“Give her that. She’ll know you’ve come from me.”
Ken took the envelope and put it in his pocket.
“Good luck,” Johnny said. “I’ll keep the gun. I may need it more than you.”
“So long,” Ken said, anxious to get away. He was uneasy about leaving Johnny. If the police found him before Adams got to him, and if Johnny were killed in a gun battle, he would be stuck with Fay’s murder. But he had to go. He had to get in touch with Adams.
“Come on, handsome, if you’re going,” Rose said impatiently. “They may get around to watching the roof before long.”
Ken followed her into the passage. At the far end was a skylight.
“Go ahead,” she said. “It’s not too bad. Make for the Paramount movie house. You can’t miss it. That’s the way my brother used to go when he was in trouble. There’s an escape on the movie house that’ll bring you down to their parking lot. Get over the wall and you’ll find an alley that’ll take you to Lennox Street. The rest is up to you.”
“Thanks,” Ken said awkwardly, “I owe you something. If I get out of this mess I won’t forget you.”
“I bet you do, handsome. Go on, beat it! I’ll look after your pal.”
“But I won’t forget you,” Ken said obstinately.
“Okay, then you won’t forget me,” she said carelessly. “Go on, beat it.”
“I’m very grateful for your help,” he said, and held out his hand.
She giggled, looking at him.
“You’re a nut, handsome,” she said, moved close, slid her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his. Then she pushed him away. “Get going, Romeo. You’re wasting time.”
He reached up, slid the skylight back, caught hold of the wooden surround and hauled himself up.
He hung for a moment, looking over the dark roof; then, seeing no movement, he pulled himself up until he was on the roof. He looked down at the dim white shape of Rose’s face, waved to her, replaced the skylight, and, crouching down, began to move silently across the roof to the shelter of a chimney stack.
When he reached the stack, he paused to study the geography of the roofs. Away in the distance he could see the blaze of neon lights on the walls of the movie house. They looked some way from him. The sounds below of men’s voices and the tramping of feet unnerved him. It was some moments before he could steady himself to concentrate on his way of escape.
Roof after roof stretched away into the darkness; some of them flat, some sloping, some ridged. Having decided the way to go, he cautiously set off, climbing a six-foot wall to haul himself up on the next roof. This sloped gently into a gutter, then rose steeply to the next roof.
Half-way up the steep roof, his foot slipped, and he slithered back into the gutter, making a noise that brought him out in a cold sweat. He tried again, and this time managed to hook hi9 fingers over the ridge of the roof. He hung for a moment, then hauled himself up, trying to keep as flat as possible against the skyline.
He climbed down on to another roof, crossed it, and as he was peering down at the roof below, he heard an excited shout away to his right.
He looked quickly over his shoulder, his heart pounding.
Across the alley, standing on a balcony, he could just make out a man and a woman looking in his direction. The man waved at him, then he bawled at the top of his voice: “Hey! “A guy’s up on the roof. Over there!”
Ken swung his legs over the edge of the roof and dropped, landing with a thud. He staggered, regained his balance, as police whistles shrilled in the darkness below.
He bolted across the roof, then came to an abrupt stop when he found himself face to face with a twelve-foot brick wall.
Below, he could hear running feet, and then someone began to hammer on a door that seemed immediately below him.
He moved hurriedly along the wall until he came upon an iron ladder.
“Hey! You!” a voice shouted.
Ken didn’t pause. He went up the ladder, scraping his hands and knees, and as he reached the top of the wall, a gun banged and splinters of brickwork sprayed dangerously near his face.
He let himself drop into the darkness and landed on another roof.
“There’s only one of them,” a man shouted. “He’s heading to your right.”
Ken looked back over his shoulder, his heart hammering. A cop had joined the man and woman on the balcony. Ken ducked down just in time. The cop fired at him, and the slug whizzed within a foot of Ken’s head.
Keeping in the shadows, he ran desperately for the shelter of a long line of chimneys. He reached them as the cop fired again, but his aim was wild, and Ken didn’t even hear the slug. He dodged around the stack, paused for a second to take a quick look to right and left.
The movie house was still far off. He couldn’t hope to reach it now. He
had to get down somehow and take his chance in the mass of alleys below.
He heard noises behind him, and he peered between the chimneys.
Outlined against the skyline, he could see four figures moving cautiously towards him. They were still four roofs away from him, but they were coming fast.
Crouching, he bolted across the roof, came upon another ladder that led down to a lower roof. He went down it.
“Can you see him, Jack?” a voice bawled.
“Naw,” the cop on the balcony shouted. “More to your right. He’s behind that big stack.”
Ken spotted a skylight not far from him, and he ran over to k and lifted it. He bent to peer into darkness, trying to see what lay below, then, as the sounds of pursuit grew louder, he swung his legs over the wooden surround, hung with one hand while he lowered the skylight down on top of him. He released his hold and dropped quietly on to floor boards.
As he regained his balance, he heard gunfire, followed by three cracks from a heavier gun. He heard a yell, and then more gunfire. It sounded to him as if the police were shooting at each other.
He leaned against the wall, panting and scared, while he listened.
“There are two of them by the big stack,” a voice yelled. “I can see them.”
Again the heavier gun barked.
Bewildered, Ken struck a match and looked quickly around him. He found himself in a dusty attic, full of old junk. He went quickly to the door, opened it, and stepped cautiously out into a dark passage.
III
Tux and Solly made their way over the roofs towards Rose’s skylight.
They had had several narrow escapes in getting up on to the roofs, but once there, they felt free to move quickly.
Suddenly Solly grabbed Tux’s arm and pulled him down.
“Look! Over there,” he muttered, and pointed.
Tux stared into the darkness. For some seconds he couldn’t see anything, then he thought he saw something moving ahead of him.
“Someone up here,” Solly whispered.
Tux’s hand slid behind him and he jerked out his .45. They lay still and watched.
The figure ahead of them began to climb up the steep slope of a roof, three roofs away from them. He got halfway up and then slithered back.
“Think it’s Johnny?” Solly whispered.
“Johnny was hit. Must be the other guy,” Tux said. “To hell with him. I want Johnny.”
They watched the figure climb the roof and slide over. Then they heard a man shout.
Tux cursed under his breath.
“The cops will be here in a moment. Come on! I’ve got to get Johnny.”
Bending low, he moved hurriedly across the roof, dropped down on another roof, followed by Solly.
A shot rang out.
Four roofs away, Tux could see Rose’s skylight.
“Cops!” Solly muttered, and slid like a shadow towards a line of chimneys.