To get a man out of that swamp would be a hell of a job, Baird thought, as he walked quickly along the sidewalk towards the garage where he kept his car and, if the man resisted, it could be impossible.
But difficulties never worried Baird. He never considered defeat. He would try, and if it didn’t come off it would be just too bad. If it did the prize of ten thousand was worth having.
But he would have to make certain the money was there. He didn’t trust Kile. He knew instinctively that Kile wasn’t the top man. Someone was using Kile as a front. Baird was sure Kile didn’t want the job to come off. Even before the final arrangements had been made, Kile was jumpy and scared. Someone bigger than Kile was pushing him into the job either by threats or by the inducement of money.
What was the doll-faced blonde doing mixing herself up in this? Where did she fit in? She was scared, too. When he had said the job wasn’t impossible, she had flinched as if he’d hit her. Before he committed himself he would have to find out something about these two, and if he could, find out who the top man was and why he wanted this man in jail kidnapped.
There might be even more than ten grand to pick up if he kept his ears and eyes open. The job seemed full of possibilities.
He reached the garage, got into the battered Ford and drove over to the walk-up apartment house where Anita rented her room.
He left the car a hundred yards or so beyond the entrance to the house, walked back and paused to look up at the top window. It was in darkness, and he grimaced, sure now she was asleep.
There were still a number of people in the street and sitting at open windows, and he felt their eyes on him. Two men sat on the doorstep to the apartment house, smoking, and as he came up the steps they looked curiously at him. One of them was Toni, and Baird gave him a hard, menacing stare.
Toni shifted quickly to one side to give Baird room to pass. Baird saw the scared look that came into Toni’s eyes, and he felt like taking Toni by his mop of black hair and banging his head against the wall until his brains spilled out.
But he kept on, walking into the smelly, dimly lit lobby, and began to mount the stairs, aware that Toni and his companion were staring after him.