'But it is-'
'Huh-uh.' Toddy shook his head. 'Up to a point, I'll buy it. He killed Elaine. I thought you'd done it. If I played the cards he gave me, I'd have either gone after you myself or hollered to the cops… But I didn't do that. You and I squared our beef. He didn't have a thing to gain by getting rid of me in Tijuana.'
'Hmmm.' Alvarado drummed absently on the desk. 'I see your point. It was stupid of me not to think of it… Of course,' he added, smoothly, 'I was not completely sure of this man's motive. There was a strong possibility that he might have been motivated by revenge.'
'Remember me?' said Toddy. 'I'm supposed to be the bright boy. So stop kidding me… This guy tried to get me killed; I'll go along with that. And when he did he proved that he'd killed my wife. Why? I'll tell you. Because he was sure that, given a little time, I'd be able to dope out who he was. You were sure I would, too, and, until you got your orders from abroad, you had to protect his identity. You had to pin the rap on him good before I did too much thinking.'
'Really, Mr. Kent…'
'That's the way it was. That's the way it has to be. Now why beat around the bush about it?'
Alvarado stared at him thoughtfully, a quizzical frown on his pale shark's face. Then, gradually, the frown disappeared and he nodded.
'Very well, Mr. Kent. I suppose there really is no longer need for secrecy. The man you mention has served us well… in the opinion of my superiors. He is now closing out his affairs and will soon be out of this country. Possibly-probably-we will find use for him elsewhere. But that is no concern of yours. Lone before you can discover his identity and confirm it, he will be beyond your reach.'
Amazement choked Toddy for a moment. He could hardly credit himself with hearing the words that Alvarado had spoken. Before he could find his voice, the chinless man was speaking again.
'I can well understand your confusion, Mr. Kent. I share it. But there is nothing I can do about it. Our entire hypothesis was wrong. This man we suspected did not kill your wife.'
'You're lying!' Toddy snapped. 'Murder or no murder, this guy is valuable to your bosses. They're going to protect him at all costs. That's the whole story, isn't it?'
'It is not. My bosses, as you call them, do not act so whimsically. The man was able to prove, irrefutably, that he did not kill your wife. As an unfortunate result, our superiors retain their original high regard for him while I- for the moment, at least-have been made to appear a clumsy and vindictive fool.'
'You're forgetting your lines,' Toddy said grimly. 'A minute ago you were saying that-'
'I was speaking in theoretical terms. Like you, I was speeding down a trail of theory and I am at a loss when the trail disappears.'
'My getting slugged wasn't any theory!'
'Be grateful you were not killed, and dwell no more on the matter. Nothing good will come of it.'
Hands shaking, Toddy lighted a cigarette. After an angry puff or two he ground it out beneath his foot. Alvarado nodded sympathetically.
'You are annoyed. I am withholding information which you feel is vital to you. Does it occur to you that I might easily be annoyed with you for much the same reason?'
'I'm not holding back anything.'
'Knowingly, no. And I am not doing so willingly.'
'I don't,' said Toddy, 'get you.'
'You yourself had the best opportunity to kill your wife. You had ample motive, also. You are not the type to kill with premeditation, but I can readily imagine your doing so in a moment of temporary insanity. And since such a crime is inconsistent with your nature, your conscious mind would refuse to admit it… All this is conjecture, of course. I know nothing. I want to know nothing.'
Toddy laughed shortly. 'Tell me why I was slugged. Maybe I'll sign a confession, then.'
'You invite the obvious retort, Mr. Kent. Tell me how you disposed of your wife's body and I will tell you why you were slugged.'
Toddy stared at him helplessly. 'You don't believe that,' he said. 'You know I didn't kill her. Maybe this guy, the supplier, didn't do it either, but-'
'He didn't.'
'Then, what's it all about? What are you trying to steer me away from?'
Alvarado shook his head. Turning back to his desk, he opened the code book. 'So that is the way it is,' he murmured. 'You will excuse me if I work while we talk.'
Toddy started to speak; his hand started to knife out in a gesture of angry exasperation. The gesture was unfinished. He remained silent-staring, trying not to stare.
That code book was in unusually fine print. And yet Chinless was studying it without difficulty and without his glasses. He couldn't be-shouldn't be-but he was. What the hell could it mean? Why had he claimed that his eyes were bad right from the moment of their first meeting? Why had he pretended that he couldn't read Milt's card? What reason was there-
'Now,' said Alvarado, 'let us leave theory to the theorists and take up practical matters. As I indicated, we are ceasing activities in this country indefinitely; but we hope to resume them. When that time comes we can find a profitable place for you…'
'Suppose I don't want it?'
'That is up to you. We have no fear of your talking.'
'All right,' said Toddy, 'I'm listening.'
'There is a Pullman train leaving here tonight; what you call a through train. I have reserved you a stateroom. It will not be necessary for you to leave that stateroom until you arrive in New York. You will be given a thousand dollars in addition to your passage. That should maintain you in some degree of comfort until I get in touch with you.'
'How will you do that?'
'A detail. We will work it out before you leave. Does the idea, generally, please you?'
'It doesn't look like I have much choice,' said Toddy. 'I want to know why you're jumping the country, though. I'm hot enough without getting any hotter.'
'You will not be. I, at this point, am the sole recipient of the heat. The informer in our midst has chosen to make no mention of you to the authorities.'
'Informer? Who is he?'
'That need not concern you.' Alvarado turned a page of the code book and ran a pencil down the column of symbols. 'This informer is one of our unwilling operatives. We were able to obtain his'-Alvarado slurred the pronoun-'cooperation through a brother, a political prisoner in one of my country's excellent labor camps. It was necessary for the brother to die. Our confederate discovered the fact through a relative. He made the very serious mistake of confronting me and charging bad faith.'
Toddy nodded, absently. He was staring at the code book, at Alvarado. Something warned him to look away, but he couldn't. 'I see,' he said. 'You knew he'd turn stool pigeon.'
'He already had,' grimaced Alvarado, 'though I was unaware of it until yesterday. I had assumed that his tirade against me was immediately subsequent to the news of his brother's death. Then, through a slip of the tongue, he revealed that he had known of it for a month. He had known of it but said nothing, continued the regular course of his affairs, until his sense of outrage overcame his discretion. Obviously, he had done so for only one reason… You followed me, Mr. Kent?'
Toddy didn't speak. Alvarado looked up from the desk.
'I am boring you, perhaps?'
'What?' Toddy started. The answer had come to him at last, at the very moment of Alvarado's question. A beautifully simple yet almost incredible answer. 'I don't quite get it,' he said, with forced casualness. 'This guy has squealed. Why haven't the Feds moved in on you?'
