The older of the two detectives laughed.
“Be your age, baby,” he said. “Relax.”
Anna swore at him, then relapsed into a sullen silence. Fear was nibbling at her. Had they connected her with Alvin Heinie’s death? It seemed a long time since she had discovered that Heinie had been staying at her hotel and that he had ratted on Riley. She had gone to his room in a fit of furious impulse and had shot him as he had opened the door. She had regretted the act ever since. But up to this moment she had felt sure the shooting couldn’t be traced to her; now she wasn’t so sure.
At police headquarters, she had demanded to speak to her lawyer, but the desk sergeant merely gave her a bored, blank stare and waved to a hard-faced wardress who caught hold of her and pushed her, struggling and screaming down a passage and into a dark cell. The door slammed and locked behind her.
The two-hour wait had quieted Anna. When eventually the lock snapped back and the door swung open, she jumped anxiously to her feet.
The wardress beckoned to her.
“Come on,” she said. “The Chief’s ready to talk to you now.”
“Someone’s going to pay for this!” Anna said but without much conviction.
She was led up the stairs, through the charge room and into Brennan’s office. She came to an abrupt standstill in the doorway when she saw Fenner sitting on the window sill, Brennan behind his desk and two detectives leaning up against the wall. She stared at Fenner, her eyes round.
The wardress gave her a push and she staggered forward a few paces, then she heard the door close behind her.
“You’re going to be sorry for this!” Anna yelled at Brennan. “I want my lawyer!”
“Sit down, Anna,” Brennan said quietly. “I want to talk to you.”
“Where do you get this Anna stuff from?” Anna snapped. “I’m Miss Borg to you.”
“Sit down and shut up!” one of the detectives barked.
“Ape!” Anna shrilled, but she sat down, looking uneasily from Brennan to Fenner.
“We have reason to believe that Miss Blandish, the girl kidnapped four months ago, is being held at the Paradise Club,” Brennan said.
Anna stared at him. Her face was bewildered.
“Have you gone nuts?” she demanded. “Everyone knows Frankie Riley snatched the girl. What are you getting at?”
“That’s what we thought, but we know different now,” Brennan went on. “The Grisson gang took the girl from Riley. We’re pretty certain she is in the club right now.”
“Are you trying to frame Eddie?” Anna said, her eyes narrowing. “Don’t expect me to help you, copper. I don’t know nothing about any snatch.”
Fenner said, “Time marches on, Brennan. Let her see the exhibits. If they don’t soften her, nothing will.”
Brennan nodded. He signaled to one of the detectives who moved over to Anna.
“Come on, baby. I’ve got something to show you.”
Anna looked uneasily at Brennan.
“I want my lawyer. You can’t keep me here...”
“Come on; don’t talk so much,” the detective said.
Anna got to her feet. She followed the detective out of the room. Fenner and Brennan exchanged glances.
“I don’t think she knows anything,” Brennan said. “We could be wasting our time.”
“We can but try,” Fenner said and lit a cigarette.
They waited.
After ten minutes or so, the door pushed open and the detective brought Anna back. He was supporting her. Her face was white and her eyes were pools of horror. She dropped limply into the chair and she hid her face in her hands.
“Can you identify him as Riley?” Brennan asked.
She shuddered.
“You dirty sonsofbitches,” she said. “How could you do this to me?”
Fenner went over to her.
“He isn’t a pretty sight, is he? The Grisson gang did that to him. We found the three of them: Riley, Bailey and Old Sam. It’s a sweet setup for Ma Grisson, and what a laugh Eddie must have had when you believed Riley had walked out on you. Riley got the blame for everything and all the time he was dead and buried. Did you get any of the ransom money? I bet you didn’t. All you got was a cheap strip job at the club and a tumble from Eddie. Well, here’s your chance to even the score. How about it, baby?”
“Get away from me!” Anna screamed at him. “I don’t know nothing about nothing!”
“Get smart,” Fenner said. “You’re in the clear now; keep in the clear. You cooperate with us, and we’ll cooperate with you. Now listen, we want to know if the girl’s in the club. We think she is, but we’ve got to know for certain. She’s in the locked room upstairs, isn’t she?”
White-faced and shaking, Anna glared at him.
“Find out for yourself!”
“Put yourself in that girl’s place!” Brennan said, leaning across his desk. “How would you like to be shut up with a moron like Grisson? Come on, Anna, if you know anything, spill it. There’s a fifteen grand reward, and I’ll see you get it.”
“Oh, drop dead!” Anna said viciously. “I’ve never squealed to a copper and I’m not starting now!”
Fenner said, “Can I talk to this baby alone for five minutes?”
Brennan hesitated, then he got to his feet. Time was pressing. He went out of the room, jerking his head at the two detectives who followed him out.
Anna faced Fenner.
“You’re wasting your breath,” she said. “I’ve got nothing to tell you.”
“I think you have,” Fenner said. “Anyway, I’ve something to tell you. I’ve been checking up on you. Brennan doesn’t know you had a room at the Palace Hotel on the night Alvin Heinie was shot to death. He doesn’t know you own a .25 automatic, but he does know Heinie was shot with a .25. It wouldn’t take him long to put two and two together and slap a murder charge on you if I told him what I’m telling you. You had the motive, the opportunity and the gun. You cooperate with me and I’ll keep my mouth shut, otherwise I’m going to tip Brennan off that you were at the hotel that night and then he’ll really work you over.”
Anna’s eyes shifted.
“How about it?” Fenner asked. “We’re wasting time. Is the Blandish girl in the club?”
Anna hesitated, then she said, “I don’t know, but there is a girl in that room. I’ve never seen her. I don’t know if she’s the girl or not.”
Fenner went to the door and called Brennan in.
“She’s had a change of mind,” he said. “She knows there is a girl in the locked room, but she hasn’t seen her.”
“How do you know there’s a girl there if you haven’t seen her?” Brennan demanded.
“I’ve heard the boys talk,” Anna said sullenly. “I’ve seen Ma go up there with stuff from the laundry. I’ve seen Slim go in there with packages from women’s stores.”
“Now start using your brains,” Brennan said. “How do we bust in there and get to the girl before she gets hurt?”
Anna shrugged.
“Search me. I’m not running your stinking police force. That’s your job.”
“When the club’s open, what are the chances of rushing the place?” Fenner asked.
“Not a chance. They’ve really got that end organized. Every member is known. Until they identify themselves, the door’s not opened.”
“Is there any other way in?”
“I don’t know of one.”
Brennan and Fenner exchanged glances. Fenner shrugged.
“Okay,” Brennan said. He went to the door and called the wardress. “Take her to Doyle’s office and sit with her.”
“Hey!” Anna exclaimed, jumping to her feet. “You’re not keeping me here! Now listen...”