He smiled crookedly and pulled her to him.
‘You’re okay as yourself.’
Her hands on his chest stopped him from kissing her. She didn’t push at him, but the pressure was firm, as if her hands were asking him not to do it.
He released her and stepped away.
‘I guess I’m get ing soft,’ he said. ‘Wel , so long. I guess we won’t see each other again, but if you’re ever in a jam you’l find me at 223 Hundred and Twenty-fifth Street. It’s not more than five minutes walk from here. Up on the top floor. Any time you’re in trouble and want help, come and see me.’ He opened the door, turned to look hard at her. ‘I owe you plenty. Don’t forget the address. You never know. You might need me one of these days.’
He went downstairs quickly, cutting off her reply. Toni and his companion still sat on the steps. They made way hurriedly as Baird came through the lobby.
He ran down the steps, and walked quickly along the sidewalk to his car.
* * *
Jack Burns, who had been lolling against a lamp standard, reading a newspaper, watched him drive away. Then he headed for a nearby drug store. He got Harmon Purvis on the phone after a delay.
‘Burns reporting,’ he said, pushing back his hat and speaking rapidly. ‘Baird left Roxburgh House at eleven-five. Rico didn’t come out with him. Baird’s been cal ing on a girl who has a room on the top floor of an apartment house on Twenty-fifth Street. He stayed about a quarter of an hour. It’s my bet he holed up with this girl when the cops were hunting for him.’