James Chase - 12 Chinks and a Woman

He could hear the sound of her breathing from where he stood. He didn’t look at her. He kept moving about the room while she waited. Then he said suddenly, “Let’s talk.”

She sat limply on the bed and stretched out flat on her back. She put her laced fingers behind her head. Fenner looked down, at her. His face was expressionless.

“Thayler is the guy who runs Carlos’ labor syndicate. He was married to Curly Robbins, Nightingale’s assistant. Carlos has just killed her. You ran with Thayler. Did you know what his racket was?”

She said, “Sit down here, and I’ll talk to you.”

He sat down close to her. “Well?”

“Give me your hand.”

He put his hand in hers. “Did you know?” he repeated.

She gripped it hard. “Yes, I knew,” she said.

Fenner sat very still. He could feel the warmth of her body against his hand. “Did you know he was married to Curly?”

She lay with her eyes closed, her teeth biting her underlip. “No.”

“You knew all about Carlos as well?”

“Yes, I knew all about him.” She shifted his hand, and he took it away. She sat up. He saw how wild her eyes were. She wound her arms around his neck, pulling his head down to her. Before her lips could reach his mouth he shoved her away. “Cut it out,” he said harshly, getting to his feet. “You don’t get anywhere with me.”

He went out of the room, unlocking the door and leaving it open. He passed Bugsey wandering in from outside. He didn’t say anything, but went on into the garden.

Bugsey looked after him, a bewildered expression on his face. He went into the lobby and glanced into Glorie’s room. Bugsey paused, staring. Glorie was lying on her side. The white dress was rumpled, and he could see white flesh where her stocking ended. He rubbed his chin. He blinked at her, hardly believing his eyes when she began to take off her dress. He shut the door.

Towards evening Fenner returned to the bungalow; He found Bugsey sitting on the porch steps, making patterns on the gravel path with a piece of wood. He said, as he went past, “Did she bite?”

Bugsey started, but before he could say anything, Fenner had passed into the bungalow. He went straight to Glorie’s room.

Glorie was sitting on the window-seat, dressed in a pale green wrap. She was looking out of the window, and she turned quickly as Fenner walked in. “Beat it,” she said harshly.

Fenner shut the door. “I’ve got a little story to tell you. The Federal Bureau has been digging up the past, and I’ve been looking the dope over. Some quite interesting stuff.”

Glorie sat very still. “What do you mean?” she said.

Fenner sat on the bed. “I’ll tell you,” he said evenly. “Some of it’s just guess work, some of it’s facts, but it makes a nice little story. It starts off in a hick town in Illinois. The guy who runs this town gets himself a young wife. That’s all right, but the young wife has got big ideas. She begins to spend more money than her hubby can make. The name of this guy is Leadler, and he’s a politician of sorts. You married him because you thought you could get out of the cheap song-and-dance show you were touring in. Well, you did. Leadler, to keep you in silk pants, helps himself to a lot of dough that belongs to the town. You both take a powder to Florida.”

Glorie folded her hands in her lap. “You can’t do anything to me,” she said.

Fenner shook his head. “Hell! That’s not the idea,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to do anything to you. Let me go on. You and Leadler part. I don’t know why, but as Thayler now appears on the scene, I take it you prefer a younger and richer man. Okay, you lose sight of Leadler, and you go for a cruise with Thayler. Now Thayler turns out to be one of those guys who like heating people. He’s perverted that way. You’re not exactly an angel, and you let him handle you the way he likes. Before you turn up, he was married to Curly Robbins, who wouldn’t stand for his idea of love. Thayler absorbs the Chinks Carlos smuggles into the country. He pays Carlos so much a head, and sells the Chinks to sweat shops up the coast. Curly knew all about that, so it was dangerous to let her float around without being watched. Thayler gets her a job with Nightingale, who does odd jobs for Carlos. She gets good money, doesn’t have to do much, and Nightingale can look after her. You want to divorce Leadler so you can marry Thayler. Thayler never told you he was married and you can’t find Leadler. Then one day your boat comes in to Key West and you go along for an evening’s fun to the local Casino. You recognize Noolen as your long lost husband. That’s a surprise, isn’t it?”

Glorie chewed her underlip. “You think you’re smart, don’t you?” she said, stormily.

“Noolen, or Leadler if you like, isn’t doin’ so well with his Casino, so he’s willing to give you a divorce if you pay him for it. You want the dough to give to him, but Thayler won’t part. It’s stalemate for a moment. You don’t care a lot for Thayler, it’s his dough you want. That guy certainly rolls in dough. You want to be always sure you’re going to get it, and the only way you can be sure is to marry him. The cops have turned up some dirt that proves that, while you were living with Thayler, you also had a Chinese running around with you. You two kept under cover, but not well enough. This Chink used to work for Carlos. He disappeared about a couple of months ago. Maybe Thayler found out and tipped Carlos. I don’t know, but he disappeared. What happened to him, baby?”

Glorie began to cry.

Fenner went on, “Never mind. Maybe it doesn’t matter. Now your mysterious sister turns up. She comes to see me. It’s a funny thing, but the cops can’t give me a lead on that dame. They can’t dig further into your past than your song-and-dance days. This looks like your sister was a better girl than you, and she kept out of trouble. Why she came to me, and why she knew about the Chinamen, Noolen, and Carlos. I can’t explain yet. I’ll get round to it some day, but right now it’s got me beat. As far as I’m concerned, it’s your sister who gets me to come down here. I find the situation lined up like this:

“Noolen’s frightened of Thayler and Carlos. I can understand that now. He doesn’t want anyone to know he’s Leadler, and I bet you’ve told Thayler that, or if you haven’t he thinks you have. You and Thayler are not getting on too well. You’re quarrelling. Then, maybe, you learn that he’s married, and you shoot him. You get scared and run to me. You like the look of me and you’re looking round for someone to hook up with again, so after you’ve shot Thayler you come along to my hotel. Now you haven’t killed Thayler. He’s waitin’ in his car parked by the boat. He nearly kills me and later, he tries to shoot you. Now, why does he do that? Because he knows you’ve taken somethin’ from the boat, after you shot him. Isn’t that right?”

Glorie stopped crying. “Is that all you know?” she said.

Fenner shrugged. “It helps, doesn’t it?”

Glorie didn’t say anything.

“Thayler’s washed up as far as you’re concerned. You and I can go after him. I’m going to smash Carlos and his racket, and Thayler may as well go with him. What do you think?”

Glorie said, “I must think. Go away now. I want to get things straight.”

Fenner got to his feet. “I’ll be waiting in the other room. Make it snappy,” he said. He went to the door and then paused. “What was your sister to you?” he said abruptly.

Glorie shifted her eyes. “Nothing,” she said. “I hated her. She was mean, narrow minded and a mischief-maker.”

Fenner raised his eyebrows. “I don’t believe a lot you say,” he said, “but maybe that’s true. You’re not sorrowing for her, are you?”