killed. Except it didn’t happen that way. I nailed one and the other got away to tell about it. Maybe Dilwick would like it better this way.
So they caught me. They knew I was trailing them all day and laid a lot of elaborate plans to catch me in the trap. I had to get out of there before that other one got back with reinforcements. I let the body stay as it was, then crawled under the wheel and drove onto the grass, swinging around the corpse, then back on the highway. This time I used my lights and the gas pedal, hightailing it away as fast as I could hold the turns. Whenever I reached an intersection I cut off on it, hoping it wasn’t a dead end. It took me a good two hours to circle the town and come out in the general vicinity of York’s place, but I couldn’t afford using the highway.
The car was in my way now; it could be spotted too easily. If they saw me it would be shoot to kill and I didn’t have the kind of artillery necessary to fight a gang war. Dilwick would have every cop in town on the lookout, reporting the incident to Price only after they cornered me somewhere and punched me full of holes, or the death of the cop was printed in the papers.
There was only one reason for all the hoodah . . . Grange was still the key, and Dilwick knew I knew he had her.
Trusting luck that I wasn’t too far from home, I ran the car off the road between the trees, pulling as far into the bushes as I could get. Using some cut branches for camouflage I covered up the hood and any part that could be seen by casual observation from the road. When I was satisfied I stepped out and began walking in a northerly direction.
A road finally crossed the one I was on with phone wires paralleling it. A lead from a pole a hundred yards down left the main line and went into the trees. When I reached it I saw the sleepy little bungalow hidden in the shadows. If my feet on the pavement didn’t wake the occupants, my sharp rapping did.
Inside someone said, “George . . . the door.”
Bedsprings creaked and the guy mumbled something then crossed the room to the door. A light went on overhead and when the guy in the faded bathrobe took a look at me he almost choked.
“I had an accident. Do you have a phone?”
“Accident? Yeah . . . yeah. Come in.”
He gulped and, glancing at me nervously, called, “Mary. It’s a man who’s had an accident. Anything I can do for you, mister? Anybody else hurt?”
The guy back there would never feel anything again. “No, nobody else is hurt.”
“Here’s the phone.” His wife came out while I dialed Price’s number. She tried to fuss around with a wet rag, wiping the blood off my face, but I waved her off. Price wasn’t there, but I got his home number. He wasn’t there, either, he had left for headquarters. The woman was too excited. I insisted that I didn’t need a doctor, but let her go over my battered face with the rag, then dialed headquarters again.
Price was there. He nearly exploded when he heard my voice. “What the hell happened? Where are you?”
“Out of town. What are you doing up at this hour?”
“Are you kidding? A police reporter slipped me the news that a cop was killed south of town. I got the rest from Dilwick. You’re in a jam now.”
“You’re not telling me anything new,” I said. “Has he got the police combing the town for me?”
“Everyone on the force is out. I had to put you on the Teletype myself. All the roads are blocked and they have a cordon around York’s house. Are you giving yourself up?”
“Don’t be silly. I’d be sticking my head in a noose. As far as Dilwick is concerned I have to be knocked off. It’s a screw pitch, pal, and I’m in it deep, but don’t believe all you hear.”
“You killed him, didn’t you?”
“You’re damn right. If I hadn’t it would have been me lying back there with my head in sections all over the ground. They squeezed me good. I was tailing Dilwick, but they got wise and tailed me. Like a damn fool I let Dilwick lead me out in the sticks and they jumped me. What was I supposed to do, take it lying down? They didn’t have orders to pick me up, they were supposed to knock me off.”
“Where are you? I’ll come out and get you.”
“No dice, buddy, I have work to do.”
“You’d better give yourself up, Mike. You’ll be safer in the custody of the law.”
“Like hell. Dilwick will have me held under his jurisdiction and that’s what he wants. He’ll be able to finish the job then.”
“Just the same, Mike . . .”
“Say, whose side are you on?”
He didn’t say a word for a full minute. “I’m a policeman, Mike. I’ll have to take you in.”
He was making it hard for me. “Listen, don’t be a sap, Price, something’s come up that I have to follow.”
“What?”
I glanced at the two faces that were taking in every word. “I can’t tell you now.”
“The police can handle it.”
“In a pig’s eye. Now listen. If you want to see this case solved you’ll have to stay off my back as much as you can. I know something that only the killer knows and I have to use it while it’s hot. If you take me in it’ll be too late for both of us. You know what Dilwick and his outfit are like. So I shot one of them. That’s hardly killing a cop, is it? Then don’t get so upset about me blasting a cheap crook. Do you want to see this case wrapped up or not?”
“Of course.”
“Then keep your boys out of this. I’m not worried about the rest.”
There was another silent period while he thought it over, then he spoke. “Mike, I shouldn’t do this; it’s against all rules and regulations. But I know how things stand and I still want to be a good cop. Sometimes to do that you have to fall in line. I’ll stay off you. I don’t know how long it will be before the pressure gets put on me, but until then I’ll do what I can.”
“Thanks, pal. I won’t run out on you.”
“I know that.”
“Expect to hear from me every once in a while. Just keep the calls under your hat. If I need you I’ll yell for help.”
“I’ll be around, Mike. You’d better steer clear of York’s place. That place is alive with city cops.”
“Roger . . . and thanks again.”
When I cradled the phone I could see a thousand questions getting ready to come my way. The guy and his wife were all eyes and ears and couldn’t make sense out of my conversation. It had to be a good lie to be believed.
I shoved my badge under their noses. “You’ve overheard an official phone conversation,” I said brusquely. “Under no circumstances repeat any part of it. A band of thieves has been operating in this neighborhood under the guise of being policemen and we almost got them. Unfortunately one got away. There’s been difficulty getting cooperation from the local police, and we have been operating undercover. In case they show up here you saw nothing, heard nothing. Understand?”
Wide-eyed, their heads bobbed in unison and I let myself out through the door. If they believed that one they were crazy.
As soon as I was in the shadows I turned up the road toward York’s estate. Cops or no cops I had to get in there someway. From the top of a knoll I looked down the surrounding countryside. In the distance the lights of Sidon threw a glow into the sky, and here and there other lights twinkled as invisible trees flickered between us in the night breeze. But the one I was interested in was the house a bare mile off that was ablaze with lights in every window and ringed with the twin beams of headlights from the cars patroling the grounds. Occasionally one would throw a spotlight into the bushes, a bright finger of light trying to pin down a furtive figure. Me.
The hell with them. This was one time I couldn’t afford a run-in with the bulls. I cut across the fields until the dark shape of a barn loomed ahead. Behind it was a haystack. It was either one or the other. I chose the stack and crawled in. It would take longer for the cows to eat me out than it would for some up-with-the-sun farmer to spot me shacking up with bossy. Three feet into the hay I shoved an armload of the stuff into the tunnel I had made, kicked my feet around until I had a fair-sized cave and went to sleep.
The sun rose, hit its midpoint then went down before I moved. My belly was rumbling with hunger and my
