“Not until after I put through that phone call. You’ve got to watch this guy.”
“I tell you I don’t want to be left alone with him.”
“Now look, honey, you sit over here right by the door to the hall. If he makes a move, you shoot. It isn’t as though I wouldn’t be right near here. I’m just going to be down at the end of the hall. I can hear you if you shoot! Heck, I can even hear you if you scream. I’ll be back in a jiffy. If you do shoot, don’t fumble around. Blow the bastard wide open.”
“I’d like to blow him wide open anyway,” she said, “When I think of that girl, with her cute figure, and — I tell you, it makes me sick to my stomach.”
I said to Lowry, “Of course, Bob may not have figured on cutting you in on the deal, but I thought he did.”
“He should,” Lowry said.
I said, “The way I figured the thing, Bob Elgin knew enough about this deal at the motor court. He knew who went out, and…”
“Say, wait a minute,” Lowry said, “you aren’t getting Bob wrong, are you? He runs a clean place down there. He doesn’t let any mobsters hang around the place. An occasional skirt can cut herself a piece of cake, but that’s as far as it goes.”
I said, “Well, he acted as though he knew all about this deal, and he said you and I could clean it up. Maybe I told him too much.”
“You take the gun, honey,” Lowry said. “I’m going to call Elgin.”