Blood on the Stars ms-15 Read online

  Shayne growled, got up and lounged across the room, took the receiver from her, and said, “Hello, Will.”

  “Did I interrupt something important?” Gentry’s voice betrayed a lively and friendly interest in the feminine voice that had answered the telephone.

  “Oh, no,” Shayne assured him. “That was just my maiden aunt from Peoria. You’ve heard me speak of Aunt Minnie.”

  “Oh.” Chief Gentry hesitated a moment, then added, “Yeh. Rourke was telling me a couple of days ago about that pretty secretary of yours who just blew in from New Orleans.”

  “Tim probably has her out tonight trying to seduce her,” Shayne said cheerfully. “The heel. What’s on your mind, Will?”

  “What have you been doing all evening?” asked Gentry cautiously.

  “Eating dinner right here. Aunt Minnie’s a hell of a cook. Get her liquored up on a fifth of gin and she can do the damnedest things with a dozen eggs, tomato ketchup, and a couple of bottles of beer.”

  “For God’s sake, keep the recipe to yourself,” groaned Gentry. “I just finished dinner and it isn’t setting too well as it is. Sure you’ve been in all evening, Mike?”

  “You can ask Aunt Minnie. I’ll call her to the phone and she’ll tell you-”

  “That’s okay,” Gentry said hastily. “Then you haven’t been on the Beach lifting a couple of hundred grand in rubies?”

  “Rubies?” Shayne scowled at the wall. “What’s up?”

  “Some bird got beaten up and robbed of a bracelet about an hour ago. Painter just called up and he thinks you engineered the deal.”

  “A ruby bracelet? Wait a minute, Will. Is the name-? Lucy,” he called, “what was the name of that cowherder we met in Voorland’s place buying a ruby bracelet last Monday?”

  “Dustin?” Lucy appeared in the kitchen doorway with a plate and dishcloth in her hands.

  “I thought,” said Gentry over the wire, “you said her name was Aunt Minnie.”

  “Dustin,” Shayne growled. “Mark Dustin. Is that the bird?”

  “So you do know about it,” said Gentry gravely. “Painter figures you’re the only one who knew about the bracelet and that Mrs. Dustin planned to wear it for the first time tonight.”

  “So he puts the finger on me for snatching it?”

  “You know Petey Painter,” Gentry said. “Even if he doesn’t actually think you pulled the job, you’ll do for a suspect until a better one comes along.”

  “What does he want with me?”

  “I think he’d appreciate it if you’d return the bracelet. I think you could make a deal with him if you played nice.”

  Shayne said, “Nuts.”

  “Sure it’s nuts,” Gentry agreed pleasantly, “but you’d better go over to the Sunlux and let Painter shake you down.”

  “Let him come over here if he wants to ask me fool questions.”

  “Wait a minute, Mike. He’s ready to swear out a warrant for you if you don’t lope over there pronto.”

  “The hell he is.”

  “I told him you were always glad to co-operate and I didn’t believe that would be necessary.” Gentry chuckled and added, “Is Aunt Minnie afraid to stay alone at night? Tim Rourke is hanging around the press room and I’ll get hold of him if you like and-”

  “Leave Tim out of this,” said Shayne shortly. “I’ll go over and tell the twerp I gave up snatching rocks last week. The Sunlux?”

  “Mark Dustin’s suite. Is there a bracelet worth a hundred and eighty grand, Mike?”

  “That’s what Walter Voorland charged the sucker for it. It looked like junk to me, but if Earl Randolph okayed a policy on it, I could be wrong.”

  Gentry said, “Give my regards to Aunt Minnie,” and hung up.

  Shayne replaced the receiver and walked back to his chair, rubbing his angular chin thoughtfully. He poured a couple of ounces of cognac in his glass and held it up to the light.

  Lucy came in from the kitchen. “What was it about the ruby bracelet, Michael?”

  “It’s been snatched.”

  “Stolen? Already?”

  “About an hour ago.” Shayne scowled and let an ounce of cognac trickle down his throat.

  “This must be the first time she’s worn it,” Lucy exclaimed. “Remember that day they were buying it? Mr. Dustin wanted it delivered by Friday for his wife to wear to a concert.”

  Shayne nodded. “And this is Friday.”

  “So they want you to recover it for them,” said Lucy happily. “That’s nice. You always feel better when you’re working. And there should be a big reward. Goodness! A hundred and eighty thousand dollars!”

  “It isn’t quite as simple as that. Painter thinks I stole it.”

  “Painter?”

  “Peter Painter,” Shayne told her. “On the Beach. You’ve heard me speak of the little bastard often enough.”

  “Oh, yes. But how on earth could he get such a crazy idea, Michael?”

  “It isn’t difficult-not for Painter,” Shayne said morosely. “In this case it wasn’t difficult at all,” he added explosively. He held up his left hand with the five fingers extended and turned down one big-knuckled finger as he made each point:

  “Here’s what he’s got: You wanted the bracelet for yourself. You said so right out loud and I admitted out loud I couldn’t afford it. We were there and heard Voorland’s sales talk and the price. We heard Dustin say his wife wanted it to wear tonight. Added to that, I’m an unscrupulous son-of-a-bitch who has been getting in Petey Painter’s hair for the past seven years, and it’s his theory that if you throw enough mud some of it is bound to stick.”

  “But everyone knows you here in Miami.” Lucy looked at him, her brown eyes aghast.

  “That’s the hell of it.”

  “But-I don’t understand.”

  “Stick around, darling, and you will.” Shayne grinned suddenly, got up and pinched her cheek. “Wait until you read this story the way Painter hands it out to the papers. You’ll discover you’re a kept woman, and that we’ve discovered some sort of lecherous orgy that requires star rubies dissolved in the blood of an unborn mulatto baby with which we drink a toast at the stroke of midnight under a full moon when Jupiter is in the ascendency.”

  Lucy’s full red mouth quivered, uncertain whether to laugh or cry. “Michael! You’re just-teasing.” She moved closer to him. “They won’t dare say things like that.”

  “They’ll hint them.” He put his arms around her. “Wait until I offer our cozy little home-cooked dinner in my apartment as an alibi. Painter can do a lot with that.”

  “But it wasn’t anything. I just-cooked dinner for you.”

  “That’s what you think,” he countered cheerfully. He was suddenly grave, holding her away from him with his hands on her shoulders. “You can still stay clear of it, Lucy. Pack your stuff and move to another hotel. Then buy a ticket and get out of town.”

  “You know I won’t do anything of the kind.” Her eyes were moist and shining. “I’m not afraid.”

  He shook his red head somberly. “It won’t be nice. You really don’t know what you’re walking into in Miami.” His voice became harsh. “I’ve deliberately built up a reputation over the years that lays me wide open for a charge like this. I can take it, but I wonder if you can.”

  “Of course I can,” she said stoutly.

  Shayne chuckled and his hands tightened on her shoulders, then he opened them slowly, placed his palms on her cheeks and pulled her to him and kissed her lips. He said, “You’re swell, Lucy.” He turned to stride across the room to get his hat from a rack.

  Lucy stood where she was and watched him.

  “You’d better go back to your own room. God knows when I’ll get back,” he said when he reached the door.

  “I’ll be here waiting for you,” she said, “when you do come.”

  He nodded and went out, closing the door gently.

  Chapter Six

  PETER PAINTER MAKES A PROMISE

  Cel
ia Dustin opened the door of the hotel suite for Michael Shayne. Beyond her he saw Peter Painter and Walter Voorland conferring together. Mark Dustin reclined on a couch, his right cheek and hand heavily bandaged.

  Celia’s eyes widened when she saw the tall, redheaded detective. “You’re Mr. Shayne,” she said.

  “That’s right, Mrs. Dustin. I heard about the robbery. Is your husband badly injured?”

  “Mark’s so impetuous. He didn’t have a chance against all three of them-and they had guns.” She stood aside to let him enter.

  Voorland looked up, worried and disturbed, and gave Shayne a friendly nod of greeting. Painter strutted forward like a fighting cock and stopped in front of Shayne with his small feet planted widely apart, his hands clasped behind his back. “All right, Shayne,” he snapped. “What do you know about this?”

  “Damned little,” Shayne confessed. He looked over the detective chief’s head at the jeweler.

  Voorland wasn’t chewing gum and he looked grave as he met the question in Shayne’s gray eyes. “It’s bad, Mike. First time Mrs. Dustin wore her new bracelet, and it’s gone-like that.” He snapped his fleshy fingers resoundingly.

  “A perfectly planned and beautifully executed job,” Painter put in aggressively. “By someone who knew exactly what he wanted and where it was going to be at a certain time.”

  Shayne disregarded him and continued to look over his head at Voorland. “I’m surprised that you were able to deliver the bracelet today,” he said. “Not much time for a check to have cleared through a Denver Bank.”

  Voorland nodded in response to the unspoken question in the detective’s voice. “My bank rushed it through by airmail. The full purchase price was paid before the bracelet left my store.”

  Shayne shrugged and moved around Painter to ask Dustin, “Mind telling me how it happened?”

  “See here,” Painter exploded, following Shayne across the carpeted floor. “You’re here to answer questions, not to ask them. I’d like to know-”

  “You’d always like to know lots of things,” Shayne said over his shoulder. “Looks like they really cracked you up, Dustin.”

  The westerner nodded. “I went crazy mad and stuck my neck out a mile. Your boys down here play for keeps.”

  “Now look here, Shayne.” Painter moved around in front of him again. “That bracelet was delivered to Mr. Dustin late this evening. No one else knew the value of it or that his wife planned to wear it tonight except you and that girl-”

  Shayne put the palm of his hand in Painter’s face and pushed. Painter rocked back on his heels and swung up a furious hand to knock Shayne’s palm aside. “By God, I’ll-”

  “You’ll keep your damned yap shut,” Shayne told him with cold anger, “if you expect any help from me.”

  “But you certainly can’t deny-”

  “I’m not going to waste time denying anything,” Shayne broke in harshly. “How did it happen, Dustin?”

  Painter stepped back, bristling with fury, while Mark Dustin gave the detective a brief account of the robbery. “I didn’t see the license number nor any of their faces,” he ended helplessly.

  “There were three of them, you say.”

  “I’m not even certain whether a fourth man stayed in the car behind the wheel or not. But they knew exactly what they wanted. They told Celia to stick her arm out the very first thing.”

  “But they did take your money, too,” Shayne pointed out. “That looks as though they were just out for anything they could pick up.”

  Dustin picked up a highball in his left hand. “You cops are the ones to figure things out. You know the way your mobs work down here better than I.”

  “I’ve been trying to tell Painter,” said Voorland, “how unique this particular bracelet is. The sort of jewel mobs who operate in a resort city like Miami necessarily employ finger men who are experts in their line. One glance at those star rubies would have been enough to send them after the bracelet in a hurry.”

  “But I still maintain it is preposterous,” said Painter angrily, “to presume that a gang would be waiting right here at the hotel on the mere chance that a finger man would see something of value. Remember, Mrs. Dustin insists she didn’t show the bracelet in public except when she walked across the hotel lobby to the door.”

  “That still doesn’t rule out coincidence,” Shayne argued. “Lots of wealthy people wander out of this hotel every night wearing stuff worth grabbing. A smart mob might easily be hanging around waiting for just such a tip-off as they got when Mrs. Dustin flashed her new bracelet. Had the insurance on it gone through?” he asked Voorland.

  “Yes. That is, temporary coverage has been issued pending receipt of the approved policy from New York. Earl Randolph handled it for me, and I’ve phoned him to come over here at once.”

  “Mark!” cried Celia. “Do you suppose there’ll be any trouble about the insurance? You haven’t paid the premium or anything, have you?”

  “I’ve been waiting for someone to mention that,” said Dustin. “I don’t know what the legal position will be. I understood from Mr. Voorland that it was all arranged.”

  “Don’t worry about legal quibbling,” Voorland said with assurance. “International Indemnity is zealous of its reputation for paying every valid claim promptly. Your temporary coverage is every bit as good as a formal policy, even though you haven’t paid a cent on it. Of course,” he added, “the first premium will be deducted from the full amount when settlement is made.”

  “I wouldn’t worry too much about a cash settlement,” said Shayne. “The very uniqueness of the stones in the bracelet makes it a practical certainty that the thieves will be glad to make a deal as soon as they find out what they’ve got.”

  “That sounds like prior knowledge, Shayne.” Painter pounced upon his statement. “Could it be you who is planning to make a deal?”

  Shayne disregarded him. “Isn’t that right?” he asked the jeweler.

  “Exactly,” Voorland agreed. “It will be impossible to sell rubies like that as they are. I have photographs and exact measurements by which they can be positively identified.”

  “But they could be cut up,” Painter interjected.

  “That is exactly what they cannot be,” Voorland explained to him. “Star rubies would lose nine-tenths of their value cut up into pieces. Any cutting that destroys the asterism destroys the value of the stone. Shayne is right. They’ll be offered by the thieves-at a price.”

  The door buzzer sounded. Celia Dustin went to the door and admitted a portly man with a round, shining face and a broad smile that displayed two gold teeth beneath a neatly trimmed mustache.

  He said, “I’m Mr. Randolph. Mrs. Dustin?”

  She said, “Yes,” and offered her hand. Voorland came across to meet Randolph, his eyes grave and intent.

  “This is bad business, Earl,” said the jeweler. “We were just discussing International’s liability if the jewels are not recovered.”

  “We’ve done business together for twenty years,” Randolph reminded him. “Has any company I ever represented tried to avoid a valid commitment?”

  “Just what I’ve been telling Mr. Dustin. You know Shayne and Chief Painter. And this is your client whom I believe you have not met.”

  Randolph nodded to the others and went over to Dustin. He said, solemnly, “I didn’t realize you’d been injured. In the robbery?”

  “That’s right,” said Dustin glumly. “If I’d been sure about the insurance I might not have tried to save the bracelet.”

  “Mr. Voorland has been trying to tell us,” Painter put in, “that the gems in the bracelet are a kind that can’t be cut up and resold readily.”

  “Star rubies? Only an idiot would even consider cutting one up,” Randolph confirmed. “How are you in on this, Mike?”

  “Offering a reward?” Shayne countered with a slow grin.

  “I haven’t had time to think about that phase,” Randolph said slowly, “but I presume-”
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br />   “Wait a minute, Randolph.” Painter spoke up swiftly and emphatically. “You know the law about stolen property. There’ll be no deals with thieves while I’m chief of detectives on the Beach.”

  Earl Randolph smiled blandly and asked, “Are you intimating that Mike Shayne is a thief? It’s perfectly legal to offer a reward for the return of stolen property, and you know it.”

  “But it isn’t legal to offer immunity along with it.”

  “Who said anything about offering immunity? If Shayne can recover the stuff, I won’t ask him how he did it,”

  “It’s a positive encouragement to lawlessness,” Painter declared angrily. “You know as well as I do how such deals are arranged, and I’m determined to stamp out the practice on the Beach.”

  “Just how are such deals arranged?” Shayne asked coldly.

  “All the organized mobs have someone set up as a go-between-someone with the protective coloration of legality-like a private eye. Through this go-between, a deal is arranged with the insurance company for the return of stolen articles at a price, and no questions asked. I’ve no doubt that you and Randolph have arranged many such affairs in the past.” The detective chief whirled and took a sharp turn about the room, came back and stopped before them, adding angrily, “I’m sick of such flaunting of legal authorities here on the Beach and I warn you both I won’t countenance it.”

  Shayne exchanged an amused glance with Randolph and said, “Painter has just got through accusing me of arranging the hold-up tonight.”

  “You seem very sure you can put your hands on the bracelet as soon as a suitable reward is offered,” snapped Painter.

  Shayne laughed indulgently. “That’s because I keep the right sort of company. Some day, Painter, you’re going to shed your diapers and learn that you can’t solve cases by sitting on your pratt and drawing a salary from the taxpayers.” He turned his back on the infuriated man and said to Randolph, “I’ll see you tomorrow and talk this over.”

  “I promise you, Shayne,” said Painter, “that if those jewels are returned through your efforts I’ll slap you in jail as an accessory both before and after the fact and keep you there till you rot.”