"That"s fine. Sit down, Miss Borg: relax. I have a modern fairy story to tell you."
Absentmindedly, Anna sat down, but was up immediately with a gasp of pain.
"You sit on a tack or something?" Fenner asked, interested.
"Standing is good for my figure," Anna said, forcing a smile. "In my line, I have to watch, my figure."
"Relax, baby. I"ll watch your figure. It"ll be a pleasure."
"Now, see here, mister," Anna said, "If this turns out to be a gag..."
"This is no gag, Miss Borg," Fenner said smoothly. "We have a client with more money than sense. He wants to finance a musical on Broadway: that"ll tell you how crazy he is, but who are we to discourage him? He"s got the book, he"s got the music and now he wants a star. He insists we use local talent. He made his money in Kansas City and he"s sentimental. He wants some local girl to have the chance to be a star. We haven"t found anyone yet as good as you. Do you want the chance?"
Anna"s eyes opened wide.
"Do I want it? You really mean I"ll be a star on Broadway?"
"There"s only yourself to stop you. All Spewack has to do is to call our client, tell him about you and it"ll be in the bag."
"Oh gee! It"s too good to be true!"
"I said it was a modern fairy story, didn"t I?" Fenner said airily. "A year"s run on Broadway; then Hollywood. You have a great future ahead of you."
"When do I get a contract?" Anna asked, thinking she would pack at once and walk out on Eddie. "When do I meet Mr. Spewack or whoever it is?"
"I"ll have a contract ready for you to sign this afternoon. You"ll be lunching with Mr. Spewack in New York this time tomorrow."
"You"re sure your client really wants me?" Anna asked, suddenly nervous. "Didn"t you say Mr. Spewack had to telephone him first?"
"I"m glad you brought that up," Fenner said, lighting a cigarette. "There is that. Before we can talk to our client, there"s a little situation that needs clearing up. We like you, Miss Borg, but frankly, we don"t like your friends."
Anna stiffened.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, the boys you run around with aren"t exactly the cream of society, are they? Take Eddie Schultz as an example. You"ll have a lot of publicity, Miss Borg, once the news leaks out you"re going to be the star of this show. We have to be careful it is favorable publicity."
Anna began to look worried.
"I"m not married to my friends. Once I get to Broadway, I wouldn"t dream of a.s.sociating with them any more."
"Well, that"s nice to know, but a while back you were tied up with the notorious Frank Riley and he"s right in the news. The press are certain to connect you with him. It could kill the whole show if that little item hit the headlines."
Anna suddenly felt sick with disappointment.
"I--I scarcely knew Riley," she said. "I--I just met him. You know how you meet people."
"Look, Miss Borg, you have to be frank with me. You don"t meet people the way you met Riley just by chance. I"ve had to check on you. Don"t imagine I like poking my nose into your affairs, but if we are going to make a big star out of you, we can"t afford any scandal. I understand you knew Riley intimately."
Anna made a despairing gesture.
"Then why come here, raising my hopes? I knew this was a gag! I knew it was too good to be true."
"Hey, hey!" Fenner said. "Don"t get depressed. There"s always a way around every problem if one thinks hard enough. Now, look, Miss Borg, we can"t hide up the fact that you have a.s.sociated with hoodlums. That"s impossible. So what do we do? We must use the fact to your advantage, and not to your disadvantage. They say the whole world loves a lover. I"ll tell you who the world loves even better than a lover: a reformed character! That"s what you"re going to be. We"re going to feed the press with a big sob story. We"re going to tell them how you started from nothing; how you became infatuated with Riley without knowing he was a hoodlum; how you desperately tried to make him go straight when you finally found out what he was; how you lost faith in him when he kidnapped the Blandish girl. Do you get it? From the moment Riley walked out of your life, you have been trying to get away from your sordid environment, but Eddie Schultz appeared. He forced you to live with him. Then came this chance to appear on Broadway. You seized it with both hands. The hoods of Kansas City are now the thing of the past You"re a reformed character."
Anna didn"t think this sounded very convincing.
"Do you think they"ll believe it?" she asked doubtfully.
"If they don"t, baby, you"re sunk," Fenner said, shaking his head.
Anna leaned against the mantel. She wished she could sit down. There was a hollow feeling inside her. She was sure now that this Broadway offer was going to be just a pipe dream.
"How are you going to make them believe it?" she asked. "Newspapermen! How I hate them! They spy and pry and they never leave you alone once they think they have a story. They don"t give a d.a.m.n how much they hurt you, how much mischief they cause, how many hearts they break so long as they get their story. I hate them all-- the stinking sonsofb.i.t.c.hes!"
It wouldn"t do, Fenner thought, to tell her that he was once a newspaperman. She would probably shoot him.
"I"ll tell you how we can convince them," he said. "Boy! What a story it would make! You"d be headline news throughout the country and good headlines at that."
"What are you talking about?" Anna snapped.
"Look, suppose through you, the Blandish girl was found. Imagine! Think what it would mean to you: television interviews, your picture in every newspaper, Blandish paying you a reward and your name on Broadway in four-foot lights!"
"Are you drunk?" Anna demanded, her face suddenly hard. "I don"t know anything about the Blandish girl. What"s the matter with you?"
"You knew Riley. For all you know, you may have the one clue that would lead the police to him."
Anna"s eyes turned vicious.
"Yeah? Maybe Frankie did walk out on me, but I"d never give him away to the cops. What do you think I am? A squealer?"
Fenner shrugged his shoulders and got to his feet.
"If that"s your idea of a reformed character, Miss Borg," he said. "I"m wasting my time. Well, it"s been nice meeting you. I"ll just have to tell Mr. Spewack h.e.l.l have to look elsewhere for our local talent."
"Wait a minute," Anna said hurriedly. "If I knew anything, I"d tell you, but I don"t."
"When did you last see Riley?" Fenner asked.
"The morning before the s.n.a.t.c.h. Bailey telephoned him about the necklace. Riley told me he was going to grab it."
"Did he say anything about kidnapping the girl?"
"No."
"So you didn"t hear anything from Riley after he left you on the morning of the kidnapping?"
Anna hesitated.
"Well, yes, I did. He telephoned me from Johnny Frisk"s place."
Fenner drew in a long deep breath. Here it was at last! The new lead! Something she hadn"t told the police.
"Johnny Frisk? You mean the old rummy who lives out at Lone Tree junction?"
"That"s him." Anna suddenly stiffened. "How do you know him?"
"I get around," Fenner said. "So Riley was out there? And you never told the police that?"
Anna was staring suspiciously at him.
"Just who are you?" she said. "This is a gag, isn"t it? Are you a cop?"
A sound made both of them look towards the door. Someone had unlocked the front door. Quick steps sounded, then the door leading into the sitting room jerked open.
Eddie Schultz came in.
"I forgot my G.o.dd.a.m.n wallet..." he began then he saw Fenner.
"Pardon me, pal," Fenner said quietly and uncorked a right hook that hit Eddie flush on his jaw. Eddie went down as if he was pole-axed.
Anna turned and rushed into the bedroom, but by the time she had got her gun, Fenner had vanished.
Slowly Eddie sat up, holding his jaw. He stared at Anna. Then he got to his feet.
"What"s going on?" he demanded shakily. "h.e.l.l! That punk"s nearly bust my jaw! What was a G.o.dd.a.m.n newspaperman doing in here?"
Anna stared at him in horror.
"A newspaperman?" she screamed.
Her expression sent a chill up Eddie"s spine. He had a terrible premonition that his future was about to explode in his face.
6.
Ma Grisson was just finis.h.i.+ng an early lunch from a well-loaded tray on her desk when the telephone rang.
Doc Williams who was keeping her company, drinking, but not eating, picked up the receiver.
"It"s Eddie." Eddie Schultz"s voice sounded strained. "Ma there?"
Doc offered the receiver to Ma.
"Eddie."
She took the receiver, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
"What is it?"
"Trouble, Ma. Remember Dave Fenner who worked on the Tribune? He"s been here while I was out. He kidded Anna he could put her on Broadway if she could give him a line on the Blandish s.n.a.t.c.h. She told him the last time she had spoken to Riley was at Johnny"s place. He"s gone off like a bat out of h.e.l.l."
"What?" Ma bellowed, her raddled face turning purple. "I know that sonofab.i.t.c.h! He"ll hammer the truth out of Johnny! I always said we should have knocked that old drunk off!"
"That"s why I phoned, Ma." Eddie sounded badly shaken. "Listen, Ma, we can"t blame Anna. She didn"t know what we know."
"Come down here!" Ma snarled.
"The punk"s nearly bust my jaw," Eddie said. "I"m feeling like h.e.l.l. I thought you"d better get Flynn..."
"Don"t tell me what to do!" Ma snarled and slammed down the receiver.
Doc"s face had gone grey. He looked helplessly at Ma.
"Don"t sit there like a d.a.m.ned old dummy!" Ma bawled at him. "Get Flynn, Woppy and Slim! Hurry!"
Doc hurried out.
Within a few minutes Flynn and Woppy came in. They both looked startled. Doc came in a moment later with Slim who was scratching his head and yawning.
"Listen," Ma said, "we could be in trouble. That chippy of Eddie"s told a newspaperman about Johnny. This guy has probably gone out to talk to Johnny. If he gets tough with the old drunk, Johnny will talk. You three go out there fast. Wipe Johnny out. We should have done it before now. If the newspaperman"s there when you arrive, knock him off too. Bury them both. Get going!"
"It"s a four hour drive," Flynn grumbled. "You sure..."
"You heard what I said!" Ma roared, jumping up and smas.h.i.+ng her big fists on the desk. "And drive like h.e.l.l! You"ve got to get there before Fenner does!"
Slim said, "I"m not going. To h.e.l.l with it! I"ve got something better to do."
Ma came around the desk. She looked so mad even Slim drew back.
"You"re going! You"re getting too G.o.dd.a.m.n soft! If you don"t shut that old drunk"s mouth, you"ll lose your plaything. You hear me? Now get the h.e.l.l out of here!"
Muttering, Slim followed Flynn and Woppy out of the room.
"As bad as that, Ma?" Doc said feebly. He wished he hadn"t had that extra drink. He was feeling dizzy.
"Women! Women! Women!" Ma snarled, pounding on the desk. "Always the same! Barker... Karpis... Dillinger... they all went the same way... because of women! Everything I"ve planned could be shot... just because a G.o.dd.a.m.n chippy opens her G.o.dd.a.m.n mouth!"
As Woppy and Slim made for the exit, Flynn who had made a date with Maisey for the evening, paused by her as she was arranging her cloakroom counter.
"We got business, babe," he said. "The date"s off. I"ll be lucky if I get back by nine."
He ran on down and joined Woppy and Slim as they bundled into the Dodge.