He looked at me thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t start anythin’ if I were you,” he said.
I grinned. “That’s okay, I assured him. “I never hunt around for trouble.”
He jerked the strap off my wrists and stood up. He was a cautious guy but I wanted to get out of that room badly. If they had my five grand I wasn’t going to risk my skin for it. After all, I’d never really had it, so I wouldn’t miss it.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and gently massaged my wrists.
Katz leant against the chest of drawers. He still held the automatic limply at his side. “Take my tip, bozo,” he said, looking at me from under his hat, “you lay off this Vessi business… it ain’t healthy. We don’t want to get a guy like you into trouble. We know all about you. You ain’t bad. The boys think you’re an all-right guy. Okay, that suits me, but stay an all-right guy.”
I raised my head and shot him a look. “Meanin’?”
“Just forget about Vessi, an’ go on with your pen-pushin’. Forget about everythin’ an’ forget you ever seen me or Blondie.”
“Suppose I don’t; what happens then?”
“Well, things happen, you know. The guys who run this show are big guys. They could make a smear of you if they wanted to. They could run you outta town. They could turn on the heat. Yeah, I guess plenty would happen.”
I scratched my head. “You sure got this thing worked out,” I said. “I guess I’d better think it over.” I got to my feet and hunted around for my hat. I found it lying by the door. Someone had trodden on it. I stood there working it into shape. “You better kiss Blondie good night for me… I don’t think I could trust myself to do it.”