The Vampire Files - Song in the Dark Part 28

"We'll keep in mind that an alliance has perhaps taken place between them, though G.o.d knows why or how, but it might well have been chance. Now I'm going to take these fine fellows off to make sure their brains are still in place.

There's a doctor they know who-"

"Yeah, I think I know the one. Thanks."

"And about Bobbi..." He took me to one side, voice lowering.

"She's better," I said. "She tell you about Mitch.e.l.l?"

"Not much. Too upset. I was the shoulder to cry on until you were free to take over. But I got that Mitch.e.l.l was an extraordinarily bad memory from her past, and it was a terrible shock to see him again. Also, she was afraid it would in some way destroy your relations.h.i.+p."

"No! No, nothing like that. We're fine. I listened, she talked, it's fine, all fine now."

He seemed about to say something to the contrary.

"Faustine's with her, she'll be all right," I insisted.

"She can't be candid about everything. It's good she has another woman to confide to about you, but your condition is a significant influence on matters. Keeping that a secret rather precludes a full lifting of the burden."

"Oh." Not good. The way she looked when I walked out...

"But-" he continued. "You should know that she seems to think you're worth all the trouble and bother. There's no accounting for women and their taste in men."

Yeah, maybe. But Bobbi was miserable, and it really was all my fault.

Escott took the four guys away in his Nash, and a few law-abiding citizens of Chicago still ignorant of Lady Crymsyn's unplanned renovation into a shooting gallery came in to enjoy themselves. By then I'd tucked my clothes more or less back into order, hiding rips and bloodstains by b.u.t.toning the coat. I glad-handed a few people, told them they'd have a great time-leaving out the whammy-and was about to go back to see Bobbi when another guest walked in.

Whitey Kroun took one gander at me and frowned. I returned the favor.

"What the h.e.l.l happened to you?" he demanded. Nothing like an experienced eye to recognize the aftereffects of mayhem.

"That idiot lieutenant of yours," I snapped.

"Oh, yeah? Explain."

I threw a look past him to make sure Mitch.e.l.l wasn't in his wake along with Hoyle and Ruzzo. No one like that, just a lot of women (and men) picking up on Kroun's magnetism and like the check girl perhaps mistaking him for a movie star. "My office. This way."

We climbed the stairs, I ushered him in. The radio was on, but low. By now I couldn't remember if I'd left it that way or not. Kroun took his hat off, brus.h.i.+ng his hand over the streak in his hair, and sat on the couch. He pitched the hat by its brim toward the desk, and it landed square on top of the papers. "So what gives with Mitch.e.l.l?"

"He came by tonight and bothered my girlfriend."

Kroun waited for more. "That's it?" he finally asked.

"It was enough. He pulled his little reunion stunt smack in the middle of a show, threw her into hysterics... I had to drag him backstage." I told the rest, sparing no punches, ending it by putting Mitch.e.l.l's gun on the desk next to the hat. "If he comes back for this, I'll ram it down his throat."

"You think he's working with Hoyle?"

"I donno, but it was pretty d.a.m.ned coincidental of them showing up at the same time. Hoyle tried to kill me-with Mitch.e.l.l urging him on-got within a breath of shooting an innocent lady, and his pals Ruzzo lambasted four of Gordy's best. If they are working together, then you should tell me why."

"You think I'd know that?"

"He's your boy. Where's he been all day?"

"Out." Kroun's eyes were hotting up.

"This isn't just me with a gripe. It's about Gordy, too, because of his men being here. If you know what Mitch.e.l.l might be up to-"

"I don't know a d.a.m.ned thing!"

"Then you should find out. If he was doing a job for you or someone else or for himself, he's been made."

"What kind of job? Killing you? Hoyle tried to do that the other night all on his own, he doesn't need Mitch.e.l.l."

"Then take me out of the picture. What else would he need Mitch.e.l.l for? What else would Mitch.e.l.l need Hoyle and Ruzzo for? The four of them wouldn't be hopping into the same bed just to knock me off. Something's brewing."

"Until tonight Mitch.e.l.l had no reason to kill you. Now he might go with Hoyle just to help out."

"Not going to happen. They've crawled out of whatever hole they've been hiding in, and someone's gonna spot 'em and pa.s.s the word to me. You better hope Mitch.e.l.l isn't there when I go in."

Kroun leaned forward. "You listen to me, kid, you don't take any action about Mitch.e.l.l. He's my department. You got away with b.u.mping Bristow because of special circ.u.mstances, but do anything to Mitch.e.l.l, and nothing will save you. You will disappear the same as Bristow: dismembered and in the lake."

Well, that would do the trick of killing me for good. Death, the ultimate solver for all my problems. "Okay, I got that. But you get this-your boy was warned off from seeing my girl and came in regardless. He got his a.s.s kicked because he deserved it. So long as he stays away from her I won't have to repeat the performance. That's all I'm concerned with. If Hoyle's a separate thing, then I'll take care of it separately. But if Mitch.e.l.l's cooking up something with him-"

"You bring him to me, and I will deal with it."

The silence stretched. For a long moment I was tempted again to influence Kroun over to my side, find out for sure if he was truly ignorant about Mitch.e.l.l's actions. Again, just thinking about it made me ache. I knew I didn't want to risk that stab-in-the-eye agony; I might not be able to vanish fast enough. "Well?" he asked.

"No problem. In the meantime you might want to locate your boy and find out where he's been keeping himself."

Another silence. Kroun almost seemed to be waiting for something. Finally, he nodded. "Fair enough. You just remember we each have our own corners."

"I'll remember. How long's Mitch.e.l.l been with you?"

"Couple years."

"You friends?"

"What's it to you?"

"I have friends. I look out for them."

"Like Gordy."

"Yeah."

Kroun grunted. "I need to talk with him. Face-to-face. Derner doesn't know where he is, hasn't got a number. Said you'd know."

"He safe. Resting." And healing, I hoped.

"Take me to see him, then."

I was tired of getting the kid-brother treatment. "What's with Gordy that you can't settle it with me?"

"It's about you. You want more, you put me and Gordy in the same room."

That set up a whole new batch of speculations, most of which I was sure I wouldn't care to know anything about. I could guess it had to do with me taking over for Gordy permanently. Or not. "Not" was fine with me, so long as Gordy was the one back in charge.

I reached for the phone and dialed Coldfield's club office. It rang a lot, then someone picked up the receiver. "The boss there? It's Fleming."

Coldfield agreed to allow Kroun a visit, but not until tomorrow. Apparently Dr. Clarson put his foot down after seeing the condition of his overtired patient. He'd barred all visitors, and the phone was off the hook. I asked if Gordy was better, but Coldfield had no information, only that the patient was safe and quiet. I pa.s.sed the meager news to Kroun. He nodded, but wasn't pleased by the delay.

"I'll be by tomorrow, then," he said.

"Come just after opening, and I'll get you there."

"Why not earlier?"

"Because it's what the doctor ordered." That lie came easy.

Kroun picked his hat up along with Mitch.e.l.l's gun and walked out. It was only after he'd gone that I realized he'd made no comment at all about the Caine murders, and the papers were still on the desk, big as life with headlines and pictures. I thought Kroun had come over in the first place to talk about them. Mitch.e.l.l's behavior could have knocked that out of his head, seeing's how it was closer to home. But Kroun might have turned up to see my reaction to Mitch.e.l.l's threat and Hoyle's shooting.

d.a.m.n it all, I should have tried hypnosis no matter what it did to me. Too late now.

Lady Crymsyn's second show was nearly over by the time I worked up enough spirit to leave the office. I was drawn out by the sound of Bobbi's glad voice. She was back onstage, confidence firmly restored along with her smile as she belted her closing song. She was amazing. Not one sign of what she'd gone through showed. It was as though it had never happened, and that was unsettling.

I watched from the entry, just out of sight from the patrons in the main room, not wanting to distract her. The damage was covered up, I thought, and covered very well, but still there under the surface. Escott would say to be patient and let time do the healing, but I'd hurt her and would continue to hurt her. No way out of that. Some small commotion in the lobby got my attention for a moment. By now the front entry was closed to new customers, but someone wanted in, banging on the door. I heard Escott's m.u.f.fled voice and the doorman's response. I went back down the pa.s.sage in time to see Escott hurry across the lobby toward the stairs, his arm around a huddled- over female in a too-large coat.

The female was Evie Montana.

Chapter 12

Even after all this time, when I should have been used to it, Escott still had the ability to make my jaw drop. How he could have left with four of Gordy's goons and returned with Betty Boop I could not imagine.

He glanced over his shoulder as I dogged him to the office. "Oh, good," was all he said, and continued on. Evie wore her dancing shoes and spangled stockings from last night's show. Her long overcoat seemed several sizes too big until I realized it was a man's coat. Not only that, it was a tan-colored vicuna, and had belonged to Alan Caine.

Jeez, what now?

Escott guided her to the couch, made her sit, then went to the liquor cabinet, poured her something, and made her drink. I kicked the office door shut and stood in front of it.

"What gives?" I asked.

"She said she saw the murder."

"I didn't see! I heard it!" she choked out, then fell into tears.

I'd had enough of those for one night and left Escott to deal with the deluge. My only help was to go to the washroom across the hall and bring back a roll of toilet paper. She traded her drink for the roll and began pulling off yards at a time, blowing her nose between bouts of howling.

It took a while before she settled down enough to answer questions. Escott filled in things up to a point. Evie left the Nightcrawler Club in a hurry, rented a flop someplace, and hid there, trying to think what to do. Eventually she remembered Escott had been a nice man. She'd been hanging around outside Lady Crymsyn for hours hoping to spot him. When he'd returned from driving the muscle to the doctor's, she made her move.

"Poor child's half-frozen," he added. "I doubt she's had anything to eat, either."

"We'll get her an eight-course dinner with music if she'll just tell what happened."

Evie did more carrying on, but I figured out she was enjoying the attention and barked her name, loudly. That hauled her up short.

"What?" she asked, sounding hurt.

"You tell us. What did you see?"

"I didn't see. I heard."

"Okay, what did you hear?"

It came tumbling out almost too fast to follow. She'd gone with Alan Caine to his dressing room as she usually did between shows. They liked to spend time together... talking. They were shy about people knowing anything, though, so when someone knocked at the door, Caine bundled Evie into the closet. That always made her giggle, but she was real quiet when he called his visitor in. Caine pretended to be alone; it was their secret.

Caine said, "h.e.l.lo, you. Come back for more? I think I can-"

Then he stopped talking and made a funny sound. Then there were some vague, thras.h.i.+ng noises. None went on for long, but they were odd. Evie couldn't see any of it since the closet was fast shut, and she knew how mad Caine would be if she left before he said so.

The dressing-room door opened and closed, so it was plain that the visitor was gone. Caine didn't call to her, though. Finally, after a long, long time, maybe a couple minutes, she ventured to peek out.

She didn't like what she saw. Nearly fainted from it. Survival instinct overcame her fond feelings for Caine, and she knew she'd have to leave and quick. Not knowing who had done the deed, she could trust no one. She didn't dare go back for her own coat, and lit out wearing Caine's instead, using the stage door and running as fast as she could in her dancing heels.

"Did you see anything in the alley?" I asked. "Anyone?" "No."

"What about Jewel Caine?"

Evie seized on the name. "That witch! She did it. I know she did!"

"She didn't," I said.

"You don't know her! She hates him."

"She didn't do it."

"She did! I'll make her tell!"