Expanded Universe Part 17

"Yes, Hazel."

Spade Jones shooed us all home, me, Hazel, the two waiters, the other barman, and Jack Joy. I think he was tempted to hold Jack simply because he wouldn't talk but he compromised by telling him that if he stuck his head outside his hotel, he would find a nice policeman ready to take him down to a nice cell. He tipped me a wink and put a finger on his lips as he said good night to me.

But I didn't keep quiet. Hazel let me take her home readily enough. When I saw that she lived alone in a single apartment in a building without a doorman, I decided it called for an all night vigil and some explaining.

She stepped into the kitchenette and mixed me a drink. "One drink and out you go, Ed," she called to me. "You've been very sweet and I want to see you again and thank you, but tonight this girl goes to bed.

I'm whipped."

"I'm staying all night," I announced firmly.

She came out with a drink in her hand and looked at me, both annoyed and a little puzzled. "Ed," she said, "aren't you working just a bit too fast? I didn't think you were that clumsy."

"Calm yourself, beautiful," I told her. "It's not necessarily a proposition. I'm going to watch over you.

Somebody is trying to kill you."

She dropped the drink.

I helped her clean it up and explained the situation. "Somebody stabbed a girl in a dark room," I finished. "That somebody thought it was you. He knows better by now and he will be looking for a chance to finish the job. What you and I have got to figure out is: Wd wants to kill you?"

She sat down and started to manhandle a handk chief. "n.o.body wants to kill me, Eddie. It was I telle."

"No, it wasn't."

"But it couldn't have been me. I know."

"What do you know?"

"I- Oh, it's impossible. Stay all night if you wa to. You can sleep on the couch." She got up and pull the bed down out of the wall, went in the bath, cbs the door, and splashed around for a while. "That ba is too small to dress and undress in," she stated flat "Anyhow I sleep raw. If you want to get undressed y won't scare me."

I said. "I'll take my coat and tie and shc

"Suit yourself." Her voice was a little bit smother as she was already wiggling her dress over her hea She wore pants, whether Estelle ever did or notplain, white knit that looked clean and neat. She c not wear a bra.s.siere and did not need to. The concc tion I had gotten of her figure in the Magic Mirror '~ entirely justified. She was simply the most magn~ cently beautiful thing I had ever seen in my life. street clothes she was a beautiful, well-built wom~ in her skin-wars have started over less.

I was beginning to doubt my ability to stay on t couch. I must have showed it, for she snorted, "Wi the drool off your chin!" and stepped out of Ipants.

'Scuse, please," I answered and started unlaci my shoes. She stepped over and switched off the ligI then went over to the one big window and raised t shade. It was closed but, with the light out, you coi see outside easily. "Stand back from that window, said. "You're too good a target."

"Huh? Oh, very well." She backed up a few steps ic continued to stare thoughtfully out the window. I stared thoughtfully at her. There w~as a big neon sign across the street and the colored lights, pouring in the window, covered her from head to foot with a rosy liquid glow. She looked like something out of a dream of fairyland.

Presently I wasn't thinking how she looked; I was thinking about another room, where a girl had lain murdered, with the lights of a night club shining through a pane of gla.s.s, shining through like this neon.

My thoughts rearranged themselves rapidly and very painfully. I added them up a second time and still got the same answer. I did not like the answer. I was glad, d.a.m.n glad, she was bare naked, with no way to conceal a gun, or a knife, or any other sort of deadly weapon. "Hazel," I said softly.

She turned to me. "Yes, Eddie?"

"I've just had a new idea .. . why should anyone want to kill you?"

"You said that before. There isn't any.reason."

"I know. You're right; there isn't any. But put it this way-why should you want to kill Estelle?"

I thought she was going to faint again, but I didn't care-I wanted to shock her. Her lusciousness meant nothing to me now but a trap that had confused my thoughts. I had not wanted to think her guilty, so I had disregarded the fact that of all the persons involved she was the only one with the necessary opportunity, the knowledge of the swapped shows, and at least some motive. She had made it plain that she detested Estelle. She had covered it up but it was still evident.

But most important of all, the little stage had not been dark! True, it looked dark-from the outside.

You can't see through gla.s.s when all the light comes from one side and you are on that same side-but light pa.s.ses through the gla.s.s just the same. The neon on the street illuminated this room we were in fairly brightly; the brilliant lights of Jack's bar illuminat the little stage even when the stage floodlights we: out.

She knew that. She knew it because she had been there many times, getting ready to pose for the suc ers. Therefore she knew that it was not a case of mi taken ident.i.ty in the dark-there was no dark! And would have to be nearly pitch black for anyone to mi take Hazel's blue-black mane for Estelle's peroxid mop.

She knew-why hadn't she said so? She was lettir me stay all night, not wanting me around but riskii her reputation and more, because I had propound the wrong-girl-in-the-dark theory. She knew it wou not hold water; why had she not said so?

"Eddie, have you gone crazy?" Her voice was frigF ened.

"No-gone sane. I'll tell you how you did it, n beautiful darling. You both were there-you admitt that.

Estelle got in her pose, and asked you to pun the buzzer. You did-but first you grabbed the kni and slid it in her ribs. You wiped the handle, look around, punched the buzzer, and lammed. About t seconds later you were slipping your arm in mir Me-your alibi!"

"It had to be you," I went on, "for no one else wou have had the guts to commit murder with nothing b gla.s.s between him and an audience. The stage w lighted-from the outside. You knew that, but it didi worry you. You were used to parading around nak4 in front of that gla.s.s, certain you could not be se~ while the house lights were on! No one else would ha dared!"

She looked at me as if she could not believe her ea and her chin began to quiver. Then she squatted do~ on the floor and burst into tears. Real tears-tb dripped. It was my cue to go soft, but I did not. I dor like killing.

I stood over her. "Why did you kill her? Why did you kill her?"

"Get out of here."

"Not likely. I'm going to see you fry, my big-busted angel." I headed for the telephone, keeping my eyes on her. I did not dare turn my back, even naked as she was.

She made a break, but it was not for me; it was for the door. How far she thought she could get in the buff I don't know.

I tripped her and fell on her. She was a big armful and ready to bite and claw, but I got a hammer lock on one arm and twisted it. "Be good," I warned her, "or I'll break it."

She lay still and I began to be aware that she was not only an armful but a very female armful. I ignored it. "Let me go, Eddie," she said in a tense whisper, "or I'll scream rape and get the cops in."

"Go right ahead, gorgeous," I told her. "The cops are just what I want, and quick."

"Eddie, Eddie, listen to reason-I didn't kill her, but I know who did."

"Huh? Who?"

"I know.. . I do know-but he couldn't have. That's why I haven't said anything."

"Tell me."

She didn't answer at once; I twisted her arm. "Tell me!

"Oh! It was Jack."

"Jack? Nonsense-I was watching him."

"I know. But he did it, just the same. I don't know how-but he did it."

I held her down, thinking. She watched my face. "Ed?"

"Huh?"

"If I punched the buzzer, wouldn't my fingerprint be on it?"

"Should be."

"Why don't you find out?"

It stonkered me. I thought I was right but si seemed quite willing to make the test. "Get up," I sai "On your knees and then on your feet. But don't try get your arm free and don't try any tricks, or, so he me, I'll kick you in the belly."

She was docile enough and I moved us over to ti phone, dialled it with one hand and managed to get Spade Jones through the police exchange. "Spad This is Eddie-Eddie Hill. Was there a fingerprint the buzzer b.u.t.ton?"

"Now I wondered when you would be getti] around to thinking of that. There was."

"Whose?"

"The corpse's."

"Estelle's?"

"The same. And Estelle's on the egg timer. None the knife-wiped clean. Lots from both girls aroui the room, and a few odd ones-old, probably."

"Uh. . . yes . .. . well, thanks."

"Not at all. Call me if you get any bright ideas, son I hung up the phone and turned to Hazel. I gues~ had let go her arm when Spade told me the print w not hers, but I don't remember doing so. She w standing there, rubbing her arm and looking at me a very odd way. "Well," I said, "you can twist my an or kick me anywhere you like. I was wrong. I'm son I'll try to prove it to you."

She started to speak and then started to leak tea again. It finished up with her accepting my apology the nicest way possible, smearing me with lipstick ai tears. I loved it and I felt like a heel.

Presently I wiped her face with my handkerchi and said, "You put on a robe or something and sit the bed and I'll sit on the couch. We've got to dope tF out and I can think better with that lovely cha.s.sis yours covered up."

She trotted obediently and I sat down. "You s Jack killed her, but you admit you don't know how he could have done it. Then why do y~ou think he did?"

"The music."

~ 1.

Hun?

"The music he played for the show was Valse Triste. That's Estelle's music, for Estelle's act. My act, the regular twelve o'clock act, calls for Bolero. He must have known that Estelle was up there; he used the right music."

"Then you figure he must have been lying when he claimed Estelle never arranged with him to swap the shows. But it's a slim reason to hang a man-he might have gotten that record by accident."

"Could, but not likely. The records were kept in order and were the same ones for the same shows every night. n.o.body touched them but him. He would fire a man for touching anything around the control box. However," she went on, "I knew it had to be him before I noticed the music. Only it couldn't be."

"Only it couldn't be. Go ahead."

"He hated her."

"Why?"

"She teased him."

"'She teased him.' Suppose she did. Lots of people get teased. She teased lots of people. She teased you. She teased me. So what?"

"It's not the same thing," she insisted. "Jack was afraid of the dark."

It was a nasty story. The hunk was afraid of total darkness, really afraid, the way some kids are.

Hazel told me he would not go back of the building to get his parked car at night without a flashlight. But that would not have given away his weakness, nor the fact that he was ashamed of it-lots of people use flashlights freely, just to be sure of their footing. But he had fallen for Estelle and apparently made a lot of progress-had actually gotten into bed with her. It never came to anything because she had snapped out the lights. Estelle had told Hazel about it, gloating o~ the fact that she had found out about what she term his cowardice "soon enough."

"She needled him after that," Hazel went "Nothing that anyone could tumble to, if they did know. But he knew. He was afraid of her, afraid to f her for fear she would tell. He hated her-at the sai time he wanted her and was jealous of her. There ~ one time in the dressing room. I was there-" He h come in while they were dressing, or undressing, a had picked a fight with Estelle over one of the ci tomers. She told him to get out. When he did not do she snapped out the light. "He went out of there hik jack rabbit, falling over his feet." She stopped. "H( about it, Eddie? Motive enough?"

"Motive enough," I agreed. "You've got me thinki he did it. Only he couldn't."

"'Only he couldn't.' That's the trouble."

I told her to get into bed and try to get some sleer that I planned to sit right where I was till the piec fitted. I was rewarded with another sight of the cc tours as she chucked the robe, then I helped myself a good-night kiss. I don't think she slept; at least s did not snore.

I started pounding my brain. The fact that the sta was not dark when it seemed dark changed the wh picture and eliminated, I thought, everyone not fan jar with the mechanics of the Mirror. It left only Haz Jack, the other barman, the two waiters-and Este herself. It was physically possible for an Unkno~ Stranger to have slipped upstairs, slid the shiv in h ducked downstairs, but psychologically-no. I mad mental note to find out what other models had worlc in the Mirror.

The other barman and the two waiters Spade h eliminated-all of them had been fully alibied by c or more customers. I had alibied Jack. Estelle-bui wasn't suicide. And Hazel.

If Estelle's fingerprint meant what it seemed; Ha: was out-not time enough to commit a murder, arrange a corpse, wipe a handle, and ~get downstairs to my side before Jack started the show.

But in that case n.o.body could have done it-except a hypothetical s.e.x maniac who did not mind a spot of butchery in front of a window full of people. Nonsense!

Of course the fingerprint was not conclusive. Hazel could have pushed the b.u.t.ton with a coin or a bobby pin, without destroying an old print or making a new one. I hated to admit it but she was not clear yet.

Again, if Estelle did not push the b.u.t.ton, then it looked still more like an insider; an outsider would not know where to find the b.u.t.ton nor have any reason to push it.

For that matter, why should Hazel push it? It had not given her an alibi-it didn't make sense.

Round and round and round till my head ached.

It was a long time later that I went over and tugged at the covers."Hazel-"

"Yes, Eddie?"

"Who punched the buzzer in the eleven o'clock show?"