“We won’t get anywhere,” I said. “I’m goin’.”
Katz shifted a little, so that his back was against the door. “Don’t start anythin’,” he said. “I ain’t ready to plug you yet, but don’t rush me.”
I said: “You better get out of the way.” I was getting mad with this gunman. I guessed he’d think twice about letting the gun off. After all, we were on a main street, and guns can make a noise.
Maybe Katz gave Blondie a signal, or maybe she acted on her own initiative. I had been keeping my eyes on the gun, making up my mind whether I could jump Katz or not, and for a moment she was out of the picture. Well, I deserved what came to me, because I had had a taste of her before. I said already this dame was poison, and poison she was.
Something hard and heavy hit me on the side of my head, and I went down on my knees. The room tilted and the lights began to spin.
Dimly I heard Katz say: “Don’t hit him again…. I wantta talk to this bird.”
Someone grabbed my arms and twisted them behind me and a hard, cold strap bit into my wrists. I felt myself tossed on the bed. My head cleared and I struggled to sit up, but a hand, out of the mists, closed over my face and slammed me back on the pillow. I lay still until I could focus the lights properly, then I raised my head cautiously and looked at them. They stood at the end of the bed, watching me.
Blondie had her arms crossed over her breasts. Her face was indifferent, but her eyes smouldered. Katz chewed the toothpick and held the automatic loosely.
Without taking his eyes off me, he said to Blondie: “What’s it all about?”
“He’s crazy. He came up here an’ said I’d taken five grand off him.”