?”
“Sure,” I said, “you’d never heard of him when I was here the other day.”
Peppi smiled, “I wasn’t ready to talk then,” he explained. “Kelly told me about the Shumway girl. She interested me. She gypped Kelly and he wanted me to get the 25 grand out of her. I didn’t help him. It wasn’t my line, but I wanted to see the girl I quite liked her.” Peppi flicked more ash, “She’s quite a dish. So, I got rid of Kelly and kept her here for a while. Her father got in the way, too. But, I gave him a little money and got rid of him. Then she told me about you, and what happened in Mexico.” He moved over to the window, glanced out and then wandered back to the middle of the room. “I didn’t believe it at first, but she convinced me. She’s a restless dame.” He shook his head. “I don’t know where she gets to. Now, there’s this trouble about your pal Ansell. She shouldn’t have rubbed him out, but, in a way, it suits me.”
“Let’s have it,” I said, interested, “I feel this is where I get dragged in.”
Peppi nodded, “I’d fixed a substitute Arym for your girl because she said she could persuade you to work for Andasca. I wanted that. It was easy after you told me you were taking Myra to Manetta’s. All I had to do was to send Lew along and snatch Myra while Arym took her place.” He shrugged “Then she loses her head when this Ansell guy gets nosey and kills him. Well, it’s still all right with me. If you don’t play along, I’ll turn Myra over to the cops.”
“Don’t talk in riddles,” I said, “what do you mean?”
“I’ve got a job for you. Now, listen, Maddox wants you back.”
“Maddox? Did he say so?”
“Sure, he wants you back. And I want you to go back because Maddox has a set of photos I want. You see, I’m being frank with you.” He smiled, and when Peppi smiled it was the most unbeautiful thing in the world. “I want you to get those photos. It shouldn’t be hard. Andasca got tight some months ago and got himself in a jam. Some guy photographed him. He was talking to me. I didn’t want him to talk to me, but he was tight. If those pictures get in the press Andasca’s finished. If anyone knows I’m behind him he might just as well throw in his hand. Maddox’s going to print those photos the day before the election. You’ve got to get ’em before then, or I’ll turn Myra over to the cops.”
There wasn’t much to say to that. It was a straightforward proposition.
“I want more than that,” I said, “I want both the girls. If I’m to get Myra out of a jam, the other one’s got to be given to the cops.”
Peppi shrugged, “That’s okay with me,” he said. “She’s no use now. All I want is the photos. You can have ’em both.”
“That’s on,” I said, standing up, “I’ll see Maddox right away.”
Peppi stubbed out his cigar, “You’ve got three days before the election,” he said, tapping the calendar. “It’s no use talking to Maddox. I’ve offered him fifty grand for those photos. He ain’t selling. You’ve got to find where he keeps them and lift ’em, do you get it?”
I could see myself stealing anything from Maddox. He’d have all the law in the country after my hide quicker than a flea’s hop.
“That’s okay by me,” I said. “I owe him something and this’ll about even things up.”
Peppi jerked his head to Lew. “Okay,” he said, “don’t try and be smart. Crossing me won’t get you any place.”
I smiled at him, “You wouldn’t let me have a word with Myra?”
He shook his head.
It was no good arguing with him. So I walked out into the hall where the butler opened the front door.
“So long,” I said, “be careful of that brunette. She ain’t always kind.”
He said something under his breath, but I didn’t catch it. Then he closed the door sharply behind me.
Within fifteen minutes I was in Maddoxs office.
Now Maddox wasn’t the kind of guy you invited to your home. He looked the kind of guy who was put in a home. Maybe his blood pressure bothered him. I don’t know, but he looked like he had swallowed a volcano and was uncertain of future events.
With him was his personal secretary, who most of the boys knew as ‘Whalebone Harriet.’ That dame was so straight laced her figure suffered from arrested development. But in spite of this she was smart and she’d always been a good friend of mine.