The Girl Hunters

Softly, the cop said: 'If he was under a gun he'd stay there, but given one chance to jump the guy and he'd have jumped. Apparently he thought he saw the chance and went for the guy after the safe was open and just wasn't fast enough.'

'Or else surprised the guy when the safe was already opened.'

'That's the way it still reads.' He smiled indulgently.

'We had those angles figured out too, you know. Now do you mind telling me where you fit in the picture?'

'Obscurely. A friend of mine was killed by a bullet from the same gun.'

The two cops exchanged glances. The one beside me said, 'We didn't hear about that part yet.'

'Then you will shortly. You'll be speaking to a Captain Chambers from New York sometime soon.'

'That doesn't explain you.'

I shrugged. 'The guy was a friend.'

'Do you represent a legal investigation agency?'

'No longer,' I told him. 'There was a time when I did.'

'Then maybe you ought to leave the investigation up to authorized personnel.'

His meaning was obvious. If I hadn't been cleared by Laura Knapp and tentatively accepted as her friend, we'd be doing our talking in the local precinct house. It was a large Keep Off sign he was pointing out and he wasn't kidding about it. I made a motion with my hand to let him know I got the message, watched them tip their caps to Laura and walk out.

When they had pulled away Laura said, 'Now what was that all about?' She stood balanced on one foot, her hands on her hips in an easy, yet provocative manner, frowning slightly as she tried to sift through the situation.

I said, 'Didn't you know there was an alarm system built into that box?'

She thought for a moment, then threw a glance toward the wall. 'Yes, now that you mention it, but that safe hasn't been opened since--then, and I simply remember the police discussing an alarm system. I didn't know how it worked at all.'

'Did your husband always keep that combination card in his desk?'

'No, the lawyer found it in his effects. I kept it in the desk just in case I ever wanted to use the safe again. However, that never happened.' She paused, took a step toward me and laid a hand on my arm. 'Is there some significance to all this?'

I shook my head. 'I don't know. It was a thought and not a very new one. Like I told you, this was only a wild supposition at best. All I can say is that it might have established an M.O.'

'What?'

'A technique of operation,' I explained. 'Your husband's killer really could have gone after those jewels. The other man he killed was operating--well, was a small-time jewel smuggler. There's a common point here.'

For a moment I was far away in thought. I was back in the hospital with a dying man, remembering the reason why I wanted to find that link so badly. I could feel claws pulling at my insides and a fierce tension ready to burst apart like an overwound spring.

It was the steady insistence of her voice that dragged me back to the present, her 'Mike--Mike--please, Mike.'

When I looked down I saw my fingers biting into her forearm and the quiet pain in her eyes. I let her go and sucked air deep into my lungs. 'Sorry,' I said.

She rubbed her arm and smiled gently. 'That's all right. You left me there for a minute, didn't you?'

I nodded.

'Can I help?'

'No. I don't think there's anything more here for me.'

Once again, her hand touched me. 'I don't like finalities like that, Mike.'

It was my turn to grin my thanks. 'I'm not all that sick. But I appreciate the thought.'

'You're lonely, Mike. That's a sickness.'

'Is it?'

'I've had it so long I can recognize it in others.'

'You loved him very much, didn't you?'

Her eyes changed momentarily, seeming to shine a little brighter, then she replied, 'As much as you loved her, Mike, whoever she was.' Her fingers tightened slightly. 'It's a big hurt I eased mine by all the social activity I could crowd in a day.'

'I used a bottle. It was a hell of a seven years.'

'And now it's over. I can still see the signs, but I can tell it's over.'

'It's over. A few days ago I was a drunken bum. I'm still a bum but at least I'm sober.' I reached for my hat, feeling her hand fall away from my arm. She walked me to the door and held it open. When I stuck out my hand she took it, her fingers firm and cool inside mine. 'Thanks for letting me take up your time, Mrs. Knapp.'

'Please--make it Laura.'

'Sure.'

'And can you return the favor?'

'My pleasure.'

'I told you I didn't like finalities. Will you come back one day?'

'I'm nothing to want back Laura.'

'Maybe not to some. You're big. You have a strange face. You're very hard to define. Still, I hope you'll come back, if only to tell me how you're making out.'

I pulled her toward me gently. She didn't resist. Her head tilted up, she watched me, she kissed me as I kissed her, easily and warm in a manner that said hello rather than goodbye, and that one touch awakened things I thought had died long ago.

She stood there watching me as I drove away. She was still there when I turned out of sight at the roadway.

Chapter 6

The quiet voice at Peerage Brokers told me I would be able to meet with Mr. Rickerby in twenty minutes at the Automat on Sixth and Forty-fifth. When I walked in he was off to the side, coffee in front of him, a patient little gray man who seemingly had all the time in the world.

I put down my own coffee, sat opposite him and said, 'You have wild office hours.'

He smiled meaninglessly, a studied, yet unconscious gesture that was for anyone watching. But there was no patience in his eyes. They seemed to live by themselves, being held in check by some obscure force. The late edition of the News was folded back to the center spread where a small photo gave an angular view of Old Dewey dead on the floor. The cops had blamed it on terrorists in the neighborhood.

Rickerby waited me out until I said, 'I saw Laura Knapp today,' then he nodded.

'We covered that angle pretty thoroughly.'

'Did you know about the safe? It had an alarm system.'

Once again he nodded. 'For your information, I'll tell you this. No connection has been made by any department between Senator Knapp's death and that of Richie. If you're assuming any state papers were in that safe you're wrong. Knapp had duplicate listings of every paper he had in his possession and we recovered everything.'

'There were those paste jewels,' I said.

'I know. I doubt if they establish anything, even in view of Richie's cover. It seems pretty definite that the gun was simply used in different jobs. As a matter of fact, Los Angeles has since come up with another murder in which the same gun was used. This was a year ago and the victim was a used-car dealer.'

'So it wasn't a great idea.'

'Nor original.' He put down his coffee and stared at me across the table. 'Nor am I interested in others besides Richie.' He paused, let a few seconds pass, then added, 'Have you decided to tell me what Richie really