1945 - Blonde's Requiem by James Hadley Chase Read Free Book Online Page B

first day I hadn ’ t done so badly. It looked like these three girls had been kidnapped. That was a tough break for them. It meant they were either dead by now or when the election was tied up they ’ d most certainly be knocked off.
    Starkey wouldn ’ t let them loose to talk. A kidnapping rap was hard to beat these days.
    It looked like the whole set-up revolved around Starkey. Max Esslinger was just a third-rate politician trying to make the grade. He was like all third-rate politicians. As long as he was elected, he wouldn ’ t care who suffered.
    Wolf was different. He was making an effort to find the girls. But even then, he was doing it not because he cared a damn what happened to them, but because he had to put on an act to beat Starkey and Esslinger.
    I drank some whisky and thought about Ted Esslinger. At least he was sincere, and I liked him for that. He was ready to throw his father down if it meant finding the girls.
    The Street-Camera idea was interesting. I ’ d have to look into that. It was a neat, way of trapping a girl who ’ d been singled out for kidnapping. I wondered if the girls had been killed right away or whether they ’ d been hustled into a car at the back of the shop and taken away.
    Then I remembered that a shoe belonging to one of the missing girls had been found in an empty house. It could have been a plant to switch the inquiry away from the Street-Camera shop. I decided that it had to be a plant. Otherwise it didn ’ t make sense.
    I drank some more whisky and eyed the wall opposite. I was pretty sure this Jeff Gordan was the guy who ’ d been tailing Marian and me.
    I got up, put the glass of whisky on the bureau and stared at the wall thoughtfully. It would be an idea, I reasoned, to find out what it was all about.
    I left my room and knocked on the door of 365.
    A man ’ s voice said: “ Who is it? ”
    “ The room clerk. ” I kept my voice down.
    The door opened a foot. I put my shoulder against it and shoved. A big, apish-looking man started back, off balance. He stared at me in startled surprise.
    He wasn ’ t the kind of party you ’ d want to meet up a dark alley. He was bow-legged and the length and thickness of his arms and the flatness of his face reminded me of an orangutan.
    I wasn ’ t sure, now that I was face to face with him, if he was the guy who had followed us.
    He eyed me narrowly.
    “ What ’ s the idea? ”
    “ That ’ s what I came to see you about, ” I said, closing the door and leaning against it.
    “ What do you want? ”
    “ You ’ ve been tailing me, ” I said. “ Why? ”
    He shifted his eyes to the floor and then back to me. “ I haven ’ t been following anyone, ” he snarled.
    “ Nuts, ” I said, smiling at him. “ And you ’ ve been writing me notes. ”
    He shook his head woodenly. All the time I was speaking he was ready to start something if I made a move. I could tell that by the way he held his long arms loosely at his side. “ If you don ’ t get out I ’ ll call the operator, ” he threatened.
    I pretended to be convinced. “ Maybe I made a mistake, ” I said, “ but you look like the guy who ’ s been tailing me. ”
    He began to relax. “ I can ’ t help that, ” he said. “ Why the hell should I want to tail you, anyway? ”
    “ That ’ s what I wanted to find out, ” I said. “ Well, I ’ m sorry to have disturbed you. ” I turned to go. There was a phone book on the dresser, and as I passed I picked it up and slung it at him all in one movement.
    The book caught him on the side of his head and he reeled back. Before he could recover his balance I jumped him.
    My fist sank into the side of his neck and he went down. I let him sit up and then I kicked his face. The kick stunned him. He lay flat on his back, the whites of his eyes showing and breath bubbling out of his open mouth.
    I knelt at his side and started to go through his pockets. I found nothing of interest in his trouser pockets, and I