Over My Dead Body

The danger was Carla, but for once she acted as if she had some brains. She certainly heard my name called, but she didn't scream or stop and turn around or break into a run. She just kept on going to the entrance. I saw that out of the corner of my eye as I greeted Purley with a hearty grin.

"Well, well, well!"

"It may be," he growled. "What are you doing here?"

I looked around stealthily to guard against eavesdroppers, put my mouth within two inches of his big red ear, and whispered into it, "None of your goddam business."

He grunted, "It's quite a coincidence."

"What is?"

"Your being here in this building."

I tapped him on the chest. "Now, that's funny."

"What's funny?"

"Your saying it's quite a coincidence. It's funny, because that's exactly what I was going to say. Mind if I say it? It's quite a coincidence."

"Go to hell."

"Same to you, and many of them. May I ask, what are you doing in this building?" I glanced around. "You and all your playmates."

"Go to hell."

"How's the roads?"

"Whatta you got in the bundle?"

"Revolvers, daggers, narcotics, smuggled jewels, and a bottle of blood. Want to look at it?"

"Go to hell."

I shrugged politely, told him I'd meet him at the corner of Fire and Brimstone, and left him.

That was okay. But the danger was with Carla having such a fixed idea about going away from America, that she might be keeping her promise and she might not. Even so, I didn't jump into a taxi at the entrance. I hoofed it to the corner and dropped into Bigger's drugstore and stood there. Since it had another exit on 43rd, anyone Purley sent on my tail would either have to pop in after me or make it to the turn in a hurry where he could see both doors. No one did that. I left by 43rd, crossed the street and entered Grand Central the back way, did another manoeuvre in the smoking-room to make doubly sure, went out to Madison Avenue, jumped into a taxi, and sat on the edge of the seat with my fingers crossed and sweat on my brow until we got to the rendezvous and I saw she was there.

I dismissed my taxi, went to hers and opened the door and beckoned her out, paid the driver and sent him off, and waited until he had rounded the corner out of sight before I steered her down the sidewalk to where I had parked the roadster. She wasn't having anything to say. I told her to climb in, and handed her the bundle.