Detective Tales October 1946 by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery, Pulp
Publisher: Detective Tales
Published: 1946-10-09T05:00:00+00:00

Medal for Mayhem

Don James

The future of the young Bill Brays looked mighty dim to Bill, for the minute after he married Vera, he found that he was very close indeed to a cold slab in the morgue, or—even more likely—to becoming a lead-weighted feast for fish!

The shot was loud and sharp—just as she threw her weight on his arm.

SHE watched me pace the living room floor in our small suburban home, probably seeing the worry in my eyes and the thin, tight line of my lips.

Finally I stopped and sat across the room from her in the upholstered chair we’d bought on time payments.

“Vera, we can’t run away any longer,” I said,

Her eyes searched my face and I saw the straightness of her small nose, the slight upcast at the corner of her eyes, the smooth sheath of light brown hair.

It was not worry that was in her eyes. It was fright and the fright had become part of her. She tried to smile, but her lips trembled and her fists were tightly clenched.

I said, “He’s found us again. If it doesn’t happen here, it will somewhere else. It’s as certain to happen as tomorrow’s weather. Let’s stop kidding ourselves that it won’t.”

“We can leave,” she said. “We can go to Seattle, San Francisco…”

I shook my head.

“I’m going to see Len Sash and settle it one way or the other.”

“No! You can’t, Bill! He’ll…”

“There are plenty of things he might try, but I’ll take my chances. I did it before and I can again.”

She stood and walked to me. Tears glistened in her eyes.

“I’m not worth it,” she said quietly. “Why don’t you bow out? It’s all right. I’d understand.”

I reached for her and drew her into my lap. Her head pressed on my shoulder as I held her closely.

“Sash still wants you,” I said. “If he didn’t, our running away wouldn’t have made any difference. You were his girl and he wants you back. Remember New Orleans and Miami? He followed us and we got out in time. Now here. He must want you a hell of a Jot.”

“And as much as he wants you, I want you more,” I said. “You’re mine. You’re Mrs. William Bray. I like what I’ve got and I don’t want it different. Except that we can’t live this way. We have to stop running.”

* * *

I remembered the first time I saw her. It was my second week with Len Sash and I was still trying to get my feet on the ground. Returning to civilian life was not too easy.

Little Petro Carneti told me about Sash one night on Saipan.

“You get back, Bill, and you look up Len. Tell him I sent you. He’ll give you a job.”

“I’m an accountant. What would a racketeer want with me?”

Petro shook his head impatiently. “The rackets are like business now. You got to have guys who can make with the pencil. You keep track of things. So you can look up Len Sash and tell him Petro Carneti sent you.

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