held her wrists down at her sides. I said, “A while ago I made up my mind that I was through being polite. Somewhere along the line today, my manners blew all to hell. But just my manners, not me. Sorry to disappoint you.”
“I don’t understand you, Martin. Why are you doing this to me?”
I said, “Why did you do what you did to Clift? What you tried to do to me? To get yourself off the hook. Now I’m on a hook. I want off, too.”
I could feel the tension run out of her. She went slack under the pressure I was exerting. “I should have known you’d find out about that.” She moved her head and the light touched her face again. Her eyes were pleading with me.
“I thought I could help so you could clear everything up without learning about that.”
“So Vann and Otho and Clift and Bonnie and Aggie would all get what’s coming to them,” I said. “And you could pick up the chips all for yourself. Is that what you hoped?”
She made the same whimpering sound she had earlier. “That isn’t true. I don’t want anything. I just want to be left alone. I made my mistake. I paid for it. Then Vann came here and told me I had to pay again.”
“Meaning that you work me over for information?”
“That’s what he wanted. But I couldn’t. I told him so, Martin. I swear I told him so.”
I said, “And Vann told you that you were a good, sweet, noble type of the kind he’s always admired and you parted friends,” I said.
“Don’t talk that way, Martin.”
“Then say something that makes some sense.”
“It’s true,” she said. “Can’t you see that I didn’t know what to do? If I’d helped him, I’d be in deeper than ever. What I did to Jaspar was bad enough. What I would do to you would be worse. I just couldn’t!”
I said, “Why not? I’m just another mark.”
She began to blubber like a schoolgirl after her first date in a drive-in movie. “You aren’t either,” she wailed. “And I love you. I couldn’t hurt you when I love you, could I?”
I stared down at her. At the sophisticated, executive Miss Wilson. At the hard-as-nails busness-woman type. I said, “When did this passion hit you?”
She ignored my tone of voice. “Last night. About—about …”
I said, “About the fourth time?”
“There wasn’t any fourth time.”
I said, “That’s what I mean.”
She said, “I can’t change your mind, but it’s true. And I didn’t help Vann.”
“What were you doing all day today, getting a tan on the beach?”
She said, “I was in my apartment, on the bed, where Otho tied me.”
“Who let you loose?”
“Nobody. I got myself loose.”
I said, “Otho used his knots on me too. You don’t get loose from Otho’s knots.”
She said, “I kicked and twisted until the bed came apart. Then I was free enough to wriggle to the telephone. I knocked it off the hook. Finally the operator realized something was wrong and sent a bellboy up to find out. He untied me.”
I said, “I’ll bet he got a kick out of that.”
She sounded weary. “I made up a story about some drunken friends and a practical joke. I don’t know if he believed me but it doesn’t matter.”
The bellboy might not have believed her, but I did. No one could have made up a story as unbelievable. I said, “When was this?”
“Two hours ago,” she said. “I went to your office. You weren’t there. But your car was in the lot across the street and you’d left the keys in it. So I took it and went to the boat. I saw the police there and—”
I said, “Why take my car? Where was yours?”
She didn’t fall into the trap. She said, “It wasn’t anywhere. Someone must have stolen it.”
I said, “If this is all on the level, someone did. Okay, so you saw my boat half blown up. Then what?”
“I thought you were dead,” she said, “And I went up to talk to Mr. Minos.”
I said, “To congratulate him?”
“Martin, stop that. And you’re hurting me. You’re awfully heavy.”
I
“I don’t understand you, Martin. Why are you doing this to me?”
I said, “Why did you do what you did to Clift? What you tried to do to me? To get yourself off the hook. Now I’m on a hook. I want off, too.”
I could feel the tension run out of her. She went slack under the pressure I was exerting. “I should have known you’d find out about that.” She moved her head and the light touched her face again. Her eyes were pleading with me.
“I thought I could help so you could clear everything up without learning about that.”
“So Vann and Otho and Clift and Bonnie and Aggie would all get what’s coming to them,” I said. “And you could pick up the chips all for yourself. Is that what you hoped?”
She made the same whimpering sound she had earlier. “That isn’t true. I don’t want anything. I just want to be left alone. I made my mistake. I paid for it. Then Vann came here and told me I had to pay again.”
“Meaning that you work me over for information?”
“That’s what he wanted. But I couldn’t. I told him so, Martin. I swear I told him so.”
I said, “And Vann told you that you were a good, sweet, noble type of the kind he’s always admired and you parted friends,” I said.
“Don’t talk that way, Martin.”
“Then say something that makes some sense.”
“It’s true,” she said. “Can’t you see that I didn’t know what to do? If I’d helped him, I’d be in deeper than ever. What I did to Jaspar was bad enough. What I would do to you would be worse. I just couldn’t!”
I said, “Why not? I’m just another mark.”
She began to blubber like a schoolgirl after her first date in a drive-in movie. “You aren’t either,” she wailed. “And I love you. I couldn’t hurt you when I love you, could I?”
I stared down at her. At the sophisticated, executive Miss Wilson. At the hard-as-nails busness-woman type. I said, “When did this passion hit you?”
She ignored my tone of voice. “Last night. About—about …”
I said, “About the fourth time?”
“There wasn’t any fourth time.”
I said, “That’s what I mean.”
She said, “I can’t change your mind, but it’s true. And I didn’t help Vann.”
“What were you doing all day today, getting a tan on the beach?”
She said, “I was in my apartment, on the bed, where Otho tied me.”
“Who let you loose?”
“Nobody. I got myself loose.”
I said, “Otho used his knots on me too. You don’t get loose from Otho’s knots.”
She said, “I kicked and twisted until the bed came apart. Then I was free enough to wriggle to the telephone. I knocked it off the hook. Finally the operator realized something was wrong and sent a bellboy up to find out. He untied me.”
I said, “I’ll bet he got a kick out of that.”
She sounded weary. “I made up a story about some drunken friends and a practical joke. I don’t know if he believed me but it doesn’t matter.”
The bellboy might not have believed her, but I did. No one could have made up a story as unbelievable. I said, “When was this?”
“Two hours ago,” she said. “I went to your office. You weren’t there. But your car was in the lot across the street and you’d left the keys in it. So I took it and went to the boat. I saw the police there and—”
I said, “Why take my car? Where was yours?”
She didn’t fall into the trap. She said, “It wasn’t anywhere. Someone must have stolen it.”
I said, “If this is all on the level, someone did. Okay, so you saw my boat half blown up. Then what?”
“I thought you were dead,” she said, “And I went up to talk to Mr. Minos.”
I said, “To congratulate him?”
“Martin, stop that. And you’re hurting me. You’re awfully heavy.”
I
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