She was still lying to him. It suddenly occurred to him that she might be sheltering Johnny. He might be at her apartment at this moment.
'Well, so long as he is out of the way ...' he said, and looked at his wristwatch. 'Damn it! I nearly forgot. I have to call a guy. Wait for me, will you? We've got to get this thing straightened out. I won't be a minute.'
He went out of the room, into his study, and closed the door. He dialled a number, and, keeping his voice down, said, 'Get me Tux.'
After a short delay, a hard, rasping voice said, 'Yes, boss?'
'You did a swell job on that apartment house. I have another job for you. Go around to 45 Maddox Court. It's Miss Dorman's apartment. Get in there and take a look around. Don't let anyone see you. I think Johnny Dorman's there. If he is, take him away and hole him up somewhere safe. It won't be easy, but you've handled tougher jobs than this one. Take Whitey along with you. The boy gets wild under pressure.'
'I'll take care of him,' Tux said.
'I want him somewhere where I can get at him in a hurry. I don't want anyone to see him, and be careful how you handle him. Don't hit him on the head: his roofs not all that strong.'
'Leave it to me, boss,' Tux said. 'I'll call you back.'
O'Brien replaced the receiver, lit a cigarette and returned to the lounge.
He thought from the look of Gilda's eyes that she had been crying, and he went to sit beside her on the couch.
'You mustn't let this upset you,' he said gently. 'Now, let's take a look at the set-up. You've got to be frank with me, Gilda. This could turn out to be unpleasant for both of us. We've got to think of ourselves. There are one or two things I want you to tell me about. Some time ago there was trouble between you and Fay and Johnny. At the time I felt it wasn't my business, but now it could be my business and I want to know what it was all about. You've got to remember that I have a lot of enemies. They know we're planning to get married. If they could put Johnny on a spot they'll do it to get at me. I must know the facts. I don't want them sprung on me. Someone might remember that Johnny threatened to kill Fay, and the police might be forced to dig into his past. I want to know what happened between you and Fay and Johnny. All I know is he suddenly went haywire and you put him in a home. I want the inside story, Gilda. I must have it.'
'If Johnny is in trouble,' she said quietly, 'you don't have to marry me, Sean.'
'I'm going to marry you,' O'Brien said, looking fixedly at her. 'That's about the one thing in life I am sure about. But I'm going to avoid trouble if I can. I must know what it was all about. Will you tell me?'
She lifted her shoulders wearily.
'Of course. It's all very sordid, but I have nothing to hide. I would have told you before if you had asked.' She reached for a cigarette; accepted the light he offered, and went on, 'Fay and I were once good friends. We shared an apartment. I did a little singing; she did a dancing act with her partner, Maurice Yarde. She was crazy about him. He wasn't the type of man any girl should be crazy about. He was selfish and utterly unscrupulous. One day she brought him to the apartment and introduced him to me. From that moment I never had a second's peace. He followed me everywhere. You can't imagine how crude he was. He forced himself on me. Fay wouldn't believe I wasn't encouraging him, and she quarrelled with me. Nothing I could say would convince her. She quarrelled with him, too. I left the apartment, but still he kept after me. Finally, I left town. He was so furious with Fay for interfering, he broke up the dance act and also left town. When I heard he had gone, I came back. Fay wouldn't have anything to do with me, and I wasn't sorry because she had gone completely off the rails. She wouldn't go on with her dancing, and she turned to men for money. One day she ran into Johnny, who was just out of the army. I don't have to tell you what a dreadful time he had had during the war. It left him unbalanced; he drank too much and got into violent rages. I was the only one who could handle him. Fay found out he was my brother, but he didn't find out what she was. She made up her mind to hook him to get even with me. She did hook him. I warned him about her, but he wouldn't listen. He became as crazy about her as she had been about Yarde. He wanted to marry her, but she held him off; neither refusing nor accepting him. Then one of his friends gave him her card, telling him if he wanted a girl, he could recommend her. I guess Johnny went off his head. He rushed around to her apartment, and if Sam Darcy hadn't arrived soon after, Johnny might have killed her. She was terribly beaten up. Sam got him under control and sent for me. I got Johnny into a home. Well, you know the rest of it, Sean. Johnny stayed in the home for nearly a year. The doctors have told me he has made a complete recovery. I was going there to bring him home, but he forestalled me. He got back last night.'
O'Brien rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
'So Sam Darcy knows about Johnny and Fay?'
'He knows Johnny beat her up and threatened to kill her.'
'Do you think Johnny went to him last night? Do you think Darcy knows he's in town?'
'I don't know.'
'Well, all right,' O'Brien said. 'I now know the facts. We mustn't make too much of this. We mustn't jump to conclusions. Howard tells me they have a description of a man who was seen leaving Fay's apartment about the time she died. It's nothing like the description of Johnny.'
'I tell you Johnny didn't do it!' she said sharply.
'I'm afraid it isn't very important what you and I think, Gilda,' O'Brien said seriously. 'The facts are he threatened to kill her before going into the home. As soon as he comes out, she's murdered. I only hope they catch this tall, dark guy in the grey suit. If they don't, someone may remember that Johnny could be a suspect, and because he's your brother, they may try to make something out of it.'
'Surely the police will find this man,' Gilda said anxiously.
'I hope so.' He gave her a crooked little smile. 'Let's get our minds off this for a moment. Lunch is ready.'
She shook her head.
'I want to go home now, Sean. I have things to do.'
'You are going to have lunch with me,' he said firmly, and took her arm, walking with her down the passage to the dining-room.
