Toddy sat down and lighted a cigarette. Alvarado waited until the kitchen door had closed before he spoke.
“I will tell you something,” he said quietly, “and please do not ask me to elaborate at this time. I place no great confidence in Dolores. Do not trust her too far.”
“I don’t trust anyone very far,” said Toddy.
“Excellent. She is an attractive girl and not, I am afraid, above using her attractions. But, to get back to the matter at hand—when you discovered your wife dead and this man Donald fleeing down the fire escape, did you begin your pursuit of him immediately?”
“Of course.”
“You made no search of the room?”
“I told—” Toddy interrupted himself with a startled curse. “Hell’s bells! The guy could have been there for all I know!”
“Yes. He could still have been there when Dolores looked in. But do not blame yourself too much, Mr. Kent. You acted quite normally.”
The kitchen door opened and Dolores came in with the coffee.
“None, thank you.” Alvarado waved aside the cup the girl extended. “Pour Mr. Kent’s, and then bring me my hat. After that, you may retire.”
“I would prefer to remain up,” Dolores said.
“It will be bad for your health to do so. Very bad. You will be amazed at the promptness with which the damage will manifest itself.”
She gave him a sullen, baffled glare, but she turned and went out. Alvarado snapped his fingers at the dog.
“I will take Perrito with me, Mr. Kent. You will doubtless be able to rest better if you are alone.”
Toddy said, “Thanks,” and poured more coffee in his cup as man and dog left the house. Setting the enameled pot back on the serving table, he lighted another cigarette. He heard the car pull out of the driveway.
He took a sip of the coffee and let his eyes droop shut. Actually, he supposed there wasn’t much use in thinking. He couldn’t be guided by it except to a very limited degree. Until Elaine’s murder was cleared up, it was strictly the chinless man’s show.
Elaine.…He held the word in his mind, turned it over and around; stubbornly, dully terrified, he refused to recognize the emotion which the name conjured.…Hatred, relief, now that she was dead? Nonsense! He could have got a divorce. He could have let her get one, as she’d wanted to of late. He might feel that she was better off dead, but that didn’t mean—And wasn’t he doing everything he could to track down her murderer? Wasn’t that proof that—proof of how he really felt? He was doing everything he could to lay hands on the guy who killed her. That was his only reason for stringing along with Alvarado. Of course, the latter’s offer was unusually attractive, the kind of thing he’d been looking for.…
Only one setup could be prettier—to find out who the present supplier was. He’d be loaded, stooped down with dough he wasn’t supposed to have.
“Mr. Kent!”
Dolores was kneeling beside him, the silken fullness of her breast pressing against his arm. The blue V-necked nightgown cast seductive shadows along the creamy planes of her flesh.
“The coffee—you have been doped. You must leave here at once!”
14
Toddy was a happy awakener; it was the one characteristic which had maddened Elaine more than any of his others. Shaking with a hangover, sick at her stomach, she would look at him in the morning and profanely demand what the hell there was to grin about.
So he looked at Dolores now, smiling not for her but himself. And then awareness came to him, and with it the chronic suspicion and hardness which life had engendered in him. But the smile still lingered, deceptively trusting and innocent.
“How’s that?” he asked. “What do you mean, the coffee’s doped?”
“You saw he did not drink of it? Now you must go!”
“Why?”
“You are in great danger. I cannot tell you more than that.”
“Sure,” said Toddy. “Sure, I’ll go. Just as soon as you tell me how to dope black coffee. I’ve heard of almost everything, but I’ve never heard of that. There ought to be a fortune in it.”
“B-but I—I—”
Her mouth closed helplessly over the words which had seemed so adequate a moment ago. He looked like a different man now. The mold remained the same but the contents had undergone a fearsomely rapid change. The soft crinkles of his smile had assumed the rigid hardness of ice.
“Well?”
“All right,” she said, coloring. “I lied about the coffee. But—”
His hand closed suddenly over her arm. With a movement too swift to analyze, she was twirled up and around and smacked down upon his knees.
“You don’t mind?” he said. “I like to look at people when I talk to them. Always look at people when you talk to them, and you won’t have to wear false teeth.”
“I—let me—!”
She tried to fling herself forward…and his right foot swung with casual expertness. She fell back into the hollow of his knees, her feet swept from under her. She balanced there foolishly, fury slowly surrendering to a growing fear.
“A little bony, aren’t they?” he nodded. “You said I was in danger; I’m willing to be convinced. What danger?”
“It—the danger is not from Alvarado.”
“Well, then?”
“That is all I will say.”
“Oh, now,” Toddy drawled, “we can’t leave it there. We just can’t do that. You haven’t got a twin sister, have you?”
“A twin? I do not understand.”
“Uh-huh. Some girl that looked just like you chased me all over hell tonight; hunted me down with a dog the size of a Shetland pony. I had my legs run off. I damned near got killed two or three times. And after the dog had caught me and herded me into her car, she brought me out here—the last place in the world I wanted to go. I tried to bribe her. I tried to argue with her. It was no soap right on down the line. And after all that, she turns pal on me. She’s my bosom—no offense, honey—friend, I’m supposed to—”
“Please! If you’ll give me a chance…”
“You’ve got it.”
“I had to bring you here. I could not let you escape. Alvarado would have accepted no excuse.”
“Why didn’t you take it on the lam? Why don’t you now—if you really don’t like the game? Alvarado’s not in any position to make much trouble and neither are you. You’d be even-stephen.”
He waited, eyebrows raised, watching the shivering rise and fall of her breast. There were tears in her eyes. She looked pathetically sweet and helpless and baffled, like a child who has had its hands slapped in the act of presenting a gift.
“I’m still here,” he said harshly. “Let’s have it.”
“You!” she snapped, her eyes suddenly tearless, “you are so full of your own image that you can see nothing else! Are you blind? Have you forgotten that I tried to protect you tonight? I could have received much more than a blow. To make my story conform with yours, I—”
“Uh-huh. After it wouldn’t do any good. After you’d already told him another one.…Did you ever get worked over by the cops, honey? It’s pretty cute. You’re in a soundproof room, see; you’re buried where no one can get to you; you’re not even booked, maybe. There’s not a thing you can do but take it, the slaps, the hose, the kidney kicks; and you’ve had more than you can take hours ago. And then the door slams open and a nice fatherly guy comes in, and he gives these guys hell. They can’t do that to you. He won’t stand for it. He’s going to get ’em all fired. Cute? Why, you’ll fall on his neck—if you haven’t been through the routine before.”
“Oh,” said Dolores, softly. “You think that—yes, you would have to think that. You could not be expected to think otherwise.”
“Bingo, gin and blackjack,” Toddy said. “Let’s see if we can’t agree on something else.”
“I had better go. There is nothing I can say to you.”
“How many times were you in my room tonight?”
“How—Why, once!”
“And the room was in order?”
“Yes! It was in order and I did not move the body—why in the world should I?—and you can believe that or disbelieve it and—and I hate you!”
“Sit still!” Toddy grabbed her arm and drew her back. “I haven’t got much more to say but I want to be sure you hear it. My wife was a tramp. They don’t come any lower. But I didn’t want her dead, I particularly didn’t want her dead that way.…No one deserves to die like that, alone, gagged, and strangled in a sleazy room in a third-class hotel. If I live long enough, I’ll get my hands on the party that did it. When I do…”
“Surely, you cannot think that—”
“Think it?” Toddy shook his head. “I don’t even think that you’re trying to steer me away from my one chance to find the murderer. I don’t even think that I might find myself in trouble if I picked you up on that steer—if I tried to leave. I don’t think a thing. All I know is that hell’s been popping ever since I came to this house this afternoon, and you’ve been right in the middle of the fireworks. I don’t think a thing, but I don’t not think anything either. That’s the way it is, and as long as it is that way here’s a tip for you. Don’t toss that pretty little butt toward me again. If you do, I’ll kick it for a field goal.”
He put a period to the words with a knee jerk. It sent her stumbling to her feet, and she wobbled awkwardly for a moment, startled, furious, fighting to regain her balance.
“You!” she flung over her shoulder, and the door banged shut on the word.
She was none too soon…if it wasn’t an act. For Alvarado had returned; a car was pulling into the driveway. Toddy wondered what line you took in a case like this.
If it was the chinless man’s way of testing him, there was only one thing to do. Tell him about it. It wouldn’t hurt the girl; it would hurt him, Toddy, if he didn’t.
If, on the other hand, she had given him a warning or a threat, the chinless man should still be told. He and Chinless were riding the same boat temporarily. What hurt one was very apt to hurt the other.
So he had every reason to speak of this, the girl’s attempt to make him leave. But he couldn’t quite make up his mind to do it. He still hadn’t when, a moment later, Alvarado and the dog came in.
15
The dog came directly to Toddy and hunkered down in front of him. With the air of one nagged by a worrisome problem, he gazed studiously into Toddy’s face.
“Nrrrah?” he said. “Nrrrah…t’ee?” Obviously the song both haunted and tantalized him. He could neither forget it nor recall the melody.
Toddy grinned despite, or, perhaps, because of his own serious situation. It was a relief to encounter something in this house so wholly undevious and understandable. He was humming the refrain of the hymn when a curt command from Alvarado interrupted.
Lugubriously, the dog moved away. Chinless dropped into a chair, rubbing his hands. He was feeling very pleased with himself, Chinless was. His shark’s grin stretched from ear to ear.
“You have had some rest? Ah, yes, I can see you have. I see,”—he took an exaggerated sniff of the air—“that you have not been alone either. The girl lost no time in approaching you.”
“Maybe.” Toddy couldn’t smell any perfume and he didn’t think Alvarado could. It wouldn’t mean anything, anyway, since she’d been in the room all evening. “Maybe,” he said casually. “She could have been in while I was asleep.”
Alvarado chuckled. “I understand. It has been years since such matters interested me, but I understand well. She is an attractive girl. You have lost your wife—”
“Just,” said Toddy, “just a few hours ago.”
“My apologies. My remarks were entirely out of order.”
“All right,” said Toddy.
“In rejoicing one is apt to become tactless, and I have reason to rejoice, Mr. Kent. We both do. The police may not be on your trail yet, but they soon will be. There is no question about it.”
Toddy stared at him incredulously. “That’s supposed to be good, is it?”
“Oh, very good. It—wait, please. I shall be glad to explain. I could not seriously doubt your story tonight; not after it had been confirmed by two men who obviously hated you. But my believing was not enough. My principles would demand more than that. So, I got more, much more than I expected.”
He chuckled gleefully again, then hurried on at Toddy’s frown. “I registered for a room at the hotel in the same wing yours is in. It was my intention to persuade the bellboy to let me look into yours—perhaps on the pretext that I smelled smoke coming from it. I had no way of knowing what I would find, if anything, but I felt certain that—”
“Get on with it,” Toddy broke in impatiently. “You did get in. What did you find?”
“But I did not get in. Such was not necessary. The door was open and there were men inside. Detectives, beyond a doubt. I could only see one of them, and I could overhear only a snatch of their conversation. But that was sufficient. They were looking for your wife. Patently, they had been informed of her disappearance.”
“But”—Toddy frowned—“that means the body is gone.”
“Yes, it is very strange,” murmured Alvarado, lowering one eyelid in a wink. “Very, very strange. Who would have a motive for removing the body? Not the murderer, certainly. To do so would conflict with his reason for committing the murder. So…”
“You’re forgetting just one thing,” said Toddy. “I didn’t know the body was missing. I thought it was still there in my room.”
“Did you, Mr. Kent?”
“Yes!” snapped Toddy, and then he shrugged and lowered his voice. “Let it ride. Let’s have the rest of it.”
“Good,” Alvarado nodded sagely. “The point is a delicate one and there is really no point in discussing it. What matters is that your wife was killed—and I know the identity of her murderer. Please!” He held up his hand. “We can have no great amount of time to act. You had best let me explain in my own way.
“When I first missed the watch this afternoon, I notified our gold-supplier immediately. I did so reluctantly. As I have indicated, the man is no friend of mine. I detest him, in fact, and the feeling is reciprocated. Under the circumstances, however, I had no choice. He has many contacts in the gold trade; you might try to dispose of the watch. Such a potentially disastrous attempt had to be stopped at all costs.”
“I don’t see—”
“You will, Mr. Kent. Not only is this man my enemy, but he has long been anxious to withdraw from this organization. He will not say so, of course. He is afraid to. He knows that when we are willing to dispense with a man’s services we also dispense with him—permanently. As long as our organization was functioning, and unless we chose otherwise, he would have to remain part of it.
“So this afternoon, today, he saw his opportunity. We presented it to him, you and I. By killing your wife, he would force you into summary action against me to establish your own innocence. Inevitably the facts of our organization would be brought to light. It would be impossible for us to operate, if ever, for a very long time.…That is why your wife was killed, Mr. Kent. So that this man might avenge himself upon me and free himself of an association which has become distasteful to him.”
Toddy frowned dubiously. “I don’t know,” he said, slowly. “It seems to me like he had his own neck out pretty far.”
“Not in his opinion. Like many persons who confess to cleverness, he is inclined to overlook the fact that others may be shrewd also. He felt certain, no doubt, that I would never see through his plan.”
“Only you and they know who he is, is that right?”
“That is correct.” Alvarado smiled sympathetically. “You have a right to know also, and you shall very shortly. I must lay the matter before my superiors and wait for their instructions, but that is a mere formality. The man will pay for his crime. There is not the slightest doubt about it.”
“How?”
&
nbsp; “Well”—the chinless man pursed his lips—“I imagine he will become conscience-stricken, Mr. Kent. Remorse will compel him to confess to the murder—in writing, of course—after which he will commit suicide.”
He grinned mirthlessly. Toddy hesitated.
“I still don’t see,” he said. “I don’t see why your people would go to such trouble to soak the guy. My wife meant nothing to them. He tried to get you, but you were trying to get him, too. He’s never said he wanted to pull out of the racket, and—”
“I will tell you why,” Alvarado interrupted. “Our work is sponsored by my government. It is a poor government, financially speaking, and an unpopular one; a ragged pariah among the commonwealth of nations. It must have gold to survive. It can get gold in this way. Lately, there have been indications that it might be able to secure loans from this country. There is much sentiment against them here, but there is some cause for hope. Can you imagine what would become of that hope if I, an agent of this already unpopular power, was charged with murder? With specifically the murder of a woman and an American citizen?”
“Yes,” Toddy nodded, “I can.”
“You Americans are a peculiar people, Mr. Kent. You are undisturbed by what amounts to mass murder, but let one of you be killed—a woman, in particular—and your entire nation is one voice demanding vengeance.…That is why this man will be severely and promptly punished. For actually jeopardizing the security of my government for his own purposes.”
“Can you prove that he did?”
“I shall be able to. Within the next twenty-four hours, I hope. And please do not ask me how; I cannot tell you. In the meantime…”
“I’d better hide out?”
“Yes. It may not be necessary, but we can take no chances. We do not know what the police have been told. It is dangerously futile to guess. Tijuana will be safe. I have contacts there.”
With a muttered word of apology, Alvarado took a bus timetable from his pocket and held it up to his eyes. He studied it, squinting, for a moment, then fitted a pair of steel-rimmed spectacles to his nose and peered at it again. Abruptly he thrust it toward Toddy.