But I wasn’t listening. I was staring at the photograph. It showed Thayler in his cowboy dress shooting at a girl who faced the camera, her profile turned to Thayler. It was a good photograph. You could see the cigarette flying out of the girl’s mouth, and the smoke and flash of the gun. The girl was wearing a kind of bodice made out of pony skin, a G-string and a ten-gallon hat.
‘It wasn’t that he aimed at the cigarette,’ Nedick said. ‘He didn’t. He threw up the gun caught it and fired in one continuous movement. It made me sweat to watch him.’
It made me sweat to look at the photograph, for the girl in the G-string was Miss Bolus.
III
The door jerked open, and the man with the crinkly hair came in. He put some papers on the desk.
‘That’s Gardener’s contract,’ he said to Nedick. ‘You’d better sign it before the lug changes his mind.’
As Nedick reached for a pen, he asked. ‘What’s that girl like out there? We’re not missing anything, are we?’
‘She stinks,’ the man with’ the crinkly hair said contemptuously.
‘Then send her away. I can hear her bones creaking in here. It worries me.’
‘Everything worries you,’ the man with the crinkly hair said. ‘Do her good to get some exercise,’ and he gathered up the papers and went out.
Through the open door I could see the girl. She was sitting on a chair, her dress across her knees and she was crying.
The man with the crinkly hair said to her, ‘I’m going to give you some advice. The best thing you can do is to take the elevator to the top floor, pick a nice high window and jump out of it. Your act stinks and you stink. Now, beat it.’
He closed the door as the girl got slowly to her feet.
Nedick said, ‘Sometimes I think Julius is a little rude to people.’
I thought it would be nice to go into the outer office, pick up the typewriter and to try and smash it to bits on the top of Julius’s black, crinkly head. But it wasn’t my business how he treated people, so I said, ‘Tell me something about this girclass="underline" the one in this photograph. What’s her name?’
Nedick took the photograph, studied it, laid it down.
‘That’s Gail Bolus.’ He shot an inquisitive look at me. ‘Does she interest you?’
‘Any girl who dresses like that interests me,’ I said. ‘Is she still around?’
‘No. We never did know much about her. Thayler brought her with him: she was part of his act. He paid her out of his own pocket. Apart from her name, there’s not much I know about her. Except she had very strong nerves.’
‘She quit when Thayler quit?’
‘Oh, no. She quit before that: when Thayler started to make passes at Anita Gay. That put the skids on his act. He couldn’t find another girl with, the right kind of nerve. He wanted Anita to take Gail’s place, but she wouldn’t touch it; I didn’t blame her either.’
‘Were Gail Bolus and Thayler anything to each other?’
‘I guess so. A mixed act usually gets around to sleeping together sooner or later. They were no exception. But she wouldn’t stand for him and Anita getting together, and she told him so. They quarrelled and she walked out on him.’
‘She quit about six months ago?’
Nedick said, yes, it would be about six months ago.
‘What happened to her?’
‘We lost sight of her. She didn’t register with any agent. She hadn’t any particular talent except to stand still and let Thayler shoot at her. I guess she quit show business.’
‘You never ran into a guy named Caesar Mills?’
He explored his memory, finally shook his head.
‘It’s not a name I recall.’
‘Would you know anything about Louis?’
He stroked his moustache and let out a half-hearted chuckle.
‘You certifiably believe in getting value for your money, don’t you, young man? I can’t sit around all day talking to you. I have a business to look after.’
‘You leave it to Julius,’ I said, and reached for my wallet again. ‘Suppose we say another twenty-five?’
He filled up the glasses as a sign of assent. The money exchanged hands, and he settled back in his chair again.
‘You’re a man after my own heart, Mr. Malloy,’ he said, beaming. ‘Now what do you want to know about Louis?’
‘What kind of man is he?’
Nedick spread out his big fat hands and hunched his shoulders.
‘An arty guy. He can take pictures, and he’s cheap. He gets all our trade.’
‘Concentrate on what he looks like.’
‘Tall, weedy, effeminate, chin bead and has two convictions for criminal assault,’ Nedick said rapidly.
That gave me a picture. I liked this guy, Nedick. He was saving me an awful lot of leg work.
‘How does he stand with the cops?’
‘Not good. The assault raps hang over him, although they happened five and ten years ago. I guess he’s got used to taking girls in the flesh by now. But there are rumours...’
I waited, but as he said nothing, I said, ‘Don’t dry up on me. I’ll have the rumours as well as the facts.’
‘If you can handle a camera well, Mr. Malloy,’ Nedick said, pulling at his lower lip, ‘and you haven’t any moral scruples, you can always earn a living: even if it’s a smelly one.’
‘Don’t go vague on me,’ I pleaded. ‘I’ll treat it in confidence.’
‘The cops think he’s running a blackmail racket. I wouldn’t know if they’re right or not. He takes his camera out nights in Buena Vista Park. It’s a nice spot for couples to get to know each other. Some of the couples don’t always want their photographs taken. You know how it is. Some of the negatives might be worth quite a bit of money. It’s just a rumour. Nothing you can pin on him.’
I said I knew how it was.
I said, ‘From what you know of Thayler, could you see him mixed up in blackmail?’
Nedick laughed.
‘Thayler was the kind of guy who would be mixed up in anything. He was ambitious. He had no nerves. He wanted money. Believe me, Mr. Malloy, no one or nothing would stop him once he had made up his mind. I told Julius over and over again Thayler was dangerous. I said sooner or later he would get us into trouble, but Julius wouldn’t listen. Well, he didn’t get us into trouble because he quit before he had time to get into trouble. It wouldn’t surprise me if he turned out to be a killer. Blackmail? Sure. Thayler wouldn’t worry about blackmail. He’s ruthless. I was glad to see him go. If he hadn’t taken Anita with him I would have hung out a flag when he did go. I didn’t like him, and I didn’t like his act; but Julius kept him on because he brought in business. Only a man without a conscience would have put on an act as dangerous as that cigarette routine. It worried me. I was glad when he went.’
I couldn’t think of any more questions to ask him so I slid off the desk.
‘Well, I guess that’s all then,’ I said, and shook hands with him. ‘If I think of anything else I’ll call in and see you. And thanks for your help.’
‘That’s all right,’ Nedick said. ‘Just so long as you have what you want. Take my tip and don’t monkey with Thayler. One of these days he’ll shoot someone. I wouldn’t like it to be you.’
I said I wouldn’t like it to be me either.
IV
After leaving the Brass Rail, I went straight back to the hotel The bellhop was hanging around the lobby, and I told him to have some sandwiches and four bottles of beer sent up to our room.
I hadn’t been in the room more than five minutes before Kerman came in with the bellhop close on his heels.