Paul Cain: Seven Slayers

I said: “Maybe I can get Neilan. The longer we let it go, the worse it’ll be.” I dialed a number.

Neilan was a short chubby man with a strangely long face, a high bony forehead. He and Frank had been partners in a string of distilleries for almost five years. He said: “When did you get here, Red?”

“Bella called me up and told me something had happened — I live around the corner.”

I was sitting near the door that led in to the kitchen. Bella was sitting in the middle of the davenport, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees, staring vacantly into the brightness of the heater. Gus was sitting in a straight-backed chair in the middle of the room.

Neilan had been walking around looking at the pictures on the walls. He sat down straddling an arm of the davenport.

“So you were so drunk you don’t remember?” Neilan was looking at Gus.

Gus nodded. Bella looked up at him for a moment and nodded a little and then looked back into the fire.

There was a light tap at the door and it opened and a big man came in quietly and closed the door behind him. He wore glasses and his soft black hat was tilted over the back of his head. I think his name was McNulty, or McNutt — something like that. He said: “Ed’s downstairs with a couple of the boys.”

“They can wait downstairs.” Neilan turned his head a little and looked at Bella out of the corners of his eyes. “So Gus was so drunk he don’t remember?”

Gus stood up. He said: “—damn it! Pat — I was so drunk I didn’t know any better, but I wasn’t so drunk I don’t know it was me. Lay off Bella — she was in here...”

“She didn’t say so.”

Bella said: “I was nearly asleep and I could hear Gus and Frank talking in the kitchen and then they didn’t talk any more. After a while I got up and went out in the kitchen-Frank was like he is now, and Gus was out — with his head on the table.”

Her chin was in her hands, and her head bobbed up and down when she talked. Gus was sitting down again, on the edge of the chair.

Neilan grinned at McNulty. He said: “What do you think, Mac?”

McNulty went over to Bella and reached down and put one big finger under her chin and jerked her head back.

“I think she’s a liar,” he said.

Gus stood up.

McNulty turned as if that had been what he wanted. He hit Gus very hard in the face, twice. Gus fell down and rolled over on his side. He pulled his knees up and moaned a little.

McNulty took off his coat and folded it carefully and put it on a chair. He went to Gus and kicked him hard in the chest and then kicked his head several times. Gus tried to protect himself with his arms. He didn’t make any more noise but put his arms up and tried to protect himself. He tried to get up once and McNulty kicked him in the stomach and he fell down and lay quietly. In a little while, McNulty stopped kicking him and sat down. He was panting. He took off his hat and took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his face.

I looked at Neilan. “I called you,” I said, “because I thought you’d give Gus a break...”

He said: “You ought to of called the police. They’d be after giving Gus a break, and your lady friend here” — he jerked his head at Bella — “with a length of hose.”

Bella was leaning back on the davenport with her hands up to her face. She stared at Gus and tried to look at McNulty.

McNulty smiled, said: “Sure — why don’t you call a cop? Frankie had everybody from the Chief down on his payroll — they’ll have to go back to working for the city.” He was out of breath, spoke unevenly.

Bella stood up and started to go towards the door, and Neilan stood up too, and put one hand over her mouth and one on her back. He held her like that for a minute and then he pushed her back down on the davenport.

McNulty got up then and stooped over and took hold of the back of Gus’ shirt collar and pulled him up a little way.

McNulty said: “Come on, boy — we’ll get some air.”

Gus’ shirt collar started to tear and McNulty cupped his other hand around the back of Gus’ neck and jerked him up on his feet. Gus couldn’t stand by himself; McNulty stood there holding him with his arm around his shoulders. Gus’ face was in pretty bad shape.

McNulty said: “Come on, boy,” again and started guiding Gus towards the door.

Neilan said: “Wait a minute, Mac.”

McNulty turned and stared vacantly at Neilan for a minute and then pushed Gus down in a big chair. He sat down on the arm of the chair and took out his handkerchief and wiped Gus’ face.

Neilan went out into the kitchen. He was out there two or three minutes without making any noise, then he snapped off the light and came back. He turned off the lights in the living room too, and it was dark except for the faint yellow light from the heater.

Neilan went back and sat down at the end of the davenport, out of the light. The light rippled over Bella’s face, and after a while, when my eyes were used to the darkness, I could make out dark shapes where McNulty and Gus sat — and Neilan.

It was so dark and quiet except for the sharp sound of Gus’ breathing. There wasn’t anything to look at except Bella and she was leaning back with her eyes closed and her face very still.

It got on my nerves after several minutes and I said: “What’s it all about, Pat?”

Neilan didn’t answer, so I leaned forward in my chair, but I didn’t get up. I sat there with all my muscles tight.

Then I heard something moving out in the kitchen. I don’t know whether anybody else heard it, but I know there was a sound out there like something moving across the floor.

I stood up and I couldn’t speak. I didn’t hear the sound again but I stood there without moving, and then Bella started talking. She talked in a conversational tone, with her head back, her eyes closed:

“Frank came here to see me. He’s been coming to see me every night for four nights. He brought along a lot of lousy whiskey and got Gus drunk, and he got drunk too. He got Gus drunk once before and tried to sell me an idea. He wouldn’t give up.”

She stopped talking a moment and the light beat up and down on her face. She was very beautiful then.

“He made a crack tonight while Gus was in the bathroom about telling Gus about Red and me...”

She opened her eyes and looked towards me in the darkness a minute, and then closed her eyes and went on:

“I was scared. I called Red while they were raising hell in the kitchen and he came over and I let him in. We listened to them for a few minutes from in here in the dark, and then when Frank got to talking about what a great guy Red was, and started getting dirty about it, Red went in there very quickly and killed him. I guess Gus was too far gone to see it or know anything about it.”

She stopped talking again and it was quiet.

“Then Red beat it and I stayed in here a while and then I went out like I told you and woke up Gus. He thought I did it, I guess. I called Red again...”

Neilan got up and went over and switched on the lights.

McNulty got up too and stood there blinking, staring stupidly at Bella.

I went over and got my hat and coat and put them on. I stood looking at Bella for a while after I had put on my coat. She was still leaning back with her eyes closed. She was one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen.

Neilan opened the door and McNulty and I went out into the hall. It was very cold there after the intense heat of the room. Then Neilan closed the door and the three of us went downstairs.

There was a small touring car at the curb, with the side-curtains on. There were two men whom I had never seen before in the front seat, and another man standing on the sidewalk. The engine was running.