James Chase: Tiger by the Tail

He reached up, slid the skylight back, caught hold of the wooden surround and hauled himself up.

He hung for a moment, looking over the dark roof; then, seeing no movement, he pulled himself up until he was on the roof. He looked down at the dim white shape of Rose’s face, waved to her, replaced the skylight, and, crouching down, began to move silently across the roof to the shelter of a chimney stack.

When he reached the stack, he paused to study the geography of the roofs. Away in the distance he could see the blaze of neon lights on the walls of the movie house. They looked some way from him. The sounds below of men’s voices and the tramping of feet unnerved him. It was some moments before he could steady himself to concentrate on his way of escape.

Roof after roof stretched away into the darkness; some of them flat, some sloping, some ridged. Having decided the way to go, he cautiously set off, climbing a six-foot wall to haul himself up on the next roof. This sloped gently into a gutter, then rose steeply to the next roof.

Half-way up the steep roof, his foot slipped, and he slithered back into the gutter, making a noise that brought him out in a cold sweat. He tried again, and this time managed to hook hi9 fingers over the ridge of the roof. He hung for a moment, then hauled himself up, trying to keep as flat as possible against the skyline.

He climbed down on to another roof, crossed it, and as he was peering down at the roof below, he heard an excited shout away to his right.

He looked quickly over his shoulder, his heart pounding.

Across the alley, standing on a balcony, he could just make out a man and a woman looking in his direction. The man waved at him, then he bawled at the top of his voice: “Hey! “A guy’s up on the roof. Over there!”

Ken swung his legs over the edge of the roof and dropped, landing with a thud. He staggered, regained his balance, as police whistles shrilled in the darkness below.

He bolted across the roof, then came to an abrupt stop when he found himself face to face with a twelve-foot brick wall.

Below, he could hear running feet, and then someone began to hammer on a door that seemed immediately below him.

He moved hurriedly along the wall until he came upon an iron ladder.

“Hey! You!” a voice shouted.

Ken didn’t pause. He went up the ladder, scraping his hands and knees, and as he reached the top of the wall, a gun banged and splinters of brickwork sprayed dangerously near his face.

He let himself drop into the darkness and landed on another roof.

“There’s only one of them,” a man shouted. “He’s heading to your right.”

Ken looked back over his shoulder, his heart hammering. A cop had joined the man and woman on the balcony. Ken ducked down just in time. The cop fired at him, and the slug whizzed within a foot of Ken’s head.

Keeping in the shadows, he ran desperately for the shelter of a long line of chimneys. He reached them as the cop fired again, but his aim was wild, and Ken didn’t even hear the slug. He dodged around the stack, paused for a second to take a quick look to right and left.

The movie house was still far off. He couldn’t hope to reach it now. He

had to get down somehow and take his chance in the mass of alleys below.

He heard noises behind him, and he peered between the chimneys.

Outlined against the skyline, he could see four figures moving cautiously towards him. They were still four roofs away from him, but they were coming fast.

Crouching, he bolted across the roof, came upon another ladder that led down to a lower roof. He went down it.

“Can you see him, Jack?” a voice bawled.

“Naw,” the cop on the balcony shouted. “More to your right. He’s behind that big stack.”

Ken spotted a skylight not far from him, and he ran over to k and lifted it. He bent to peer into darkness, trying to see what lay below, then, as the sounds of pursuit grew louder, he swung his legs over the wooden surround, hung with one hand while he lowered the skylight down on top of him. He released his hold and dropped quietly on to floor boards.

As he regained his balance, he heard gunfire, followed by three cracks from a heavier gun. He heard a yell, and then more gunfire. It sounded to him as if the police were shooting at each other.

He leaned against the wall, panting and scared, while he listened.

“There are two of them by the big stack,” a voice yelled. “I can see them.”

Again the heavier gun barked.

Bewildered, Ken struck a match and looked quickly around him. He found himself in a dusty attic, full of old junk. He went quickly to the door, opened it, and stepped cautiously out into a dark passage.

Tux and Solly made their way over the roofs towards Rose’s skylight.

They had had several narrow escapes in getting up on to the roofs, but once there, they felt free to move quickly.

Suddenly Solly grabbed Tux’s arm and pulled him down.

“Look! Over there,” he muttered, and pointed.

Tux stared into the darkness. For some seconds he couldn’t see anything, then he thought he saw something moving ahead of him.

“Someone up here,” Solly whispered.

Tux’s hand slid behind him and he jerked out his .45. They lay still and watched.

The figure ahead of them began to climb up the steep slope of a roof, three roofs away from them. He got halfway up and then slithered back.

“Think it’s Johnny?” Solly whispered.

“Johnny was hit. Must be the other guy,” Tux said. “To hell with him. I want Johnny.”

They watched the figure climb the roof and slide over. Then they heard a man shout.

Tux cursed under his breath.

“The cops will be here in a moment. Come on! I’ve got to get Johnny.”

Bending low, he moved hurriedly across the roof, dropped down on another roof, followed by Solly.

A shot rang out.

Four roofs away, Tux could see Rose’s skylight.

“Cops!” Solly muttered, and slid like a shadow towards a line of chimneys.

Tux hesitated, then followed him.

As they crouched in the shadows, Tux caught sight of four cops climbing through a nearby skylight. They spread out and began to move cautiously forward.

“They’ll walk right into us!” Tux snarled.

Solly pulled a .38 from inside his coat.

“Yeah,” Tux said. “Get them before they get us. I’ll take the outside guy. You take the one on the left.”

They both fired.

Two cops dropped. The remaining two threw themselves flat, and opened up with their guns.

The cop on the balcony across the alley yelled excitedly, “There are two of them by the big stack. I can see them.”

Tux swung around, lifted his gun and fired.

The cop on the balcony staggered, his legs banged against the rail of the balcony, and he pitched forward into the alley below.

Tux felt a violent blow on his arm, then a searing pain. The bang of a gun followed immediately.

Cursing, he dropped the gun and clutched at his wrist. Solly fired calmly, and one of the cops who was lying flat heaved up and rolled over.

“Get the other lug,” Tux snarled, groping for his gun with his left hand.

Both Solly and the cop fired simultaneously. The cop jumped up, ran a few yards, then dropped.

Tux felt Solly recoil as the cop’s slug slammed into his thick body. Solly gave a little coughing grunt and dropped his gun.

Tux didn’t wait to see if he were badly hurt. He had to get Johnny. He was losing blood, and every second wasted made his task more difficult. He moved forward, his damaged arm hanging uselessly at his side, slithered down one roof, lost his balance and fell heavily on the roof below. For a moment he blacked out, then shaking off his faintness he got up and staggered across the roof and paused to look down at Rose’s skylight.