Реймонд Маршалл - Lady — Here’s Your Wreath

Down I went again and called to Ackie. ‘It’s okay. We’ll get her out.’

Ackie said, ‘You get one side, I’ll handle the other.’

We got her under the arms and ran across the pavement with her. I had to take her up the stairs, there wasn’t room for the three of us. I can tell you when I reached her bedroom I was mighty glad.

Ackie said behind me, ‘Put her in a chair. She’ll sit more natural that way.’

Then the bathroom door opened quickly and Katz slid into the room. He took just one look at me and went for his gun.

If a guy pulls a rod on you in a small room and starts popping at you, there is only one thing to do, apart from saying your prayers.

I did the best I could do under the circumstances.

I dived across the room and landed on Katz. He tried to get his leg up to kick at me, but he was just too late. His rod jerked out of his hand and fell on the floor somewhere. I thought Ackie would be bright enough to collect it.

Katz got a grip round the barrel of my chest that surprised me. This guy looked like a thin dope, but he’d got plenty of what it takes. Before I could grab him, he had tossed me away so that I came down hard on Blondie. I was too rattled to care much about that, and as I scrambled to my feet Katz swung his legs round and caught me in a scissor-grip round the neck. I knew all about those sort of tricks, and I had his shoe off and was giving his big toe the works before he could start to put on any pressure.

‘Sock into him,’ Ackie yelled from the doorway. ‘Give him hell, Buddy.’

It broke the hold all right, but I collected a stiff kick in the face as I was getting set to jump him. I was glad that the kick came from the foot without a shoe, otherwise I should have seen a few bright lights.

Anyway, I went over backwards and it gave Katz time to get off the bed, then I went for him again. I was remembering Mardi now, so I hit that guy hard where it would hurt him. It did. He flopped on the bed, his eyes glazing. I had him by his long hair and snapped another wallop to his jaw just to make sure. He went out like a light.

I stood over him, blowing on my knuckles.

‘I was just beginning to enjoy it,’ Ackie said. ‘You shouldn’t’ve washed him up that quick.’

I went round the bed and gathered Blondie up. She’d lost her hat, but she still looked as suspicious and hard as ever. I put her in the one armchair and made sure that she wouldn’t fall forward.

Ackie leant against the doorpost watching. ‘Gee! This looks like one of those horror plays,’ he said, jerking his head at Katz, lying flat on the bed, and then over to Blondie.

‘I’ve got to get this guy round. I want him to talk,’ I said. ‘Lend me a hand, Mo; we’ll tie him up first in case he starts trouble.’

Ackie’s face brightened. ‘You goin’ to give him the works?’ he asked.

‘Yeah, I’m going to give it to him until he’s come as clean as Aimee’s surplice.’

Ackie scratched his head. ‘You’re sure headin’ for trouble. This guy’s the bad man of the town. He’ll start something which might come awkward.’

I didn’t bother to answer. I knew that things would start to hum pretty soon, and as long as I was making them hum I didn’t care. I ran through Katz’s pockets. The first thing I turned up was a roll of money. I didn’t have to count it. I knew that it was the five grand that Blondie had lifted off me. I showed the roll to Ackie. ‘That’s why he was up here,’ I said. ‘Just lining his pocket, the yellow punk.’

‘You keepin’ it?’

I shook my head. ‘I’m not takin’ any chances. I’ll leave it where I found it. If the cops are looking for me, that would be a fine one to pin on me.’

‘You think of everything, don’t you?’ Ackie looked at me admiringly. He was nearly sober by now, and I guess the drink was dying on him hard.

‘Go into the bathroom and get some towels. I want to fix this bird.’

Ackie came back after a moment with a couple of towels. ‘Nice joint this, ain’t it?’ he said.

I grunted and took the towels from him. I tore them in two and trussed Katz. I made a good job of it. Ackie leant over the bed-rail and watched. I knew Ackie was scared, but he wasn’t saying anything. He just stood and watched. I knew he was thinking that if we didn’t get away with this, we were going to get into a pretty tight jam. I thought it mighty white of him to come in with me.

I hauled off and slapped Katz across the face twice. He moved his head, muttered and then opened his eyes. As soon as he saw me he sat up. I put my hand over his face and slammed him back on the bed. Even though he was just coming to the surface he’d got enough savvy to try and bite me.

‘Get a grip on yourself,’ I told him, ‘I want you to do a little talking. If you’re smart, you’ll start right away, but if you think you can get away with anything you’re going to get the works.’

Katz drew his breath in with a sharp little hiss. His eyes half closed and his mouth became a slit in his white face. ‘You’re crazy to start this, Mason,’ he said. ‘Why, you punk, you sure must be crazy to think you can get away with this.’

I was in no mood to talk turkey to this guy. As I hit him a thin trickle of blood came from his nose and ran down to the side of his mouth. He put his tongue out and carefully licked his lips. I guess that guy hated me as much as he could hate anyone.

I sat down on the edge of the bed, close to him. ‘I don’t care if I have to rip you to bits,’ I said, speaking softly, ‘but you’re going to talk. Where’s my wife? Where’s Mardi Jackson?’

He didn’t know. I felt a cold chill of disappointment grip me when I saw the expression in his eyes. He didn’t say anything, but I knew he wasn’t bluffing. The question had come as a surprise, I could tell that.

‘All right,’ I said, ‘I’ll try again. What’s behind the Mackenzie racket?’

This time he shifted his eyes. ‘You go to hell,’ he said. ‘You ain’t makin’ me talk.’

I said to Ackie, ‘Sit on his legs.’

Ackie came round the bed like I’d asked him to sit on a rattlesnake. He didn’t look at Katz, but he pinned him just the same. I jerked off Katz’s sock and looked at him. ‘When you’re ready to talk, just let me know,’ I said, ‘I ain’t in no hurry.’

I took a cigarette from my case and lit it. When the end was glowing, I took it out of my mouth and brought it near his foot. If Ackie hadn’t been sitting on him, I guess that guy would have bounced off the ceiling. I guess these tough guys are all the same. He just curled up, the sweat jumping out of his face.

‘Okay... okay...’ he said hoarsely. ‘I’ll talk.’

‘There’s your rattlesnake,’ I said to Ackie. ‘Just yellow right through.’

Ackie stood up and sneered. ‘Why, you punk,’ he said, ‘we ain’t even started on you yet.’

‘Leave him alone, Mo. You talk rough to this guy an’ he’ll take his hair down and weep.’

Katz just lay on the bed glaring at us.

I threw the cigarette into the fireplace. ‘Come on,’ I said, ‘what’s behind the Mackenzie racket?’

It took some time to drag it out of him, but I got it out of him at last. The set-up was simple once you got the key.

The Mackenzie Fabric Inc. was an enormous clearing-house for stolen goods. It worked like this: with the big imports from China and England of clothes and silks, all kinds of stolen articles were smuggled in the bales. In the same way articles stolen in America could be shipped out to the various continental agencies representing Mackenzie Fabrics abroad.

Spencer was the big shot. It was his job to buy or to sell whatever came into his hands from the various gangs operating throughout the States. With most of the high officials getting a rake-off in the form of dividends, the racket was watertight.