“Come on, Ma,” Eddie said coaxingly. “That girl’s too nice to have Slim messing her around. Give her a break, can’t you?”
Ma’s eyes suddenly snapped with rage. Her face turned purple.
“Slim wants her,” she said, lowering her voice and glaring at Eddie. “He’s going to have her. You keep out of it! That goes for the rest of you too!”
Eddie showed his disgust.
“To hell with a punk who can only get a girl by filling her with drugs,” he said.
Ma struck him across the mouth with the back of her hand. It was a heavy blow and sent him back on his heels. They stared at each other, then Eddie forced a grin.
“Okay, Ma,” he said. “I was talking out of turn. Forget it”
He left her glaring after him, her face dark with rage.
As he drove downtown, he told himself, he would have to be careful. Ma was as dangerous as Slim. She wouldn’t hesitate to shoot him in the back if she thought he was going to cause trouble in the gang about the Blandish girl. He shrugged his shoulders. He felt sorry for the girl, but he wasn’t going to risk his life for her.
He arrived at the Cosmos Club a little after two p.m. The cleaners were still clearing up after the night before. The girls were rehearsing under the direction of a little man, dressed in a blazer and white trousers. The pianist was pounding out jazz, a cigarette dangling from his lips. The girls, wearing shorts, all smiled at Eddie. He was well known at the club and popular. He paused long enough to pat a few sleek behinds and crack a joke before going on to the office.
Pete Cosmos was sitting at his desk, reading the newspaper. He seemed surprised when Eddie walked in. Pete was a fat ball of a man with a pencil-line moustache and a liking for violent, hand-painted ties. The tie he had on made Eddie blink.
They shook hands.
“Hi, Pete,” Eddie said, sitting on the corner of the desk. “What’s cooking?”
Pete tossed the newspaper on the floor. He shook his head, scowling.
“That’s the trouble,” he said, offering Eddie a cigar. “Nothing’s cooking. Since all this shooting, business has gone to hell. We only had ten people in last night: four of them were my wife’s friends and didn’t pay.”
“Yeah,” Eddie said sympathetically. “I get the same story wherever I go. This punk Riley really seems to have started something.”
Pete lit his cigar.
“I can’t understand it, Eddie. I would never have believed Riley had the nerve to snatch that dame. He was strictly small time. He must have gone nuts. Now if it had been Ma who had pulled the job...”
“She didn’t,” Eddie said. “We’ve been out of town all week.”
“Sure, sure,” Pete said quickly catching the sudden hard note in Eddie’s voice. “I haven’t seen you or the boys for weeks. All the same, if I had snatched the girl, I’d be Very, very careful. As soon as the ransom’s paid and the girl returned, the heat’s going to be turned on that’ll paralyze this town. You mark my words.”
“It’s Riley’s funeral,” Eddie said.
“I’d like to know where he’s hiding,” Pete said.
“Who’s Anna Borg?” Eddie asked casually, studying the glowing tip of his cigar.
“What’s she to you?” Pete asked sharply.
“I want to know who she is,” Eddie said. “Do you know her?”
“Sure.”
“Who is she? What does she do for a living?”
“She totes the gun,” Pete said.
Eddie was surprised.
“Is that a fact? Who does she carry the gun for?”
Pete smiled.
“Who do you think? Riley.”
Eddie whistled.
“Well, well! Certainly news to me.”
“I’ll tell you something else,” Pete said. “Anna’s been left high and dry and the boys are asking why. She and Riley were like that.” He held up two dirty fingers close together. “Then Riley pulls the biggest snatch of the century and Anna’s left out in the cold. It doesn’t make sense.”
“Maybe Riley got tired of her,” Eddie said.
“The boys say not. Anna swears Riley wouldn’t have ditched her. She thinks something’s happened to him.”
Eddie’s face became expressionless.
“You know women,” he said with a sneer. “They’d say anything to save their face. You can bet Riley’s ditched her now he’s heading for the big money. She just won’t admit it.”
Pete shrugged.
“Could be. Anyway, it’s not my business.”
“Is she still living at the Palace Hotel?”
Pete looked curiously at him.
“Why the interest in Anna?”
“Ma wants to know.”
Pete looked surprised.
“Yeah, Anna’s still at the Palace. She has a couple of dicks parked with her. The Feds think Riley came to see her, ran into Heinie who was staying there and couldn’t resist knocking Heinie off for ratting on him. They think Riley might come back to see Anna so they’re waiting for him.”
Eddie rubbed his jaw, his mind busy. Finally, he said, “I want to talk to this baby, Pete. Here’s what you do: telephone her right now and tell her to come here. I’ll talk to her here and the Feds won’t know we’ve met.”
“What do you want to talk to her about?” Pete asked suspiciously. “I’m not getting Anna in trouble. She’s okay with me.”
“No trouble, Pete. Do what I say. Ma’s orders.”
Pete was scared of Ma. He called Anna’s apartment.
“That you, Anna?” he asked while Eddie watched him. “This is Pete. Something’s come up important. I want you over here right away. No, I don’t say it’s a job, but it might lead to one. You’ll come? Okay, I’m waiting for you,” and he hung up.
“Okay?” Eddie asked.
“She’s coming. She’ll be here in half an hour.”
“Thanks, Pete. I’ll tell Ma. She won’t forget you.”
“I’d rather she did forget me,” Pete said uneasily. “And listen, Eddie, no rough stuff with Anna.”
“Relax. I just want a brotherly talk with her.” Eddie grinned. “Suppose you take a walk and leave me here. Come back in an hour.”
Pete shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, it’s time I had lunch. I guess I’d better have it.”
“And Pete,” Eddie said. “You got a gun?”
“What do you want a gun for?” Pete asked startled.
“Come on, come on! Don’t talk so much. Have you got a gun?”
“In the top left hand drawer,” Pete said.
“Okay. You take off.”
When Pete had gone, Eddie went around and sat behind the desk. He opened the drawer and took out a .38 which he laid on the desk. He didn’t intend to take any chances with a girl who carried a gun for Riley. Gun-girls had lots of nerve, and besides, he was pretty sure Anna had knocked Heinie off.
After a wait of thirty minutes, he heard the click of high heels coming down the passage. He put his hand on the gun.
The door swung open and Anna walked in. She was wearing a pale green summer dress and a big straw hat. Eddie thought she looked terrific.
She was halfway across the room before she saw him. She had swung the door to as she had entered. She stopped short, the color leaving her face. Her eyes went to the gun on the desk.
“Hello, baby,” Eddie said. “Come on in. Keep your pants on. This is a friendly meeting, but let’s have your handbag. Pass it over.”
She hesitated, then tossed her handbag on the desk. Eddie scooped it into a drawer. He put the gun in the drawer beside the bag.
“I don’t have to introduce myself, do I?” he said.
She had recovered from the shock of seeing him. The color came back to her face. She moved to a chair and sat down. She crossed her legs, showing him her knees before adjusting her skirt.
“I know who you are,” she said.