‘That’s all the more reason why I should stay here and see him every day,’ Val said steadily.
‘I don’t think Gustave wants you to see him every day, Val.’?‘He can’t stop me.’
Travers stared down at his well shaped hands, frowning.?‘Well, Vat, I suppose I’ll have to tell you. Chris could become violent.’
Val got to her feet and walked to the window. She stood with her back to her father. There was a long painful silence, then Travers said, ‘Come on, darling, get packed. Time’s running out.’
She turned. The determination in her eyes dismayed him.?‘Did Dr. Gustave tell you that?’?‘About him becoming violent? Oh, yes. If you insist on seeing Chris, you won’t be able to see him alone.’
‘I don’t understand. I’ve always seen him alone. Is this something new then?’?‘I’m afraid so. This blackout is a warning signal. With the kind of brain injuries he has, it seems that if he has another blackout he could easily turn on anyone who is intimate with him. It’s one of these odd quirks that I don’t actually understand. Gustave said there would just possibly be homicidal tendencies. You couldn’t stay with him or visit him without a nurse in attendance. You don’t want to visit him under those conditions, do you?’
‘I am going to visit him under any circumstances,’ Val said. ‘I am staying here.’?‘Poor Val. You do love him, don’t you?’?‘Yes, I love him. If I were in his place, I’d hope so much that he wouldn’t desert me. Let’s not talk about it. I am staying, Daddy.’
Travers got to his feet.?‘Then I’ll get off. I can catch an earlier plane. Keep in touch with me. I don’t know what you’ll do down here on your own. I don’t know if you’d like one of your friends to come down and join you, but I suppose you’ll manage as you always seem to manage.’
‘I’ll be all right. I’d much sooner be on my own.’?‘You are never alone, Val. You have me.’ He looked hopefully at her. ‘You have, haven’t you?’
‘Yes, I have you,’ she said.
From the expression on her face, and from the tone of her voice, he realised bitterly that the hope he had had of replacing Chris, of getting her to return to his big, lonely house, of taking up their lives together once more was just bitter dust.
*****
Lee Hardy was no stranger to the police. They knew him to be an unscrupulous gambler who ran a minor Wire Service, who managed to make a deal of money and who was shrewd enough to operate just within the Law.
Terrell and Beigler called at his two room office on N.W. 17th Avenue. The pert blonde who handled the battery of telephones and ran the office when Hardy was on the race track told them that Hardy had just that moment left for home.
The two police officers went out into the hot street, climbed into the police car and drove fast to Bay Shore Drive where Hardy had a four room penthouse overlooking the Biscayne Bay.
Hardy came to the door himself. He was a tall, powerfully built hunk of beef, dark, tanned, with staring blue eyes, a dimple in his chin and would obviously be devastating to most women.
He met the hard, cold stare of the policemen with an expansive, flashing smile. He had on a red and gold patterned dressing-gown over his tanned, hairy nakedness. His feet were thrust into heelless slippers of soft red leather.
‘Chief ! Well, what a surprise! Come on in. You’ve never visited my humble sty before, have you? Come on in… and you too, Sergeant.’
The two men walked into a vast lounge, expensively furnished with a terrace overlooking the bay. Down one side of the room, protected by a glass screen, orchids of every colour and description grew in long, colourful ropes. The decor of the room was of white and lemon yellow.
Reclining on a vast settee of yellow and white stripes was a beautifully built girl whose jet black hair reached to her golden tanned shoulders. She had on a white wrap, pulled off her shoulders and that fell away from her legs, revealing naked, tanned thighs.
Staring at her, Beigler guessed she would be around twenty-three or four. She had one of those faces that made you think of a Pekinese dog… attractive, but very complex.
‘This is Gina Lang.’ Hardy said. ‘She takes care of my blood pressure.’ He gave his flashing smile. To the girl, he said, ‘Stay right where you are, Pekie. These gentlemen are from police headquarters. Chief Terrell and Sergeant Beigler.’
The girl eyed the two police officers, and then squirmed a little further down on the settee. She reached out a small, well shaped hand for a glass full of lime juice and gin. She then looked pointedly away.
‘Well, gentlemen,’ Hardy said. ‘What will you drink?’?‘You know a woman named Sue Parnell?’ Terrell asked in his cop voice.
For a brief second, Hardy’s smile slipped, but it was back immediately although both Terrell and Beigler had seen the question had come as a shock.
‘Sue Parnell? Well, now… should I know her?’ Gina turned her head to stare at Hardy. Her black eyes were uncomfortably searching.
‘Don’t stall,’ Terrell snapped. ‘Do you know her?’?‘Why, yes… an old, old flame that flickered out,’ Hardy said. ‘You didn’t say what you would drink.’
‘She was murdered last night,’ Terrell said.
Hardy’s smile slid off his face the way water leaves a sink.?‘Murdered? Sue? For God’s sake! Who did it?’
Neither Terrell nor Beigler were impressed with this act. They knew Hardy to be one of the trickiest punters on the Coast.
‘Where were you last night?’ Terrell asked as Beigler sat down and took out his notebook. ‘You don’t think I killed her, do you?’ Hardy exclaimed, staring at Terrell.?‘I’ll ask the questions. Come on, Hardy, you’re wasting time.’?‘Where was I last night?’ Hardy said and moved to the settee. He sat down, close to Gina’s naked feet. ‘Why… I was right here… wasn’t I, Pekie?’
Gina sipped her drink. She looked at Hardy thoughtfully while Hardy stared back at her, the muscles of his neck tense.
‘Were you?’ She spoke with an exaggerated drawl. ‘Last night? How should I remember what you did last night?’
‘Just think a moment,’ Hardy said, and Terrell saw he was controlling his temper with difficulty.
‘Let me remind you: we ran off that movie I made when we were down at Key West. That was around eight o’clock. I then spent an hour editing it while you listened to that new L.P. I bought you. Then we ran the movie through again. That was a little after ten o’clock. Then we played five hands of Gin and you beat me… remember? Then we went to bed.’
Gina looked at Terrell, then at Beigler, then back at Hardy.
‘The only thing I remember is that we went to bed,’ she said. ‘Going to bed with you is always an experience.’
Hardy drew in a long, deep breath. He made a helpless gesture towards Terrell.?‘Pekie, this is important.’ There was a rasp in his voice. ‘Don’t go vague on me. These gentlemen want to know where I was last night. I haven’t any other witnesses but you. I was with you from half-past seven until this morning that’s right, isn’t it?’
Again the long, uncomfortable pause, then Gina said, ‘Yes, that’s right, you were. I remember now distinctly.’
Hardy turned to Terrell.?‘So I was here. What happened to Sue for God’s sake?’
Terrell stared at Hardy. This was an alibi he disliked most…one he couldn’t check.?‘Did you have any telephone calls last night?’?‘No.’?‘Did you go out to eat?’?‘No… Gina fixed the meal here.’?‘Did anyone call on you?’?‘No.’?‘So I have only this woman’s word and yours?’?‘I hope it’s enough.’
Terrell turned to Gina.?‘If this man has had anything to do with the murder and you have lied about him being here last night, you can be charged as an accessory after the fact… carries quite a rap. Want to change your mind?’
Gina sipped her drink before saying, ‘I’m not in the habit of lying.’?‘Well, you have been warned,’ Terrell said. He nodded to Beigler and the two men walked out of the apartment.
When the front door closed behind them, Hardy said, ‘Thank you, Pekie, that was damn well done.’
‘Wasn’t it?’ she said and reached for a cigarette. While she lit it, he went over to the cocktail cabinet and
