Was he hit? Parker was on his feet and running. He went fast around the corner and almost tripped over Rosenstein lying on the living room floor. Rosenstein was trying to bring his gun hand up. Parker kicked his wrist and the gun went sailing across the room. Rosenstein grunted and fell back. His breathing sounded clogged but there was no blood visible.
Any more of them? Parker crouched over Rosenstein, looking around, but the house was full of silence.
Rosenstein was looking up at him. Talking as though his throat was closing up on him he said, “You broke my back.”
Parker straightened. There’d been only the two of them. He went farther into the living room and picked up Rosenstein’s pistol and put it in his hip pocket.
Rosenstein coughed and said, “You had luck. I could have taken you, but you had luck.”
Parker walked back to him.
Rosenstein’s eyes were red; they looked veiled. “I should have killed you when I had you,” he said, his voice very thick now.
Parker reversed his gun and bent down and chopped once across Rosenstein’s head.
Now to find Saugherty. He straightened, keeping the gun in his hand, and walked down the hall, opening doors. In one room was a woman, naked, tied and gagged and lying on a bed. She had bruises on her face and body, but she was conscious, and the one eye glaring at Parker looked wild. In another room three children in pajamas were tied and gagged and lying on beds. They moved like chipmunks when he opened the door. But in no room at all was there a man.
He went back to the living room. Rosenstein hadn’t moved. He went through the kitchen and switched on the cellar light and saw Brock lying on the floor down there. Brock’s head moved, and he called, “Matt?” His voice trembled.
Parker went down the stairs. He hunkered beside Brock and said, “Where’s Saugherty?”
Brock’s eyes had trouble finding him, and then he said, “You.
You ruined my apartment.”
“Where’s Saugherty?” Parker said.
“Why did you break everything? You didn’t have to break everything.”
Parker took Brock by the shoulder and moved him. Brock gasped, his eyes widened, his face went white, and he looked as though he’d pass out. “Don’t. I can’t move like that, it hurts!”
“Then pay attention,” Parker told him.
Brock blinked rapidly. He breathed in quick gulps and said, “Where’s Matt?”
“Upstairs. He says he’s got a broken back. The sooner I’m done here the sooner the both of you get a doctor. Where’s Saugherty?”
Brock closed his eyes. “Dead,” he said.
“Why?”
“He tried to fight Matt.” Brock was talking now in a monotone, his eyes shut. “Matt went after his wife; he tried to — Matt got mad and wouldn’t quit. I tried to get him to quit, but he just kept at the poor bastard. He wouldn’t quit.” He opened his eyes and said, “He’s back in the other part of the cellar. On a glider back there.”
“And the money?”
“The wife doesn’t know anything. We asked her after you called the first time. Matt leaned on her a little, but she doesn’t know anything. Just that Uhl called at dinnertime yesterday, and after he called Saugherty went out of the house with a suitcase and came back without it.”
“She doesn’t know where he went?”
“If she knew, she’d have told Matt. She really would.”
Parker believed it. Saugherty hadn’t told his wife where he’d hidden the money, and now Saugherty was dead, and that meant the money was gone for good. At least there was no way Parker would ever get his hands on it. If Saugherty had left the suitcase with a friend, which was more than likely what he’d done, the friend would probably sooner or later return it to Saugherty’s widow. Or maybe look inside it and keep it for himself. Whatever happened in the future, though, was going to be way too late, and there was nothing to be done in the present. The money was gone.
“Well, you two really did it,” Parker said and got to his feet again. “Good-bye, Brock,” he said and started up the stairs.
Brock called after him, “Parker!”
Parker looked down at him.
“You’re going to leave us to the law?”
“I’m doing better than that,” Parker told him. “I’m going to leave you to Saugherty’s wife.”
The end.
––––––––––––