“You’d better talk, Cain,” he said. “We want that girl, and we’re going to get her.”
“You don’t expect me to help, do you?” I said, lighting another cigarette. “I wouldn’t tell you if I knew. We parted company last night after I’d given her enough dough to get out of town.”
“She hasn’t left town,” Killeano said, stroking the bedrail with his small white hands. “There wasn’t time before we closed the roads.”
“Then she must still be in town,” I said, shrugging. “Why don’t you look for her?”
Bat threw a punch at me, but I saw it coming. I rolled off the bed on to the floor, grabbed him around the ankles. He came down on top of me. Flaggerty jumped us, and after a little squirming around and thumping, I felt a gun-barrel against my ear. I relaxed.
Bat’s moronic face was close to mine.
“Take it easy,” he said, “or I’d blow your lid off.”
“I’m easy,” I said.
They stood away. I got up.
“Look,” I said, dusting myself down, “this won’t get us anywhere.” I sat on the bed, and reached for another cigarette. “Let me do a little talking. Maybe we’ll find out where we stand.”