“Why did you let him out?”
Brodie was too angry to reply. He pulled into an alley, and brought the car to a stop.
“Hop out,” he said to Cronin. “Look out for yourself from now on. You’ve got nothing to worry about, though.”
Steve Cronin clambered from the touring car. His legs were still weak, and he steadied himself against a lamppost. Brodie drove away immediately, leaving the thwarted gangster to his thoughts.
Cronin looked up and down the alley, as though afraid that the ominous man of the car was still present. Then he managed to regain control of himself, and he started in the direction of Sommers’ cigar store.
He entered by the back door, and found his way to the room upstairs. There he discovered Georgie Sommers and the girl whom he had expected to meet.
“This is Mr. Cronin,” said Sommers. “Steve, I want you to meet Kitty Boland.”
Cronin managed to smile as he bowed. The girl was a handsome brunette, of a type that appealed to gangsters.
Cronin realized that he must pretend that nothing worried him, and he tried to forget the episode of the car. He sat down at the table with Sommers and the girl. He accepted the drink that was offered him.
An hour went by. Then Cronin, his braggadocio restored by the drinks that he had taken, suggested that he and Kitty Boland should go somewhere together. Sommers agreed that the idea was a good one.