In the pause that followed, the clock on the mantelpiece ticked busily and the refrigerator in the kitchen gave an irritable grunt.
The girl continued to watch me, not moving, her head tilted a little on one side so the smoke of her cigarette wouldn’t get into her eyes.
‘Perelli?’ I said, as blank as I sounded.
She nodded.
‘He said you were a bright boy. Well, go ahead and be bright. Someone’s got to be if he’s going to beat this rap.’
‘When did they take him?’
‘An hour ago.’ She glanced over her shoulder to look at the clock. ‘An hour and five minutes to be exact.’
‘The Feds?’
She shook her head.
‘A smooth, well-dressed fatty and a couple of hard-faced dicks. There were two bulls outside with the car.’
‘Was it Brandon? Short, fat, white-haired?’
‘That makes him Brandon. Who’s he?’
‘Captain of Police.’
She drew on her cigarette, examined her nails and frowned.
‘I didn’t know police captains made arrests.’
‘They do when there’s a lot of money hanging to the pinch, and a lot of juicy publicity as well. Besides, Brandon would want to get in front of the Feds.’
‘Well, he’s got in front of them.’ She moved away from the fireplace and sat down on the divan. ‘Nick said you’d get him out of it. Can you?’
‘I don’t know. I owe him something, and if there’s anything I can do, I’ll do it. What does he expect me to do?’
‘He didn’t say. He was a little rattled. I’ve never seen Nick rattled before. When they found the gun, he told me to come to you.’
I went to a cupboard, took out a bottle of Scotch and two glasses and set them on the table. I fetched a jug of ice water from the refrigerator.
‘Let’s start from the beginning. It’ll be quicker that way. Do you like your whisky straight or with water?’
‘For a bright boy, you haven’t much imagination. Right now they’re beating his brains out. Do you think I want to drink whisky when I know that’s going on?’
I made myself a stiff drink and sat down.
‘You don’t know for certain, and worrying about it won’t help him.’
She jumped to her feet and took three or four quick paces across the room, turned and went back to the divan. She sat down again and began to pound her fist into the palm of her hand.
‘Who are you, anyway?’ I asked.
‘Myra Toresca. Nick’s girl.’
‘All right. Now let’s take a look at it. Give me the details, but make it fast’
‘I arrived with them,’ she said, and went on practically in one breath: ‘Nick and I were going to the movies. He was late. I ‘phoned and he said to come over while he changed. I went over. I rode up in the elevator with the three of them. I knew they were cops. We got off at the fourth floor, and I let them go ahead. When they turned the corner, I went after them. They were standing outside Nick’s door. Two of them had guns in their hands. I watched. They didn’t notice me. The fat one rapped on the door. I guess Nick thought it was me. They jumped him, and had the cuffs on before he knew what had hit him. Then they started to ransack the place. The front door was pushed to, but not closed. I looked in. Nick was standing by the wall watching them take the place to pieces. He looked my way and made motions for me to keep out of the way. I stuck around, watching. Then they found the gun down the side of the settee. Brandon got awfully excited. He said it was the gun that had killed Dedrick’s chauffeur. Nick got rattled then. He and I play cards for a living. We can lip-read. It helps when the cards don’t fall right He told me to come to you. I left them shouting at him.’
‘How did Brandon know the gun killed Dedrick’s chauffeur?’ I asked.
She shook her head.
‘I don’t know.’
‘What happened then?’
I waited across the other side of the street. After about half an hour, they brought him out. He could scarcely walk, and there was blood on his face and his clothes.’ She got up to grind the cigarette out in the ash tray. ‘They took him away in a police car. Then I came on here.’
I sat staring at her for a second or so.
‘Do you know anything about the kidnapping?’
The brown eyes met mine. ‘Only what I’ve read in the papers.’
‘Nothing else?’
‘No.’
‘Does he?’
‘No. He wouldn’t touch a thing like that. All right, maybe we are a little tricky with a deck of cards, but that’s as far as we go.’
‘Has he ever been caught?’
Her eyes hardened.
‘Now and then.’
‘Has he a police record?’
‘I guess so. He drew two years in San Francisco. He hasn’t been out more than four months.’
‘Anything before that?’
‘You want to know a lot, don’t you?’
‘I want to know his record. If s important.’
‘Six months, a year and two years. Spread over eight years.’
‘Card-sharping?’
She nodded.
‘Did he ever hurt anyone with that cosh of his?’
‘No one’s ever complained.’
‘You’re quite sure about the kidnapping? You don’t think he pulled it without telling you?’
‘He didn’t do it! It’s not his line. Can’t you understand that?’
I decided to believe her.
‘All right. I’ll see what I can do.’ I reached for the telephone and dialled a number. After a while a polite voice said, ‘This is Mr. Francon’s residence.’
‘Mr. Francon in? This is Vic Malloy.’
‘Yes, sir. I’ll put you through.’
After more delay, Francon came on the line. ‘Hello, what’s on your mind?’
‘An hour ago, Brandon, with a couple of dicks, picked up a guy named Nick Perelli at his apartment on Jefferson Avenue. They searched the rooms and found a gun. Brandon said it was the gun that had killed Lee Dedrick’s chauffeur. They’ve arrested Perelli for the Dedrick kidnapping. I want you to represent him, Justin. Expense no object, and I want you to get over to Headquarters and look after him. They’re pushing him around and I want it stopped. Will you do it?’
‘Has he anything to do with the kidnapping?’
‘I don’t know. His girl, who ought to know, says he hasn’t. It looks like a frame to me. Brandon couldn’t know the gun was the death gun by just looking at it. He either brought it with him and planted it or he’s guessing.’
‘You can’t say a thing like that!’ Francon’s voice was shocked.
‘Off the record I can. It would be a terrific boost for Brandon if he could crack this case and steal a march on the Feds. I wouldn’t put anything past him.’
