“My name’s Murtry,” he told Shayne. “I wanted a chance to talk to you where there couldn’t no one see us.” He was a short stocky lad, with swarthy features and flashing white teeth.
Shayne said, “All right,” and stepped farther back into the concealing underbrush with the private. “What’s on your mind?”
“Jim Carson is my buddy,” the soldier told him. “Is... is he in any real trouble about that shooting last night?”
Shayne studied Murtry’s troubled face for a moment, then nodded slowly. “Plenty.”
“How can you call it murder? Jim had a right to shoot him. It was his duty.” Private Murtry sounded as though it was an argument that had been going on over and over in his mind.
“That’s the way it looks at first glance. But I’m pretty sure the man was lured here just to get shot. I’m going to prove it.”
“In that case,” said Murtry doggedly, “there’s something I got to tell you.”
Shayne tipped his hat back and waited.
“I ain’t a snitcher. That’s why I hope you won’t tell no one who told you — why I didn’t want to be seen talking to you.”
Shayne said, “I can keep my mouth shut.”
The soldier drew in a long breath. “Something I heard last night. One of the other fellows on guard — Dave Laski — he was trying to get Jim to swap posts with him. Dave was on Number One.”
“I thought that was against regulations.”
“It is. That’s why I didn’t say nothing before. And Jim Carson wouldn’t tell — not till hell froze over. Even if he don’t like Laski. But the boys do trade posts sometimes. The Old Man would raise hell if he ever found out. He’s stric’ly military.”
“This Dave Laski was trying to get Carson to trade posts with him? In other words, he wanted to have the detail Carson was on?”
“That’s right. I heard them talking right after mess. He offered Jim five bucks to trade off.”
“Did he say why?”
“N-no. But I guess Jim knew all right. You see, it’s this way—” Murtry glanced around guiltily to be sure they were screened from prying eyes. “I wouldn’t tell you except that you’re trying to get Jim in trouble. There’d be hell to pay if the Old Man ever found out. But some of the boys — sometimes when they’re on that post at night — they have one of the girls come out from the Lido.”
“While they’re on duty?”
“Sure. I know it sounds bad, but it’s damn’ near the only chance a man ever gets to have a girl around here. We never get off the post. It’s like we were in jail.”
“This Laski. Is he one of them that makes a habit of having girls visit him while he’s on guard?”
“Well, he’s one of them, I guess. He’s always bragging about one of the skirts there that’ll jump through a hoop when he hollers. The way they work it, see, is the guard on Number Two, he lets the girl in. And some of his buddies are waiting there in the woods—”
“Wait a minute,” Shayne interrupted. “How does he get the gate unlocked?”
“They’ve — got an extra key to it. They keep it hid there under a rock by the gate.”
“How many men know about the extra key?”
“I guess we all do. All except some of the nom-coms that suck around after the Old Man. But there’s not many of them that’d ever use it,” he added. “Just Laski and some of that bunch.”
“Which one is Laski?”
“He was — second from the head of the line, I think — in the Orderly Room. Tall guy. Older than most of us. Sort of goodlooking and with a line that the dolls fall for.”
Shayne narrowed his eyes, recalling the faces of the men in the Orderly Room. He nodded slowly. “What’s your opinion?” he asked abruptly.
“What about?”
“Laski. And the dead man. Was Laski playing around with the dead man’s wife?”
“I don’t know. I swear I don’t. I go to the Lido with Jim sometimes, but not much. I just thought maybe you ought to know — about Dave Laski trying to get on Number Two last night. And I knew Jim’d never tell you.”
Shayne said, “There’s one other thing. You said some of the boys phone the Lido asking a girl to come out. Can you get to a phone while you’re on guard duty?”
“Well, yeh. There’s a booth in the P X. We’re supposed to stay in the guardhouse even when we’re not walking post, but a man can stop by the P X when he gets to mess.”
“But that would be his only chance?”
“Well, it’d be kind of hard to do it any other time. Of course, he might get some other guy to phone for him.”
Shayne said, “Thanks. If I use your information I won’t tell where I got it.”
Michael Shayne lounged back in a chair and listened while Captain Ott interrogated Private Dave Laski. Laski was tall and wiry, with smooth features and curly black hair that formed little ringlets on his forehead. He appeared to be about thirty, and was completely self-possessed.
He said, “Sure, I know Laura all right. I know ’em all at the Lido.” A faint smirk accompanied the statement. “But I never fooled with Laura much. Not after I found out she wasn’t a lay.”
“How well did you know her husband?”
“Used to see him around. He was always glaring at some soldier he thought was dancing too close with Laura.”
“Ever have any trouble with him that way?” Ott asked sharply.
“Not me.” A complacent smile curved Laski’s lips. “I leave the married dames to the punks that don’t know better.”
“Meaning who?”
Laski shrugged. “Nobody in particular. Some of the boys in camp are always getting mixed up with married women.”
“Who did you talk to at the Lido last night?”
“Me? I was on guard, sir.”
“On the telephone.”
“I didn’t telephone the Lido last night.”
“There was a call from the pay-booth in the P X at mess-time. Who did you talk to, Laski?”
“It wasn’t me, sir.”
“I think it was.” Captain Ott’s voice was harsh. “I think you called Moore and arranged to meet him at that gate on the two-to-four hitch, expecting to make a trade with Carson. Later, when Carson refused, you couldn’t get to the phone to call it off. As a result, Moore walked right into a death-trap.”
Laski shook his head stubbornly. “It wasn’t me that called. I swear it wasn’t, sir. If you ask me, I think it was Jim Carson,” he went on venomously. “And now he’s trying to put it off on me by snitching about us having girls come out sometimes.”
Ott didn’t tell him it wasn’t Carson who had blabbed. He demanded, “What makes you think it was Carson?”
“He went into the P X on his way back from mess. And I saw him chumming up with that Dinky Moore at the Lido a couple of weeks ago.”
“Did they appear to be friendly?”
“I’ll say. Thick as thieves.”
“That seems to indicate that Carson hadn’t been too friendly with Laura Moore.”
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that. I remember now that he used to dance with her most of the time.”
“You’re contradicting yourself by trying to switch suspicion to Private Carson,” Ott told him wearily. He turned to Sergeant Blake who stood near the door. “Take Laski back to camp. I’ll talk to Captain Richards about preferring charges.”
When the men had gone the Intelligence officer told Shayne: “I don’t like that man but I believe he was telling the truth.”
Shayne leaned back and tugged at his ear. “What did you mean about preferring charges?”
“He’ll be court-martialed,” Ott explained. “Unlocking the gate and admitting civilians to the camp is a pretty serious offense, particularly while a man’s on guard duty.”