Conant’s face was granite hard, his mouth bitter. His voice shook a little saying: «And how about that certificate the gal took out of her purse, wise guy?»
Carmady smiled faintly, rubbed the side of his jaw with his fingertips. «I thought you got that from Shenvair?» he said slyly. «And Shenvair is dead.»
Conant’s face was a mask of fury. He balled his fist, took a jerky step forward, «Why you — damn louse —»
Jean Adrian was leaning forward staring round-eyed at Carmady. Targo was staring at him, with a loose grin, pale hard eyes. Courtway was staring at him. There was no expression of any kind on Courtway’s face. He sat cold, relaxed, distant.
Conant laughed suddenly, snapped his fingers. «Okey, toot your horn,» he grunted.
Carmady said slowly: «I’ll tell you another reason why there’ll be no showdown. That shooting at Cyrano’s. Those threats to make Targo drop an unimportant fight. That hood that went to Miss Adrian’s hotel room and sapped her, left her lying on her doorway. Can’t you tie all that in, Conant? I can.»
Courtway leaned forward suddenly and placed his hand on his gun, folded it around the butt. His black eyes were holes in a white frozen face.
Conant didn’t move, didn’t speak.
Carmady went on: «Why did Targo get those threats, and after he didn’t drop the fight, why did a gun go to see him at Cyrano’s, a night club, a very bad place for that kind of play? Because at Cyrano’s he was with the girl, and Cyrano was his backer, and if anything happened at Cyrano’s the law would get the threat story before they had time to think of anything else. That’s why. The threats were a build-up for a killing. When the shooting came off Targo was to be with the girl, so the hood could get the girl and it would look as if Targo was the one he was after.
«He would have tried for Targo, too, of course, but above all he would have got the girl. Because she was the dynamite behind this shakedown, without her it meant nothing, and with her it could always be made over into a legitimate paternity suit. If it didn’t work the other way. You know about her and about Targo, because Shenvair got cold feet and sold out. And Shenvair knew about the hood — because when the hood showed, and I saw him — and Shenvair knew I knew him, because he had heard me tell Targo about him — then Shenvair tried to pick a drunken fight with me and keep me from trying to interfere.»
Carmady stopped, rubbed the side of his head again, very slowly, very gently. He watched Conant with an up-from-under look.
Conant said slowly, very harshly: «I don’t play those games, buddy. Believe it or not — I don’t.»
Carmady said: «Listen. The hood could have killed the girl at the hotel with his sap. He didn’t because Targo wasn’t there and the fight hadn’t been fought, and the build-up would have been all wasted. He went there to have a close look at her, without make-up. And she was scared about something, and had a gun with her. So he sapped her down and ran away. That visit was just a finger.»
Conant said again: «I don’t play those games, buddy.» Then he took the Luger out of his pocket and held it down at his side.
Carmady shrugged, turned his head to stare at Senator Courtway.
«No, but he does,» he said softly. «He had the motive, and the play wouldn’t look like him. He cooked it up with Shenvair — and if it went wrong, as it did, Shenvair would have breezed and if the law got wise, big tough Doll Conant is the boy whose nose would be in the mud.»
Courtway smiled a little and said in an utterly dead voice: «The young man is very ingenious, but surely —»
Targo stood up. His face was a stiff mask. His lips moved slowly and he said: «It sounds pretty good to me. I think I’ll twist your goddamn neck, Mister Courtway.»
The albino snarled, «Sit down, punk,» and lifted his gun. Targo turned slightly and slammed the albino on the jaw. He went over backwards, smashed his head against the wall. The gun sailed along the floor from his limp hand.
Targo started across the room.
Conant looked at him sidewise and didn’t move. Targo went past him, almost touching him. Conant didn’t move a muscle. His big face was blank, his eyes narrowed to a faint glitter between the heavy lids.
Nobody moved but Targo. Then Courtway lifted his gun and his finger whitened on the trigger and the gun roared.
Carmady moved across the room very swiftly and stood in front of Jean Adrian, between her and the rest of the room.
Targo looked down at his hands. His face twisted into a silly smile. He sat down on the floor and pressed both his hands against his chest.
Courtway lifted his gun again and then Conant moved. The Luger jerked up, flamed twice. Blood flowed down Courtway’s hand. His gun fell behind his desk. His long body seemed to swoop down after the gun. It jackknifed until only his shoulders showed humped above the line of the desk.
Conant said: «Stand up and take it, you goddamn double-crossing swine!»
There was a shot behind the desk. Courtway’s shoulders went down out of sight.
After a moment Conant went around behind the desk, stopped, straightened.
«He ate one,» he said very calmly. «Through the mouth. And I lose me a nice clean senator.»
Targo took his hands from his chest and fell over sidewise on the floor and lay still.
The door of the room slammed open. The butler stood in it, tousle-headed, his mouth gaping. He tried to say something, saw the gun in Conant’s hand, saw Targo slumped on the floor. He didn’t say anything.
The albino was getting to his feet, rubbing his chin, feeling his teeth, shaking his head. He went slowly along the wall and gathered up his gun.
Conant snarled at him: «Swell gut you turned out to be. Get on the phone. Get Malloy, the night captain — and snap it up!»
Carmady turned, put his hand down and lifted Jean Adrian’s cold chin.
«It’s getting light, angel. And I think the rain has stopped,» he said slowly. He pulled his inevitable flask out. «Let’s take a drink — to Mister Targo.»
The girl shook her head, covered her face with her hands.
After a long time there were sirens.
TEN
The slim, tired-looking kid in the pale and silver of the Carondelet held his white glove in front of the closing doors and said: «Corky’s boils is better, but he didn’t come to work, Mister Carmady. Tony the bell captain ain’t showed this morning neither. Pretty soft for some guys.»
Carmady stood close to Jean Adrian in the corner of the car. They were alone in it. He said: «That’s what you think.»
The boy turned red. Carmady moved over and patted his shoulder, said: «Don’t mind me, son. I’ve been up all night with a sick friend. Here, buy yourself a second breakfast.»
«Jeeze, Mister Carmady, I didn’t mean —»
The doors opened at nine and they went down the corridor to 914. Carmady took the key and opened the door, put the key on the inside, held the door, said: «Get some sleep and wake up with your fist in your eye. Take my flask and get a mild toot on. Do you good.»
The girl went in through the door, said over her shoulder: «I don’t want liquor. Come in a minute. There’s something I want to tell you.»
He shut the door and followed her in. A bright bar of sunlight lay across the carpet all the way to the davenport. He lit a cigarette and stared at it.
Jean Adrian sat down and jerked her hat off and rumpled her hair. She was silent a moment, then she said slowly, carefully: «It was swell of you to go to all that trouble for me. I don’t know why you should do it.»