(1941) Miss Callaghan Comes To Grief by James Hadley Chase

Author:James Hadley Chase [Chase, James Hadley]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2011-06-04T21:00:00+00:00

They all went off after that and left Benny alone. So he decided to get good and drunk.

A little while later Jay found him, sitting in his armchair, a bottle of Scotch by his side and a glass clutched firmly in his hand.

Jay looked at him. “Hey, soak,” he said, “anythin' left for me?”

Benny got hastily to his feet. “Am I glad to see you?” he said, shaking hands vigorously. “Sure, have a drink. I'll get you a glass.”

Jay pushed him back into the chair. “I'll get it,” he said. “You take it easy.”

When he came back from the kitchen, holding a glass, Benny had just given himself a long shot.

“Wait a minute,” Jay said hastily, taking the bottle away. “You've got to keep sober for a while.” He poured himself out two fingers and sat down on the edge of the table. “Listen, buddy, I want to talk to you.”

Benny shook his head. “I can't stand any more of it,” he said. “Those cops have been making my conk buzz.”

“Never mind about the cops. You an' me've got a job of work to do. You want to find your wife, don't you?”

“Why, goddamn it, of course I do.”

“All right, then. Now listen. You don't know anythin' about how a murder is investigated. Well, I do. I've been watchin' these guys. They're puttin' on a front. They don't want to find out who killed Mendetta. They don't want to find out where your wife is. So they fool around, ask a lot of bull questions and then leave it at that. Maybe they'll forget all about you.”

53

Miss Callaghan Comes To Grief

Benny sobered. “That's cock−eyed,” he said. “It's their job to find out things like that.”

Jay smiled grimly. “That's what you think, but you don't know anythin'. This is serious, Perminger. If you're not ready to do somethin' your wife'll never be found.”

“What have I got to do?”

“I'll explain things so you can understand. Do you know what Mendetta did for a livin'?”

Benny shook his head. “I know he'd got plenty of dough,” he said. “And I've heard he was mixed up with some rackets. What they are I don't know.”

Jay nodded. “Well, I'll tell you. He was runnin' brothels.”

Benny blinked. “You sure of that?” he said.

“I'm sure.”

“Mind you, I wouldn't like to earn my dough that way, but brothels are necessary, ain't they?”

“Not Mendetta's brothels. I've heard he fills them by Slave methods. I don't want to scare you, buddy, but I think your wife's in one of his houses right now.”

Benny stared at him. “What!” he said.

Jay nodded. “I think so, Perminger.”

“You're crazy!” Benny said, his voice rising. He got to his feet. “That's a goddamn dirty lie, and you know it. Take it back, you heel, or I'll kick the nuts off you.”

Jay reached out and shoved him in his chest. Benny flopped over into the chair again. “Quiet,” Jay said.

“You've got to listen to this. You don't know how deep it goes.”

Benny said between his teeth, “You're goin' to be sorry for this, you heel!”

“Aw, shut up; let me tell you.

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