5 Detective Novels Magazine Cover — page 56: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

pI :) down at him. “I should crucify you, Rick,” he said emphatically, “but your splendid record in the past keeps me from doing it. There’s no use of going into the angles on this murder with you because you’re not going to be around to stick your nose into it. I’m suspending you until this thing is cleared up. And just to make sure that you don’t go nosing around, hand over all your identi- fication right now. I mean it, Rick, keep out of this.” iIN‘Get had gripped the city when Rick walked out of headquarters. Where was she? Wherever she was, she was in danger. He was sure of that. But how to trace her? Through Sam? A cab cruised by. Rick jerked erect and whistled shrilly. It pulled over to the curb. He raced towards it and climbed in. Minutes later he stepped out onto the sidewalk not far from the Elite Hotel. He started making a round of the bars. Go in and buy a beer. Take a sip. Ask the bartender in a loud voice if he knew Sam Pitman. Watch the cus- tomers. _ Five blocks ... ten blocks ... fifteen blocks. Fifteen glasses of beer sitting on bars. Fifteen blanks. In the sixteenth place he asked the bartender, “Sam Pitman been in here to- night?” From the corner of his eye he could see several faces down the bar turn towards him. His pulse picked up. The bartender wiped a towel across the bar. “Don’t know him,” he said, turning away. 3 Rick picked up the beer and went over to a booth on the other side of the smoke filled room. He stretched out his long legs, lifted the glass to his lips and took a long drag. Over the edge of the glass he saw two men moving towards him. One of the men was built like a bull, the other like a wire-haired terrier. Both flashily dressed to the point of bad taste. They slid in opposite Rick and watched him with cold, impersonal eyes. He set his beer down and wiped foam from the top of his lip. Wire-haired asked, “Watcha want Sam for?” “Things.” “You a copper?” FIVE DETECTIVE NOVELS MAGAZINE “No.” Rick took another drink, hoping to hide the cold sweat which was breaking out on his face while _ Wire-haired studied him through slitted eyes. Final- ly Wire-haired jerked his head at the entrance and the three of them got up and went outside. Wire-haired motioned down the street and said, “Car’s down this way. Come on.” Rick turned, and the back of his head felt as if it had been blown off. He pitched forward on the sidewalk. Rough hands went through his pockets, and then he felt himself being dragged across con- crete. A car door opened and they tossed him in the back on the floor. The throb- bing pain in his head became more acute as his senses returned. 3 It was an eternity before the car finally slowed down and turned into a long alley between two huge ware- houses. At the end of the alley, they came to a stop, Bull got out of the car, raised a big door. Wire-haired backed’ the sedan rapidly into the building, and Bull lowered the door. They pulled Rick out of the back, each got under an arm, and they started ‘dragging him through the big ware- house. Rick’s heart pounded furiously when he saw the stacks and stacks of boxes in the dim, diffused light. They took him up some concrete stairs, onto a ramp, through a small of- fice, and into a back room. They slammed him into a chair against the far wall. Through eyes which appeared closed, he saw Wire-haired go to an- other door at the end of the room. Bull went to a table in the center, sat on the edge of it and started cleaning his fin- gernails with a long knife. OON Wire-haired came back into the room. “There he is, boss,” he said, nodding at Rick. The boss walked into the room, and Rick felt eyes boring into him. The man was in his shirt-sleeves and wore a shoulder holster. A tuft of red hair stuck up in front of a blue snap-brim hat which rested on the back of his head. Slowly he walked to the table, picked up a pitcher of water and moved towards Rick. COMmMiICcloooe @ S (CO) mM