The Velvet Touch by Edward D. Hoch

Author:Edward D. Hoch [Hoch, Edward D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Fiction, Mystery & Detective, General
ISBN: 9781885941428
Publisher: Crippen & Landru
Published: 2016-07-17T04:00:00+00:00

The doorman, a white-haired man named Fred, was willing to take the dog when Nick told him they’d found Bruno alone in the park. “He must have gotten separated from his master,” Nick said “We saw the name and address on his collar, so we brought him back.”

“I can’t understand that,” Fred told them. “The dog never ran away from him before. What’s the matter, Bruno?” He carefully patted the dog’s neck. Bruno let out a sudden bark. “Collar too tight?” Fred loosened the dog’s collar and Bruno quieted down. “Good dog,” the doorman said.

“You’ll keep him for Mr. Wilde?” Nick asked. “He’s a friend of ours.

“Sure, I remember seeing him with you yesterday. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of Bruno.”

They left him and walked back to where Nick had left the car in the park. “What now?” Gloria asked.

“We look for Sandra Paris. And we look for Fingers O’Toole because that’s who she’s working for.”

“What about the book you’re supposed to steal?”

“First I’d better find my client. The book can come later.”

They spent the rest of the day checking local hotels, but neither O’Toole nor Sandra Paris were registered under their own names. Every hour Gloria tried calling Wilde at his apartment and at the supper club, but he hadn’t returned.

Nick called O’Toole’s New York number but there was no answer there, either. “What do you think they want him for?” Gloria wondered.

“I don’t know. I don’t even know if O’Toole wanted his presence or merely his absence. Maybe Tony was going to do something or be somewhere and they wanted to stop him.”

In the afternoon they went back to the park, back to the men’s restroom where it had happened. But there was nothing to be found. Nick had Gloria inspect the ladies’ restroom as well, though it was some distance down the path. “Are you sure there’s nothing you forgot?” he asked her. “Is it possible he came out the roof somehow while you were phoning me?”

“You think I wouldn’t have seen him?, You think the dog wouldn’t have caused an uproar? Nicky, he walked through the door — that one and only door — and he never came out.”

“Come on,” Nick said, depressed. “I’ll take you out to dinner.”

“Where?”

“Where else? The Wilde Spot, of course.”

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