‘You don’t have to worry about me,’ he said lightly. ‘You worry about yourself.’
The door into the apartment opened and Barratt came in. For a second or so he stood rooted, staring at me, then he moved into the room, closing the door, his thin, handsome face lighting up.
‘How did he get in here?’ he asked.
‘He had a key,’ the man in the fawn suit said, and got to his feet. ‘Better check to see if he’s wearing a rod.’
‘Get up!’ Barratt said to me.
I stood up.
He came to me from behind and ran his hands over me. He found the .38, jerked it out of the
shoulder holster. Then he found the box of reefers.
He stood away while he opened the box, then gave me a sneering little smile.
‘Very smart. Where were you going to plant them?’
‘Oh, somewhere,’ I said. ‘You can’t expect to hold the monopoly of planting evidence.’
He tossed the box on the table, came over to prod me with my gun. ‘How did you get in?’
‘Took the pass-key. It hangs by the switchboard downstairs. Didn’t you know?’
He went through my pockets again, found the pass-key and tossed that on to the table.
He looked at Dedrick.
‘He’s lying, of course. Maxie must have given it to him. Well, all right; it’s about time I fixed
Maxie.’ He took out a silver cigarette case, selected a cigarette, stuck it on his lower lip. As he lit it, his eyes browsed over my face. ‘I owe you something, Malloy. You’ll find I’m good at paying off old scores.’
‘Can’t imagine you’d be good at anything, but I’ll take your word for it,’ I said.
‘What are we going to do with him?’ Dedrick asked.
Barratt moved to the mirror over the fireplace and admired himself.
The mine, of course,’ he said. There’s no better place for him. He’ll take a nice long time to die.’
Dedrick grimaced.
‘Why not put a slug through his head and leave him here? I don’t want to go down there again. It gives me the horrors.’
‘You’ll do what I tell you,’ Barratt said and ran his thumbnail along his thin moustache. Tie his hands.’
Dedrick went out of the room. He returned in a few seconds with a roll of two-inch-wide adhesive tape.
‘One wrong move, and you’ll get it,’ Barratt warned me, raising the gun. Put your hands behind you.’
I put my hands behind me. There was nothing else I could do at the moment. Dedrick wound a length of tape around my wrists. He made a good job of it.
‘Round his mouth too,’ Barratt said.
Dedrick taped my mouth, crushing my upper lip against my teeth.
Barratt came over and stood before me, smiling viciously.
‘I’m going to make you sorry you interfered with me,’ he said, and hit me across the face with the gun- barrel. I staggered back. The back of my knees collided with the arm of the chair and I went over with a crash that shook the room.
‘Take it easy!’ Dedrick said, alarmed. ‘We don’t want anyone coming up here.’
Barratt snarled at him, came over to me and kicked me in the ribs. He kicked very hard, and I felt my ribs bend under the impact.
‘How about Maxie?’ Dedrick asked. ‘We’re wasting time, Jeff.’
‘Get him up here,’ Barratt said, and kicked me again.
Dedrick picked up the telephone receiver.
‘Mr. Barratt is asking for you,’ he said into the mouthpiece. ‘Please come up.’
Barratt grabbed me by my coat front, hauled me to my feet and slammed me into the armchair.
‘We’ll fix Maxie, and then we’ll blow,’ he said. It’s time I changed my address. Leave him to me.’
He stood against the wall by the door.
Dedrick faced the door.
There was perhaps a five-minute wait, then a rap came on the door.
‘Come in,’ Barratt said.
The door pushed open. Maxie came in. His round, fat face was sullen, and his lower lip was pushed out aggressively.
Dedrick kept the .45 down by his side, out of sight.
‘Come in and shut the door,’ he said.
Maxie gaped at me, changed colour, came into the room and shut the door.
‘What goes on here?’ he demanded.
Dedrick raised the gun and pointed it at Maxie’s paunch.
‘Did you give him the pass-key?’
Maxie glared at me.
‘If he said that, he’s lying. What are you pointing that gun at me for? Don’t you know it’s dangerous?’
‘It’ll probably be fatal,’ Dedrick said, and smiled.
Barratt moved silently up to Maxie and tapped him on the shoulder.
‘Hello, little brother,’ he said.
Maxie nearly jumped out of his skin.
‘Hey! What’s the idea? Who’s this guy with the gun?’ He tried to make his voice sound tough, but his eyes showed alarm. ‘Guns ain’t allowed in this building. I’ll have to report it.’
‘I’m afraid you won’t have the time,’ Barratt said. ‘I’m a little sick of you, Maxie. Now Gracie’s gone, I think we might get rid of you too.’
Maxie’s mouth fell open. He looked with horror first at Dedrick and then at Barratt. Hurriedly he put up his hands.
‘I won’t make any trouble, Mr. Barratt,’ he said. ‘You can rely on me…’
He caught his breath in a strangled gasp when he saw the knife in Barratt’s hand.
‘Sorry, Maxie.’ Barratt poked the knife into Maxie’s side,. ‘You’ve seen too much, and you’re too great a nuisance. Go into the bathroom.’
Maxie fell on his knees, his face turning green.
‘Don’t touch me, Mr. Barratt,’ he said between locked teeth.
‘I promise you…’
Barratt clubbed him over the head with the gun-butt, driving him to the floor.
Maxie fell forward on his hands, shaking his head, groaning.
‘Give me a hand with him,’ Barratt snarled.
Dedrick and he grabbed Maxie and hauled him across the room to a door that led into the bathroom.
As Dedrick released Maxie to open the door, Maxie suddenly stumbled to his feet, hit out at Barratt and made a staggering rush to the door of the apartment.
Barratt swung his gun and clubbed Maxie to his knee again. They dragged him into the bathroom. There was a struggle, and Maxie began to yell. The dull, heavy sound of a blow stopped the yelling. There came a rasping, choking gasp and Dedrick backed out of the bathroom, his face white and set.
The gasping noise continued, making me feel sick. After a while the sound petered out
Barratt appeared in the doorway. He looked at me and showed his teeth.
‘It’ll be your turn in a little while, my friend,’ he said. ‘But you won’t get it the easy way.’ He turned to Dedrick, who was watching him. ‘All right, take him away. Careful how you go. If you run into trouble, shoot him.’
‘You don’t expect me to take him alone, do you?’
‘Why not? I’ve got to get rid of Maxie. We’ll have to move.
‘What are you worrying about? Shoot him if he tries anything funny.’
‘And get a load of law on my neck.’
‘Shoot them too,’ Barratt said and laughed.
Dedrick hesitated, then shrugged.
‘Better lend me a coat to hide his hands. I’ll bring it back when I’ve planted him.’
