Gus got out first and opened the door. “Come on out,” he said to Mardi.
She stepped out and he pushed her into the house. The fat guy followed, jerking me with him. We all silently trooped upstairs into the room where Blondie had been kept prisoner.
“Home again,” I said, leaning against the wall. I had been testing the ropes round my wrists and arms during the drive, but I could get nowhere with them. They were on for good.
Gus shoved me into a chair.
The fat guy went outside, and I heard him go into another room. I heard him say something, then a deep voice answered him. I saw Mardi start a little and she looked rather wildly at me. She said something with her lips, but I couldn’t get it.
Then the door opened again and a tall, heavily built man came in, followed closely by the fat guy.
He stood and looked at Mardi, then he said, “I’m sorry about this, but you’re rather in the way.” The way he said it made me suddenly feel cold. He was so casual and calm, but there was a definite threat in his words.
He certainly scared Mardi. She took a step back. “But, Mr. Spencer…” she began and stopped.
So this was Lu Spencer. I looked at him closely. There was nothing very grand about this guy. He was running a little to fat and he was getting thick in the middle. His coal-black moustache and his white hair made odd contrasts. He looked like he had dyed his moustache. His eyes dropped a little, as if he were very tired, but the light in them belied any sign of fatigue.
He selected a cigar from a pigskin case and put it between his teeth. “Give the lady a chair,” he said to Gus.