‘Tex,’ I said, ‘Salvatore, as long as I’m on this side of the bars, I’d believe you if you said the world was round.’
‘Well, it is,’ Tex said.
‘And I believe you. See?’
‘Dis cond’s a minor violation. So’s disturbing the peace. Twenty-five dollar fine, and away you go,’ Tex said.
‘That makes fifty so far,’ I said. ‘Can I deduct it?’
‘What?’
‘When do you get the twenty-five? Before or after the cell is unlocked?’
‘You can come with me to the front office,’ Tex said. ‘Pay me there.’ He unlocked the door. ‘Hello, Tuckem,’ he said belatedly.
‘When do I get out?’ Tuckem wanted to know.
‘You sober?’
‘Sure.’
‘Cool off a little while,’ Tex said.
I stepped out of the cell. Tex closed and locked the door again. ‘This way,’ he said, and I followed him down the long stone corridor. He unlocked another door at the end of the corridor, and then led me into an office with a desk, some filing cabinets, a water cooler, and a rack full of rifles.
‘You’ve got a nice cell block,’ I said.
‘We figure if you’ve got a big enough jail, you don’t need half as big a police force.’
‘Does it work?’
‘The jail or the police force?’
‘The philosophy.’
‘Sure. Give me the twenty-five bucks, and I’ll give you a receipt.’
I took out my wallet. Tex was already writing the receipt. I handed him the two tens and a five. ‘What’s the first name?’ he asked.
‘Philip.’
He put down the pen, tore off the receipt with its two carbons, and handed me one of the carbon copies. ‘Here you go.’
‘You’re forgetting something, aren’t you?’
‘What’s that?’
‘I checked in with two guns.’
‘I never saw them,’ Tex said.
‘Fred took them from me.’
‘Then see Fred about them. I hope you got licenses for the guns, otherwise you’ll be right back in here again.’
‘Where do I find Fred?’
‘He’s likely to be anywhere.’ Tex rose. ‘Well, so long, Colby. Been nice having you.’
‘Send me your literature,’ I said, and I walked out.
The town was busy. It was busy with a small town’s hustle and bustle. And, as always with a stranger in a small town, I watched the people and wondered where they were going in such a hurry. I was hungry. I hadn’t eaten since the afternoon before. Food seemed to me, at that moment, the most important thing in the world. There was also a phone call I had to make because I needed help. I picked out a small coffee pot, walked in, ordered three hamburgers, a cup of coffee, and a piece of chocolate cream pie, and then I went to the phone booth and deposited a dime. I dialed the operator.
When she came on, I said, ‘Long distance, please.’
I waited.
Another voice said, ‘Long dis-stance.’
I gave her the area code and the number I was calling.
‘Thank you,’ she said. I heard a lot of clicking, and behind the clicking the hum of a lot of operators doing their work. Then my operator said, ‘A dollar and a quarter for the first three minutes, please.’
I deposited the change.
‘What is the number you’re calling from, sir?’
I read it from the dial plate.
‘Thank you,’ she said, and then I listened while she began ringing.
The phone was lifted on the other end.
‘Twenty-third Precinct, Sergeant Colombo.’
‘Al,’ I said, ‘this is Phil Colby. Is the lieutenant in?’
‘Yeah, just a second, Phil.’ Colombo did a vocal doubletake. ‘Hey, I thought you were on vacation.’
‘I am. Get him, please.’
‘Sure.’
I waited.
‘DeMorra here,’ a voice said.
‘Lieutenant, this is Phil Colby.’
‘Who?’
‘Phil...’
‘Oh, yes, yes. What is it, Phil?’
‘I’m in trouble, sir,’ I said.
‘That business with the car? O’Hare explained it to me.’
‘No, sir. Not that. My fiancée’s gone.’
‘What do you mean, gone?’
‘Missing, sir. Taken from her cabin.’
DeMorra was silent for several moments. ‘Are you sure, Colby?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Have you gone to the local police?’
‘Yes, sir. They claim she never was.’
‘Never was? What do you mean?’
‘Sir, I don’t know what’s going on here, but there are a lot of people in it, and they’re all lying their fool heads off. There’s also a puddle of blood in one of the cabins at the motel, and the locals are ready to write it off as a figment of my imagination. I spent the morning in jail, sir, and Ann’s still missing, and I frankly don’t—’
‘In jail?’
‘...know what to do next.’
‘Where are you, Colby?’
‘In a phone booth.’
‘Where?’
‘A restaurant in Sullivan’s Corners, sir. They just let me out of jail.’
‘Isn’t it possible your girl just decided to pick up and go?’
‘She was sound asleep the last time I saw her, sir. Also, she doesn’t have her own car with her or anything like that. Besides, there was no reason for her to...’
‘You never can tell with women,’ DeMorra said.
‘Sir, if that were the case, there’d be no reason for all these people to lie about her being there in the first place, don’t you see?’
‘Yes,’ DeMorra said thoughtfully.
‘Sir?’
‘Yes?’
‘I... I need help.’
‘Yes, I can see that. What’s the number there?’ I read it to him from the dial plate. ‘Will you be there a while?’
‘I just ordered some lunch. I haven’t eaten since—’
‘All right, let me see what I can do. I’ll call you back in about ten minutes.’
‘Yes, sir. I appreciate it.’
‘All right, Colby. Let me get to work,’ and he hung up.
I went out of the phone booth and over to my table. The hamburgers and coffee were waiting. I was sitting down when the door to the restaurant opened.
A girl I knew was standing in the doorframe.
Chapter ten
She was wearing the same purple silk dress she’d worn the last time I’d seen her. Her face was made up again. Her eyes, despite the make-up, were tired, very tired. She carried a long white stole over her arm.
‘Blanche!’ I said, and she turned quickly, spotted me, and for a minute seemed about to leave. She apparently changed her mind, held her ground, and waited as I approached her.
‘Hello, Blanche,’ I said.
She looked up at me suspiciously. ‘I don’t think I know you,’ she said.
I wasn’t prepared for that. I stared at her and then said, ‘Does it matter?’
‘Maybe not. What do you want?’
‘I want to buy you a cup of coffee.’
‘What’s the special occasion?’
‘Do I have to be in love to buy you a cup of coffee?’
‘Not necessarily.’
‘Okay, then.’
‘Okay. But I’m in a hurry.’
‘So am I. Come on over.’
We walked to the table. Blanche sat, and the man behind the counter said, ‘Hello, Blanche.’ She nodded at him.
‘Another cup of coffee,’ I said to the counterman. ‘For the lady.’
‘Where’d you disappear to last night?’ I asked.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’
‘We both know what I’m talking about,’ I said.
‘Mister, all I want’s a cup of coffee.’
‘That’s all you’ll get.’
‘Good.’
‘But you won’t mind if I ask some questions?’
‘I will mind.’
‘Why?’
‘I don’t like questions.’
‘Do I have to get tough?’
‘It’d get you no place. Men don’t scare me. I’ve had men up to here.’
‘My father used to say, “Treat a lady like a whore, and a whore like a lady.” How do I treat you, Blanche?’
She raised her eyes and looked at me long and hard. ‘Like a lady,’ she answered. Her voice was very small.
‘All right. I need help.’
‘Why come to me?’
‘Because I think you know what happened last night.’
‘I know nothing.’
The counterman brought the coffee. ‘Anything else?’ he asked.
‘Nothing, thanks,’ I said. I bit into the hamburger. The counterman went back to his counter. Unconsciously, I whispered the next. ‘What happened, Blanche?’
Blanche answered my whisper with her own. ‘I don’t know.’
‘What were you doing at Barter’s place?’
‘Nothing.’
‘Do you work there?’
‘No.’
‘Do you?’
‘No.’
‘Then what were you doing there?’
‘I took a cabin.’
‘Alone?’
‘Yes.’
‘Why?’
‘I was sleepy.’
‘Who was the man in the wolves’-heads shorts?’
Blanche looked up sharply. ‘How... how did you...?’
‘I met him.’ I bit off another chunk of beef. ‘Were you with him before you came to my cabin?’
Blanche nodded.
‘You were?’
‘Yes.’
‘Why’d you come to me?’
‘I... Mike asked me to.’
‘Why?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘How did he ask you to?’
‘He just said... I should go to your cabin. He said I should...’ Blanche paused. ‘Listen, I can get in trouble. Listen, I can’t tell you any more.’
‘I thought men didn’t scare you.’
‘They don’t! I’m not afraid of Mike!’
‘Who then?’
‘I... I can’t tell you any more.’
‘Did he ask you to keep me in the cabin? To keep me busy?’
Blanche bit her lip. ‘Y... yes.’
‘For how long?’
‘Half-hour, an hour. I don’t remember.’
‘Why?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘He must have given you a reason!’
‘He didn’t! I don’t ask questions. I just do what I’m told.’
‘Then you do work for him?’
Blanche paused. ‘All right. I work for him.’
‘The other girls?’
‘The ones scattered all over the motel. The ‘wives’ in the husband-and-wife teams I met.’
‘I don’t know who you met. I suppose so.’
‘Who’s Joe Carlisle?’
‘Who?’
‘Joe Carlisle. He’s from Davistown.’
‘Oh. He’s nothing.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘He comes around now and then, does handy work for Mike. Mike pays him by... by... you know. Hez is the real handy man, though.’ She looked up into my face. ‘Hezekiah Hawkins. He lives near the motel, out at the Point. Got his own place on South Hunter Road.’
‘What about his wife?’
Fear darted momentarily into Blanche’s eyes. ‘Who... whose wife?’ she asked.
‘Carlisle’s.’
‘He’s not married.’
‘There was a blonde with him last night. In the cabin my girl originally had. Her name is Stephanie. Do you know her?’
‘No,’ Blanche said quickly.
‘Did you see anyone enter my girl’s cabin?’
‘What girl?’ Blanche said.
‘Listen...’
We stared at each other across the miles of tablecloth.
‘What made the blood in cabin eleven?’ I asked.
‘What blood? I didn’t see any blood.’
‘End of interview?’ I asked.
‘End of interview. I don’t want trouble. There was enough trouble last night. Enough to last me a lifetime.’
‘What kind of trouble?’
‘I don’t know. Screaming and yelling and cars. I don’t know.’
‘Screaming from where?’
‘Some place in the motel.’
‘Where in the motel?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Where, Blanche?’
‘Cabin... cabin number eleven.’
‘Who was in that cabin?’
‘I don’t know.’
‘Think.’
‘I don’t know.’
‘You do, Blanche. It’s in your eyes. You do know.’
‘I can’t tell you any more.’ Her eyes were pleading with me now. The phone in the booth began ringing. I shoved back my chair. Blanche reached for my hand suddenly. I turned to her.
‘Your girl,’ she said. ‘She’s... she’s safe.’
‘What?’ The phone kept ringing. The counterman came from behind the counter and headed for it. Quickly, I moved into the booth and lifted the receiver.
‘Hello?’
‘Colby, this is Lieutenant DeMorra.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Any new developments?’
‘Just that I think Ann is safe, sir. I don’t know how long she will be, though.’
‘All right. I’m sending Tony.’
‘Mitchell?’
‘Yes. You know this is highly irregular, Colby, and you know it has to be unofficial. We don’t want out-of-state police coming down on our necks with protests. I’m giving Tony sick leave. He’s coming on his own. Where can he meet you?’
‘How about right here?’
‘What’s the name of the place?’
‘I don’t know. It’s the coffee pot right alongside the only bank in town.’
‘All right. He’s starting now. Give him three or four hours. Make it six sharp, all right?’
‘Fine.’ I paused. ‘Sir, my gun was taken from me.’
‘Tony’ll bring you one.’ DeMorra paused. ‘Why? Do you think you’ll need it?’
‘I might.’
‘All right. Good luck, Colby.’
‘Thank you, sir.’
I hung up.
When I walked out of the booth, Blanche was gone.