He ran with her across the landing, kicked open the door and blundered into the dark room. He kicked the door shut and stumbled over to the bed.
Invisible against the wall, Baird lifted the gun. He stood motionless, every nerve in his body tense, while he listened to the struggle going on on the bed.
‘You devil!’ he heard the girl gasp. ‘You mustn’t!’
‘Not even a cop with a gun!’ the man panted as he struggled with her. ‘You asked for it this time, bambino. You get it.’
Baird made a move towards the bed, then stiffened back as he heard a quick rush of feet on the stairs.
A voice shouted outside the door, ‘Open up!’
The door was flung open, catching Baird and pinning him behind it. The white light of a flashlight swept into the room and lit up the bed.
The man on the bed twisted his head around and glared along the beam of light. There was a savage, animal expression on his round, sweaty face.
‘Ain’t there any privacy in this goddamn world?’ he shouted violently. ‘Get the hell out of here!’
The two cops, one with a Thompson at his hip, the other with an automatic rifle, gaped at what they saw.