James Chase - I'll Get You for This

She got up and came over. Her knees were knocking, and I put my arm around her waist.

“Can you be useful?” I asked, pulling her against me.

“Yes,” she said.

“Go into the bedroom and pack some of my stuff in one of the bags. Take the best stuff, and leave the rest, and hurry.”

She went past the waxworks without looking at them, and disappeared into the bedroom.

“Any of you guys know how fast I can pull this rod ?” I asked cheerfully. “If you’re curious, just give me the chance to show you,” and I stuck the gun down the waist-band of my trousers.

None of them moved. There were eight of them, and the stout woman. They were too scared even to bat an eyelid.

I lit a cigarette and blew smoke at Flaggerty.

“You boys have had your fun,” I said, “and now I’m going to have mine. I came here for a vacation. All I wanted to do was to have a good time and spend my roll. But you thought you’d be smart. You wanted to murder Herrick because he was in your way. You picked me for the fall guy, and you nearly got away with it. If you hadn’t been so dumb, you would have got away with it. You killed Herrick, but you haven’t killed me, and you’ll find I’m a lot harder to kill than Herrick. I’m going to find out why you wanted Herrick out of the way, and then I’m going to complete his job. I’m here until I’ve taken this town to pieces and found out what makes it tick. I’m here until I’ve bust your Administration wide open: try to stop me if you can. I don’t like being crowded by a bunch of small-town yeggs. It hurts my pride.”

Still they didn’t say anything.

I beckoned to the Irish cop.

“I want you, brother,” I said.

He came towards me like he was treading on egg-shells; his hands above his head.

I let him get to within six feet of me, then I hauled off and busted him in the nose. He staggered back, banged into Flaggerty, and they both sat on the floor.

They remained like that. The cop’s nose began to bleed.

Miss Wonderly came out of the bedroom, carrying one of my grips.

“Wait by the door, honey,” I said.

I walked over to the window, pulled back the curtain, and collected the cigar box I’d hidden behind the pelmet. The box contained eighteen grand: my vacation money.

Although I didn’t even bother to watch them, they still didn’t flutter a muscle. I guess my reputation stood pretty high in Paradise Palms or else they were plain yellow through to their jaegers.

“We’ll go,” I said to Miss Wonderly.

She opened the door.

“So long,” I said to Flaggerty. “Come after me if you feel like it. I’m itching to be forced into a fight, but I don’t shoot first. I don’t have to.” I winked at him. “I’ll be seeing you.”

He sat on the floor hating me with his eyes, but he didn’t say anything.

I took Miss Wonderly’s arm and we crossed to the elevator.

The cage doors slid back the second or so after I’d rung.

“Going down, sir?” the attendant said. It was the guy who’d sworn he’d taken Herrick up to my room.

I pulled him out of the cage, and hit him between the eyes. He fell down and lay as quiet as a mouse.

I pushed Miss Wonderly into the cage and stepped in myself.

“Going down,” I said, smiling at the attendant, and closed the cage doors.

“Do they know where you live?” I asked Miss Wonderly, as I shot the Buick out of the hotel garage.

She shook her head.

“Sure?”

“Yes. I changed my apartment a day or so ago. No one knows yet.”

“We’ll go there and get you some clothes,” I said. “Where is it?”

She clutched my arm. “No. Let’s get out of town. I’m scared.”

“We’ve got the time,” I said. “And you don’t have to be scared. They won’t get us if we use our heads. Now where is the place?”

“It’s at the corner of Essex and Merrivale.”

I nodded. “I know. I passed it as I came in.”

I pushed the Buick along, and I kept my eye on the mirror.

No one was following us—yet.

“You and I have a lot to talk about,” I said, casually. “Thank you for being on my side.”

She shivered. “Will they catch us?”

“They couldn’t catch a train,” I said, but I wasn’t all that happy. I wondered if they’d taken the number of my car at the hotel, and how soon it would be before the attendant gave it to Flaggerty. I wondered where in hell we were going to hole up, or if it’d be better to get out of town. . I didn’t want to get too far away because I was determined to go after Killeano. I had to be near at hand if I was going to bust him, and I was going to bust him all right.

“Listen, honey,” I said, in my soothing voice, “I want you to use your head. Is there anywhere

in town or near at hand where we could stay and be reasonably safe?”

She twisted around. “We’re going to get out of here,” she said wildly. “You don’t know what they’d do to me if they caught me.”

I patted her hand and nearly pushed in some guy’s fender who had pulled out suddenly from behind a truck. We cursed each other amiably.

“Now take it easy,” I said. “No one’s going to catch you. But we’re bucking the police, and they’ll seal up all the highways leading out of town. We shan’t get far with their two-way radio sets working against us. We’ll have to hole up until the heat’s cooled off. Then we’ll slide out one night, and blow.”

“We’d better go now,” she said, clenching her fists.

“Well be all right, but you must think. We want a nice snug hideaway for three or four days. Now think, and keep on thinking.”

While I was talking we reached Essex and Merrivale. I whizzed the Buick down Essex Street and nailed her before a shabby looking apartment block.

“Come on,” I said, grabbing the cigar box, “let’s hustle.”

We ran up the wooden steps to the house, and she led me up the stairs into a big bedroom overlooking the front of the house. She packed her things as if the devil was pricking her with his fork. She was so efficient that I just stood back and gave her room. In three minutes flat she had a big grip crammed full of the pick of her cupboard and drawers.

“Swell,” I said, grabbing the grip. “Now watch my dust,”

As I reached the head of the stairs, I paused. She clutched at my arm, looking at me with round eyes.

“What is it?” she whispered.

I motioned her to be quiet and listened. The radio was giving a police message. They were telling Paradise Palms to watch out for us.

“How do you like being called a blonde killer?” I asked, smiling at her.

She pushed past me and scurried downstairs. At the foot of the stairs, she stopped. A thickset man in his shirt sleeves had come out of the front room. He stood gaping at her.

“Hey, you,” he said, stepping up to her. “Not so fast. They want you!”

Miss Wonderly gave a startled squeak, spun on her heel and tried to bolt up the stairs, but he reached out and grabbed her.

“They want me too,” I said, coming down slowly.

The man let go of Miss Wonderly as if she’d bitten him. He stepped back, his face going a dirty white.

“I don’t know anything about anything, mister,” he said in H low, hoarse voice.

I smiled at him. “You don’t look as if you do,” I said, and put Miss WonderIy’s bag down. “Where’s your telephone, bud ?”

He waved his hand to the room from which he had just come. I jerked my head and he went in. I followed him. Miss Wonderly pressed herself against the wall. She didn’t look as cute as she had when she’d pressed herself against my hotel wall, but then, she was dressed this time. It makes a difference.