Safer Dead

It was coming up for seven o’clock by the time I had tracked down Glynne Avenue, but I decided to keep on working while I could. I remembered Creed’s warning. If he were right, then the chances were I would get slung out of town before very long, and I wanted to find out as much as I could before I did run into trouble.

Glynne Avenue was a modest tree lined street at the eastern end of the promenade: a street of apartment houses and tourist pensions, and No. 256 turned out to be a brown stone apartment house.

Having located it, I drove the Buick to the nearest car park some hundred yards down the street, left the car, and walked back.

I climbed the steps to the front door and stared at the five name plates which told me nothing. It was obvious that someone had taken over Fay Benson’s apartment, but I had no idea which apartment she had occupied.

The situation called for thought. I wasn’t anxious to advertise the fact that I was inquiring for her, and yet I had to take a chance, if I was to find out who her successor was. I was about to thumb the bell to the first floor apartment when the front door opened and a girl appeared.

She was dark and pale with nice eyes; not a beauty, but pleasant on the eye. She was the kind of girl you’d take home for your mother to see; that kind of girl. She started when she saw me, not expecting to see anyone, then smiled nervously.

‘You gave me a fright.’

‘I’m sorry,’ I said, taking off my hat. ‘I was about to ring the bell.’ She looked safe enough to confide in, so I went on, ‘I’m looking for Miss Bennett. I understand she lives here. Miss Frances Bennett.’

The girl looked sharply at me. I could see the surprise in her eyes.

‘Why, Frankie’s been gone months. She left Tampa City in August.’

‘She has? Well, what do you know? That’s a big disappointment. I promised to take her out the next time I was in town.’

She smiled then.

‘What a shame. No, Frankie’s left. I don’t know where she’s got to. I was hoping she’d write, but she never has.’

‘Are you a friend of hers?’

‘Oh yes. We shared the apartment together.’

‘My name’s Sladen,’ I said. ‘This is a big letdown for me. I was hoping she would have dinner with me.’

She looked at me with sudden interest, mixed with caution. What she saw apparently reassured her for she said, ‘I’m Irene Jarrard. I don’t know if Frankie ever mentioned me. I’m sorry, Mr. Sladen, but she’s gone: that’s the way it is.’

‘Yeah, too bad.’ I gave her my best boyish smile. ‘I guess you would be dated for tonight, Miss Jarrard? You couldn’t take pity on a stranger? I was hoping for a little company tonight.’

‘Oh well, I don’t know.’ she stopped, hesitated, then laughed nervously. ‘You see, Mr. Sladen, I don’t really know you. I’ll be honest. I was going out to supper on my own, but I don’t think . . .’

‘I’m harmless,’ I said. ‘I’ll prove it to you if you’ll join me. I can’t very well, if you don’t, can I?’

She laughed again.

‘That’s fair. Well, all right. I’d love to.’

‘Fine. My car’s at the end of the road. Where shall we go?’

‘There’s Lodoni. It’s a little expensive, but the food’s marvellous: that is if you like seafood.’

I said I was crazy about seafood.

By the time we reached Lodoni’s restaurant, I had got her confidence, and we were talking away as if we had known each other most of our lives.

She was telling me she worked for Ryman Thomas, the advertising man, as I drove up a sand covered drive that led directly to the neon plastered restaurant, and she broke off to say: ‘Perhaps we shouldn’t have come here. It’s going to be expensive. I don’t want you to have to spend a lot of money.’

I laughed, thinking what a favourite she would be with Fayette.

‘I’m in an expensive mood tonight. Think nothing of it.’ I pulled into the parking lot, and together we walked over to the restaurant entrance.

It was a pretty nice joint. The big restaurant overlooked the ocean, and although it was fairly crowded, we managed to get a table on the balcony that gave us a fine view of the sea, the bathers frolicking in the moonlight, and the wonderful sweep of the promenade.

Irene told me she had heard the turtle steaks at Lodoni’s were out of this world, so we had turtle steaks. We started with two very dry martinis, followed by scampi, then the turtle steaks. While we ate, we talked. When we got to the coffee and cigarette stage, I brought the conversation around to Fay Benson.

‘Why did Frankie leave town, Miss Jarrard?’ I asked. ‘Did she give you any reason?’

Irene shook her head.

‘I just can’t think. I went off to work as usual and when I got back she had gone. She left no note; she had just gone.’

‘She took all her things?’

‘Oh, yes; otherwise I should have been much more worried than I was. As it was, I couldn’t understand it. I called the Golden Apple, but they were just as surprised as I was.’

‘Who did you speak to at the Golden Apple?’

‘The stage manager: Mr. Hewlitt. Frankie hadn’t said anything to him about leaving.’

‘Do you remember the exact date?’