'I don't know when he'll be in. Do you want to leave a message?'
Ken thought for a moment.
'Yes. Tell him the man who stayed at his apartment is now at 45 Maddox Court. He'll know all about it.'
'Okay,' the sergeant said indifferently, and he hung up.
As Ken came out of the drug store, the white-coated clerk said, 'What's all the shooting about?'
'I don't know,' Ken said, without pausing.
'No one ever knows anything in this street,' the clerk said bitterly.
But Ken was already out of earshot. He walked fast. It took him under ten minutes to reach Maddox Court.
Several times he had to dodge down a side street and wait until a cop passed. He was in a bad state of nerves as he walked up the drive to the imposing entrance to the building.
He remembered Johnny's warning about the night clerk, and he peered through the revolving door into the big hall. He couldn't see a sign of any clerk, but behind the reception desk, a half-open door led into an inner office. He guessed the clerk was in there.
He quietly pushed past the revolving door and stepped into the hall. Then swiftly and silently he ran across the hall to the cover of the stairs and went up them.
It took him some minutes to locate Gilda's apartment and even longer to climb the stairs to the top floor. As he paused outside her front door he glanced at his wristwatch. The time was twenty minutes to one.
He wondered if she were still up. He wondered, too, if she would call the
night clerk instead of answering the door. He had to risk that.
He pressed the bell and waited. After a short delay, he heard sounds on the other side of the door, then a girl's voice called sharply: 'Who is it?'
'I have a message from your brother,' Ken said. He took the envelope Johnny had given him from his pocket and, bending, he slid it under the door.
There was a pause, then the door jerked open. He found himself staring at the tall, willowy blonde he had seen at the Blue Rose nightclub. She had on a magenta coloured silk shirt and a pair of black slacks. Her face was pale and her great green eyes glittered.
'What is it?' she said. 'What has happened to Johnny?'
'He is in trouble,' Ken said. 'He asked me to come and see you.'
He wasn't sure if she had recognized him or not. Her face was expressionless as she stood aside.
'You'd better come in.'
He followed her into the luxuriously furnished sitting-room.
'Sit down,' she said curtly. 'Now what is all this?'
'The police are looking for your brother. He shot a policeman,' Ken said, sitting down.
'Shot a policeman?' Gilda repeated, her face tightening. 'He - he hasn't killed him?'
'I don't know. Your brother was hurt. He was shot in the arm.'
'For heaven's sake!' Gilda said impatiently. 'Can't you tell me what happened?'
'I'm trying to. Perhaps I'd better begin at the beginning . . .'
While he was speaking, she was staring at him, her eyes puzzled.
'You say my brother shot a policeman and he is hurt?' she said. 'When did this happen?'
'About a couple of hours ago.'
'Oh, I see.' She looked at the creased envelope that Johnny had given Ken. 'How did you get hold of this?'
'Your brother gave it to me. He said you would know I came from him.'
'He just says I should help you. He doesn't say anything about being hurt.'
'He couldn't write well. His arm hurt him.'
She studied him, her eyes angry and suspicious.
'Would you be surprised to know that my brother is at this moment flying to Paris?'
'He isn't! It was a trick. O'Brien planned to murder him. He persuaded your brother to write a note to you so you should believe he had gone to Paris.'
'This gets more and more complicated as we go along, doesn't it?' she said, moving over to the sideboard. 'Are you telling me that Sean O'Brien was planning to murder Johnny?'
'I know it sounds fantastic,' Ken said, worried by her obvious suspicion, 'but if I told you the whole story ...'
'That won't be necessary,' she said, jerking open a drawer in the sideboard. She dipped into it, turned to face him, an automatic in her hand. 'Don't move! You're lying! I know who you are! You're the man the police are looking for! You killed Fay Carson!'
II
