Free Build My Gallows High by Geoffrey Homes Page A

We want the big guy.’ He crushed his cigarette in the crystal tray.
    ‘Get me a drink.’ Her hands were shaking now and she seemed to be having trouble with her breathing. She motioned toward the cupboard. Red rose, got the Scotch bottle and two glasses, spilled whisky in the glasses and sat down again.
    She gulped greedily. Her voice was barely audible. ‘You said—you said you were a ringer. And the little man. Where are the right ones?’
    ‘In the can.’
    ‘What do you want to know?’
    ‘All of it. Let’s begin with Red Bailey. He’s a confused individual. Why was he picked for the patsy?’
    ‘I don’t know’ With a fingernail she traced the pattern of the couch cover and she didn’t look at him. The shadows of her long lashes were like cob-webs on her pale skin. Again he reached for her breast. She pushed his hand away. ‘That won’t do any good. I don’t know anything about Red Bailey.’ She shot a suspicious glance at him. ‘What are you so concerned about him for?’
    Careful, Red told himself. He must tread lightly because the ice was very thin. ’We don’t want to leave anything out of the picture. All right. If you don’t know about Bailey, we’ll skip him. Let’s talk about you.’
    She hunted in the glass for courage, found it. ‘I couldn’t help it. I had to do what I was told.’
    ‘Why?’
    it doesn’t matter.’
    With a wave of one hand, Red indicated she could skip that part. It was something he wanted very much to know but it would have to wait.
    ‘I met Eels before I went to work for him,’ Meta said. ‘That’s why I was picked for the job. He liked me. So I played up to him and then I said I needed work. So he put me in his office.’ She stopped talking and wet her lips.
    Red hoped her mind was as dull as her eyes. He poured more whisky in the glasses and tried to act like a man who was doing a routine job. ’Go on,’ he urged. ’We haven’t all night.’
    ‘Last week I was told what to do,’ she explained. Red wanted to stop her there. He wanted to ask who told her but he didn’t dare. ’Two men were coming to New York. One was named Bailey and the other Stefanos. I was to take Bailey to Eels’ apartment, make sure he left his fingerprints around. I was to put something in Eels safe at the office.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘An affidavit made by a woman named McGonigle. It said that Bailey killed his partner in California ten years ago. It told where they could find the body.’
    Red let the Scotch trickle down his throat, felt the warmth of it in his stomach. A good, complete job. No loose ends. Nothing left to chance. When Parker framed you they could hang you in the Metropolitan. A nice, heavy gold frame. That was Parker’s police training.
    ‘We’ll find it in Eels’ safe?’
    ‘Yes. I put it there tonight.’
    ‘No wonder Mr. Bailey was so upset,’ Red said. ‘What was your next step?’
    ‘That was all. The rest was up to Stefanos.’
    ‘You knew he was going to kill Eels?’
    She emptied her glass rather than answer. He wondered if she had a conscience, if she knew what shame was. He said, ‘Jesus, what a cold-blooded bitch!’
    ‘I’m not going to talk any more.’
    ‘Oh yes,’ Red said. You haven’t finished. What did you take out of Eels’ office tonight?’
    She hid her eyes behind heavy lids, put her glass down and dropped her hands in her lap. They were very small and white.
    ‘I was waiting outside the Graybar Building,’ Red said. ‘You went in empty-handed. You came out with a brief case. What was in it?’
    She looked up. ‘What do you suppose?’
    ‘The file on the case Eels was working on?’
    ‘Of course.’ Her eyes studied his face and now there was wariness in her expression.
    The ice was thinner than ever.
    ‘What did you do with the brief case?’ Red leaned forward, trying to hide his nervousness behind the glass in his hand.
    ‘Gave it to a guy.’
    ‘Who?’
    ‘Do you have to ask?’ Her wary glance probed the