Build My Gallows High by Geoffrey Homes Page A

back against the fence until they turned their faces toward him and he knew they were strangers. Then the gate opened and he joined the small hurrying procession to the waiting plane.
    His seat was forward and through the window he could see the gate. Relaxed now he sat there watching. A smaller gate stood beyond. Through it came a uniformed attendant pushing a cart loaded with baggage. The man stopped just inside the gate to pitch a cigarette away. Light from the battery of flood-lamps fell on the cart. Red could see his bag and the brief case resting on it. Now instead of watching the gate he was watching the cart.
    The attendant started forward. Something moved behind him. A man sprang at him, pushed him aside, snatched the brief case from the cart and raced away through the gate and along the fence to disappear. The attendant emitted a yell and leaped in pursuit. There was bedlam on the field. Ten minutes later, when the baggage was aboard and the door was closed and the big ship was taxiing down the field, the stewardess moved down the aisle to stand beside Red.
    ‘I’m sorry’ the stewardess said.‘I think someone stole your brief case.’
    Red grinned at her. ‘He’s welcome to it. It may bring him salvation.’
    The girl eyed him with frowning curiosity. ‘There were two Gideon Bibles in it,’ Red said.
    * * *
    Lou Baylord pulled back to hurl the Bibles at Joe Stefanos, but the thin guy standing behind Lou grabbed his arm.
    ‘Don’t go heaving them books around,’ the thin guy said, ‘I’m superstitious.’ He took the Bibles, put them gently on the window sill and stood looking south and east across the river. Dawn wasn’t far away and the buildings were like cardboard cutouts against the pale sky.
    Deprived of his missile Lou hurled a name at Joe. ‘You Greek son of a bitch!’
    Joe got slowly off his chair, shoved his hands deep in his pockets and started across the room. ‘Don’t call me that.’
    The thin guy turned and stood grinning at them both. ‘He’s sensitive about being a Greek.’
    ‘Shut up!’ Joe said. ‘Who let him walk out with it in the first place?’
    ‘Lou,’ replied the thin guy. ‘Cool off, Joseph. You’ve been doing fine. Outside of losing a stiff and stealing from the Gideons you’ve been doing perfect. Now let go of that cannon because we can’t go around knocking each other off. Whit wouldn’t like it.’
    Joe had a vulgar suggestion as to what Whit and Lou and the thin guy could do. But he took his hands out of his pockets and went back to his chair, ‘I don’t have to take any crap off you dopes. Guy Parker’s my boss.’
    ‘And he’ll give you a gold star,’ said the thin guy.
    ‘How can I think with you birds gabbing all the time?’ Lou growled. “What do the morning papers say?’
    ‘Not much,’ the thin guy replied. ‘Because this is Sunday and murders don’t get much play on the Sabbath. They are looking for Eels. They don’t say he killed her but they hint at it. Then they turn around and say maybe he met with foul play too.’
    ‘He sure did,’ said Joe. ‘I wonder what that bastard did with him.”
    ‘Put him in the icebox maybe.’
    ‘I looked.’
    ‘What else?’ Lou disregarded Joe.
    ‘If Eels don’t show up they are going to open his safe,’ the thin guy said. ‘Until they do, two guys armed with machine guns, hand grenades, tear gas and I don’t know what the hell else are parked in Eels’ office.’
    ‘Papers say that?’ Lou scowled across at the thin guy. He hoped it wasn’t true. He wanted very much to get that affidavit because right now Red had the dice and was throwing sevens. Lou didn’t like to make deals but there were times when you had to. This looked like one of them. The thin guy nodded. Lou puffed out his cheeks. ’Maybe when they go out to lunch you could sneak in there and blow the safe.’
    ‘Not me. You couldn’t get past the front door. If you did there’s the elevator. Guy running it keeps track