Figure It Out for Yourself

‘Lay off!’ Mifflin said. ‘What do you want?’ he went on to Paula as MacGraw reluctantly released her.

Paula put the box on a nearby table, opened it to reveal the small gramophone on which was a record.

‘You may remember, Mrs. Dedrick,’ I said quietly, ‘that just before we had our interesting conversation I turned down a switch, telling you it was a telephone extension switch. Actually it set a recording machine into motion. When I entertain wealthy women alone and at night, I take care they don’t bring an assault charge against me.’

Serena looked as if she could kill me.

‘He’s lying!’ she said. ‘Charge him! What are you waiting for.’

‘Go ahead and play it,’ I said to Paula.

Paula set the turn-table spinning and lowered the needle on the record.

Everyone was transfixed when my voice came out of the box with a clearness that was almost painful.

When Serena’s voice said: You can name your price, she started out of her chair and made a dart at the gramophone but Paula blocked her off.

‘Stop it!’ Serena cried. ‘I don’t want to hear any more! Stop it!

I nodded to Paula, who lifted the needle.

‘Better let it run through, Mrs. Dedrick,’ Mifflin said gently. ‘Or are you withdrawing the charge?’

She drew herself up. She made quite a regal figure. For a couple of seconds she stared right at me, her eyes glittering dangerously, then she walked to the door, opened it and went out, leaving the door open.

No one moved or said anything until her footfalls died away down the stone passage.

‘Take the cuffs off,’ Mifflin said shortly.

MacGraw took them off, looking like a tiger who had lost its dinner.

‘Well, you certainly know how to take care of yourself,’ Mifflin said with unconcealed admiration. ‘That was quite a jam you were in.’

‘Yeah,’ I said, massaging my wrists. ‘Let’s go to your office. I want to talk to you.’ I looked over to Paula, who was closing the lid of the gramophone. ‘Nice, quick work. What did I do? Got you out of bed?*

‘You got me out of a bath,’ Paula said. ‘If you’re not going to get into any more trouble, I’d like to go back to it.’

‘Go ahead, and thanks, Paula. You saved me from the tigers,’ and I gave MacGraw a grin.

He walked out of the room, the back of his neck purple.

When Paula had gone, and Mifflin and I were seated in his overheated office, I said, ‘If this case breaks the way I think it could break, there’s going to be an awful stink in the Press, Tim.’

Mifflin groped hopelessly in his pocket for a cigarette, found none and raised eyebrows at me.

‘Gimme a butt. What do you mean—stink?’

I gave him a cigarette, lit one for myself.

The chances are Marshland’s behind the kidnapping: Ded-rick’s a reefer-smuggler, working in with Barratt. He looks after the Paris end of the business. It’s my bet Marshland found out about him and hired someone to get him out of the way. That’s why Mrs. Dedrick wanted to buy me off.’

Mifflin looked startled. ‘Then where the hell’s Dedrick?’

‘That’s what I want to know. I have an idea Barratt could tell us. There’s a new character on the scene who knows as much about it as Barratt: a tall broad-shouldered fella who wears a fawn suit and a white felt hat’

‘We’re looking for him. So it was you who phoned in that tip?’

‘Yeah; I had a job to do, otherwise I would have hung around. Did you get the clue in the refuse bin?’

‘He stayed the night there, huh?’

‘Must have done.’

‘Well, we’re looking for him. What makes you think Marshland’s hooked up with the kidnapping?’

I told him what I had found out at the Beach Hotel.

‘According to Mrs. Dedrick, he’s skipped to Europe, but I don’t believe it.’

‘Maybe I’d better go up there and see if I can talk to him,’ Mifflin said.

‘Look, will you hold back until tomorrow afternoon? Suppose you got evidence that Barrett’s a reefer- smuggler. Think you could make him talk?’

Mifflin smiled grimly.

‘We could try.’

‘Know where I can get some reefers: about a couple of hundred of them?’

‘The Narcotic Squad would have some. Why?’

‘Let’s have them. Barratt’s not the only one who can plant evidence. You’ll get a tip some time tomorrow where you’ll find two hundred reefers in his room. You take him in, and bounce him around. He doesn’t look as if he’d stand a great deal of toughing up. I think he’ll squeal.’

Mifflin’s eyes widened.

‘I can’t do that! If Brandon found out…’

‘Who’s going to tell him?’

He stared at me, scratched the back of his neck thoughtfully, shook his head.

‘I don’t like it, Vic.’

‘Nor do I, but there’s no other way to swing it. Let’s have the stuff.’

‘Well, all right. We’re going to look pretty wet if he doesn’t talk.’

‘That’s up to you. Turn MacGraw loose on him. He’s feeling frustrated he didn’t get his hands on me.’

Mifflin went out of the room. He was away for about twenty minutes. He came back with a small wooden box.

‘I had to tell the Narcotic Chief why I wanted these. He’s been wanting to get his hands on Barratt for months. He welcomes the idea.’ Mifflin looked shocked ‘Some cops just haven’t any ethics.’

I took the box and stood up.

‘Nor have I when I deal with a rat like Barratt.’

‘Watch out, Vic. I didn’t like the look that Dedrick woman gave you.’

‘Nor did I. How’s Perelli?’

‘He’s all right, Francon saw him this morning. You don’t have to worry about him; anyway, just yet.’

‘Any chance of seeing him?’

‘Not a chance. Brandon’s put a special guard on him. No one except Francon can go near him.’

‘When you get your hands on Barratt, make him talk, Tim. I have a hunch he can blow the lid right off this case.’

‘I’ll get it out of him if he knows anything,’ Mifflin promised.

I collected the gramophone from the charge-room, went into the street to call a taxi.

The time was ten minutes to eleven.

It had been quite a day.

CHAPTER SIX

I

THE next morning, I was kept busy with the routine work of the office until lunch-time. I missed Kerman, as there were many little jobs that had to be done, and which, now he was in Paris, I had to do myself. But by one o’clock I was through, and could give my attention once more to the Dedrick kidnapping.

‘I’m going along to Barratt’s place this afternoon,’ I told Paula while we were eating a quick snack in the office. ‘I have a little present I want to plant on him.’

I told her what I had cooked up with Mifflin.

‘Once we get Barratt alone, and on a charge, we might be able to soften him. Tim thinks he can,