The thin man turned round. ‘Okay, limey. You can have the room. But just don’t try and lean on us with that Albany guff. Mr Sanguinetti has friends at the capital, too. Mebbe you got a point with that Vacancy sign. But don’t push your luck. We’re in charge here and what we says goes. Right?’
‘That’s all right with me. And thanks. I’ll get my bag.’
He moved to go out. I said quickly, ‘I’ll give you a hand.’ I hurried ahead of him, tugging furiously at my zip, feeling ashamed of how I must have looked. Blessedly, it suddenly yielded and I pulled it up to my throat.
He came up with me. I said urgently, out of the corner of my mouth – I was sure one of them had come to the door and was watching us – ‘Thank you! And thank God you came! They were going to murder me. But for God’s sake look out. They’re gangsters. I don’t know what they want. It must be something bad. They shot at me when I tried to escape.’
We came to the car. It was a dark grey two-seater Thunderbird with a soft top in cream, a beautiful thing. I said so. He said shortly that it was hired. He said, ‘Come round the other side. Just seem to be admiring the car.’ He leaned down and opened the low door and rummaged inside. He said, ‘Are they both armed?’
‘Yes.’
‘How many guns each?’
‘Don’t know. The small one’s a crack shot. At twenty feet or so. Don’t know about the other.’
He pulled out a small black suitcase, rested it on the ground and snapped it open. He took something from under the clothes and slipped it into an inside pocket. He fiddled with one side of the case, took some thin black objects out that I took to be cartridge magazines, and stowed them away. Then he snapped the case shut, said, ‘Better have plenty of artillery,’ banged the door ostentatiously, and stood up. We then both went to the back of the car and knelt down to examine the flat tyre. He said, ‘How about the telephone?’
‘It’s cut off.’
‘Give me the cabin next to yours.’
‘Of course.’
‘All right. Let’s go. And keep close to me whatever they do or say.’
‘Yes, and thank you.’
He got up and smiled. ‘Wait till we’re out of this.’
We walked back together. Sluggsy, who had been standing in the doorway, shut the door after us and locked it. As an afterthought, he reached up and switched off the Vacancy sign. He said, ‘Here’s your key, limey,’ and threw it on a table.
I picked it up and looked at the number. Forty, the last one along to the left. I said firmly, ‘The gentleman’s going to have Number 10, next to mine,’ and walked over to the desk, forgetting that Sluggsy had all the other keys.
Sluggsy had followed me. He grinned. ‘No dice, baby. We don’t know nuthen about this guy. So Horror and me’s sleepin’ either side of you. Just to see you’re not disturbed. Rest of the keys is put away ready for the move. There’s just this Number 40 and nuthen else.’ He turned to the Englishman. ‘Hey, limey. What’s your name?’
‘Bond. James Bond.’
‘That’s a pretty chump name. From England, huh?’
‘That’s right. Where’s the registry? I’ll spell it out for you.’
‘Wise guy, huh? What’s your line of business?’
‘Police.’
Sluggsy’s mouth opened. He ran his tongue over his lips. He turned and called over to Horror, who was sitting at his old table, ‘Hey, Horror. Guess what! This shamus is a limey dick! Whadya know about that? A gumshoe!’
Horror nodded. ‘Thought I smelled it. Who cares? We ain’t done nuthin’ wrong.’
‘Yeh,’ said Sluggsy eagerly, ‘that’s right too.’ He turned to this Mr Bond. ‘Now don’t you go listening to any crap from this little hustler. We’re from the insurance, see. Assessors, sort of. Work for Mr Sanguinetti. He’s a big wheel in Troy. Owns this outfit. Well, there’d been complaints from the managers of some cash missing. Other things too. So we come up to make an investigation, sort of, and when we put the question to this little tramp she slams my friend with an ice-pick bang on the think-pot. See for yourself.’ He waved in the direction of Horror. ‘Now how d’ya like that? So we was just restraining her, sort of, when you comes along.’ He turned. ‘Ain’t that right, Horror?’
‘That’s on the level. That’s how it was.’
I said angrily, ‘You know that’s a pack of lies.’ I walked over to the back door and pointed at the bent frame and the splash of lead. ‘How did that bullet hole get there?’
Sluggsy laughed heartily. ‘Search me, sister.’ He turned to Horror. ‘You seen any bullets flyin’ around?’
‘No, I ain’t.’ Horror’s voice was bored. He waved a languid hand towards the floor round the eating counter. ‘But I seen plenty hardware being slung at my pal by the lady.’ His eyes swivelled slowly to me. ‘That right, lady? An’ there’s a big carving knife down there somewhere. Good mind to book you for assault, come the morning.’
‘You do that!’ I said hotly. ‘Just see where it’ll get you! You know perfectly well I was trying to defend myself. And as for that story about the money, that’s the first I’ve heard of it. And you know it.’
