I tried to kiss her lips, but she wouldn't let me. I wrestled with her for a minute, and then I picked her up and carried her into the bedroom.
Afterwards I lay beside her on the bed. Now I knew everything that had happened. The Elders had told McGee of the robbery and he'd known the Princess was involved because he'd talked over just that kind of a job with her. When he accused her she told him everything, putting me on the spot. Then they made their little plan. I would disappear, and they would blame the robbery on me. And the murder! Brother, that was what worried me: the murder! It would be better for them if I never got caught, but nobody would believe my story if I did. They'd have an alibi.
The goddamdest thing was I still couldn't do anything about it, even with McGee gone. The Princess still had the whip. I'd have to take the rap! Or do a bunk. I figured I had about ten grand. That wouldn't last a murder fugitive very long.
“What are you thinking about, honey?”
“About how nice it'll be when we're together.”
“We'll have fun.”
We'll have fun like hell! I thought. “When do you want me to leave?”
“Right away.”
“I can't. Grayson's coming this afternoon. If I'm not around, he'll make a lot of trouble.”
She thought about that. “All right, honey. Stay until tonight. And come out here before you go.”
“That'll be nice.” I scowled at her. “Only I won't like thinking about the Grayson gal.”
“Don't think about her then.”
“Just tell me one thing,” I said. “Who kills her?”
“I don't know.”
I touched the soft skin on her shoulder. “You must have heard something.”
“All I know is the Elders have a kind of a ceremony in a room next to the one where Solomon lies. That's at midnight. Then they take the Bride into the big room and leave her by the coffin.”
“Yeah?”
“And when they come for her in the morning she's dead.”
I slid off the bed and got a bottle of brandy and two glasses. We drank.
“Dead how?”
“A knife in the heart. Solomon's knife.”
She sat with her eyes half closed, sipping the drink. “It's crazy,” she said, “but they believe Solomon comes back and does it. It's his way of keeping in contact with the earth.”
“It's spooky,” I said. “Do you believe it?”
“A guy that's been dead five years coming back and knocking off someone? Don't make me laugh.”
“Well, who does it?”
“You asked me that,” she said. “Honey, let's talk about something else.” She rubbed my thigh. “You haven't been dead five years, have you?”
I got back to the Arkady just before four. On my way through the lobby the clerk gave me a note. It said:
Me for the peaceful life. Goodbye.
Ginger.
The clerk said she'd checked out at noon. I felt sorry until I remembered she hadn't returned the bracelet. The bitch! I went up to my room, but I hadn't more than poured myself a drink of rye when the phone rang.
“A Mr. Grayson to see you.”
I went down to the lobby. Grayson was a heavy-set man, almost as big as me, with a large head. He had grey hair. He was wearing a tan Palm Beach suit. We shook hands.
“God, what heat!” he said.
“It's been like this all week.”
“Where's the girl?”
I said: “Let's go where we can talk, Mr. Grayson.”
We went into the bar. Grayson had a glass of milk. I had a rye highball. “Well,” he said. “Where is she?”
“I'll have her tonight.”
“You'd damn well better.” He glared at me. “I've paid you ten thousand dollars. You produce or I'll throw you in jail.”
“Like hell you will,” I said.
That made him angry, but he kept it down. “The hell I won't,” he said. “But that's tomorrow. We're friends until then.”
