James Chase - Miss Callaghan Comes to Grief

Mendetta said in a whisper, “You want this territory, don’t you, Raven? Well, you can have it; I’m through.”

Raven nodded. “Yeah, you’re through all right.”

“Listen, let me get out of town. I’ll sign it all over to you. You wouldn’t want to kill me if I gave it all over to you?”

Raven shook his head. “I don’t want to kill anyone. Why should I?”

Mendetta searched the cold face to try to find some comfort for himself there. He could read nothing in the cold, blank eyes. “I’ll sign anythin’,” he said eagerly. “What do you want?”

Raven pointed to a pad of paper on the table. “Just write saying that you’re giving me your share of the Club. That’s all I’ll need. Grantham won’t make any trouble.”

Mendetta hesitated. “I can go if I do that?” he said. “You’ll let me leave the town?”

Raven looked at him. “Why should I want to stop you?” he asked.

The two men looked at each other. Mendetta, fat, well dressed, but terrified; and Raven, cold, thin and shabby.

Raven said, “I can’t stay here all night.”

Already Mendetta’s brain was formulating a scheme. His signature on a bit of paper would mean nothing.

He would give the signal as soon as Raven had left to have him killed. My God! He’d been a fool not to have got rid of him before. He reached out and pulled the pad towards him. With a hand that no longer trembled he wrote, handing his share of the 22nd Club over to Raven. He signed it with a flourish.

“Give me until tomorrow,” he said, throwing the pad across the table. “I’ll get out by tomorrow.”

Raven stretched out his hand and took the pad; he glanced at the writing and then put the pad in his pocket.

“You don’t have to go, Tootsie,” he said quietly. “You’ll be better off here.”

Mendetta suddenly went cold. He got slowly to his feet. “Listen, Raven,” he said feverishly, “this is on the level. I’ve done what you wanted” He broke off as he saw the vicious gleam in Raven’s eye. With a whimper of terror, Mendetta turned and ran blindly across the room and began to pound on Jean’s door. “Don’t let him kill me… Jean! Stop him! Stop him! Jean, you wouldn’t let him kill”

Moving softly, Raven stepped behind him and shot him through the head. The gun only made a little hissing sound.

Mendetta was opening the door as he fell. The door swung open violently and he sprawled into the room.

Jean crouched against the wall and screamed.

Raven looked at her and raised his gun. She saw the little black hole of the barrel pointing at her, and she hid her face in her hands. The heavy .45 bullet smashed two of her fingers before it blew the top of her head off. She fell first on her knees with a thud that shook the room, and then straightened out, her head hitting the carpet with another muffled thud.

Across the passage, Sadie sat up in bed. She thought she had heard a scream in her sleep, but she knew that she had heard the sound of someone falling.

She listened intently, suddenly wishing Benny was by her side. She could hear nothing, but the scream was so real that she got out of bed and hurriedly put on a wrap. She went out of the bedroom into the little hallway.

It was all very dark and silent. Putting on the hall light, she went to the front door and raised the letter−box flap. She could see Mendetta’s front door, and the gleam of light coming from under it. Seeing the light warned her that she too was showing light, and she turned off the switch, then she resumed her watch on the opposite door.

She was conscious of her heart beating rapidly, and she felt frightened and alone. A presentiment told her that something was going on in Mendetta’s apartment, and she stayed there watching for some time. Then, just when she had decided that she had made a mistake, she saw the door opposite opening silently.

Raven stepped out, a bundle of papers under his arm, and his long−barrelled gun in his hand. He looked up and down the passage and then, shutting the apartment door softly, walked swiftly away.

His ruthless look and his gun scared Sadie badly. She lowered the flap softly and ran into her bedroom. She dived into bed and hurriedly pulled up the sheet. She lay shivering, seeing Raven’s cold, wolfish face, and wishing that Benny would come back to her.

June 5th, midnight.

JAY PUSHED open Henry’s door and strode in. Henry was just going home. He was putting on his hat and admiring himself in the mirror. He looked over his shoulder and scowled at Jay.

“No more tonight,” he said firmly. “Look at the time. I ought to have been home hours ago.”

Jay sat down in the arm−chair and lit a cigarette. “I got something to tell you,” he said; “you’ll be interested.”

“Yeah? Well, I’ve got something to tell you. You can forget about the 22nd Club. Poison’s just been through.”

Jay shook his head. “Oh no,” he said. “I’ve got somethin’ on that Club that’s goin’ to make headlines.”

Henry looked at him keenly. “What is it?” he said.

“Grantham’s mixed up in a Slave Ring. He uses the Club for immoral purposes.”

“You’re crazy. Where did you get that stuff?”

Jay grinned. “That’s what I thought,” he said. “But I’ve got a guy who’s seen and heard things. I’m inclined to believe him. The place wants watching, and maybe we’ll find somethin’ out.”

Henry sat down. “Poison told me to lay off the Club. He’s seen Mendetta and they’ve had a little talk.

Mendetta’s got an interest in the Club, so Poison doesn’t want to do or say anything to upset him.”

Jay sneered. “Maybe Poison doesn’t know about this Slave angle. It’ll make a grand story.”

Henry hesitated and then he reached out for the phone. “Shall I see what he says?”

Jay hesitated, then he shook his head. “Will you come with me and meet this guy first? Once you’ve had a talk with him you’ll understand why I’m interested.”

“What, now?” Henry demanded. “I can’t come now.”

Jay got to his feet. “What’s the matter with you, Chief? This is goin’ to be a big story. We’re right in it on the ground floor. I’ve been waiting a chance to pin somethin’ on Mendetta for the last two years. Slavin’ is a fine club to beat that heel with. Come on, let’s go.”

Henry followed him into the elevator. “You’re goin’ to get somewhere one of these days, Ellinger,” he said.

“I don’t know where, but you’ll get there all right.”

Jay grinned. “I ain’t sentimental, but that guy certainly made me think when he talked about his sister. You gotta daughter, ain’t you? I’ve seen her; she’s cute.”

Henry looked at him from under the brim of his hat. “What’s my daughter got to do with it?”

They walked out of the elevator and crossed the big lobby.

“That’s just it, Chief. You guys with daughters don’t think about the girls who disappear every year. Let me tell you, if I had a daughter I’d never take my eyes off her. I hope I don’t have one.”

They got in a taxi and Ellinger gave Fletcher’s address.

“What are you talking about?” Henry demanded. “What girls disappearing?”

Jay looked at him. “You know as well as I do. We can’t do anythin’ about it so we just say they’ve gone off to get married, or gone to Hollywood or some other excuse. This guy Fletcher is pretty sure that his sister’s been slaved. He thinks Grantham, and that means Mendetta too, is trading women. We know there’s no proof of it, but, by heavens, think what a stink we could make if we got the proof.”

Henry lit a cigar. “All right,” he said, “let’s see how this guy strikes me. If I think there’s anything to it you can go ahead, but Poison will have to give his okay first.”