dripping blood. Velda was being too damn prophetic.
Dagger or no dagger, I lifted the phone and dialed her number. Her voice didn?t have a lilt in it today. ?Oh, Mike,? she said, ?I?ve been so worried.?
?About me??
?Who else? Mike . . . what happened last night? I was at the club and I heard talk . . . about Rainey . . . and you.?
?Wait a minute, kitten, who did all this talking??
?Some men came in from the fights on the island and they mentioned what happened. They were sitting right behind me talking about it.?
?What time was that??
?It must have been pretty late. Oh, I don?t know, Mike. I was so worried I had Ralph take me home. I . . . I couldn?t stand it. Oh, Mike . . .? Her voice broke and she sobbed into the phone.
I said, ?Stay there. I?ll be up in a little while and you can tell me about it.?
?All right . . . but please hurry.?
I hurried. I passed red lights and full-stop intersections and heard whistles blowing behind me twice, fit I got up there in fifteen minutes. The work-it-yourself elevator still wasn?t working so I ran up the stairs and rapped on the door.
Connie?s eyes were red from crying and she threw herself into my arms and let me squeeze the breath out of her. A lingering perfume in her hair took the cold out of my lungs and replaced it with a more pleasant sensation. ?Lovely, lovely,? I said. I laughed at her for crying and held her at arm?s length so I could look at her. She threw her head back and smiled.
?I feel so much better now,? she said. ?I had to see you, Mike. I don?t know why I was so worried fit I was and couldn?t help it.?
?Maybe that?s because I remind you of your brothers.?
?Maybe fit that?s not it.? Her lips were soft and red. I kissed them gently and her mouth asked for more.
?Not in the doorway, girl. People will talk.? She reached around behind me and slammed it shut. Then I gave her more. Her body writhed under my hands and I had to push her away to walk into the living room.
She came in behind me and sat down at my feet. She looked more like a kid who hated to grow up than a woman. She was happy and she rubbed her cheek against my knees. ?I had a lousy time last night, Mike. I wish I could have gone with you.?
?Tell me about it.?
?We drank and danced and gambled. Ralph won over a thousand dollars then he lost it all back. Anton was there and if we had gone with him he wouldn?t have lost it.?
?Was Anton alone again??
?He was while he stayed sober. When he got a load on he began pinching all the girls and one slapped his face. I didn?t blame her a bit. She didn?t have anything on under the dress. Later he singled out Lilies Corbett-she works through the agency-and began making a pass at her in French. Oh, the things he was saying!?
?Did she slap him too??
?She would have if she understood French. As it was the dawn began to break and she gave him the heave- ho. Anton thought it was all very funny so he switched back to English and started playing more games with Marion Lester. She didn?t have any objections, the old bag.?
I reached down and ran my fingers through her hair. ?So Marion was there too??
?You should have seen her switching her hips on the dance floor. She got Anton pretty well worked up and he isn?t a man to work up easily. A guy about a half a head shorter than she was moved in on Anton and outplayed him by getting him soused even worse. Then he took Marion over and Anton invited everyone up to his place. What a time they must have had.?
?I bet. What did you do then??
?Oh, some more gambling. I wasn?t having much fun. Ralph would rather gamble than dance or drink any day. I sat and talked to the bartender until Ralph lost the money had had won, then we went back to a table and had a couple of champagne cocktails.?
Her head jerked up and that look came back on her face. ?That was when those men came in. They talked about the shooting and about Rainey and you. One said he read about you in the papers not so long ago and how you were just the type to do something like that and then they started betting that the cops would have you before morning.?
?Who lost the bet??
?I don?t know. I didn?t turn around to look. It was bad enough sitting there hearing them talk about it. I . . . I started to get sick and I guess I cried a little. Ralph thought it was something he did to me and began pawing. me to make up for it. I made him take me home. Mike . . . Why didn?t you call me??
?I was busy, Sugar. I had to explain all that to the cops.?
?You didn?t shoot him, did you??
?Only a little bit. Not enough to kill him. Somebody else did that.?
?Mike!?
I rocked her head and laughed at her. ?You got there early, didn?t you?? Connie nodded yes. ?Did you see Clyde at all during that time??
?No . . . come to think of it, he didn?t show up until after midnight.?
?How?d he look??
Connie frowned and bit her thumb. Her eyes looked up into mine after a while and she grimaced. ?He seemed . . . strange. Nervous, sort of.?
Yes, he would seem nervous. Killing people leaves you like that sometimes. ?Did anyone else seem interested in the conversation? Like Clyde??
?I don?t think he heard about it. There was just those men.?
?Who else was there, Connie? Anybody that looked important??
?Quit kidding. Everybody is important. You don?t just walk into the Bowery Inn. Either you?re pretty important or you?re with somebody who is.?
I said, ?I got in and I?m a misfit.?
?Any beautiful model is better than the password,? she grinned.
?Don?t tell me they have a password.?
?Clyde used to . . . to the back rooms. A password for each room. It?s gotten so you don?t need it now. That?s what those little rooms are for between the larger rooms. They?re soundproof and they?re lined with sheet steel.?
I tightened my fingers in her hair and pulled her head back so I could look into her face. ?You found out a lot in a hurry. The first time you were there was with me.?
?You told me I had brains too, Mike. Have you forgotten already? While I sat on my fanny at the bar while Ralph gambled the bartender and I had a very nice discussion. He told me all about the layout including the alarm and escape system. There are doors in the wall that go off with the alarm in case of a raid and the customers can beat it out the back. Isn?t that nice of Clyde??
?Very thoughtful.?
I gave the hassock she was sitting on a push with my foot. ?Gotta go, Sugar, gotta go.?
?Oh, Mike, not yet, please.?
?Look, I have things to do much as I?d like to sit here. Someplace in this wild, wild city, there?s a guy with a gun who?s going to use it again. I want to be around when he tries.?
She tossed her hair like an angry cat and said, ?You?re mean. I had something to show you, too.?
?Yeah??
?Will you stay long enough to see it??
?I guess I can.?
Connie stood up, kissed me lightly on the cheek and shoved me back in the chair. ?We?re doing a series for a manufacturing house. Their newest number that they?re going to advertise arrived today and I?m modeling it for a full-page, four-color spread in the slick mags. When the job is done I get to keep it.?
She walked out of the room with long-legged strides and into the bedroom. She fussed around in there long
