My alarm went off at six. I slapped the button down to stop the racket, then sat up and stretched. When I looked out the window the sun was shining—a beautiful day. A half-empty bottle of beer was on the night table and I took a swallow. It was as flat as a table-top mesa.
After a shower I threw a robe around me and dug in the pantry for something to eat. The only box of cereal had teeth marks in it where a mouse had beaten me to it, so I opened a sack of potatoes and onions and stripped them into a pan of grease and let the whole mess cook while I made coffee.
I burned the potatoes, but they tasted good just the same. Even my coffee was agreeable. This time next month I’d be eating across the table from a gorgeous blonde. What a wife she was going to make!
Myrna was up when I called her. She said she’d be ready at eight and reminded me not to be late. I promised her I wouldn’t, then buzzed Charlotte.
“Hello, lazy,” I yawned.
“You don’t sound so bright yourself this time of the morning.”
“Well, I am. What are you doing?”
“Trying to get some sleep. After the state you left me in last night I didn’t close my eyes for three hours. I lay in bed wide awake.”
That made me feel good. “I know what you mean. What time will you be at the Bellemy place?”
“Still early in the evening unless I can break away sooner. At least I’ll be there for the game. Who is it that’s playing?”
“I forget. A couple of fancy hot shots that Mary and Esther imported. I’ll be waiting for you to show up, so make it snappy.”
“Okay, darling.” She kissed me over the phone and I gave her one back before I hung up.
Velda wouldn’t be in the office yet, so I called her at home. When she answered I could hear a background of bacon sizzling on the fire. “Hello, Velda, Mike.”
“Hey, what are you doing up so early?”
“I have an important date.”
“Anything to do with the case?”
“Er ... it may have, but I’m not sure. I can’t afford to miss it. If Pat calls, tell him I can be reached at the home of the Misses Bellemy. He has their number.”
Velda didn’t answer at first. I knew she was trying to figure out what I was up to. “All right,” she said finally. “Just watch what you’re doing. Anything I can take care of while you’re gone?”
“No, guess not.”
“By the way, how long are you going to be gone this time?”
“Maybe until Monday, maybe not.”
“Very well, see you, Mike. So long.”
I threw her a quick so long and put the phone on its chocks. Oh, how I hated to tell Velda about Charlotte! If only she wouldn’t cry. What the hell, that’s life. Velda just missed. If Charlotte hadn’t come along I would have tied up with her. I used to feel like I wanted to, but never had time. Oh, well.
Myrna was dressed and ready when I arrived. She had packed a bag and I took it down to the car. She didn’t look too good. There were still dark spots under her eyes and her cheekbones were a little too prominent. She had bought a new dress for the occasion, a nice flowered print, and under the light blue of the wool coat it made her face look lovely, that is, unless you looked too closely.
I didn’t want to mention Jack at all, so we talked about the day and anything trivial that came up. I knew she had seen the front-page headlines about me knocking off Kalecki, but she avoided the subject.
It was a nice day. Out of the city the roads were fairly empty and we rolled along at a conservative fifty. That way I didn’t have to bother about the highway patrol. We passed a few open lots where the kids were getting in an early ball game. I saw tears come into Myrna’s eyes when we passed some small cottages. I winced. She was taking it hard.
Gradually I led the conversation around to the tennis match that night and got her mind off what she was thinking. It wasn’t long afterward that we pulled into the private drive of the Bellemy estate. I thought we were early, but there were two dozen others there before us. A row of cars ran along the side of the mansion and one of the twins came out to meet us. I didn’t know which one it was until she said, “Hello, sissy.”
“Hello, Mary,” I said through a smile. She had on a halter and a pair of shorts that left nothing to the imagination. Both pieces were so tight every line of her body showed through and she knew it. I couldn’t get my eyes off her legs, and walking up to the house she kept brushing against me.
That had to cease. I shifted Myrna’s grip over to keep a barrier between us and Mary broke out into a giggle. At the house she turned Myrna over to a maid, then turned to me. “Didn’t you bring some sport clothes along?”
“Yup. But all the sports I intend to indulge in will be done at the bar.”
“Nuts. Go get in a pair of slacks. There’s a golf game to be held behind the house and a lot of the kids are looking for partners for a tennis game.”
“For Pete’s sake, I’m no athlete.”
Mary stood off a few feet and looked me over from top to bottom. “You look like an athlete if I ever saw one.”
“What kind?” I joked.
“A bed athlete.” Her eyes said that she wasn’t joking.
She walked back to the car with me to get my clothes. When we got in the house she showed me to a room, an oversized thing with a huge four-poster smack in the middle of it.
Mary couldn’t wait until I closed the door. She flung herself at me and opened her mouth. Hell, I couldn’t disappoint the hostess, so I kissed her.
“Now scram while I get dressed,” I told her.
Her mouth went into a pout. “Why?”
“Look,” I tried to be convincing, “I don’t get undressed in front of women.”
“Since when?” she asked impishly.
“It was dark then,” I told her. “Besides, it’s too early for that.”
I got another one of those sexy smiles. Her eyes were begging me to undress her. “Okay . . . sissy.” She closed the door behind her and I heard that deep-throated laugh.
The gang outside was making a racket and I poked my head out the window to see what was up. Directly beneath me two underweight males were having a hair-pulling match while four others egged them on. What a place. The two boys hit the dirt together and followed by a slap or two. I grinned. A couple of pansies trying to decide who would be Queen of the May. I drew a pitcher of water from the sink and let it go on their blonde heads.
That ended the fight. They both let out a falsetto scream and got up running The gang saw me and howled. It was a good gag.
Mary met me downstairs. She was lounging against the porch railing smoking a cigarette. I came out in slacks and a sweat shirt and tossed her a hello. Myrna joined us at the same time swinging a tennis racket against her legs. I could see that Mary was disappointed at not getting me alone. The three of us walked across the lawn to the courts with Mary hanging on to my arm. Before we quite reached there another edition of her stepped out of a group of players and waved to us. Esther Bellemy.
She was another to make your mouth drool. She recognized me immediately and offered a firm handshake. Her manner was cool and reserved. I saw what Charlotte meant when she said Esther wasn’t like her sister. However, there seemed to be no resentment or jealousy. Esther had her admirers, too. We were introduced all around to a lot of people whose names I forgot as soon as I met them, and Mary carted me off to a vacant court for a game of singles.
Tennis wasn’t in my line, she found out. After a hectic ten minutes I had batted the balls over the fence and we gathered them up and put them in a box and laid the rackets down. Mary sat on a bench beside me with her brown legs stuck out in front of her while I cooled off.
“Why are we wasting time out here, Mike? Your room is so much nicer.”
Some dame. “You rush things, Mary. Why aren’t you more like your sister?”
She gave me a short laugh. “Maybe I am.”
