'Don't lose your nerve,' Don said. 'I'll take care of you.' She then seemed to realize what she had done; she had given him her only protection not only from Felix, but worse still, from Englemann.
'No! Give it to me back!' she cried. 'I didn't mean to let you have it. I must have it back!' She made as if to thrust her hand
through the opening, but Don slid the plate across just as Felix came into the room.
Lorelli spun around. One look at Felix's white, sweating face sent her hands to her mouth.
'I can't open the door at the end of the passage,' Felix said, the edge of panic in his voice. 'The current seems to be cut off.'
Lorelli shut her eyes and sagged against the wall. He went over to the telephone and lifted the receiver.
Carlos said, 'Yes?'
His negroid voice was as thick and as smooth as black treacle.
'Something seems to have gone wrong with the door at the end of the passage,' Felix said. He had to make a tremendous effort to keep his voice steady. 'I can't open it.'
'That's right, Mr Felix,' Carlos said cheerfully. 'Boss's orders. He told me to cut the current off.'
Felix suddenly felt he wanted to be sick.
'Okay. I'll have a word with him,' he said. 'He can't know I'm down here.'
'He knows all right.' There was ajeering note in Carlos's voice. 'He asked who was down here before he told me to cut off the current.'
'Put me through to him!' Felix snarled.
'Right away, Mr Felix.' Carlos pulled out the plug, then rang Alsconi's room.
'Yes?' Alsconi asked.
'Mr Felix wants you, boss.'
'Does he? Tell him I'm busy,' Alsconi said. 'I'll talk to him tomoiTow morning and not before.'
'Yes, boss,' Carlos said, his thick lips coming off his teeth in a delighted grin. He got back to Felix. 'Sorry, Mr Felix, but the boss says he's busy. He'll talk to you tomorrow morning.'
Felix slammed down the receiver. Sweat ran down his face as he turned to look at Lorelli.
'You clever little...' The word he used made Lorelli flinch. 'We're trapped down here. Alsconi's on to us. He's cut the current off, and there's no way out. I hope you're pleased with yourself and your bright ideas.'
Lorelli collapsed into a chair. She held her head between her hands.
Felix went out of the room at a run and into his room. He flung back the door and entered, not looking at Willie's body that lay half under the toilet basin. His .45 automatic lay on the top of his chest of drawers. He snatched it up, and as he was about to push it into the shoulder holster he wore under his coat, he paused. The weight of the gun in his hand told him it wasn't loaded, and yet he knew an hour or so ago, before he had killed Willie, he had checked the gun, making sure it was loaded.
With shaking hands, he pulled out the clip and found it empty. He turned swiftly, jerked open a drawer in the chest for the box of cartridges he always kept by him. It usually rested in the right-hand comer under a pile of shirts. When he moved the shirts, he saw the empty hollow where the box had been, but the box itself was no longer there.
He had used Willie's gun when he had hit him over the head. He had dropped the gun beside Willie's dead body. Now he looked for it, but couldn't see it. He kicked Willie's body aside, but the gun wasn't there.
He stood still, his heart pounding, his hands clenched at his sides. Someone - probably Carlos - had been in his room while he had been wasting time talking to Lorelli and had unloaded his gun, taken his slugs and also Willie's gun.
Well, at least he had Lorelli's gun, he thought. It was only a toy, but it was better than nothing. He could guess what would happen. When Alsconi was ready he would tell Carlos to move in and take him. Felix knew he wouldn't stand a chance against Carlos unless he had the .25 which would slow Carlos down if it didn't stop him.
He went back to Lorelli's room.
She was still holding her head in her hands. He scarcely looked at her. He went to the dressing table for the .25. He had left it there with the seven bullets arranged in a neat row beside it and he could scarcely believe his eyes when he saw it was no longer there.
'Where's your gun?' he said, his voice off-key.
Lorelli started and looked up.
'Where's the gun?' he repeated.
'Why? What do you...?'
She jumped to her feet when she saw his vicious expression.
'Where's the gun?' he snarled, moving towards her.
'Don't look like that at me!' She backed against the wall. 'Keep away from me!'
Felix came up to her. He grabbed hold of the front of her dress with his left hand and pulled her against him.
'Where is it?'
'I gave it to Micklem.'
