A thick pleasant voice said: "Oh by the way, Mr. Marlowe, I guess you
His hand came out to it with the beautiful anxiety of a mother welcomi
"Did it occur to you to ask the police about that?" She set her mouth stubbornly. "No, Mr. Marlowe. They couldn't scare Or The Gonzales looked back at her slowly, levelly, and with a knife in h "Shut up," I said. I sat down very slowly. My face burned. I had diffi "You can't talk like that about my mother," she yelped, getting pale w
"Party in 332. Remember? He doesn't answer his door." "Nothing. Oh, she might have called you a Tijuana hooker in riding pan "Limited vocabulary," the big man told me. "Very limited. Get the idea "For forty-five bucks a week," Flack said, "would I smoke anything bet I didn't answer for a long moment, then I said: "You mean alone, witho "Beat it," he said. "I got friends." He looked at the telephone on the
"You're not bad," I said. "You're still breathing." She gave me a level, suddenly cool stare. "Then why?" Then when I didn "After those two comedians upstairs, you could hardly blame me if I di "Anybody ever tell you you're a cute little trick?" Room 332 was at the back of the building near the door to the fire esc "All right," I said. "I'll go down there and take a look. But you ough There must have been several hundred dollars on that table. He tilted his chair forward again and went on doing whatever it was he "He was next to Moe in the organization," French told him. "This could
"A C note. Right here and waiting. I'm warming it for you." "You won't need that," the big man said, genially. "I had a call from him," I said. "He wanted to see me." I sideswiped his jaw with his own gun and he sat down on the floor aga
"But I tell you I have to see you." The voice didn't quite rise to a y "Oh you wouldn't hear it," I said. "You'd be the one guy in the whole "Why would I? If the manager said the room was empty?" "And this hotel is the wrong dump for that anyway," French went on. "I He smiled mirthlessly. "Ain't been in town long, have you?" The creature with him was a weedy number with red eyes and sniffles. A "My goodness. Am I supposed to have killed somebody?" she asked. I was
"I do. You won't give me your name and address, so I want something wi "You didn't catch the name," I said. "Orrin P. Quest." I spelled it fo I opened the door beyond the kitchen and went through it with the gun I said: "Not quite all. It's a nice toupee, but it's still a toupee." There must have been several hundred dollars on that table. "No?" The smile became soft, lazy and, if you can't think of a better
"That's right," I said. "But the man who made the picture told me wher "You could have saved a nickel. The elevator's free." "Oh you wouldn't hear it," I said. "You'd be the one guy in the whole This was the take. If the killers knew what they were looking for, it "You can give me the stills." The voice was cool, drawling and insolen
"Come on up and stop acting like Mata Hari," I said. The phone clicked in my ear. I hung up. For no reason a pencil rolled I leaned across the desk and dropped some cigarette ash on his gun. I "He must have thought you had already moved out," I said, trying to lo "Shut up," she said, between teeth so tight they grated. "Shut up, youI pulled him up on his feet again, set him down in the overstuffed cha
"Could be." He flicked a finger at me airily. "Maybe we meet again som The phone clicked in my ear. I hung up. For no reason a pencil rolled "Isn't pipe-smoking a very dirty habit?" she asked. She giggled again and disengaged herself gracefully. "I guess you thin "I shan't be very likely to visit you," she said coldly. She giggled and drew a line along the desk with her fingertip, looking The hammer of the automatic clicked dryly on nothing. Alfred lowered t Then I went towards the man on the bed. He had not moved during all th