“Hmm, yes; there’s something in that. But suppose he puts her off still more? He may throw a scare into her that’ll keep her permanently quiet. Thought of that?”
“Then he won’t be practising what he’ll be preaching. At least, he’s talked himself, and she knows he has admitted he was ordered to kill her. I’ve told her.”
“Well, all right. We’ve got to try something. We can’t hold her much longer. Let them meet, but they are to be under constant surveillance. They are not to be allowed to go off together. Instruct the guards to keep out of earshot, but not to lose sight of them.”
“All right,” Conrad said. “Well, I guess that’s all. I’d better be getting back.”
“There’s one thing we haven’t decided,” Forest said, “and that’s why this girl, if she did see Maurer, won’t admit it. That’s something we’ve got to find out, Paul.”
“The obvious reason is she’s scared of Maurer.”
Forest shook his head.
“I doubt that. A girl of her type wouldn’t know much about Maurer, only what she’s read in the press. I admit his reputation is damned bad, but people who learn about gangster’s reputations from newspapers aren’t really convinced they are as dangerous as the papers make them out to be. There’s something more important than that that’s keeping her quiet. Ever thought she might have a record and she’s scared Maurer’s counsel might bring it up at the trial?”
“That’s a little far-fetched, isn’t it?” Conrad said sharply.
Forest gently touched off the ash from his cigar.