Бретт Холлидей - Murder in Haste

“How much did he pay the lawyer?”

“The court allowed something out of that twenty thousand, not a hell of a lot. All right. This letter. If you want to know the truth, I’d been through those trunks before, looking for something that might show where he’d stashed away all that extra dough, granted he actually robbed the with a jury? I didn’t find anything. This time I was going to give it one more run-through before I called the junk man Beach Trust, which I thought he had. Who am I to disagree to pick it up.

“And I found a letter signed Fred, all folded and rumpled up. I don’t even know why he happened to keep it, just one of those accidents. I know the damn thing by heart. Fred, whoever he was, said he’d meet Sam in such-and-such a hotel in Mobile, and not to chicken out because he had a couple of girls lined up. Then there was some more nothing stuff — he ran into so-and-so the other day, he wanted to send regards, you can see why I skipped over it the first time. The big point was, the date. It was dated three days before the bank bust, and it said for Sam to be in Mobile three days later .

“But there was no year on it, just the month and the day, and it could have been some different year, for all I knew. But it was the first thing gave me the idea he might be telling the truth. The next time I was visiting him, I threw in some innocent little question, like did Fred ever get in touch with him? He said who, Fred Milburn? And then he shut up fast. I asked around about Fred Milburn, and it turned out he actually had two felony convictions going against him, so that part of it fits.”

“Is he a local man?” Shayne said.

“From South Carolina, but he doesn’t stay put. I went up to that Mobile hotel and paid five bucks to look at the register for that day. Nothing. Naturally the boys wouldn’t use their right names, but I couldn’t see any handwriting that looked like my Sam’s. Of course I’m no expert, and Sam never wrote me many letters. What I had to do was find Milburn and turn him in, so the cops could try him on those old stick-ups. I know it’s kind of cold by now, but I thought maybe Milburn had caught that habitual and he wouldn’t have anything to lose.

“So that’s what I took to Painter, the letter and the name. You’d think a cop could take it from there, because somebody with that many convictions, the cops tend to keep track of where he is and what he’s doing. And I practically had to beat Painter over the head before he’d touch it. What’s wrong with the guy? I gave him a week, and went back to see what he’d found out, if anything. He put me in the revolving door and revolved me right out. Grim. I came back the next day and the day after that and the day after that . They’re getting sick of me there in the upper brackets. The boys on the desk don’t mind. We kid around.”

“What made you think of Mrs. Heminway?”

“She’s a doll, isn’t-she? Well, the lawyer said he couldn’t do a thing through the courts without more to go on, and I was wondering how I could light a fire under Painter. I kept seeing her name in the paper, raising money for charity or something. I could use a little charity myself. We were pretty much in the same boat. She lost her husband. I lost mine. She and her poppa are the kind of taxpayers who can put the screws on a public servant and get a little action, or that’s what I thought. We had a good cry together, and she said she’d try. She landed on Painter like a ton of bricks, and to my great surprise, he gave her the same run-around he gave me. So what’s the point in being rich?”

“Can you think of any reason why somebody would want to shoot her?”

“God, Mr. Shayne, it really beats me.” A troubled look came into her eyes, the first sign of uncertainty Shayne had seen her show. “When she was just a name in the paper I thought I could use her to hit Painter with, and why not? The widow and the widow-to-be, it made a terrific combination, and I still don’t know why it didn’t work. But I don’t want anything to happen to her on my account. I don’t know how to say it. She’s terrific, that’s all.

“And don’t let that way of hers fool you. She wouldn’t pass out free samples, but if she liked somebody she’d be sexy as hell, you can take my word for it. Don’t get me wrong, that’s a compliment. She’s human . I thought at first Fred Milburn must be mixed up in this thing this morning, but what kind of sense—? No, the thing is, the dough. If Sam didn’t pull the Beach Trust job, whoever did sure as hell didn’t pay any taxes on it.”

Shayne looked down into his coffee cup. There was nothing left but the dregs. He swirled them around, but they didn’t fall into any recognizable pattern.

“I’m going to ask you a touchy question, Mrs. Harris.”

“You might as well call me Norma,” she said, breaking in, “especially if you’re going to start asking touchy questions.”

“Okay, Norma. What’s your main interest here, your husband or the money?”

She laughed. “You think that’s going to hurt my feelings? I can be interested in more than one thing at a time. If Sam did it and I can get a postponement, that gives me more time to worm out of him where he put it. And if somebody else did, maybe I can get him off and beat the cops to the dough. Why not? That’s why I got so enthusiastic when Rosie suggested hiring you. I know your reputation — and don’t you get your feelings hurt.

“But the story I hear on you is that when something extra comes your way, you don’t hand it over to the Salvation Army. I’m not thinking of the full amount, you understand. I’m a dreamer, but I don’t dream in Cinemascope. I know I couldn’t get away with it. I’m thinking about the percentage from the insurance company, and what I was going to suggest — if you get that percentage on the strength of information I give you, wouldn’t half the recovery fee be about right?”

She said quickly as Shayne frowned, “Which doesn’t mean I want Sam to get the chair. I’ve got the kind of mind that can think ahead. If Sam’s broke when he gets out, he’s just going robbing again.”

Shayne gave a short laugh. “Twenty-five percent would be generous. And if I get Sam off, which looks pretty doubtful at the moment, I’ll give it to him, not you. You won’t mind so long as it’s in the family.”

“You bastard,” she said. “A third?”

“A quarter. And I hope you realize we’re cutting up a percentage of something that may not exist.”

“Maybe, but I’ve got a feeling. If anybody can do it, you can.”

She stood up, smoothing her skirt down over her well-rounded hips, and came around the table. She touched Shayne’s cheek. Bending down, she kissed him on the mouth.

“You’re a nice-looking guy, Mike,” she said, “and I hope I can talk you into giving that thirty-three and a third percent to me and not to Sam. He’s not very good with money. He’d just throw it away.”

“Twenty-five,” Shayne said.

Straightening, she let one breast graze his face. “Hell, twenty-five. And that doesn’t mean I’m not thinking of Sam. It’s mixed up together, and I think maybe you’re one of the few people who might be able to understand it. Now you’ve got my mind running along the wrong lines.”

“All I’ve done is sit here and drink coffee,” Shayne said.

“Yeah. All you’ve done is sit there drinking coffee with pants on. How many men do you think I’ve had up here to give coffee to in the last three years?”

“You don’t want me to answer that, Norma.”

“No, I guess I don’t. I’d be insulted no matter what you said. I wish we had the time to give this more attention, but if we’re going to make any money, you’ve got to get out of here.”