He went on until he came to the back door and let himself in. He moved quietly down the dark passage.
Faintly he could hear the crews in the garage washing the cabs down. He could hear the murmur of voices and an occasional laugh.
He knocked gently on Spade’s office door and went in. Spade looked up sharply. His face cleared when he saw Lefty. “Come in,” he said. “Raven sent you?”
Lefty shut the door softly. “Yeah,” he said. “You got a little trouble, ain’t you?”
“Sit down. I’m glad you’ve come. It’s time we had a talk. Why didn’t Raven come himself?”
“He’s busy,” Lefty said, still standing. “You know a lot, don’t you?”
Spade shrugged. “You mean about Raven? Why, sure. It’s my job to know things. Raven’s been behind Grantham since Mendetta was bumped. I know that too.”
Lefty nodded. “Bright boy,” he said. “What else do you know?”
Spade reached for a pipe and began to load it. “I know, for some reason or other, Raven’s driven the girls off the streets. It ain’t that he wants a clean town. Raven ain’t that sort of a guy. He’s done it for something that’ll fill his pockets, but I don’t like it.”
“Too bad,” Lefty said, and smiled mirthlessly.