Miss Callaghan Comes To Grief by James Hadley Chase Read Free Book Online

cough and he had to sit on the bed again.
    Jay pulled up a rickety chair and sat down too. “Listen, Fletcher, don't fly off the handle. You're lookin' in a bad shape. I might be able to help you.”
    When he had stopped coughing, Fletcher said rather wildly, “Look what they did!”pointing to his eye.
    “They did that. Threw me down a flight of stone steps. One of the heels hit me in my eye with his elbow.”
    Jay lit a cigarette. He didn't like the smell of dirt in the room. “That's what I've come to see you about,” he said. “What's it all about? If I can help you I will.”
    Fletcher looked at him suspiciously. “Why?” he demanded. “Why should you want to help me?”

    “Now don't get that way. Been out of a job some time, haven't you? Now come on, spill it.”
    “It's Janet,” Fletcher began. Then suddenly his thin face crumpled and he began to cry.
    Jay pushed his hat to the back of his head and blew out his cheeks. He was very embarrassed. “What you want is a drink,” he said. “You wait. I'll get you one.”
    Fletcher controlled himself with an effort. “No, don't go away,” he said. “I'm all right. I guess I'm sort of low. I haven't had much grub.”
    “Well, come on. I'll buy you a lunch.” Jay got up. Fletcher shook his head. “Not now. Later, perhaps, but I want to tell you.” Jay sat down again. “Go ahead,” he said. “It's my sister, Janet. She went away one morning to work and she didn't come back. I've hunted everywhere. I've told the police, but they can't find her.”
    Jay sighed. He knew there were a lot of girls in St. Louis who went out and didn't come back any more.
    “Maybe she went off and got married. Maybe she thought she'd like to go to Hollywood. There're a lot of girls who suddenly get a bug in their conks and beat it without telling anyone.”
    Fletcher looked up. His one eye burnt fiercely. “You don't believe that rubbish, do you?” he said. “That's what the police said.”
    Jay shifted. “Well, what else could have happened to her? You don't think she's dead, do you?”
    “I wish to God she was!” He beat his fist on his knee. “The Slavers have got her!” he shouted. “Do you hear? The Slavers have got her.”
    “You don't know that. You only think they have. There ain't much of that stuff going on now. We've cleaned it up.”
    “You're wrong. It's going on every day of the year. Decent girls leaving their homes and being trapped.
    Decent girls forced into brothels. Any amount of them. And there's nothing done about it. The police know all about it, but they keep their mouths shut. Anyone who gets to know about it is given money to keep his mouth shut.”
    “You can't talk like that unless you've got some proof. Why did you kick up that row at the 22nd Club?”
    “Can't you guess? Grantham's working the racket.”
    “You're crazy. Grantham? Don't talk bull.”
    Fletcher lay back on his elbow. “I've been watching him,” he said. “One night, when the Club was closed, I saw a car draw up outside the Club. The street was empty. No one saw me. They took a girl out of the car. She had a rug over her head. Just as she got to the door she got the rug off and she screamed. They hit her on the head with something. They hit her very hard. I could hear the sound very distinctly from where I was standing. Then they carried her inside. You don't think anything of that? Well, I'll tell you some more.” There was a crazy gleam in his eye. “Another night I got on the roof. You've never been on the top floor of the Club, have you? Nor have I. But I've been on the roof. I've listened, lying on the tiles with my ear close to the roof, listening. I've heard things. I've heard girls screaming. I've heard the crack of whips. I've heard a lot of horrible things.”
    Jay was interested now. “You're sure of all this?” he said.
    Fletcher leant forward and grabbed his coat lapels. “Do you think I'd make it up? Don't you realize what all this means? My sister