I shook my head. "I don't know. Did you hear anything?"
"I thought I did," she said. "But I'm not sure."
We listened. Silence.
"A car came in a minute or so ago," I whispered. "It hasn't gone." I swung my feet to the floor. "I don't hear Ben around I"
I went to the window. A big Plymouth sedan stood on the driveway. There was no sign of Ben nor the driver.
I waited, frowning.
Footsteps sounded on the concrete below, feet scraped, paused, came on. A woman's shadow came into my vision. I couldn't see the woman unless I moved the screen and leaned out of the window. I wasn't going to do that. I studied the shadow.
A sudden electric thrill ran down my back. I thought I recognized the shape.
I turned quickly, grabbed my trousers, slipped them on, dragged on socks, shoes, snatched up my gun.
"Have they come?" Clair asked in a small voice.
"I think so," I said grimly. "There's a woman down there. I think it's Lois. Stay here. I'm going to have a look."
She whipped out of bed, clung to me.
"No, don't," she said. "Please, darling. Let's call the police. They want you to go out there. They'll be waiting for you."
I patted her arm. "Okay, we'll call for the police," I said. "You better get some clothes on."
I slipped out of the room, crept down the stairs. It was dark. I moved cautiously, silently. I suddenly remembered what Clairbold had once said about the art of stalking. It occurred to me that I might have put in a little practice in my room the way he had. It wasn't such a dumb idea after all.
I reached the lobby, crossed to the front room where the telephone was. We had drawn the curtains before going to bed, but I didn't risk putting the light on. I wanted them to think we hadn't heard them.
I groped around, trying to find the telephone, found it, lifted the receiver. There was no humming sound on the line. I rattled the cradle once, twice, smiled grimly, hung up. They had cut the wires.
I crossed to the window, lifted the curtain an inch, looked out. The Plymouth still stood deserted on the runway. I couldn't see the woman, but after peering round I saw a dark shape lying by the office building. It could have been Ben or it might have been one of the dogs.
I went back to the lobby, stood listening.
Clair came to the head of the stairs; she had a flash-light in her hand.
"Keep that light off the curtains," I said softly.
"Are the police coming?" she asked.
"The line's cut," I returned. "Wait here. I'm going to look out the back."
"Don't go out," she said breathlessly. "I know that's what they expect you to do. They're watching the doors."
I thought she was probably right.
"I won't," I said, moved along the short passage to the kitchen.
Here, the blinds weren't drawn. I crawled on hands and knees across the room, raised myself, looked out of the window.
Lois Spence was out there, I saw her distinctly. She was wearing dark slacks and coat. She was looking up at the upper window. I could have shot her easily enough, but I hadn't the stomach to shoot a woman.
Clair joined me. We squatted on our heels, side by side, watching Lois, who continued to stare up at the upper windows. The moonlight was bright enough for me to see she still favoured Fatal Apple make-up. She looked as coldly disdainful as she had always looked.
"I'd like to give her a fright," I said, "but as long as Bat keeps out of sight, we'll play possum."
"Where is he?" she whispered, her hand on my arm. I was surprised it was so steady.
"I haven't seen him yet," I said. "When I do I'm going to make a little hole in his hide. I'm taking no risks with Bat."
Lois suddenly turned, walked away, heading for the front of the house.
Faintly we could hear through the closed window a clink of metal against metal.
"What's that?" Clair asked, stiffening.
I listened. Something metal dropped on the concrete, out of sight. It came from the gas-pump section of the station.
"I don't know," I said uneasily. "I wish I knew what has happened to Ben. It's not his fight. If they've hurt him . . ."
Clair's grip on my arm tightened. "Please don't do anything rash—–"
"I won't, but I'm getting tired of letting these two roam around as if this is their home," I said. "I'm going into the front room. Maybe we'll see something from there."
She went with me. As we reached the lobby, a wild scream rang out. The sound came from the front of the house.
I darted forward, but Clair hung on to me.
"It's a trap," she said- "Wait . . . listen . . ."
I paused.
A car engine suddenly roared into life, gears clashed, tyres screeched on the driveway.
I darted into the sitting-room, lifted the curtains, peered out.
The Plymouth sedan was roaring down the driveway. It turned as it reached the highway, belted away into the night.
Lois Spence was lying on the concrete by the air towers.
I jumped to the front door.
"Wait," I said to Clair, threw off her restraining hand, opened the door.
"No!" she cried. "Don't!"
I slipped out, waved her back, reached Lois as she struggled to rise.
Her face was ghastly with terror. A red-blue mark showed on her face where she had been struck.
"He's lit a fuse to the gas dump," she mouthed at me. "Get me out of here! My God! We'll be blown to hell! The stinking rat double-crossed me! Get me out of here."
She grabbed at my pyjama jacket. I wrenched free, leaving a strip of material in her hand.
"Clair!" I yelled frantically. "Quick! Come to me! Clair!"
I dashed towards the house, saw Clair in the doorway, yelled to her again.
The whole sky seemed suddenly to split open; a long tongue of orange flame rushed up into the night, and I was conscious of a tremendous noise.
I saw Clair, her hands before her face, her eyes wide with terror. I couldn't run any more. I was crouching, my hands over my ears when a blast of suffocating air struck me down.
I struggled up on my knees, saw the house sway, crumble, tried to yell, then the ground kicked up, trembled, and another tremendous explosion ripped open the shattered night sky. Blast picked me up and threw me away as the house came down like a pack of cards.
6
The nurse beckoned. I stood up, braced myself, crossed the corridor. "You can go in now," she said. "You'll keep her quiet, won't you? She's still suffering from shock."
I tried to say something, but words stuck in my throat. I nodded, went past her through the open doorway.
Clair was lying in the small bed facing me. Her head was a helmet of white bandages; her right hand was bandaged too.
We looked at each other. Her eyes smiled. I went over, stood beside her.
"Hello," she said. "We made it, darling."
"We made it all right," I said, pulling up a chair. "It was a close call, Clair. Too close. I thought I wasn't going to see you again." I sat down, took her left hand.
"I'm tough," she said. "Did they say if I—I—–"
"It'll be all right," I assured her. "You're more scorched than burned. You'll look as lovely as ever when they're through with you."
"I wasn't worrying for myself," she said. "I didn't want you to have an ugly wife . . ."
"Who said I had a pretty one?" I said, kissing her hand. "Someone's been kidding yon."
She fondled my hand, stared at me.
"There's not much left of our home, is there?" she asked in a small voice.
I shook my head. "It's all gone," I said, ran my fingers through my hair, smiled at her. "It was a lovely blaze while it lasted."
Her eyes darkened. "What are you going to do, darling? You won't get unsettled?"
I patted her hand. "No. I'm going to build again. As soon as you're better we'll talk it over. I have ideas. We can build that restaurant of yours. The joint's well insured. There won't be any trouble about money. It'll take a little time, but maybe it'll turn out to be a good thing in the long run. I never did like the position of the station. I'll rebuild it facing the road."
"What happened to them?" she asked, gripping my hand.
I knew that question had been on her mind ever since she had recovered consciousness.
"Lois is here," I said. "She was pretty badly burned. The Doc doesn't think she'll get over it."
She shivered. "You mean she's going to die?"
I nodded.
"And Bat?"
"Yeah . . . Bat. Well, they got him. He ran into a police car. There's nothing to worry about, darling. He's fixed."
I bent down, pretended to fiddle with my shoe-lace. I knew if she looked at me now I wouldn't have been able to have met her eyes, and then she'd have known I was lying. Lois was in the hospital, but Bat was still loose. I wasn't going to tell her that.
"You mean our troubles are really over?" she asked.
"You bet they are," I said, straightening. "As soon as you're well enough to leave here, we'll start right in again. You'll like that, won't you? You'll be able to have your restaurant, and we'll make a pile of dough."
She closed her eyes, relaxed.
"I did so hope you would say that, darling," she said.
The nurse looked in, beckoned.
"Well, here's the tyrant again," I said, getting up. "I'll be back tomorrow. Take it easy. We have a lot to look forward to." I kissed her lightly, touched her hand, went out.
There was another nurse waiting in the corridor.
"Miss Spence is asking for you," she said.
"Okay," I returned, looked at her. "How's she making out?"
The nurse shook her head. "She was dreadfully burned," she said. "I don't think it will be long now."
I followed her along the corridor to Lois's room. A cop paced up and down outside. He nodded to me as I went in.
Lois was lying flat. Her face hadn't been touched. They had told me that hot oil had flowed over her chest. She looked practically done.
I stood over her, waited.
She looked up, her eyes, dark with pain, searched my face.
"Hello, gambler," she said- "You had all the luck."
I didn't say anything.
She chewed her lip, frowned. "I want to talk to you."
I pulled up a chair, sat down.
"You'd better take it easy," I said. "You'll need all your strength. You're pretty ill, Lois."
"I know it," she said, her mouth twisting. "I'm through. But I wanted to see you before . . ."
"Okay, go ahead," I said, waited.
"Men have been my bad luck," she said, staring at the ceiling. "They all let me down except Juan. I was fond of Juan, Cain. I kind of went crazy when I lost him. But I should have left you alone. Evening things up isn't my strong suit—not against you, anyway. You're too lucky, Cain."
"You haven't done so badly," I said. "You blew my home and business to hell. What more do you want?"
She sneered. "But you're still here, and your girl. Juan isn't, and I'm finished too."
"Let's skip it," I said. "This won't get us anywhere."
"Bat double-crossed me," she said, spitefully.
"What did you expect? The snake would double-cross his own mother."
"My fault again," she said. "I wanted to use him to even things with you, but he thought I'd fallen for him. I ought to have played with him until this was over, but I gave him hell.
How could I fall for a filthy brute like him? I told him so, and he fixed me." She moved her legs restlessly. "They swear they've filled me full of dope, but it hurts—it hurts like hell."
I didn't say anything.
"I taught Bat how to explode the gas dump, rehearsed him for weeks. God! He was dumb. He couldn't have done it without me. He wanted to shoot you, but I had to be smart. You see, it didn't work out. I wanted to see you and your girl go up in flames along with your smug little home."
I looked away. It was no use hating her; she was dying and she'd paid for what she had done.
"You're not letting Bat get away?" she asked abruptly.
I shook my head. "Where is he ?"
"What'll you do to him?"
"Shoot or arrest him," I said. "I don't care which. One or the other."
She grimaced, sweat was running down her face. "I wish he could suffer the way I'm suffering," she said.
"Where is he?"
"He'll have cleared out of my apartment by now," she said, frowning. "He'll go to Little Louis. I think you'll find him there. He won't know where to hide. You'd've caught him long ago if it hadn't been for me. He hasn't any brains."
"Where's Little Louis?" I asked impatiently.
She gave me a downtown address in San Francisco.
"Who is he?"
"Just one of the boys," she said indifferently. "He holes up anyone on the run. Watch your step, Cain. I want you to catch Bat."
"I'll catch him," I said, standing up.
She closed her eyes.
"Well, I don't look awful," she said, "that's something, I guess. I'd hate to die ugly."
I couldn't stand the atmosphere any longer.
"So long," I said.
"Kill him for me, Cain," she said.
I went.
Waiting for me in the corridor was Tim Duval. At first, I couldn't believe my eyes.
"What did you expect?" he said, shaking hands. "As soon as we read about it, I flew up. All the boys pooled the fare. They wanted to come too, but they couldn't get away."
"Am I glad to see you," I said, slapping him on the back.