onto 16th, he parked across from the Royalton Arms. There was a similar apartment house on the opposite corner, with an equally flossy name, the Pickwick. He went into the lighted lobby, unscrewed the overhead bulb so he couldn’t be seen from the street, and waited.
Presently Stevens came out, squeezed into a compact sedan and drove off, probably to rescue Cheryl and the others from the locked Buick. Shayne dozed, leaning against the mailboxes, snapping awake abruptly as the door across the street opened again. This time it was a short, burly figure wearing the raincoat and felt hat Shayne had seen in Manners’ bedroom. The raincoat collar was turned up, the hat brim was turned down. Not much showed in between except the burning spark of a cigarette.
When he went around the building, Shayne left the lobby and slid into his Ford. A moment later he heard the roar of a powerful unmuffled motor. A squat black English sedan came out of the driveway. The man had taken off his disguise getting into his car. The raincoat had concealed an Air Force uniform. Light glinted from the insignia on his shoulders; they were eagles.
Shayne waited a moment so the colonel wouldn’t know he was being followed. That was Shayne’s only hope, for the English car had a fast acceleration and considerable power. Shayne managed to hang on for several miles, while they made their way north and west, toward Virginia. He could not work close enough to be sure of the license number.
On Connecticut Avenue, Shayne was held up for a moment by a turning truck. It was a big tractor and trailer, and there was nothing Shayne could do but wait. While it was inching out of his way, the colonel turned off to the right into a maze of side streets. There Shayne lost him.
CHAPTER 9
1:40 A.M.
THE PHONE RANG A LONG TIME. IT WAS ANSWERED BY TWO voices, a fraction of a second apart. One was the Swedish maid, the other Trina Hitchcock.
“Miss Hitchcock?” Shayne said. “Michael Shayne. Will you get the maid off the extension?”
“Michael?” she said vaguely. “Michael Shayne. I have it, Hanna, this is my call.”
There was a click as the maid hung up. Trina said, “You’ll have to start over. I took a pill and I’m not quite in focus. You aren’t still working?”
“Yeah, I’m still working. The Maggie Smith thing seems to be taken care of. But I don’t like the way it happened—it was too easy.”
“Too easy? Mr. Shayne, you aren’t getting through to me. Is she leaving town?”
“It doesn’t matter if she does or not. I’ve got a written admission from Hugh Manners of what she was doing for them and how they were paying her. It won’t hang anybody, but your father can’t pretend he doesn’t understand it. I don’t want to show it to him yet. I’d like to let him go on thinking she went out with him because she liked him. Maybe I’ll send her a copy and tell her I’ll use it if she tries to get in touch with him again. She’s been yanked off by Toby, more or less in my hearing, and I think that probably winds it up.”
“Mr. Shayne!” Trina wailed. “Have pity! You’re going too fast. How in heaven’s name did you get an admission out of Hugh Manners? I can hardly believe it. But there’s no need for you to hang around indefinitely. Why don’t we consider that your part is finished? Give me the letter or what-ever it is. I’ll keep my eyes open. If Daddy shows any signs of doing anything foolish, I’ll let him see it.”
“It’s not that simple,” Shayne said. “Manners sent three people after me, two men and a girl. The girl was wearing a two-hundred-dollar dress. They offered me a large hunk of money and took a swipe at me with a blackjack. And right after that they gave me Maggie Smith without batting an eye. There’s something phony about it.”
“A blackjack, a two-hundred-dollar dress—my head’s spinning. What does it mean?”
“I wish I knew, Miss Hitchcock. I think they have something else
Presently Stevens came out, squeezed into a compact sedan and drove off, probably to rescue Cheryl and the others from the locked Buick. Shayne dozed, leaning against the mailboxes, snapping awake abruptly as the door across the street opened again. This time it was a short, burly figure wearing the raincoat and felt hat Shayne had seen in Manners’ bedroom. The raincoat collar was turned up, the hat brim was turned down. Not much showed in between except the burning spark of a cigarette.
When he went around the building, Shayne left the lobby and slid into his Ford. A moment later he heard the roar of a powerful unmuffled motor. A squat black English sedan came out of the driveway. The man had taken off his disguise getting into his car. The raincoat had concealed an Air Force uniform. Light glinted from the insignia on his shoulders; they were eagles.
Shayne waited a moment so the colonel wouldn’t know he was being followed. That was Shayne’s only hope, for the English car had a fast acceleration and considerable power. Shayne managed to hang on for several miles, while they made their way north and west, toward Virginia. He could not work close enough to be sure of the license number.
On Connecticut Avenue, Shayne was held up for a moment by a turning truck. It was a big tractor and trailer, and there was nothing Shayne could do but wait. While it was inching out of his way, the colonel turned off to the right into a maze of side streets. There Shayne lost him.
CHAPTER 9
1:40 A.M.
THE PHONE RANG A LONG TIME. IT WAS ANSWERED BY TWO voices, a fraction of a second apart. One was the Swedish maid, the other Trina Hitchcock.
“Miss Hitchcock?” Shayne said. “Michael Shayne. Will you get the maid off the extension?”
“Michael?” she said vaguely. “Michael Shayne. I have it, Hanna, this is my call.”
There was a click as the maid hung up. Trina said, “You’ll have to start over. I took a pill and I’m not quite in focus. You aren’t still working?”
“Yeah, I’m still working. The Maggie Smith thing seems to be taken care of. But I don’t like the way it happened—it was too easy.”
“Too easy? Mr. Shayne, you aren’t getting through to me. Is she leaving town?”
“It doesn’t matter if she does or not. I’ve got a written admission from Hugh Manners of what she was doing for them and how they were paying her. It won’t hang anybody, but your father can’t pretend he doesn’t understand it. I don’t want to show it to him yet. I’d like to let him go on thinking she went out with him because she liked him. Maybe I’ll send her a copy and tell her I’ll use it if she tries to get in touch with him again. She’s been yanked off by Toby, more or less in my hearing, and I think that probably winds it up.”
“Mr. Shayne!” Trina wailed. “Have pity! You’re going too fast. How in heaven’s name did you get an admission out of Hugh Manners? I can hardly believe it. But there’s no need for you to hang around indefinitely. Why don’t we consider that your part is finished? Give me the letter or what-ever it is. I’ll keep my eyes open. If Daddy shows any signs of doing anything foolish, I’ll let him see it.”
“It’s not that simple,” Shayne said. “Manners sent three people after me, two men and a girl. The girl was wearing a two-hundred-dollar dress. They offered me a large hunk of money and took a swipe at me with a blackjack. And right after that they gave me Maggie Smith without batting an eye. There’s something phony about it.”
“A blackjack, a two-hundred-dollar dress—my head’s spinning. What does it mean?”
“I wish I knew, Miss Hitchcock. I think they have something else
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