The driver pointed across the street, said: “Garage over there — they ought to have a phone.”
Shane ran across to the garage, found a phone and called Central Station, asked for Bill Hay worth. When Hayworth answered, he said: “There’s a stiff and a prospective in apartment 312 at — West Seventy-Fourth. Hurry up — the girl’s not quite gone. Call you later.” He ran out to the waiting cab, climbed in, leaned back and clipped and lighted a cigar, watched the other cab through the rear window. They went over to the Drive, down two blocks, turned east. Shane thought for a while that the other cab wasn’t following, but after they’d gone several blocks on Seventy-Second he saw it again. They cut down Broadway to Columbus Circle, across Fifty-Ninth.
In front of 71, Shane jumped out of the cab, said: “That’s swell — wait,” went swiftly across the sidewalk and pressed the button beneath the red number.
The slit opened, a voice that Shane did not know whispered: “What is it you want?”
Shane said: “In.” He stuck his face in the thin shaft of light that came through the slit.
The door was opened and Shane went into the narrow hallway. The man who had let him in was about fifty-five — a slight, thin-faced man with white hair combed straight back from high forehead. He closed the door, bolted it.
Nick was standing behind and a little to one side of the slight man. He held a blunt blue automatic steadily in his right hand. His chin was on his chest and he stared at Shane narrowly through thick, bushy brows. He jerked his head up suddenly, sharply, said: “Put your hands up, you son of a bitch!”
Shane smiled slowly, raised his hands slowly as high as his shoulders.
A bell tinkled faintly above the door, the slight white-haired man opened the slit and looked out, closed the slit and opened the door. Another man whom Shane recognized as one of the stud dealers came in. The slight man closed the door.
Nick jerked his head up again, said: “Upstairs.” He put the automatic in the pocket of his dinner coat, the muzzle held the cloth out stiff.