Singh learned that this was what had been done with the jeweled phallus. At the time that he learned it, the object had just been sold to a wealthy Texan, and the process of recovering it with the cooperation of an extremely crooked local sheriff had been about to begin. So Singh had wangled an assignment from S.M.U.T. to go to New York and dispose of some other items to undercover buyers. His thought had been that once in New York he might continue on to Texas and somehow recover the jeweled phallus.
But he was too late. The phallus had been reconfiscated and shipped out of the country by the time he arrived in New York. Learning this, he had no choice but to continue his role as a S.M.U.T. representative and try to find out where the object had been sent. In line with this, he had contacted the New York S.M.U.T. office and accepted the invitation to go along on the brothel raid. It was his thought that by ingratiating himself in this way, he would be able to milk some information regarding the fate of the four-foot phallus.
It was quite a story, and it fit in with what I knew about S.M.U.T. as far as it went. But it didn't tell me how such Singh knew about me and my assignment. More important, it didn't explain how he knew, and so left open the question of how far I could trust him. I decided to bring my doubts out in the open.
"You said before that you know who I am and what my mission is," I told him. "What did you mean by that?"
"When I discovered the scope of S.M.U.T.'s activities, I became concerned as to what their real objective was. So, back in New Delhi, I made contact with an agent from Nepal and he relayed my concern back to the Maharajadhiraj. He took it up with the British envoy who is permanently attached to the court. As you know, Mr. Victor, our relations with the British are extremely close and extremely friendly. They go back for more than a century and are of mutual benefit. We supply Gurkha troops to the British and today they guarantee our borders against Indian aggression. Well, it seems that the British were already concerned about S.M.U.T. themselves. The word brought back to me from the Maharajadhiraj was to make contact with their secret agents and co-operate with them in every way possible. When I arranged to come to New York, the British consulted with the Americans and decided to fill me in on your involvement on the chance that our paths might cross and I might be of some help to you."
"Just what did they tell you about me?" I asked cautiously.
"That you are the man from O.R.G.Y. acting in the interests of your government. And that your purpose in infiltrating S.M.U.T. is to locate a Russian woman known as Dr. Nyet who defected from the Soviet to S.M.U.T. They did not tell me, however, just why this woman is so important."
"Well, we all have to keep some little secrets," I pointed out to Singh.
"Then you won't tell me, either. Very well. Despite your suspicions, I have some information which may be useful to you. You have been much closer to the lady you seek than you would ever dream."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that you have met her. Tonight. She was one of the three girls from S.M.U.T. whom you helped to escape from the brothel."
"I don't believe it! Why would they take the risk of sending her there?"
"To hide her. What better place? You see, they know you are a secret agent. They knew you were coming, and they suspected what you might be after."
"How could they know?"
"The Russians gave you away."
"The Russians? But that's crazy! I haven't had anything to do with the Russians."
"Not recently. That's true. But," Singh explained, "you have crossed swords with the N.K.V.D. in the past, haven't you?"
"Yes," I admitted.
"Then I'm afraid you and your government have underrated them. They had you under surveillance all the time you were in London. And they followed you to New York."
"But why would the Russians tell S.M.U.T. about me?"
"They didn't. But the Russian agent tailing you was in turn under surveillance by S.M.U.T. They just put two and two together, that's all."
"But why were they keeping tabs on the Russian?"
"Because he too is looking for Dr. Nyet."
"But if that's true," I said, puzzled, "then why did Crampdick take me to the brothel, Wasn't that leading me right to Dr. Nyet if she was there?"
"Because Crampdick is only a dupe. He knows nothing about you. Indeed, he knows nothing about the real objectives of S.M.U.T. He is perfectly sincere in fighting vice, and so he is useful to them. But both he and O'Steele were only foils in S.M.U.T.'s real game. Crampdick's leading you to the brothel was strictly his own idea. Once he'd done it, though, it provided the opportunity to have you eliminated."
"You mean the two hoods? Are they working for S.M.U.T. too? I thought they were on the other side."
"I'm only guessing," Singh admitted, "but I wouldn't be surprised if that vice ring is only another branch of S.M.U.T. Most of the gangsters involved in it probably don't even know that themselves. Probably the killers were perfectly sincere in believing you had to be murdered because of S.M.U.T.'s interference with their operation. And yet S.M.U.T. itself may have pulled the strings."
"But then why kill the others? Crampdick, O'Steele, yourself, even the girls?"
"We were all expendable if the menace you constitute could have been removed."
"What about Dr. Nyet? You say she was one of the girls. She wasn't expendable."
"No. That's true. But then you don't know for sure that they would have killed any of the girls. Maybe their orders were to simply abduct them and not to harm them. That would be my guess, anyway," Singh said.
"Which one of the three girls was Dr. Nyet?"
"I was unable to find out," Singh admitted.
"And did you find out who's really the top man in S.M.U.T. in New York?"
"No. All I'm sure of is that it's nobody obvious. It's none of the people who run the operation. They're all dupes dedicated to anti-vice. But their orders come from someone higher. He's probably the only one who's in on S.M.U.T.'s real purpose."
I couldn't think of anything else to say to Singh. My head was spinning with everything he'd told me. I told him good night, and just before I left we arranged to meet at the S.M.U.T. offices the next afternoon. It seemed the only place to renew both our quests.
I slept right through until an hour before the time we'd set to meet. Then I had a quick shower, got dressed, gulped down some coffee, and grabbed a cab to the midtown S.M.U.T. offices. Singh was already there, and Crampdick saw us together immediately.
"Do you know that Jock O'Steele was murdered last night?" Crampdick said agitatedly as soon as we entered his office.
We told him we knew about it.
"Every one of us who was in that dreadful place is in danger of our lives!" Crampdick continued. "That vice ring will stop at nothing to revenge itself on us. New York isn't safe. For that reason S.M.U.T. has made arrangements for all of us to leave the city."
Singh and I raised our eyebrows at each other. "Where are we to go?" Singh asked.
"Different places. I am going to Toronto myself. You are to return to New Delhi. The three young ladies will be dispersed elsewhere. Mr. Victor is to accompany you."