“Of course, but what difference does that make?”
“It wasn’t Byers’ address I read out loud,” I snarled. “It belonged to one of the other finalists in the beauty contest. I bet she’ll be about as surprised as Marty and Pete when she opens the door.”
“You fool!” she almost spat the word.
“Maybe you’re right,” I acknowledged. “But keep pulling against that faucet while you call me names, honey, because time’s running out on us fast.”
Her body jerked frantically as she threw her weight against the straps for maybe a minute, then suddenly went limp. “It’s no good, Mr. Boyd!” she said tearfully. “They don’t give at all.”
“You could call me Danny, after all we’ve been through together,” I said. “And keep pulling away—it’s the only hope we’ve got.”
“I’ll try,” she said, and sniffed loudly.
“That’s the girl,” I said encouragingly.
The faucet made a faint clanking sound as she jerked the straps again. “These straps will cut right through my wrists if I keep on much longer!”
“So what’s losing a pair of hands compared with your whole life?” I snarled at her. “Keep pulling.”
Maybe five minutes later when I was about ready to tell her to turn on the faucet because death by drowning would be infinitely preferable to Pete, she suddenly yelled excitedly.
“Danny! They slipped a little.”
“So pull some more,” I said fiercely.
The clanking sound was stronger, then Patty suddenly squealed in triumph. “I did it! I did it! I’ve got my hands loose, Danny!”
“So don’t just stand there making a big deal of it,” I yelled at her. “Get me loose.”
She got down onto her knees awkwardly and after what felt like a hell of a long time, managed to get my wrists
fret. 1 massaged the circulation back into them, then undid the straps around my knees and ankles. My walk back into the living room was strictly Chaplinesque, until the blood had gone down to my toes and back up again a couple of times.
Patty sank wearily onto the couch and heaved an immense sigh of relief, then remembered too late that the sigh was not only audible but visible, too. Maybe she saw the look of admiration on my face, because she blushed a fiery red and covered herself with her arms.
“You know something, Patty?” I told her. “You have a beautiful body—you should be proud of it.”
For a moment a look of pride showed in her dark eyes. “Louise and I had exactly the same measurements," she said shyly. 44We could wear the same size dress and everything. We used to borrow each other’s clothes all the time and—” Her voice stopped suddenly and she fumed her head away. 1 figured the memory of how Louise had died was still a hell of a lot too close for comfort.
“We still have a problem that's likely to return pretty soon,” 1 said briskly. “So we’d better get the hell out of here fast before we have company.”
“But where—”
“HI get you a room at the hotel for the night,” I said. “1 don't want to bring the cops into this just yet— 1 want to get to Byers first.”
*'111 go get some clothes together and I guess I'd better put some on as well.” She looked down at herself, then added daringly, “I bet the clerk wouldn't give me a room if he saw me like this!”
“Don't sell yourself short, honey,” I said mildly, “he might give you a whole suite yet.”
“Danny!” She gave me a delighted smile, then vanished into the N*droom. I lit a cigarette while 1 waited and I was just mashing the butt when her head suddenly reappeared around the door.
“Danny,” she said excitedly, “I just checked my watch.”
“And how is it?—still working?” I growled.
“You don't understand!” If she stamped her foot I didn't hear it but then maybe she wasn't wearing shoes right then. “Ifs only fifteen minutes since they left." she continued rapidly. **and that address you gave them is a twenty-minute drive ax absolute minimum—one way. So they can't possibly get back in less than another Twenty-five minutes, not counting the time it takes them to realize you gave them the wrong address. Why don’t you go straight over to Byers' place now? You don’t need to wait for me—I can get a cab to the hotel. ”
“Sure, but—” I said doubtfully.
“But nothing.” Her voice was determined. “You do as I say, because you're only wasting time waiting here for me—m be at kast another ten minutes."
“Okay.” I finally agreed. “But you make that ten minutes an absolute deadline.”
“I wffl."
She suddenly darted out from behind the door and ran barefoot toward me. A sheer nylon slip openly proved the rest of her figure was equal to the perfection of what I had already seen. She ran straight into me, threw her arms around my neck, then kissed me fiercely on the mouth. For a short time we were molded together in a businesslike clinch. Then she broke free and ran back to the bedroom, her face glowing like a danger signal.
I walked out of her apartment with that old. old gag running through my mind—“When is a broad not a broad0" Fd forgotten the punch line but it hardly mattered. and besides, I was punchy enough already. You never know where your fun's coming, and that's a fact.
The last time I was in Santo Bahia Td learned the hard way that the guy who's real smart carries his gun under his armpit, and not in the suitcase back at the hotel. Now Td learned it over again from Marty Estell and the lesson hadn't been any easier to come by. So I stopped off at the hotel first, went up to my room, and put on the shoulder harness under my coat. The weight of the .38 was comfortably reassuring as I rode the elevator hack to the lobby again. All in all. the detour hadn't taken more than ten minutes at most and I figured it had been worth it. Not that I expected any real trouble from little Willie, but sometimes you never can tell until it's too late.
The first time I'd visited his apartment house, the peace and quiet surrounding it—both inside and out—had seemed both dignified and elegant. This time I wasn’t too sure. The subdued hush that pervaded the atmosphere was more in keeping with a morgue than a place where people lived-
When Byers’ door opened so promptly to my discreet buzz, I figured maybe he was lonely and I’d get a warm welcome—well, some kind of welcome—almost any damned kind of welcome except the one I got. The door opened wide like WhoooshI and there I was staring down the barrel of a .38 that seemed somehow familiar. With a hell of an effort I raised my eyes and stared into the bloodless death mask that Marty Estell passed off as a face.
“Come right on in, pal,” he said tightly. “We’ve been expecting you right along.”
I did like I was told—who argues with the wrong end of a gun?—and he slammed the door shut behind me. The gigantic Pete stood solidly in the middle of the room, soiling its elegance, while the flamboyant, sprawling nude still dominated one wall.
“You were expecting me?” I said blankly to EstelL “How? You have a crystal ball, maybe?”
“The phony address didn’t fool me one minute,” he said coldly. “But I knew the name was right—it checked out with the broad—so we looked in the phone book before we took off. Then once we got here and found what you’d left for us, pal, I knew it had to be either you or the cops knocking on the door. And cops make a hell of a lot more noise than you did.”
“It’s like I’m confused, Marty,” I said honestly. “Figuring out the address was a phony, I can understand. Whatever it was I left for you here, I don't understand. How you knew I’d get out of those straps that Pete tied so tight he nearly severed some arteries—this I don’t understand, either. Or the optional bit about it had to be me or the cops?”