Part 24 (1/2)

The Senator blew his breath out sharply. ”Come in here,” he said and led the way into the dim room where Ned Beaumont and Janet Henry had hidden. The Senator switched on the lights while Ned Beaumont was shutting the door. Then they faced one another, both standing.

”I want to talk to you as man to man, Mr. Beaumont,” the Senator began. ”We can forget your”-he smiled-”official connections, can't we?”

Ned Beaumont nodded. ”Yes. Farr's probably forgotten them too.”

”Exactly. Now, Mr. Beaumont, I am not a blood-thirsty man, but I'm d.a.m.ned if I can bear the thought of my son's murderer walking around free and unpunished when-”

”I told you they'll have to pick him up. They can't get out of it. The evidence is too strong and everybody knows it.”

The Senator smiled again, icily. ”You are surely not trying to tell me, as one practicing politician to another, that Paul Madvig is in any danger of being punished for anything he might do in this city?”

”I am. Paul's sunk. They're double-crossing him. The only thing that's holding them up is that they're used to jumping when he cracks the whip and they need a little time to gather courage.”

Senator Henry smiled and shook his head. ”You'll allow me to disagree with you? And to point out the fact that I've been in politics more years than you've lived?”

”Sure.”

”Then I can a.s.sure you that they never will get the necessary amount of courage, no matter how much time they're given. Paul is their boss and, despite possible temporary rebellions, he will remain their boss.”

”It doesn't look like we'll agree on that,” Ned Beaumont said. ”Paul's sunk.” He frowned. ”Now about this gun business. That's no good. You'd better give it to me.” He held out his hand.

The Senator put his right hand in his overcoat-pocket.

Ned Beaumont stepped close to the Senator and put his left hand on the Senator's wrist. ”Give me it.”

The Senator glared angrily at him.

”All right,” Ned Beaumont said, ”if I've got to do that,” and, after a brief struggle in which a chair was upset, took the weapon-an old-fas.h.i.+oned nickeled revolver-away from the Senator. He was thrusting the revolver into one of his hip-pockets when Janet Henry, wild of eye, white of face, came in.

”What is it?” she cried.

”He won't listen to reason,” Ned Beaumont grumbled. ”I had to take the gun away from him.”

The Senator's face was twitching and he panted hoa.r.s.ely. He took a step towards Ned Beaumont. ”Get out of my house,” he ordered.

”I won't,” Ned Beaumont said. The ends of his lips jerked. Anger began to burn in this eyes. He put a hand out and touched Janet Henry's arm roughly. ”Sit down and listen to this. You asked for it and you're going to get it.” He spoke to the Senator: ”I've got a lot to say, so maybe you'd better sit down too.”

Neither Janet Henry nor her father sat down. She looked at Ned Beaumont with wide panic-stricken eyes, he with hard wary ones. Their faces were similarly white.

Ned Beaumont said to the Senator: ”You killed your son.”

Nothing changed in the Senator's face. He did not move.

For a long moment Janet Henry was still as her father. Then a look of utter horror came into her face and she sat down slowly on the floor. She did not fall. She slowly bent her knees and sank down on the floor in a sitting position, leaning to the right, her right hand on the floor for support, her horrified face turned up to her father and Ned Beaumont.

Neither of the men looked at her.

Ned Beaumont said to the Senator: ”You want to kill Paul now so he can't say you killed your son. You know you can kill him and get away with it-das.h.i.+ng gentleman of the old school stuff-if you can put over on the world the att.i.tude you tried to put over on us.” He stopped.

The Senator said nothing.

Ned Beaumont went on: ”You know he's going to stop covering you up if he's arrested, because he's not going to have Janet thinking he killed her brother if he can help it.” He laughed bitterly. ”And what a swell joke on him that is!” He ran fingers through his hair. ”What happened is something like this: when Taylor heard about Paul kissing Janet he ran after him, taking the stick with him and wearing a hat, though that's not as important. When you thought of what might happen to your chances of being re-elected-”

The Senator interrupted him in a hoa.r.s.e angry tone: ”This is nonsense! I will not have my daughter subjected-”

Ned Beaumont laughed brutally. ”Sure it's nonsense,” he said. ”And your bringing the stick you killed him with back home, and wearing his hat because you'd run out bare-headed after him, is nonsense too, but it's nonsense that'll nail you to the cross.”

Senator Henry said in a low scornful voice: ”And what of Paul's confession?”

Ned Beaumont grinned. ”Plenty of it,” he said. ”I tell you what let's do. Janet, you phone him and ask him to come over right away. Then we'll tell him about your father starting after him with a gun and see what he says.”

Janet stirred, but did not rise from the floor. Her face was blank.

Her father said: ”That is ridiculous. We will do nothing of the sort.”

Ned Beaumont said peremptorily: ”Phone him, Janet.”

She got up on her feet, still blank of face, and paying no attention to the Senator's sharp ”Janet!” went to the door.

The Senator changed his tone then and said, ”Wait, dear,” to her and, ”I should like to speak to you alone again,” to Ned Beaumont.

”All right,” Ned Beaumont said, turning to the girl hesitating in the doorway.

Before he could speak to her she was saying stubbornly: ”I want to hear it. I've a right to hear it.”

He nodded, looked at her father again, and said: ”She has.”

”Janet, dear,” the Senator said, ”I'm trying to spare you. I-”

”I don't want to be spared,” she said in a small flat voice. ”I want to know.”

The Senator turned his palms out in a defeated gesture. ”Then I shall say nothing.”

Ned Beaumont said: ”Phone Paul, Janet.”

Before she could move the Senator spoke: ”No. This is more difficult than it should be made for me, but-” He took out a handkerchief and wiped his hands. ”I am going to tell you exactly what happened and then I am going to ask a favor of you, one I think you cannot refuse. However-” He broke off to look at his daughter. ”Come in, my dear, and close the door, if you must hear it.”

She shut the door and sat on a chair near it, leaning forward, her body stiff, her face tense.

The Senator put his hands behind him, the handkerchief still in them, and, looking without enmity at Ned Beaumont, said: ”I ran out after Taylor that night because I did not care to lose Paul's friends.h.i.+p through my son's hot-headedness. I caught up with them in China Street. Paul had taken the stick from him. They were, or at least Taylor was, quarreling hotly. I asked Paul to leave us, to leave me to deal with my son, and he did so, giving me the stick. Taylor spoke to me as no son should speak to a father and tried to thrust me out of his way so he could pursue Paul again. I don't know exactly how it happened-the blow-but it happened and he fell and struck his head on the curb. Paul came back then-he hadn't gone far-and we found that Taylor had died instantly. Paul insisted that we leave him there and not admit our part in his death. He said no matter how unavoidable it was a nasty scandal could be made of it in the coming campaign and-well-I let him persuade me. It was he who picked up Taylor's hat and gave it to me to wear home-I had run out bare-headed. He a.s.sured me that the police investigation would be stopped if it threatened to come too near us. Later-last week, in fact-when I had become alarmed by the rumors that he had killed Taylor, I went to him and asked him if we hadn't better make a clean breast of it. He laughed at my fears and a.s.sured me he was quite able to take care of himself.” He brought his hands from behind him, wiped his face with the handkerchief, and said: ”That is what happened.”

, His daughter cried out in a choking voice: ”You let him lie there, like that, in the street!”

He winced, but did not say anything.

Ned Beaumont, after a moment's frowning silence, said: ”A campaign-speech-some truth gaudied up.” He grimaced. ”You had a favor to ask.”

The Senator looked down at the floor, then up at Ned Beaumont again. ”But that is for your ear alone.”

Ned Beaumont said: ”No.”