McNulty took off his coat and folded it carefully and put it on a chair. He went to Gus and kicked him hard in the chest and then kicked his head several times. Gus tried to protect himself with his arms. He didn’t make any more noise but put his arms up and tried to protect himself. He tried to get up once and McNulty kicked him in the stomach and he fell down and lay quietly. In a little while, McNulty stopped kicking him and sat down. He was panting. He took off his hat and took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his face.
I looked at Neilan. “I called you,” I said, “because I thought you’d give Gus a break...”
He said: “You ought to of called the police. They’d be after giving Gus a break, and your lady friend here” — he jerked his head at Bella — “with a length of hose.”
Bella was leaning back on the davenport with her hands up to her face. She stared at Gus and tried to look at McNulty. McNulty smiled, said: “Sure — why don’t you call a cop? Frankie had everybody from the Chief down on his payroll — they’ll have to go back to working for the city.” He was out of breath, spoke unevenly.
Bella stood up and started to go towards the door, and Neilan stood up too, and put one hand over her mouth and one on her back. He held her like that for a minute and then he pushed her back down on the davenport.
McNulty got up then and stooped over and took hold of the back of Gus’ shirt collar and pulled him up a little way.
McNulty said: “Come on, boy — we’ll get some air.”
Gus’ shirt collar started to tear and McNulty cupped his other hand around the back of Gus’ neck and jerked him up on his feet. Gus couldn’t stand by himself; McNulty stood there holding him with his arm around his shoulders. Gus’ face was in pretty bad shape.
McNulty said: “Come on, boy,” again and started guiding Gus towards the door.
Neilan said: “Wait a minute, Mac.”
McNulty turned and stared vacantly at Neilan for a minute and then pushed Gus down in a big chair. He sat down on the arm of the chair, took out his handkerchief, and wiped Gus’ face. Neilan went out into the kitchen. He was out there two or three minutes without making any noise, then he snapped off the light and came back. He turned off the lights in the living room too, and it was dark except for the faint yellow light from the heater.
Neilan went back and sat down at the end of the davenport, out of the light. The light rippled over Bella’s face, and after a while, when my eyes were used to the darkness, I could make out dark shapes where McNulty and Gus sat — and Neilan.
It was so dark and quiet except for the sharp sound of Gus’ breathing. There wasn’t anything to look at except Bella and she was leaning back with her eyes closed and her face very still.
It got on my nerves after several minutes and I said: “What’s it all about, Pat?”
Neilan didn’t answer, so I leaned forward in my chair, but I didn’t get up. I sat there with all my muscles tight.
Then I heard something moving out in the kitchen. I don’t know whether anybody else heard it, but I know there was a sound out there like something moving across the floor.
I stood up and I couldn’t speak. I didn’t hear the sound again but I stood there without moving, and then Bella started talking. She talked in a conversational tone, with her head back, her eyes closed:
“Frank came here to see me. He’s been coming to see me every night for four nights. He brought along a lot of lousy whiskey and got Gus drunk, and he got drunk too. He got Gus drunk once before and tried to sell me an idea. He wouldn’t give up.”
She stopped talking a moment and the light beat up and down on her face. She was very beautiful then.
“He made a crack tonight while Gus was in the bathroom about telling Gus about Red and me...”
She opened her eyes and looked towards me in the darkness a minute, and then closed her eyes and went on: “I was scared. I called Red while they were raising hell in the kitchen and he came over and I let him in. We listened to them for a few minutes from in here in the dark, and then when Frank got to talking about what a great guy Red was, and started getting dirty about it, Red went in there very quickly and killed him. I guess Gus was too far gone to see it or know anything about it.”
She stopped talking again and it was quiet.
“Then Red beat it and I stayed in here a while and then I went out like I told you and woke up Gus. He thought I did it, I guess. I called Red again...”
Neilan got up and went over and switched on the lights. McNulty got up too and stood there blinking, staring stupidly at Bella.
I went over and got my hat and coat and put them on. I stood looking at Bella for a while after I had put on my coat. She was still leaning back with her eyes closed. She was one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen.
Neilan opened the door and McNulty and I went out into the hall. It was very cold there after the intense heat of the room. Then Neilan closed the door and the three of us went downstairs.
There was a small touring car at the curb, with the side curtains on. There were two men whom I had never seen before in the front seat, and another man standing on sidewalk. The engine was running.
McNulty opened the door and got in the back seat, and then I got in, and then Neilan. There wasn’t anything else to do. I sat between them, and Neilan said: “Let’s go.”
We went down the street slowly. The man who had been standing on the sidewalk didn’t get into the car; he stood there looking after us. I turned around a little and looked at him through the rear window; as we turned the corner, he went on back up the street, the other way.
When we got out of town a ways we went faster. It was very cold.
I said: “Hurry up.”
Neilan turned and grinned at me. I could see his face a little as we passed a street light. He said: “Hurry up — what?”
“Hurry up.” The cold was beginning to get in to the pit of my stomach, and my legs. I wanted to be able to stand up. I wanted it standing up, if I could.
Neilan glanced out the rear window. He said: “I think our taillight’s out.”
The car slowed, stopped. We were pretty well out in the country by that time and the road was dark.
Neilan said: “See if we’ve got a taillight, Mac.”
McNulty grunted and reached up and opened the door and heaved himself up into the door. He stooped and put one foot out on the running board, and then Neilan reached in front of me very quickly. There was a gun in his hand and he put it close to McNulty’s back and shot him three times. The explosions were very close together. McNulty’s knees crumpled up and he fell out of the car on his face.
The car started again and the man who sat next to the driver reached back and slammed the door shut hard. Neilan cleared his throat.
He said: “Frank’s number has been up a long time. He’s been tipping our big deliveries, South; we haven’t got a truck through for two months.” I could feel the blood getting back into my arms and legs. I wasn’t so cold and I could breathe without pain.
“McNulty was in it with him. McNulty was in the outfit downstate. We found out about that last night.”
We rode on for a little while and nobody said anything.
“If the dame sticks to her beef,” Neilan went on, “the scarcer you are, the better. If she doesn’t, Gus’ll stand it. You can’t do yourself any good around here any more anyway.”
Pretty soon we stopped at a little interurban station where I could get a car in to the city.
I had to wait a while. I sat in the station where it was warm, and thought about Bella. After a while the car came.
Red 71
Shane pressed the button beneath the neat red 71. Then he leaned close against the building and tilted his head a little and looked up at the thick yellow-black sky. Rain swept in great uneven and diagonal sheets across the dark street, churned the dark puddle at his feet. The streetlight at the corner swung, creaked in the wind.