A Swell-Looking Babe by Jim Thompson Read Free Book Online

clerk. He carries a very small change bank, doesn't handle much cash. He doesn't have access to any valuables. So…"
    "Let's see," said Steelman. "Do you have many one-shift guests, Rhodes? People who arrive after midnight and leave before seven?"
    "Not very many. If you wanted to check the transcript-" "We already have. I was wondering whether Mr. Bascom ever ordered you to make up those checked-out rooms instead of leaving them for the maids."
    "You mean have I helped him steal the price of the room?" Dusty said. "No, sir, I haven't."
    "Now, Bill" – Tolliver frowned. "That wasn't Mr. Steelman's question."
    "I'm sorry," Dusty said. "No, sir, Mr. Bascom has never told me to do anything like that. He knows that I wouldn't do it if he did ask me. If he was going to pull anything crooked, he'd get rid of me before…"
    His voice trailed away, leaving the sentence unfinished. Steelman glanced at him shrewdly.
    "Go on, Rhodes. He's been riding you, trying to get rid of you?"
    "Well," Dusty hesitated. "Yes, sir, he has. But I'm not sure he doesn't mean it for my own good. You see he thinks – he seems to think – that I ought to go back to college."
    "Mmm. I wonder," said Steelman. "If he could get another bellboy on the job, work out a deal with him… Tolly, do you remember that night team they caught out in Denver a while back? Stealing rent. Refunding – right into their own pockets. Carting out linens and supplies by the armload. God only knows how many thousands of dollars they cleaned up."
    "I remember," Tolliver nodded. "But with nothing more against the man than this one letter, which doesn't really tell us anything, I'd be very reluctant to jump to any conclusions. After all, Bascom worked with a number of other bellboys before Bill came here. His work is audited daily, and we run comparison reaudits from month to month. It seems to me that if he was pulling anything, we'd have found out about it in ten years time."
    "Perhaps he hasn't pulled anything. Maybe he's just getting ready to."
    "Well," said Tolliver. "Maybe."
    "I don't like it, Tolly." Steelman's lips thinned fretfully. "A letter like this concerning the one man we know nothing about. If a man's been a crook once – and this indicates that he has – he's very apt to be one again. He feels a sudden pinch, has to get money in a hurry, and he's off to the races."
    "Yes, I suppose so," Tolliver nodded. "What about that, Bill? Does Mr. Bascom have any money problems that you know of?"
    "No, sir. He's never mentioned any."
    "Well, there's still another angle," the manager went on. "Suppose the author of this letter is trying to blackmail Bascom. He doesn't want him dismissed from his job, so he says just enough to disturb us. As he sees it, we'll be impelled to make some mention of the matter and Bascom will be frightened into paying off. Otherwise, there'll be another letter with more details."
    Tolliver frowned solemnly. Then, suddenly, his mouth twisted and he bent forward laughing. "Excuse me, John, but – ha, ha, ha – when I try to picture poor old Bascom in the toils of a blackmailer, I – ha, ha – I-"
    "Well," Steelman grinned a trifle sheepishly. "Maybe I'd better start reading westerns instead of detective stories. I can't see the prim old boy in the role myself. Seriously, however…"
    "We've gotten crank letters before, John. It's not unnatural, after all the years he's been with us, that one should eventually crop up about Bascom. If we get another one, we certainly ought to take some action, but I don't see how we can at this point. For the present, we can just keep our eyes and ears open – that means you particularly, Bill – and -"
    "What about putting Bascom on a day shift?"
    "If you say so, but I wouldn't like to. He doesn't have the zip, the polish for a front-office day job. Aside from that, it takes a long time to break a man in on the night paper work.
    Steelman nodded. "All right, Tolly. I'll leave it up to you. You don,'t think