“Okay, if that’s the way you want to play it,” he said. “Suit yourself. I’ll talk to Riskin. In a
couple of hours from now you’ll be in jail. Maybe you think you can talk yourself out of one
murder rap, but I’m damned sure you won’t talk yourself out of three.”
He walked silently to the door.
“Want to change your mind?” he asked, pausing to look back at me.
“Get out!” I said.
He went out quietly the way he had come in: like a ghost without a house to haunt.
IV
Before I could even start to think what all this meant a nurse came in.
“Did you enjoy your visitor?” she asked, smiling at me. “Imagine him being your cousin.
You’re not a bit alike.”
“Cousins don’t have to be,” I said, surprised I could say anything.
“I guess that’s right. Did he leave these?” She picked up the carnations. “Aren’t they
wonderful!”
“You have them. I don’t care about flowers. I’ll be glad if you’ll take them away.”
“Well, if you really mean that. Why, thanks. I think they’re wonderful.” She picked them
up and sniffed at them. “Your cousin must have a lot of money. That diamond he was
wearing and his car!”
“Yeah, he doesn’t starve.”
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“I’m beginning to suspect you’re someone very important.”
“Who me? I’m nobody. What gave you that idea?”
“Well, those two policemen outside. They told me they were guarding you, I guess you
must be important.”
I kept a dead pan expression, but it was an effort.
“My cousin imagines someone’s going to kidnap me. He’s nuts, but there it is. I didn’t
know about the cops. How long have they been here?”
“Oh, they’ve just arrived.”
I was beginning to get the shakes again.
“Tell me, nurse, what happened to my clothes ?”
“They’re in that closet; over there. Did you want something?”
“No, it’s okay. I just wondered. The doc said something about me leaving at the end of the
week. I just wondered what had happened to them.”
“Well, they’re right in that closet. Is there anything I can get you?”
“I guess not, thanks. I think I’ll take a nap. Those two guys made me feel tired.”
“Thanks for the flowers. They really are something.”
“You’re welcome.”
I watched her leave the room, then as soon as I was sure she had gone, I sat up.
I had to get out of here. I had to go somewhere away from Riskin and Ricca and work this
thing out for myself. The way I figured it there could be only two explanations: this was
either a case of mistaken identity or one of them or even both of them were trying to frame
me.
It was now twenty minutes past six. The nurse brought me supper at seven-fifteen sharp.
That gave me fifty minutes to dress and get out of the hospital before I was missed.
I lowered my feet to the floor and stood up. I felt weak in the legs and wobbly, but not
anything like so wobbly as I thought I was going to feel. I went over to the closet and opened
63
the door. I was expecting to find the white tropical suit Brant had given me, but instead there
was a dark-blue flannel suit on a hanger, a white silk shirt, a pair of black leather shoes, and a
wide-brimmed hat on a shelf.
