Free An Affair For the Baron by John Creasey

and took out the key. The door had locked automatically. No one appeared to take any notice of him. He made special note of the position of the locker, then went to a writing desk on the main lobby, wrapped the key in a sheet of paper and sealed it in an envelope, then took it to the main desk.
    â€œPut this with the mail for guests who haven’t arrived yet, will you?” He used a slow, drawling, American voice.
    â€œYes, sir. What name, please?”
    â€œMr. Mendelsohn,” Mannering said. “It’s a little gift for my wife – I don’t want her to collect it when she comes for her key.”
    â€œI understand, sir.”
    Mannering waited for a few seconds, then moved away, satisfied no one had watched him; the mail “awaiting arrival” box was the last place where anyone would expect to find anything belonging to guests who had already registered. He sauntered back to the spot where he had seen Ethel.
    She was still there – talking to Texas Tommy.

Chapter Eight
    â€œTexas Tommy”
    The girl was arguing indignantly, and although the man kept his voice low, that remarkable intonation made a lot of people look round. They were arguing as young lovers might, Mannering reflected dryly. He walked past them, out of the side entrance, where there was a line of taxis. He approached the first driver and spoke in a drawling but natural-seeming voice.
    â€œIf I hire you for the day, will you do exactly what I tell you?”
    A pair of deep-set, intelligent eyes studied him for a few second. Then: “Sure. If it’s legal.”
    â€œI want to find out where a Texan in a pale brown mohair suit and a ten-gallon hat goes,” said Mannering. “I think he’s a millionaire with designs on my daughter. If he comes out this way, you follow him, and I’ll follow you.” While speaking, Mannering took out a ten dollar bill and passed it over; it disappeared as if by sleight of hand. “If he uses the other entrance I’ll come to the corner – you pick me up as fast as you can.”
    â€œYou’re taking a chance,” the taxi driver said, and the bill hovered into sight again.
    â€œI know.” Mannering smiled, waving the money away. “Thanks.” He went back into the hotel, seeing the Texan and Ethel still in the main lobby, but now the man’s hand was on the girl’s arm. Almost as soon as Mannering dodged behind a pillar, they began to move towards the entrance from which he had just come. He turned and raced the other way, along Michigan Avenue and past bewildered passers-by.
    When he reached the corner, the young man with the huge hat was moving off at the wheel of a Chrysler convertible. Ethel was beside him. The taxi driver was already following in their wake; as he caught sight of Mannering he winked. Ethel caught sight of Mannering, too, but her companion seemed interested only in the traffic ahead.
    Mannering hailed another taxi.
    This driver was as bright as the first, and soon caught up with him, staying a reasonable distance behind. They took two right turns, drove in the gloom beneath the elevated railway for several blocks, and then swung left along a wide street, jammed with traffic. There was nothing Mannering could do, so he sat back, relaxed, relying on the driver. Soon, they were among tall, red brick apartment buildings. Mannering saw the convertible turn into the driveway of a new block which seemed to be made of glass; both taxis passed, the leading one stopping two entrances along.
    â€œTake the next right,” Mannering said.
    This was only fifty yards away, and soon, Mannering was speaking to the driver he had first hired.
    â€œLeave my daughter to me,” he ordered. “You keep track of Texas Tommy.”
    The driver grinned with friendly knowingness.
    Mannering approached the new glass building, noting the sign outside which read:
    LAKE VIEW APARTMENTS
1½ : 2½ : 3½ : 4½