William Haggard - The New Black Mask (No 5)

Eddie: “We don’t want to meet him. He’s a crumb.”

Nick: “But he’s giving the party. It’s all on the house.”

Eddie: “Well, I’ll — well, well!” He turns to his companions, saying enthusiastically, “Boys! Champagne!”

Nick: “Certainly champagne.”

Dancer tries to smile as if he likes it. The others crowd him back out of the way as they make room for themselves around the table.

[ There are comic scenes at Nick’s table when he introduces Nora to his unsavory friends, who are celebrating Willie’s release from prison. Everybody orders champagne except Eddie, who wants Scotch with a champagne chaser. When Willie orders his drinks, Nora says she’ll have the same. ]

Polly, nearing the end of her song, looks questioningly at Robert, who nods and points to his watch and the door to indicate that she should hurry. Lum Kee is watching them. He goes over to Dancer, who has left Nick’s table.

Lum Kee: “No trouble, Dancer. I ask you, please.”

Dancer, putting a hand on his partner’s arm: “Stop worrying, Lum. Everything’s OK.”

Lum Kee: “All the time you say everything OK. All the time trouble-trouble.”

Dancer: “We always get out of it, don’t we?”

Lum Kee: “You bet you, but too much money. Pretty soon money not fix something. Then no more Lichee.”

Dancer slaps Lum Kee on the back and says, “If it’s Landis you’re worrying about, I’ll tell him to stay away. I don’t like the guy much either. But you’ll find something else to squawk about.”

Lum Kee, cheerfully: “You bet you.”

Polly, having finished her song, tells the orchestra to play a dance number instead of an encore and goes toward her dressing room. She gives Nora a reassuring nod as she passes. Robert is getting his hat and coat. Dancer crosses to meet Polly at the door and says, “Just keep him in your apartment till evening, and we’ll both be cutting ourselves a nice piece of gravy.”

Polly, without enthusiasm: “I hope so. Has Phil been in tonight?”

Dancer: “For a minute. He went off like he had a date. Go ahead, kid.” He pats her back, urging her toward the door. She goes out.

At Nick’s table, his guests are still applauding Polly deafeningly, pounding the table with bottles, etc. Nora seems to be talking to Nick, but nothing can be heard. He yells back, “Can’t hear you.” The words are barely audible. She puts her mouth to his ear and screams, “Do you think that girl will really see that he gets home?”

The noise dies suddenly just as she starts, and everybody in the place looks at her; her scream could be heard a block away. Willie, who has been banging on the table with two bottles, nudges the thug beside him and says, “I don’t care whose wife she is, I don’t like a dame that gets noisy when she’s had a few snifters.”

Nick is trying to recover his hearing in the ear Nora screamed in. She asks again, but in a lower voice, “Do you?”

Nick: “She’ll see that he gets to somebody’s home. You can phone if you want, when he’s had time to get there.”

Outside, the fog is thicker. Polly starts for a taxi, but Robert says, “It’s only three blocks.” They turn down the street. Phil comes out of his doorway and follows them. Harold is slumped down in the seat of Nick’s car, asleep, though his jaws still move a little with his gum. The taxi driver is saying, “And I said to this truck driver, ‘All right, tough guy, if you don’t like me cutting in on you, how would you like to climb down off that hearse and get bopped in the nose?’ I said.”

At a corner three blocks from the Lichee, Robert points to David, waiting in his car, and says, “There’s our honeymoon money!” Polly holds back as he goes toward the car, but he takes her arm, saying, “Come on. I want him to see how much better I’m doing.” They go up to the car.

Robert: “Have you got the bonds?”

David slowly looks from one to the other of them as he takes a thick sheaf of bonds from his pocket. He hands them to Robert, who eagerly examines them then says, “Thanks, Sir Galahad,” as he puts them into his pocket.

David: “You’ll keep your promise?”

Robert: “Don’t worry about that. And I wish you as much luck with your bargain as I got with mine.” He pulls Polly toward him and kisses her on the mouth. David turns his head away in disgust. Robert laughs at him, says, “There’s only one thing. I’m going home to pack a bag. Stay away till I’ve cleared out. Fifteen minutes oughtn’t to mean anything to a man who's waited as long as you have. Ta-ta!” He and Polly turn away. David looks after them for a moment, then sighs as if with relief and slowly starts his car.

At Nick’s table in the Lichee, Eddie is complaining: “Where’s Polly? I want to hear Polly sing. We come up here and spend all this dough” (indicating the champagne bottles) “and what does she do? She sings one song and quits.”

Joe, earnestly: “You can’t say anything against Polly. She’s all to the good.”

Another thug, very drunk, his eyes almost shut: “She still live in that place on White Street with the ghosts running up and down the halls?”

Nora, very interested: “A haunted house?”

The drunk, opening his eyes: “Did I say ghosts? I’m drunk, lady. I meant goats.” He puts fingers up to his head to imitate horns and says, “Ba-a-a!”

Nora: “Well, that’s almost as good.”

Nick, as if not very interested: “What part of White Street?”

The drunk: “346.I can always remember that number because my old man used to have a livery stable there.”

At the mention of the number Nora puts her hand quickly on Nick’s and looks at him with a frightened face. Nick pats her hand without taking his attention from the drunk and asks: “In the place with the goats?”

The drunk, who is going back to sleep, shakes his head and says, “No, that was back in Baraboo, Wisconsin.”

Nick: “You know the fellow who owns the house?”

The drunk: “In Baraboo?”

Nick: “The one Polly lives in.”

The drunk shakes his head again: “Nope, but he ought to keep the front door shut so the goats can’t get in.”

Nick: “He was killed today.”

The drunk: “It don’t surprise me. Stands to reason no tenants weren’t going to put up with those goats forever.” The other thugs exchange glances, then begin to regard Nick with suspicion.

Nora: “Nick, I’m going to phone.”

Nick: “He’s had time enough to get home.” He holds out a handful of change.

Dancer, not far away, sees Nora take the nickel (if necessary, he can have overheard some of the conversation), and he goes quickly to one of the hatcheck girls and says, “Get on the phone and stay there.” She goes to the phone, drops in a coin, and when Nora arrives the girl is in the middle of a long description of a dress (that can be written much more accurately by Miss Goodrich than by Mr. Hammett). Nora waits impatiently.

At Nick’s table, his guests are no longer having a good time; his questioning the drunk looks too much as if he were working on a murder job. Eddie clears his throat, says, “Well, boys, I guess we better be trucking along.”

Willie: “I guess we better.” Only the drunk seems comfortable.

Nick: “What’s the matter? It’s early. Don’t you like the party?”

Eddie: “Sure we like it. It’s swell. But, well, we got to get up early in the morning.”

Nick: “Surely you haven’t become an early riser in your old age, Eddie.”

Eddie squirms: “Well, no, but—” He gets a bright idea: “You see, we’re giving Willie a picnic. He’s nuts about picnics and he’s been locked up a long time, so we thought we’d take him out in the country early tomorrow morning and throw a picnic for him. Ain't that right, Willie?”