took it out. I didn’t want to think about Mardi just then, but seeing those hats did things to me.
We found Blondie’s clothes in a neat pile under the curtains on the window-seat.
Ackie turned them over. “These dames don’t wear much, do they?” he said.
I took the dress from him and examined it. The front of it was stiff with blood and I could see the hole in the cloth from the bullet.
“They undressed her after she’d been shot. Now why the hell did they do that?”
“Maybe they were going to take these clothes away and forgot about it.”
I stripped off the sheet. “In a little while she’s goin’ to get stiff.”
Ackie rubbed his nose. “I ain’t lookin’ forward to dressin’ this doll. Suppose we have a drink?”
We had two.
I got her stockings on. It wasn’t a nice job. I could feel her body getting very cold. “She’s dying on us fast,” I said.
Ackie was wrestling with her shoes. “These dames just kill their dogs with small shoes,” he said.
He got them on at last and we both sat back.
“I guess we’ll skip the underwear,” I said, wiping my face with my sleeve.
Ackie looked quite shocked. “She’s got to be decent. She just can’t go anyhow.”.
I tossed the step-ins and slip in his lap. “You go ahead. This turns my guts.”
Ackie threaded her feet through the step-ins. “If you’ll stand up, madam,” he said to Blondie, “it’ll help a lot.”
I belted the whisky again. I was getting pretty high.
“For Pete’s sake,” I said.
Ackie turned round. “Listen, you bum, suppose you give me a hand and cut this sissy stuff out. I gotta get her pants on, haven’t I?”
I came over and leant my arms on the bottom of the bed-rail. “I’ve done some lousy jobs in my time, but this wrecks me.”
Ackie let go of Blondie and went over to have a drink. “You’re right, Bud,” he said after a long pull. “But you gotta look at it like this. It’s an act of decency.” Ackie was pretty high.
“Come on then. Let’s get her dressed.”
I got hold of Blondie and stood her up against the wall. I put one foot against the toes of her shoes to prevent her feet sliding and I held her under the arms. Her eyes kept meeting mine, and it gave me the heebies.
Ackie fastened the step-ins round her waist. He was sweating, but stuck to it. We sat her on the bed and put the slip over her head, then we stood her up to adjust it and she slipped out of my hands. She went down on the floor with a crash.
Ackie took off his hat and fanned himself with it. “You didn’t do that on purpose?” he asked, looking at me suspiciously.
“I bent down and got Blondie on the bed again. I was feeling bad. “Come on… come on…” I said, “Get her dress on, for Pete’s sake.”
We got her dress on. It was the worst job of the lot. Neither of us liked to handle the sticky front, and Blondie had a couple more falls before we were through.
Ackie said seriously: “Do you mind if I cat in your bathroom?”
I said: “Have a drink instead. You got too much liquor inside you to waste.”
We had a couple more drinks, but they didn’t do much good. Ackie got her hat and put it on her head. He pulled it down hard, so that it hid the glassy look in her eyes. He stood looking down at her. “I guess she looks okay now,” he said, scratching his head.
“I’ll be glad when we’ve got her out of here.”
Ackie nodded. “I guess we’ll get goin’ right away. I bet you evens she stiffens on us before we get her there.”
“I’ve had enough grief for one night. I ain’t taking bets with you.”
“Well, let’s go.”
We sat Blondie up and adjusted the short fox-fur cape over her shoulders that we had found with her clothes. It hid the bloodstains all right.
Ackie said quickly: “You’ll have to carry her… she’s too heavy for me.”
I put my arm round her waist and the other arm under her knees and lifted her off the bed. Make no mistake about it, that dame was heavy.
Ackie said: “Don’t be standoffish, madam, put your arm round his neck.”
I said: “If you don’t cut that line right out, I ain’t goin’.”
Ackie robbed his hand over his face. “Jeeze, if I don’t make a joke of it. I’ll go nuts.”
Well, go nuts, but cut that line out.”
Going downstairs I nearly dropped her. Her arm banged against the wall and came up round my neck. I said: “For Pete’s sake, Mo, take her arm away.” My teeth began to rattle in my head.
Ackie was coming down behind me. He had brought the bottle of Scotch, and every step down he took a quick drag at the bottle. He was getting cock-eyed as hell. I put Blondie down on a chair and took the bottle away from him. “Listen, you punk,” I said evenly, “you’re supposed to be helpin’ me. Will you get a grip on yourself an’ help?”
“Sure,” he said, “sure… you don’t have to worry.”
Blondie suddenly stretched out her legs and began to slide off the chair. We both stood staring at her, unable to move. Ackie said, in a quavering voice: “I don’t think I’m goin’ to stand a lot of this.”
Blondie sat down on the floor with a little bump and then flopped on her side. Her hat came off and one of her shoes.
Ackie sat on the stairs and hid his face. “I think I’ll commit suicide,” he said.
When I straightened her out I found her muscles were hardening. “Quick, Mo,” I said, “she’s gettin’ stiff.”
Ackie got up and gave me her hat. “Maybe she’ll be easier to handle that way,” he said hopefully.
I crammed, the hat on her head again. “Get hold of her knees… we’ll never get her into the car.”
We carried her out into the dark night. I could only hear Ackie’s heavy breathing and the sound of our feet crunching on the gravel. Overhead, the sky looked stormy. Big clouds raced across the face of the moon.
The car was a big six-seater, but it took us all our time getting her in. We got her fixed at last in the corner of the seat. In the dim light of the roof-lamp she looked good. No one would have known that she was dead.
Ackie said: “That’s a swell job.”
“You stay here… I’ve got to get her shoe.”
“If you think I’m staying out with her alone you’re barmy,” he said with great feeling. “We’ll do this together or not at all.”
We turned out the light inside the car and went back inside the lodge.
“Before we go we’d better clean up this mess,” I said.
We did that. When we were through we had another drink and then turned out the lights and went out to the car.
“We’ll toss who drives,” I said.
I won.
Ackie began to get in beside me. “You get in the back… that’s why we tossed,” I said. “You see she doesn’t fall over.”
“And I called you a pal of mine,” Ackie said. He stood hesitating, then he finally made up his mind. He opened the door and got in. “Now be a good girl,” he said to Blondie.
I engaged the gear and rolled the car down the drive.
Ackie said after a while: “She’s sitting as quiet as quiet. I guess I could come on in the front.”
“You stay right there.”
“Listen, Bud, if I’ve gotta stay here I’ve got to have a drink. There’s a pint just by your hand… pass it over.”
I groped around in the dashboard cupboard and found a bottle. I passed it over to him.
