Part 16 (1/2)
”I don't think it was more than three minutes,” Hazel objected. ”I wasn't tired.”
”You were trembling, dear. I saw you. You mustn't tire yourself-it makes lines. Anyhow,” she added, ”I'll just keep this,” and she put the egg timer in her purse. ”We'll time it ourselves.”
”It was three minutes,” Jack insisted.
”Never mind,” she answered. ”From now on it'll be three minutes, or mamma will have to lock Jackie in the dark closet.”
Jack started to answer, thought better of it, then walked away to the other end of the bar. Estelle shrugged, then threw down the rest of her drink ~ left us. I saw her speak to Jack again, then join so customers at one of the tables.
Hazel looked at her as she walked away. ”I'd pad that chippie's pants,” she muttered, ”if she wore an ”A b.u.m beef?”
”Not exactly. Maybe Jack is a friend of yours- ”Just an acquaintance.”
”Well . . . I've had worse bosses-but he is a bit ( jerk. Maybe he doesn't stretch the poses just out meanness-I've never timed him-but some of th poses are too long for three minutes. Take Estel Aphrodite pose-you saw it?”
' ' I'Jo.' ~ ”She balances on the ball of one foot, no costum all, but with one leg raised enough to furnish a fig li Jack's got a blackout switch to cover her if she bre~ but, just the same, it's a strain.”
”To cover himself with the cops, you mean.”
”Well, yes. Jack wants us to make it just as stronl the vice squad will stand for.”
”You ought not to be in a dive like this. You ough have a movie contract.”
She laughed without mirth. ”Eddie, did you ever to get a movie contract? I've tried.”
”Just the same-oh, well! But why are you sorc Estelle? What you told me doesn't seem to cover i ”She- Skip it. She probably means well.”
”You mean she shouldn't have dragged you into i ”Partly.”
”What else?”
”Oh, nothing-look, do you think I need any wrin remover?” I examined her quite closely, until she tually blushed a little, then a.s.sured her that she not.
”Thanks,” she said. ”Estelle evidently thinks She's been advising me to take care of myself lat and has been bringing me little presents of bea preparations. I thank her for them and it appears to be sheer friendliness on her part.. . but it makes me squirm.
I nodded and changed the subject. I did not want to talk about Estelle; I wanted to talk about her-and me. I mentioned an agent I knew (my own) who could help her and that got her really interested, if not in me, at least in what I was saying.
Presently she glanced at the clock back of the bar and squealed. ”I've got to peel for the customers.
'Bye now!” It was five minutes to twelve. I s.h.i.+fted from the end of the bar to the long side, just opposite Jack's Magic Mirror controls. I did not want that bright light of his interfering with me seeing Hazel.
It was just about twelve straight up when Jack came up from the rear of the joint, elbowed his other barman out of the way, and took his place near the controls. ”Just about that time,” he said to me. ”Has she rung the buzzer?”
”Not a buzz.”
”Okay, then.” He cleared dirty gla.s.ses off the top of the bar while we waited, changed the platter on the turntable, and generally messed around. I kept my eyes on the mirror.
I heard the two beeps! sharp and clear. When he did not announce the show at once, I glanced around and saw that, while he had the mike in his hand, he was staring past it at the door, and looking considerably upset.
There were two cops just inside the door, Hannegan and Feinstein, both off the beat. I supposed he was afraid of a raid, which was silly. Pavement pounders don't pull raids. I knew what they were there for, even before Hannegan gave Jack a broad grin and waved him the okay sign-they had just slipped in for a free gander at the flesh under the excuse of watching the public morals.
”We now present the Magic Mirror,” said Jack's voice out of the juke box. Somebody climbed on ti stool beside me and slipped a hand under my arm.
looked around. It was Hazel.
”You're not here; you're up there,” I said foc ishly.
”Huh-uh. Estelle said- I'll tell you after the show The lights were coming up in the Mirror and the jul box was cranking out Valse Triste. The altar was in th scene, too, and Estelle was sprawled over it much she had been before. As it got lighter you could see red stain down her side and the prop dagger. Haz had told me what each of the acts were; this was ti one called ”The Altar Victim,” scheduled for the oi o'clock show.
I was disappointed not to be seeing Hazel, but I h2 to admit it was good-good theater, of the nasty soi sadism and s.e.x combined. The red stuff-catsup guessed-trickling down her bare side and the hand of the prop dagger sticking up as if she had be stabbed through-the customers liked it. It was a na ural follow-up to the ”Sacrifice to the Sun”.
Hazel screamed in my ear.
Her first scream was solo. The next thing I can rec~ it seemed as if every woman in the place was screar ing-soprano, alto, and some tenor, but most screeching soprano. Through it came the bull voice Hannegan. ”Keep your seats, folks! Somebody turn the lights!”
I grabbed Hazel by the shoulders and shook hc ”What's the matter? What's up?”
She looked dazed, then pointed at the Mirror. ”Shc dead. . . she's dead . . . she's dead!” she chanted. 5] scrambled down from the stool and took out for ii back of the house. I started after her. The house ligh came on abruptly, leaving the Mirror lights still oi We finished one, two, three, up the stairwa through a little dressing room, and onto the stage almost caught up with Hazel, and Feinstein was do on my heels.
We stood there, jammed in the door, blinking at the flood lights, and not liking what we saw under them. She was dead all right. The dagger, which should have been faked between her arm and her breast with catsup spilled around to maintain the illusion-this prop dagger, this slender steel blade, was three inches closer to her breastbone than it should have been. It had been stabbed straight into her heart.
On the floor at the side of the altar away from the audience, close enough to Estelle to reach it, was the egg timer. As I looked at it the last of the sand ran out.
I caught Hazel as she fell-she was a big armful- and spread her on the couch. ”Eddie,” said Feinstein, ”call the Station for me. Tell Hannegan not to let anyone out. I'm staying here.” I called the station but did not have to tell Hannegan anything. He had them all seated again and was jollying them along. Jack was still standing back of the bar, shock on his face, and the bright light at the control board making him look like a death's head.
By twelve-fifteen Spade Jones, Lieutenant Jones of Homicide, showed up and from there on things slipped into a smooth routine. He knew me well, having helped me work up some of the book I did for the Chief, and he grabbed onto me at once for some of the background. By twelve-thirty he was reasonably sure that none of the customers could have done it. ”I won't say one of them didn't do it, Eddie my boy-anybody could have done it who knew the exact second to slip upstairs, grab the knife, and slide it into her ribs. But the chances are against any of them knowing just when and how to do it.”
”Anybody inside or outside,” I corrected.
”So?”
”There's a fire exit at the foot of the stairs.”
”You think I haven't noticed that?” He turned away and gave Hannegan instructions to let anybody go who could give satisfactory identification with a local address. The others would have to go downtown to have closer ties as material witnesses put on them 1 the night court. Perhaps some would land in the ta]
for further investigation, but in any case-clear 'e out!
The photographers were busy upstairs and so we the fingerprint boys. The a.s.sistant Medical Examin showed up, followed by reporters. A few minutes lat after the house was cleared, Hazel came downstai and joined me. Neither of us said anything, but I p~ ted her on the back. When they carried down the b2 ket stretcher a little later, with a blanket-wrapp shape in it, I put my arm around her while she bun her eyes in my shoulders.
Spade talked to us one at a time. Jack was not ta] ing. ”It ain't smart to talk without a lawyer,” was Spade could get out of him. I thought to myself that would be better to talk to Spade now than to sweated and maybe ma.s.saged a little under the ugh My testimony would clear him even though it wou show that there was a spat between him and Estel Spade would not frame a man. He was an honest cc as cops go. I've known honest cops. Two, I think.
Spade took my story, then he took Hazel's, a] called me back. ”Eddie my boy,” he said, ”help me d into this thing. As I understand it, this girl Ha; should have had the twelve o'clock show.”
”That's right.”
He studied one of the Joy Club's programs. ”Ha; says she went upstairs to undress for the show abc eleven-fifty-five.”
”Exactly that time.”