Woman In The Dark

She was smoking by the time he reached her table. He said, “Hello, darling,” and sat in the empty chair facing her across the table. He turned his head to the reporter for an instant to say a careless “Hello, Dunne.”

Luise Fischer said: “This is Mr. Klaus. Mr. Robson.”

Robson did not look at the lawyer. He addressed the woman: “Get your bail fixed up all right?”

“As you see.”

He smiled mockingly. “I meant to leave word that I’d put it up if you couldn’t get it anywhere else, but I forgot.”

There was a moment of silence. Then she said: “I shall send for my clothes in the morning. Will you have Ito pack them?”

“Your clothes?” He laughed. “You didn’t have a stitch besides what you had on when I picked you up. Let your new man buy you new clothes.”

Young Dunne blushed and looked at the tablecloth in embarrassment. Klaus’s face was, except for the brightness of his eyes, expressionless.

Luise Fischer said softly: “Your friends will miss you if you stay away too long.”

“Let them. I want to talk to you, Luise.” He addressed Dunne impatiently: “Why don’t you two go play in a corner somewhere?”

The reporter jumped from his chair, stammering: “Th-thertainly, Mr. Robthon.”

Klaus looked questioningly at Luise Fischer. Her nod was barely perceptible. He rose and left the table with Dunne.

Robson said: “Come back with me and I’ll call off all this foolishness about the rings.”

She looked curiously at him. “You want me back, knowing I despise you?”

He nodded, grinning. “I can get fun out of even that.”

She narrowed her eyes, studying his face. Then she asked: “How is Dick?”

His face and voice were gay with malice. “He’s dying fast enough.”

She seemed surprised. “You hate him?”

“I don’t hate him—I don’t love him. You and he were too fond of each other. I won’t have any male and female parasites mixing like that.”

She smiled contemptuously. “So. Then suppose I go back with you. What?”

“I explain to these people that it was all a mistake about the rings, that you really thought I had given them to you. That’s all.” He was watching her closely. “There’s no bargaining about your boyfriend, Brazil. He takes what he gets.”

Her face showed nothing of what she might be thinking. She leaned across the table a little toward him and spoke carefully: “If you were as dangerous as you think you are, I would be afraid to go back with you—I would rather go to prison. But I am not afraid of you. You should know by this time that you will never hurt me very much, that I can take very good care of myself.”

“Maybe you’ve got something to learn,” he said quickly; then, recovering his consciously matter-of-fact tone: “Well, what’s the answer?”

“I am not a fool,” she said. “I have no money, no friends who can help me. You have both, and I am not afraid of you. I try to do what is best for myself. First I try to get out of this trouble without you. If I cannot, then I come back to you.”

“If I’ll have you.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Yes, certainly that.”

Luise Fischer and Harry Klaus reached the Links’ flat late the next morning.

Fan opened the door for them. She put her arms around Luise Fischer. “See, I told you Harry would get you out all right.” She turned to face the lawyer quickly and demanded: “You didn’t let them hold her all night?”

“No,” he said; “but we missed the last train and had to stay at the hotel.”

They went into the living room.

Evelyn Grant rose from the sofa. She came to Luise Fischer, saying: “It’s my fault. It’s all my fault!” Her eyes were red and swollen. She began to cry again. “He had told me about Donny—Mr. Link—and I thought he’d come here and I tried to phone him and Papa caught me and told the police. And I only wanted to help him—”

From the doorway Donny snarled: “Shut up. Stop it. Pipe down.” He addressed Klaus petulantly: “She’s been doing this for an hour. She’s got me screwy.”

Fan said: “Lay off the kid. She feels bad.”

Donny said: “She ought to.” He smiled at Luise Fischer. “Hello, baby. Everything O.K.?”

She said: “How do you do? I think it is.”

He looked at her hands. “Where’s the rings?”

“We had to leave them up there.”

“I told you!” His voice was bitter. “I told you you’d ought to let me sold them.” He turned to Klaus. “Can you beat that?”

The lawyer did not say anything.

Fan had taken Evelyn to the sofa and was soothing her.

Luise Fischer asked: “Have you heard from—”

“Brazil?” Donny said before she could finish her question. He nodded. “Yep. He’s O.K.” He glanced over his shoulder at the girl on the sofa, then spoke rapidly in a low voice. “He’s at the Hilltop Sanatorium, outside of town—supposed to have D.T.‘s. You know he got plugged in the side. He’s O.K., though—Doc Barry’s keep him under cover and fix him up good as new. He—”

Luise Fischer’s eyes were growing large. She put a hand to her throat. “But he—Dr. Ralph Barry?” she demanded.

Donny wagged his head up and down. “Yes. He’s a good guy. He’ll—”