She stopped talking and stared down at her hands. I didn’t hurry her, and after a while, she went on.
“He took me to a house on the waterfront. As soon as I was inside I knew what it was. I could tell by the awful old woman and the girls that peered over the banisters. It was horrible.”
I gave her a cigarette. We smoked in silence for a few minutes.
“He said he’d keep you there if you didn’t play. Is that it?” I said.
She nodded. “I was so scared I would have done anything to get out.”
“That’s all right,” I said.
“Well, I said I’d go through with it, and he took me back to the Casino. He said they’d watch everything I did. He and Flaggerty would be with us the whole time, unseen, but watching, and if I warned you, they would kill you and send me to that place.”
“Nice guys,” I said. “What happened when I passed out?”
“I knew the brandy was drugged. They had to tell me that so I wouldn’t drink it myself. After you had passed out, I let them in. Speratza and Flaggerty looked you over and put you into the bed. They told me to get in with you and to stay there until it was daylight. They told me I wasn’t to move until then. I was so scared I did what I was told. I knew something horrible would happen. I heard them moving about in the sitting-room, and I know now what they were doing. I stayed awake all night, and then when it got light I went into the sitting-room. Well, you know what happened then.”
I shifted closer to her.