Billy Boyle: A World War II Mystery by James R. Benn

Author:James R. Benn
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Soho Press
Published: 1999-12-31T16:00:00+00:00

“This, Kaz,” I said, “is called cooling our heels. Get it?”

“Ah, yes. Since we are waiting, our feet are not moving and staying warm. Yes?”

“I guess so. The expression is used whenever you’re waiting for someone, but especially women.”

“Some things are worth cool heels, yes, Billy?”

“Yes, Kaz, especially in your case. Daphne is a beautiful woman.”

“Beauty is not as hard to find as intelligence and a certain charming independence. Daphne combines all those attributes. Sometimes I can’t believe how lucky I am.”

“How did you two meet?”

Kaz smiled slyly. “Do you really mean what does such a beautiful woman see in a little Polish man with a heart condition, even if he has ‘Baron’ in front of his name?”

“No, I was just curious, really,” I protested quickly, maybe too quickly. “But since you put it that way, tell me. How did you end up with Daphne?”

“You won’t believe me, Billy.”

“Try me. We’ve got time to kill.”

“Murdering time. I must file that one away, Billy. I like it, especially in light of our investigation. A race against time to find a killer and perhaps a spy, and here we are killing time. Ironic, yes?”

“Sure, Kaz. Now, back to Daphne.”

“Yes. It was one night at the Dorchester. I was dining alone and two couples were seated at the next table. Daphne and her younger sister, Diana. They were escorted by two young Royal Navy officers. They all looked elegant and quite dashing.”

Kaz stopped, a smile on his lips as he remembered. Then a look of embarrassment swept over his face and he reddened slightly.

“This sounds melodramatic, but our eyes met. I was frankly staring at her, and when she looked up at me, I didn’t look away. We just stared at each other, as if we were long-lost lovers who could not remember what the other looked like. It was actually quite uncomfortable, but I couldn’t look away. I think her sister noticed, but the young men didn’t. They were too busy trying to impress the girls. Then the air-raid warning sounded. Everyone got up to go into the shelter, but I stayed at my table.”

“Why?” I asked.

Kaz stared down at the floor, his elbows resting on his knees. He took a minute before answering. A minute is a long time to wait when a guy has his eyeballs locked on to the linoleum.

“At the time, I had recently received word that my parents were dead. And I was recovering from an episode with my heart; I had been in hospital. There just didn’t seem to be much point in . . . life. I was commissioned in the Polish army, but they wouldn’t assign me any duties at all because of my condition.”

“You didn’t care if you lived or died.”

“No, I didn’t. It was quite inconsequential. Until that night, anyway.”

“What happened next?” I asked.

“The most extraordinary thing. I heard Daphne tell her companions that she wasn’t going to the shelter with them, that she was going to drink champagne with the Polish officer.

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