Peggy Castle puckered her forehead. It was bizarre enough in the first place to think of Don Kimberly taking Stella Lynn to the Royal Pheasant. But he certainly wasn’t expecting Miss Cleavage to come in unescorted and join him. There was something strange about the whole business. If it had been a date he’d have called for Stella and escorted her.
Peggy became so immersed in her thoughts that she didn’t realize the passing of time until the lights dimmed and her waiter was there with another cocktail.
“Beg pardon, Miss Castle, but the management knows another one won’t hurt you, and you’ll be wanting to watch the floor show now.”
Peggy thanked him. The chorus came dancing on, undraped almost to the point of illegality. A master of ceremonies pulled up the microphone.
Peggy glanced at Don Kimberly. Kimberly wasn’t watching the girls’ legs. He was frowningly contemplating his wrist watch.
Good heavens, Peggy Castle thought, she wouldn’t stand him up. She wouldn’t dare. Why, this is the highlight of her career. If she actually has a date with him she — no, no, she couldn’t be late.
But quite obviously, whoever Don Kimberly was waiting for was late, and the increasing shortness of the intervals at which he consulted his watch and then gave frowning attention to the door indicated a rapidly growing impatience.
And then the lights came on, and suddenly Peggy realized that Don Kimberly was looking at her with the puzzled expression of “where-the-devil-have-I seen-that-girl-before” in his eyes.
She nodded and smiled, and as he bowed she saw sudden recognition flash in his face. Then he was on his way over.
“Well, hello, Miss Castle,” he said. “I didn’t recognize you for a moment. Waiting for someone?”
“Oh, no,” she said. “I’m getting material for my column, covering a nitery where so many of the WEFI officials drop in. I trust you realize that the eyes of the press are upon you, Mr. Kimberly, and that the pitiless white light of publicity will be turned on you in my next—”
“Oh, good heavens!” Kimberly exclaimed in dismay, and, without asking her permission, sat down at her table and scowled at her.
“Why, what’s the matter?” Peggy asked vivaciously. “Surely you have nothing to conceal. You’re unmarried, unencumbered. I... as on the point of adding uninhibited.”
“Uninhibited is right,” he groaned.
“And may I ask why being written up in ‘Castle’s in the Air’ seems to provoke so little enthusiasm in you?”
“Am I unenthusiastic?”
“I thought you were.”
He smiled, quite evidently having regained his composure. “I’m enthusiastic now, but it’s certainly not because of your column.”
“Surely you aren’t alone?” she asked archly, carefully surveying his face.
“I’m waiting for some folks. Why not quit playing with that cocktail and let me order you another?”
“Good heavens, this is my second.”
“Well, at the rate you’re working on that one, the first must have been at least an hour ago. Here, waiter!”
Peggy let him have his way. She was experiencing a pleasant glow, not only from the drinks, but from the exciting realization that there must be more to this than appeared on the surface.
Why had Don Kimberly made this surreptitious rendezvous with Stella Lynn? Had he been ashamed to go to her apartment and escort her to the Royal Pheasant — or had he been afraid to?
Once more Kimberly glanced-at his wrist watch.
“My, you’re jittery,” Peggy said. “Like a nervous cat. You aren’t by any chance being stood up, are you? No, that’s catty! After all, you know, I’m on the lookout for news.”
She felt certain he winced inwardly. “A news story,” he said, “has been defined as being the thing the other person doesn’t want published. I believe there was some famous newspaperman who said, ‘If the parties want it published, it’s not news. If they try to keep it out of the paper, then it’s news.’ ”
“And are you going to try to keep something out of the paper?” she asked.
Abruptly he was serious. “Yes, I’m afraid I’m going to deprive you of a choice item for your column — even if I have to go direct to E. B. Halsey to do it.”
“The date you have here tonight?”
He regarded her with frowning appraisal. “Now, wait a minute, Miss Castle. Why are you here?”
She met his eyes. “I received an anonymous tip that you and Stella Lynn were going to be here tonight. I thought I’d drop in, cover the night club, and pick up a ‘personal’ that would be well — interesting — to a lot of people at the office.”
“You mean amusing?”
“Well, if we’re going to be technical about it, amusement is a form of interest.”
Kimberly was thoughtful. “You’ve doubtless heard the nickname ‘Miss Cleavage’,” he said at length.
Peggy started to laugh, and then at something in his tone caught herself.
“I’ve known her for five years,” Kimberly went on, “—knew her before she came to work here, knew her before she won that beauty contest. She’s a good kid.”
“I’m sorry,” Peggy said. “I—”
“You don’t need to be. I understand. She— I don’t know, I guess she’s an exhibitionist. She has that complex. Just as some people like to sing, Stella likes to show her curves. She’s proud of them. But she’s a good kid.”
Peggy said, “I didn’t realize that there was anything serious—”
“There isn’t.”
“I know, but what I’m trying to say is that I don’t think there’s anyone in the company who realizes that you’ve known her so long. You are, of course — well, eligible. I guess everybody likes Stella, but people wouldn’t expect you two to be having a date.”
Abruptly he said, “I like her, but this isn’t a date, and I’m worried.”
“What do you mean?”
He said, “As you probably know, my job is pretty diversified. If an actress reports she’s lost fifty thousand dollars’ worth of jewels, or claims that someone got into her apartment and stole a hundred-thousand-dollar necklace, it’s up to me to investigate. I handle the burglary-insurance division of WEFI, and that ties in with a lot of things.”
She nodded, her senses alert.
“Stella called me on the telephone this morning. To appreciate the significance of that you must realize that Stella has always had an exaggerated idea of the importance of my position. This is, I think, the first time she ever called me, and she called me during office hours.”
Kimberly paused and glanced searchingly at her. Peggy kept her face expressionless.
“Well,” he went on, “she told me that she had to see me tonight on a terribly important matter. She asked me where we could meet. I said I’d be glad to see her at any time or place, and she said it must be someplace where the meeting would seem to be accidental. So I suggested the Royal Pheasant. She said this would be all right, and that she’d be here at nine thirty on the dot.”
“She was to meet you here?”
“Yes. I offered to call for her at her apartment. She said I mustn’t go near her place, that she was in a ticklish situation, and that I should meet her here. If she was with someone I was to pretend it was an accidental meeting. She promised to be here by nine thirty sharp. I’m worried.”
“I didn’t know, and I guess no one else did, that you were friends.”
“There’s no particular secret about it. Stella thought it would be better if we didn’t proclaim it from the housetops. You see, she may be an exhibitionist, but she has a delicately adjusted sense of values, and she’ll never let a friend down. She’s a good kid. She’s oversensitive about the difference in our positions at the place.”