hadn’t killed them, they would have killed me.
The cat came over and sniffed delicately at Benno’s dead face. It put out a paw and patted
his nose. I took two or three hurried drags at the cigarette, then dropped it and put my heel in
it. Time was running out. There was still much to do.
I put on my shoes, shoved Benno’s gun in my hip pocket and went along the passage into
the sitting-room.
Ginny lay in the armchair. Her hands were tied behind her, and she was still gagged. Her
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head lolled forward and she seemed to be in a faint.
I ran to her, slashed through the cord that bound her wrists and gently eased the gag out of
her mouth.
“Ginny, darling!”
She moaned softly.
“Ginny, it’s me. Come on, darling, we’ve got to get out of here!”
Her head dropped back and her eyelids lifted. Recognition slowly came into her eyes and
she touched my face.
“Where have you been, Johnny?” she said huskily. “I waited and waited. I moved in here,
hoping you’d come back. It’s been so long.”
“I’ll tell you about it later. Come on, kid, we’ve got to get out of here. We’ve got to get out
of town. I have a car outside.”
“Where are we going?” She sat up, her land going to her torn dress.
“We can decide that as we go. We’ve got to hurry.”
She shivered.
“Where is that awful little man? Who is he?”
I pulled her to her feet. Her knees buckled and she would have fallen if I hadn’t supported
her.
“Don’t worry about anything. I’ve taken care of him. Let’s get out of here.”
“No!” She tried to push away from me, but I held her. “I’m not going with you until I know
what all this means. Why do we have to leave? Send for the police, Johnny. Get the police
here. Why should we run away?”
“You don’t understand, Ginny,” I said, trying to control my impatience. Every second we
wasted now made our getaway more difficult. “We can’t go to the police. The police captain
is in this too. We must get out of here!”
Sudden fear jumped into her eyes.
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“What is all this talk of money about?” she asked breathlessly. “What money, Johnny?”
I knew at once it would be fatal to tell her about the money. Later, perhaps, but certainly
not now. She might not understand that it was mine by right: she might even think I had
stolen it.
“He’s mistaking me for someone else,” I said. “Now come on, Ginny. I’ll tell you about it
in the car.”
“He kept asking me about the money,” Ginny said wildly. “He said you had stolen it from
the casino.”
“He’s lying. Now, come on, darling. He may be back any moment. He’s dangerous. We
must get out of here!”
“Johnny, did you steal it?”
“Of course I didn’t.”
“Word of honour?”
“Yes, word of honour. It’s all a mistake. Come on, Ginny, let’s go”
“You’ll have to help me. I can’t walk far.”
