but I can try. A guy never knows when he might get a break. If I've got an angle I might go to Diana Grayson. She might pay—say, ten per cent—to get her hands on it. Td settle for twelve G's and don't think I wouldn't. That way it would be a legitimate deal.*
'And what about Carl Webb?'
Spencer opened his mouth and shut it, his expression indicating that this was something he would rather not think about.
'If yon^did locate that money/' Jeff said, 'and Webb heard you'd handed it over to Diana Grayson''-he paused to give the thought time to register, and decided to understate the situation-'! don't think he'd like it.'
He stood up, his drink unfinished. He put on his jacket, not sure just what he had accomplished, but having a far better understanding of this man and the factors which influenced his thinking. Spencer did not bother to get up. His head had sagged again. It did not move as his eyes followed Jeff to the door, and they were brooding, reproachful eyes now, his look suggesting that it was Jeff who was responsible for his present unhappy state of mind.
Once again on the street and not knowing where he was, Jeff turned downhill because it was easier. He had to walk three blocks before he came to a main thoroughfare and located a taxi, and because he had learned the asking price was always high he tried a few words of his limited Spanish.
** jCudnto?'
'Cinco B's. Five B's,' the driver added to indicate he recognized an American accent in spite of the suit.
'Es mucho'
The driver shrugged. 'Cuatro? he said resignedly.
Jeff climbed in and brought out the piece of paper Julio Cordovez had given him. About to read off the address, he hesitated, prompted by some cautionary impulse that warned him again of the reputed long arm of SegurnaL Because he did not want to involve the little detective in the event the driver ever remembered this trip, he merely read the name of the street.
Five minutes later, when the driver made a turn and repeated the name, Jeff gestured for him to keep going. A block or so farther along he recognized Cordovez's apart-
ONE MINUTE PAST EIGHT
ment house, and he waited until they had gone another block before telling the driver to stop.
He tendered a silver five-bolivar piece and motioned the man to keep it. He waited until the cab started away before he started back downhill to the three-story building. The fact that the living-room light was on when he opened the apartment door did not concern him, because he expected to find Cordovez, and it was not until he stepped inside that he realized the comer chair was occupied by a woman.
She had sort of curled up there under a floor lamp, her legs tucked under her and her head back so the light fell on her face. She did not move in that first brief moment and Jeff stopped short, one hand still on the door as his glance focused. Only then was he sure that it was Karen Holmes who sat there watching him.
16
WHEN JEFF recovered from the first stunning impact of his surprise, he remembered that the door was still open and closed it behind him. He watched her support her weight on her elbows while she twisted her legs out from under her and got her feet on the floor. He saw her straighten her dress, and when she smiled excitement stirred in him and left his nerves atingle.
'Hello,' she said. 'I thought you'd never come.' Unable yet to voice his surprise, he could feel the grin stretching his face as this feeling of pride and pleasure expanded within him. Forgotten was the incident in Mi-
ONE MINUTE PAST EIGHT
ami. For it seemed to him now that this was a girl he had known and liked for years. He did not yet understand how she had managed to get here; he only knew he was awfully glad to see her.
'For Pete's sake/' he said finally. 'How did you-'
'Julio brought me.'
'Julio?'
'He came to the hotel He said you wanted me to know where you were staying and I said I had to see you. I said there were some things I had to tell you. I bullied him/' she said.
Jeff chuckled as he visualized the scene. 'You must have.'
'He couldn't cope with it. He wasn't very happy after we got here—maybe he was afraid his wife might come-but I promised to be a good girl and sit here in the corner until you came back.' She paused and the smile went away. 'Did you find out anything?'
He swung a chair over in front of her and sat down. 'A little,' he said and reluctantly brought his mind back to his problems. He told her first about Dan Spencer, the things he knew, the things that had been said.
'Did the police accept your story?' he asked as his thoughts moved on.
'About finding Grayson? Why—yes, I think so.'
'What about Webb?'
'He told them he had a date, just like I did.'
'Did he say why? Did he tell Zumeta about the hundred and twenty thousand?'
'Yes, but he had to explain it twice before Zumeta understood what he meant.'
Jeff nodded, remembering that when he had last seen the Segumal man, there had been no knowledge of either Webb or the money that Grayson had raised and was ready to deliver through Harry Baker.
'That'll give Zumeta something else to think about,' he said. Then, his mind moving back, he again considered Diana Grayson and Dudley Fiske. He asked if either of them was questioned at headquarters.
'Both/' Karen said.
'What did you think of them?'
'In what way?' she said, her incipient frown telling him lie had not made his point clear.
He spoke of his first call at the Grayson house and the thoughts that had come to him then.
'That's an attractive woman,' he said. 'She looks and talks as if she had been brought up to expect the good things in life. She looks as if she might have been a lot of fun when she was younger, but she got a bad deal—with an alcoholic for a first husband, and she practically took Grayson on the rebound. The way I get it, he played up to her until he got his hands on what money she had. Since then it's been pretty grim for her.'
He tried to explain his first impression of Fiske. 'Until recently he'd been living with a myth. As a kid, he got the idea Grayson was the greatest guy in the world, and because Fiske never was a heavyweight, the disillusionment was a long time coming. He didn't want to let go of the idea he had created, because it was all he had left at the time. His one claim to importance was that he had been important to a man who had the importance he lacked. Or am I getting a little involved?'
'No.** She shook her head. 'I know exactly what you mean.'
'He was selling printing—not too well, he says—and it was a great day when Grayson sent for him, a rejuvenation he was eager to have, a new start. Then, as time went on, the gloss wore off his idol. He saw what was happening to him and to Diana. Two unhappy people in the same house, bearing the same cross, understanding a mutual
ONE MESTUTE PAST EIGHT
problem. I think, maybe without knowing it, they finally realized they were in love.
'Fiske was a different man this evening. I got the idea he had found some new strength and purpose, maybe through the woman. You could tell they were close to each other. She said they were going back to the States together, and I wondered—I mean, you're a woman and if you watched them down at Segurnal maybe you'd have some idea about how they felt toward each other .**
'I think you're right.' Karen moistened her lips and her eyes were a serious blue beneath the graceful brows. 'He could hardly keep his eyes off her, and when she looked at him her glance seemed brighter. She seemed confident and assured and pleased with what she saw. It was the sort of look that women have when they are proud of a man and sure of his affection/' She paused, her voice suddenly hushed. 'Do you think Fiske-'
'I don't know,' Jeff said, knowing what she meant. 'But he could have, all right. It's a long lane etcetera, etcetera. They knew about the money and maybe old Dudley made up his mind he'd had too much from Grayson.'
He tried to speculate beyond this but nothing came, and he saw that Karen had picked up her bag. When she opened it she brought out what looked like a gold thimble and offered it to him,
