1:40 A.M.
The phone rang a long time. It was answered by two voices, a fraction of a second apart. One was the Swedish maid, the other Trina Hitchcock.
“Miss Hitchcock?” Shayne said. “Michael Shayne. Will you get the maid off the extension?”
“Michael?” she said vaguely. “Michael Shayne. I have it, Hanna, this is my call.”
There was a click as the maid hung up. Trina said, “You’ll have to start over. I took a pill and I’m not quite in focus. You aren’t still working?”
“Yeah, I’m still working. The Maggie Smith thing seems to be taken care of. But I don’t like the way it happened-it was too easy.”
“Too easy? Mr. Shayne, you aren’t getting through to me. Is she leaving town?”
“It doesn’t matter if she does or not. I’ve got a written admission from Hugh Manners of what she was doing for them and how they were paying her. It won’t hang anybody, but your father can’t pretend he doesn’t understand it. I don’t want to show it to him yet. I’d like to let him go on thinking she went out with him because she liked him. Maybe I’ll send her a copy and tell her I’ll use it if she tries to get in touch with him again. She’s been yanked off by Toby, more or less in my hearing, and I think that probably winds it up.”
“Mr. Shayne!” Trina wailed. “Have pity! You’re going too fast. How in heaven’s name did you get an admission out of Hugh Manners? I can hardly believe it. But there’s no need for you to hang around indefinitely. Why don’t we consider that your part is finished? Give me the letter or what-ever it is. I’ll keep my eyes open. If Daddy shows any signs of doing anything foolish, I’ll let him see it.”
“It’s not that simple,” Shayne said. “Manners sent three people after me, two men and a girl. The girl was wearing a two-hundred-dollar dress. They offered me a large hunk of money and took a swipe at me with a blackjack. And right after that they gave me Maggie Smith without batting an eye. There’s something phony about it.”
“A blackjack, a two-hundred-dollar dress-my head’s spinning. What does it mean?”
“I wish I knew, Miss Hitchcock. I think they have something else underway, which probably involves your father. I also think they don’t want me around when it happens. Do you know how I can get in touch with Senator Wall?”
“He lives at the Park Plaza, but he won’t thank you for waking him up at two in the morning.”
“I’ll take a chance. Thanks.”
“Mr. Shayne-” she said quickly.
He waited. After a moment she said, “Well, frankly I don’t understand it. It’s cold comfort to be told that you don’t either. I’m in no position to give you orders, though, so goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
He looked up the Park Plaza and dialed the number. The switchboard girl connected him with the night manager, who explained that they had a policy of not ringing their guests’ rooms after midnight without advance authorization, and would Mr. Shayne care to leave a message?
Shayne said, “I’m calling on Senate business, and it’s important. Can you tell me whether or not he’s in his room? If he hasn’t come in yet I won’t waste any time arguing.”
“One moment.” When the voice returned to the line, it reported flatly but with a faint note of surprise, “Senator Wall is out.”
Shayne’s exhausted body was telling him to call it quits, but he forced himself to keep going. He looked up Ronald Bixler’s address; the little Civil Service investigator might know where he could start looking for Wall. Then he dialed Trina Hitchcock’s number again.
She picked up the phone promptly.
“Shayne again. Sorry to keep bothering you, but Senator Wall hasn’t come in.”
“That’s funny. He’s a stickler about how much sleep he gets, and with that big hearing in the morning-”
“Probably that’s what he’s working on. Did he give you any idea of where he might be?”
“No, it was very cloak-and-dagger and hush-hush, that’s the way Tom is. But I still don’t see why you’re so anxious to talk to him.”
“I don’t think he knows Manners is in town. I know where he can be found if Wall wants to hit him with a subpoena, but it has to be done now. I doubt if he’ll still be there in the morning.”
“Why should anybody want to subpoena Manners? It’s Sam Toby they’re investigating. I assure you, Tom Wall knows what he’s doing, and in any event I’m not in his confidence.”
“Will you wake up your father for me?”
“I wouldn’t think of it. Mr. Shayne, in fairness, this isn’t really your forte, is it? You’ve taken care of Maggie Smith, and you seem to have done it thoroughly and well. Daddy’s on the alert now and nothing so terrible is going to happen. Now don’t make any more trouble. Go home.”
“What do you call trouble?” Shayne said softly.
“I didn’t mean that. I know I’m not making any sense. But I engaged you to do something specific, the kind of thing experience has fitted you for. You’ve done it. Why isn’t it over? Of course I want you to consider that whatever is left of that ten thousand dollars is your fee, and please accept it without arguing.”
“Is it your money, Miss Hitchcock?”
“What are you implying by that? Of course it’s my money. Mr. Shayne-isn’t it barely possible that some of these interrelationships may be more than you can hope to work out in a couple of hours?”
“Barely possible,” Shayne said wryly.
“And that by bulling around blindfolded, the way you’ve been doing, you may be doing more harm than good? Right now my father may not appreciate what you’ve done. Probably he let fly some fairly caustic observations about meddling busybodies, et cetera, but someday when he can think back on this period in tranquility, he’ll give you credit for preserving him from the stupidest blunder an old man can make. Now will you go home?”
“I’ll think about it,” Shayne said.
“Do. Now I intend to take another pill. Goodnight again.”
Shayne had promised to think about it, and he thought about it for fully a minute after he hung up. Then, swearing savagely under his breath, he put himself back together and left the booth.