We stepped into the dark, cold street and the door slammed behind us.
J turned and looked at Mardi. “Well, for Pete's sake,” I said, “What do you make of that?”
Mardi put her hands to her face and I heard a little choking sob jerk in her throat. I put my arms round her and pulled her to me. She came to me with her head on my chest.
“It's all right, honey,” I said. “We're out of it now. Don't worry... it's all right now.”
In the distance a siren hooted, and the wash from a passing ship suddenly slapped against the side of the wharf.
I said, “Let's get out of this. We've had enough grief for one night.”
It was several minutes before she drew away from me, and I was mighty sorry to feel her go. We went down the street together, out of the dark into the lights of the main street.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
IT WAS NOON before I woke. For several minutes I couldn't make out where the hell I was, then I remembered and sat up on my couch with a rueful grin.
The sun was shining all right, and Mardi was in my bed in the next room. I didn't have anything to beef about. I swung my legs to the floor and went into the bathroom. A cold shower did a lot to bring me to the surface, and after a shave I felt good.
I put on my silk dressing-gown and ran a comb through my hair, then I put my head round Mardi's door and took a look at her. I could just see a small lump in the bed and I guessed she was still sleeping. I got a big kick out of thinking she was right there in my bed.
I telephoned downstairs for a double breakfast, and while I was waiting I smoked a cigarette.
The service waiter looked at me curiously when he wheeled the tray in, and he took a quick gander round the room. I gave him a dollar and he grinned at me. Maybe he'd been young once, and maybe he remembered using a double breakfast in a single room. Anyway, the dollar did the trick and he took himself off without any crack.
I knocked on the bedroom door. After the second try I heard her call out. I put my head round the door. “H'yah, pal,” I said. “Feel like puttin' on the feed bag?”
She struggled up in bed and blinked at me. Some dames look like the wrath of God in the early morning; Mardi looked swell. Her hair was all curls and her eyes looked large and lazy. She stretched a little. The long sleeves of my pyjamas hid her hands.
“Give me two minutes,” she said, “and I'll be right with you.”
She jumped out of bed and slipped on the woollen dressing-gown and flopped off to the bathroom. I wheeled the tray in and parked it beside the bed. Then I pulled up one of the blinds and left the other. Strong sunshine after a night out is apt to come tough.
She came back after five minutes and smiled at me. “Did you sleep well?” she asked, climbing into bed.
“Very well,” I said, feeling sappy. I guess no one had asked me that one since I'd been out in the world earning my first dollar. “How did you make out?”
She arranged the pillows and sat up; the dressing-gown spread over the sheet. “Oh, I feel grand right now,” she said. “I thought I'd've died last night, I was so tired.”
I brought the tray over to the bed. “I'm glad we were together on that,” I said, looking at her. “I'd've hated you to run into those guys on your own.”
She took the cup of coffee, but she didn't take her eyes off my face. “I'm glad, too.”
“Do you want to talk about last night?” she said.
I shrugged. “What's there to talk about ?”
“Will it be all right?”
Again I shrugged. “I don't know,” I said, “I've been puzzling my brains. I can't see how we can worry Spencer. After all, we have no proof and we don't seem to be getting anywhere. Somehow, I reckon it would be as well to leave the thing alone. How do you feel about it?”
She frowned a little. “I'm afraid we won't get away with it as easily as all that. You see, there's a lot you don't know about it all, and I'm scared sick that you're going to get yourself involved more than you think.”
I lit a cigarette. “Tell me,” I said, getting up to take the tray and to give her a cigarette also.
She relaxed back on the pillows. “It all begins some time ago,” she said. “I think I know who your mysterious lady is.”
I sat up. “You do?” I said.
She nodded. “Yes, I think it's Sarah Spencer, Lu's wife.”
“Well, for Pete's sake.”
“It fits, once you know the inside story. You see, I was Mr. Spencer's private secretary, and I used to spend a good bit of my time at his house. He worked late and he liked to have me around to straighten things out for him. Sarah Spencer was around a lot and I was always running into her. Spencer is crazy about her, but she two-times him from morning till night. How it is he hasn't got wise to her beats me. You see, I do know that Vessi was one of her boy friends.”
I got to my feet and began to wander around the room. “I'd like you to expand on that,” I said.
