I felt pretty good, but I couldn’t get my mind off wanting Alice. I didn’t know what she was going through and I wanted to be with her. But that was out. There were other things on my mind, too. Harrigan, for one. I hadn’t liked the way he had figured Frank was innocent. That was too sharp and too close.
There was some work I should have been doing but every time I tried to work my mind started twisting around, figuring angles and imagining things that could go wrong. I had to get some cash soon. I hadn’t sent Marshall his check and that would be another thousand dollars. That would just about clean me. On top of that there was a hotel bill of almost three hundred, the garage bill and a lot of other expenses.
All of that had to be taken care of but when I got thinking about doing it, a lot of other things crowded into my mind and all I could think of was getting a drink.
I must have been sitting there about an hour when Banghart came in and sat down beside me. He smiled and said hello in his quiet voice, and ordered himself a Tom Collins. Banghart was a medium-sized guy, about forty-five, with neat grey hair, good clothes and a face that had the sharp strong look of a steel trap.
He was a big wheel in town, one of those half-honest guys who own breweries, trucking companies and things like that. He wasn’t in the rackets, but he wasn’t far out.
We talked for a little while about things and then he asked me how the horses were going.
“Plenty of suckers around,” I said.
He smiled. “I’d like to join the list. There’s a horse tomorrow at Hialeah that I want to get on. It’s Adelaide, in the sixth race, I believe.”
“I didn’t know you played the horses.”
“I don’t, as a rule, but this is sentiment. Adelaide is my wife’s name, so maybe I’ll be lucky.”
“I thought you were divorced,” I said.
“I am,” he said. He smiled and took out his wallet. “I was lucky enough to get rid of her, so maybe I’ll be lucky on the horse.” He counted out ten one-hundred-dollar bills from a roll that would never miss them and laid them on the bar. “Put that on the nose,” he said.
“Okay.” I put the money away and listed the bet in a book I carry for that purpose. “Hope you’re lucky,” I said.
“Thanks. Another drink?”
We had a couple more and then some guys came in and I guess Banghart was meeting them because he said good-bye to me and joined them at their table.
I went back to my room. The first thing I did was check on Adelaide. She was about a ten to one bet usually and she hadn’t won any races as a three year old. It looked like a sucker bet. But Banghart wasn’t that kind of a guy.
There was a chance the fix might be in, which is what makes it tough for bookies. They go along taking honest bets, but then a couple of owners get together and set up a race and the books get clipped, not only by the smart money, but by a lot of dumb money that’s just lucky enough to be on the right horse.
I made a few calls to guys who usually know what’s going on but nobody knew anything about Adelaide. Maybe everything was all right and Banghart was just making a hunch bet. Maybe.
I couldn’t afford to hold the bet, because if Adelaide came in at ten to one I’d be on a spot. I knew I should call the syndicate wire right then and lay off the whole damn bet.
I even got as far as the phone. I picked it up and then I stuck my hand in my pocket and felt those crisp hundred-dollar bills.
I put the phone back down slowly. What I was thinking about was dangerous. I was thinking about hanging onto this bet and taking a chance that Adelaide would run out.
I needed the dough bad. And right then I knew I was going to take a chance. There wasn’t anything else I could do. I was caught in a squeeze.
The first thing I did was write a check for five hundred dollars payable to Marshall and I wrote a note telling him I’d send the other five hundred over in a few days. I addressed an envelope to him and stuck on a special delivery stamp. When I dropped the letter in the mail chute beside the elevators I felt better. After Marshall cashed the check I’d have seven hundred left in the bank, and I had ten hundred dollar bills in my pocket. That wasn’t a lot of money but it was something to work on.
I tried to push everything else out of my head then and I worked straight through the afternoon. About five-thirty I quit and took a shower. The date with the blonde was for eight o’clock and that would give me time to have dinner and a few long drinks.
I was liking the idea of the date with the blonde. She was easy to impress, and I got a kick out of taking her places where they knew me and playing the big shot. I’d never been able to do that with Alice. We couldn’t go any place we might be seen and recognized, and those kind of things never impressed her much anyway.
We’d had to stay in little joints out on the West Side or take a week-end trip to Michigan or Wisconsin. That didn’t make much difference though. The blonde was nice but I didn’t need her the way I needed Alice, and that was the real difference.
I was tying my tie when the phone rang. I froze there in front of the mirror and then I swore out loud. My nerves were shot to pieces. Every time the phone rang or there was a knock on the door I started winding up inside.
I picked up the phone. It was Alice.
“I’ve got to see you,” she said.
“That’s out, baby. You know why,” I said.
“I’ve got to see you tonight.” Her voice was flat and tight.
I didn’t know what had happened but the way her voice sounded made me suddenly afraid.
“Where are you now?” I said.
“At the apartment. Johnny, get out here. Do you understand?” Her voice rose suddenly.
“Take it easy. I’ll be out, baby.” I looked at my watch. “It’s six now. Take a walk over to Sheridan Road and walk north on the east side of the street. I’ll be along and pick you up in about twenty minutes. Got that?”
“I’ve got it,” she said and hung up.
I put the phone down and I could feel myself shaking. What in hell could have happened? I started for the door and then I remembered the blonde. I had to call her and break the date for tonight and I knew that might start another explosion.
But her old man answered the phone. Marie wasn’t home yet so I told him to tell her I couldn’t make it tonight and that I’d call her later.
I took the elevator down to the garage, got into my car and headed out north. When I passed the Edgewater Beach I started watching for Alice. I spotted her about a block past Thorndale. She had on a white dress and was walking slowly.
I pulled up to the curb and opened the door. She walked quickly to the car, got in and slammed the door. I let the clutch out and got away fast.
It hadn’t taken five seconds. I looked in the rear vision mirror and the nearest car was a couple of blocks back. I went straight out north on Sheridan, through Wilmette and Glencoe and pretty soon we were out in the country, with nothing but a lot of trees and beaches around.
I swung off on a graveled road that wound through some trees and stopped at the edge of a slope that rolled down to a wide beach, from where you could see miles and miles of the smooth green lake. When I cut the motor the silence came down on us, thick and heavy. There were just a few noises, the whispering noise of bugs as they went past, and the sound of the water about a hundred yards away, but that just seemed to make it quieter.
There were a few stars out now and the edge of a new moon showing over the lake. Everything was peaceful and quiet, but between us there was something ready to explode.
I said, “Well, what’s it all about?”
“Harrigan was out to see me this afternoon.” She said it like it meant everything.