Manhunt. Volume 9, Number 1, February 1961

Delaney waited until nearly noon, and made sure he was not being tailed, before driving to Film Enterprises on Cahuenga. He was uncertain of his reception. He didn’t know if the syndicate which operated the racket had tied him in with Film Enterprises. But he had no alternative. The model booking activities at the processing plant were his only lead to Mavis. He pushed open the door.

Spaniel eyes grinned a welcome in memory of the bill Delaney had slipped him the day before, then slowly shook his head.

“No sign of her yet,” he said regretfully.

“Damn. I hoped she’d been in,” Delaney rested his elbows on the counter.

“Don’t worry, she’ll be in. Mavis is a good chick, and she needs the dough.” Spaniel eyes looked at Delaney hopefully.

Delaney grinned and lowered his voice: “I sure go for that babe. I hope somebody else doesn’t get to her first.”

Spaniel eyes greedily licked his lips and swallowed. When his adams apple stopped bouncing, he said:

“You say the word an’ I’ll see nobody gets to her. Only, it’ll cost you.”

“That stuff doesn’t grow on trees,” Delaney complained. “But there might be another ten spot for you.”

“It’s a deal,” Spaniel eyes was all smiles. “What’s the phone number on DeLongpre?”

Taken by surprise, Delaney said hastily, “Don’t have a phone.”

“Well, what’s the address? I’ll send her over as soon as she comes in.”

“That’s just a dump I rented to take some pictures in,” Delaney grunted.

“Then how’ll I—?”

“I’ll contact you tomorrow,” Delaney said smoothly. “When she comes in, you’ll have her new address. So you tell me and I contact her.”

“Okay...” But spaniel eyes was worried. He raised one hand, sliding his thumb suggestively back and forth across the ends of his white, spatulate fingers.

“Not so fast,” Delaney laughed easily. “Time enough for that when I get her address. Besides — how else do I get her new address?”

“Yeah,” spaniel eyes grinned, “that’s right. Come back tomorrow. I’ll fix you up.”

Leaving spaniel eyes, Delaney waited in his car where he could watch the entrance, until Film Enterprises closed for the day. But Mavis didn’t come in — of that he was sure.

He spent the evening in his apartment and he was worried. In reviewing events in his mind, Delaney became convinced the men behind the lewd picture racket also were looking for Mavis. Several things pointed to that conclusion. Mavis’ sudden departure before her rent was due was one item. Gladys’ statement the racket was organized, and that a girl who stepped out of line would get in trouble was a second item. The reporting, by the drunken housekeeper, of Eunice’s search for Mavis was a third item. The attempt to pressure him out of the search, having followed Eunice to his office, was another item. When that failed, the attack on him by the thugs at the gas station proved the racket boys weren’t playing games. Why Mavis was coming back, he didn’t know. It was obvious Mavis didn’t know what she was walking into, else she never would have contacted spaniel eyes. Then the model booking activities at the processing plant were the key to the situation. Whoever got there first got to Mavis. He was confident of only one thing. So far, the racket boys hadn’t tied him in with Film Enterprises. With that thought in mind, he went to bed.

Delaney groaned and rolled over.

The bell jangled harshly. It was insistent. Delaney began to swear. He turned on the reading lamp by the bed and looked at his watch. It was 2:10 AM and the bell rang again. He thought it would drive him nuts. He picked up the phone, and suddenly he was wide awake.

It was Elsie. She had returned from Tucson on the midnight plane. Delaney listened carefully while Elsie reported what she had learned. Jim Kennedy was a prominent citizen in Tucson. He maintained a five figure balance in the Southern Arizona Bank and Trust. He owned a successful mining property and a large acreage planted in cotton. Only Jim Kennedy had died three weeks ago. Delaney asked some questions, then told Elsie what had transpired while she was gone. After Elsie hung up, he went back to sleep.

By eight-thirty the next morning, both sides of Cahuenga were lined with parked cars. Delaney’s Chrysler was just south of the entrance of Film Enterprises on the same side of the street. A black Oldsmobile two door, with two men sitting in the front seat, was parked at the street corner behind him.

By nine o’clock, Delaney was wanting a cup of coffee and the drive-in restaurant beyond Film Enterprises beckoned him. By nine-thirty, he thought he had never wanted a cup of coffee so much before in his life. In the hour he had been staked out in his car the only people who had entered the door he was watching were men. By ten o’clock, he could stand it no longer. He stepped from the car and glanced down the street behind him. The black Oldsmobile was coming slowly up the street in his direction. He noticed the car without really looking at it, and turned towards the restaurant. He had taken only a few steps when he saw the woman.