James Chase - Tiger by the Tail

“Leave it to me, boss,” Tux said. “I’ll call you back.”

O’Brien replaced the receiver, lit a cigarette and returned to the lounge.

He thought from the look of Gilda’s eyes that she had been crying, and he went to sit beside her on the couch.

“You mustn’t let this upset you,” he said gently. “Now, let’s take a look at the set-up. You’ve got to be frank with me, Gilda. This could turn out to be unpleasant for both of us. We’ve got to think of ourselves. There are one or two things I want you to tell me about. Some time ago there was trouble between you and Fay and Johnny. At the time I felt it wasn’t my business, but now it could be my business and I want to know what it was all about. You’ve got to remember that I have a lot of enemies. They know we’re planning to get married. If they could put Johnny on a spot they’ll do it to get at me. I must know the facts. I don’t want them sprung on me. Someone might remember that Johnny threatened to kill Fay, and the police might be forced to dig into his past. I want to know what happened between you and Fay and Johnny. All I know is he suddenly went haywire and you put him in a home. I want the inside story, Gilda. I must have it.”

“If Johnny is in trouble,” she said quietly, “you don’t have to marry me, Sean.”

“I’m going to marry you,” O’Brien said, looking fixedly at her. “That’s about the one thing in life I am sure about. But I’m going to avoid trouble if I can. I must know what it was all about. Will you tell me?”

She lifted her shoulders wearily.

“Of course. It’s all very sordid, but I have nothing to hide. I would have told you before if you had asked.” She reached for a cigarette; accepted the light he offered, and went on, “Fay and I were once good friends. We shared an apartment. I did a little singing; she did a dancing act with her partner, Maurice Yarde. She was crazy about him. He wasn’t the type of man any girl should be crazy about. He was selfish and utterly unscrupulous. One day she brought him to the apartment and introduced him to me. From that moment I never had a second’s peace. He followed me everywhere. You can’t imagine how crude he was. He forced himself on me. Fay wouldn’t believe I wasn’t encouraging him, and she quarrelled with me. Nothing I could say would convince her. She quarrelled with him, too. I left the apartment, but still he kept after me. Finally, I left town. He was so furious with Fay for interfering, he broke up the dance act and also left town. When I heard he had gone, I came back. Fay wouldn’t have anything to do with me, and I wasn’t sorry because she had gone completely off the rails. She wouldn’t go on with her dancing, and she turned to men for money. One day she ran into Johnny, who was just out of the army. I don’t have to tell you what a dreadful time he had had during the war. It left him unbalanced; he drank too much and got into violent rages. I was the only one who could handle him. Fay found out he was my brother, but he didn’t find out what she was. She made up her mind to hook him to get even with me. She did hook him. I warned him about her, but he wouldn’t listen. He became as crazy about her as she had been about Yarde. He wanted to marry her, but she held him off; neither refusing nor accepting him. Then one of his friends gave him her card, telling him if he wanted a girl, he could recommend her. I guess Johnny went off his head. He rushed around to her apartment, and if Sam Darcy hadn’t arrived soon after, Johnny might have killed her. She was terribly beaten up. Sam got him under control and sent for me. I got Johnny into a home. Well, you know the rest of it, Sean. Johnny stayed in the home for nearly a year. The doctors have told me he has made a complete recovery. I was going there to bring him home, but he forestalled me. He got back last night.”

O’Brien rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“So Sam Darcy knows about Johnny and Fay?”

“He knows Johnny beat her up and threatened to kill her.”

“Do you think Johnny went to him last night? Do you think Darcy knows he’s in town?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well, all right,” O’Brien said. “I now know the facts. We mustn’t make too much of this. We mustn’t jump to conclusions. Howard tells me they have a description of a man who was seen leaving Fay’s apartment about the time she died. It’s nothing like the description of Johnny.”

“I tell you Johnny didn’t do it!” she said sharply.

“I’m afraid it isn’t very important what you and I think, Gilda,” O’Brien said seriously. “The facts are he threatened to kill her before going into the home. As soon as he comes out, she’s murdered. I only hope they catch this tall, dark guy in the grey suit. If they don’t, someone may remember that Johnny could be a suspect, and because he’s your brother, they may try to make something out of it.”

“Surely the police will find this man,” Gilda said anxiously.

“I hope so.” He gave her a crooked little smile. “Let’s get our minds off this for a moment. Lunch is ready.”

She shook her head.

“I want to go home now, Sean. I have things to do.”

“You are going to have lunch with me,” he said firmly, and took her arm, walking with her down the passage to the dining-room.

An hour later, after she had driven away in her sports coupe, the telephone bell rang.

O’Brien picked up the receiver.

“Tux here,” the hard, rasping voice said. “It’s okay, boss. He was there, and I’ve got him.”

O’Brien’s face hardened.

“Where?”

“On the Wi llow Point. ”

“Fine. I’ll be over in half an hour,” O’Brien said. “Stick close to him, Tux.”

He hung up.

Ken Holland closed the front door and walked with shaky legs back to the lounge. He rested his hands on the back of an easy chair and leaned his weight on them. His heart was still pounding. He still felt the suffocating fear that had gripped him at the sight of the two detectives as they had come up the path.

What an escape! he thought. Did they notice how scared I was? I’ve got to pull myself together. If they ever get on to me I’ll give myself away if I behave like that again.

He suddenly thought of Parker.

He must be warned.

He hurried to the telephone, dialled and listened to the ringing tone.

Hurry up! he thought feverishly. They’ll be around to you any moment. Hurry up!

There was a click on the line, and Mrs. Parker’s chilly, pedantic voice asked who was calling.

“This is Kenway Holland. May I speak to Max?”

“Well, he’s in the garden,” Mrs. Parker said dubiously as if her husband

was in China. “I’ll see if I can get him. Hold on a moment.”

Ken waited in an agony of suspense.

“Are you there?” Mrs. Parker asked after a long wait. “I’ll get him to call you back. He’s talking to two men at the moment. I can’t imagine who they are, but I don’t suppose he’ll be long.”

“Thank you,” Ken said, and hung up.

He went over to the liquor cabinet, poured himself a shot of whisky and drank it. He lit a cigarette and sat down. There was nothing he could do now but wait.

What would happen to Parker? Would he be able to bluff Donovan? Would he admit knowing Fay Carson? Would he tell Donovan he had given Ken Fay’s telephone number? Would Parker remember that Ken owned a light-gray suit ?

Unable to sit still while his mind was crawling with alarm, Ken got up and went into the garden. He went down the path to the gate and stared up and down the street. He wanted to walk to the corner to see if the police car was still outside Parker’s house, but he was scared the detectives might see him.