| Show Telegram Te Serial Guns at Cyrano's Cyrano Is IsBy By Raymond Chandler Read a new mystery serial complete I every week in The Telegram r CHAPTER CHAPTER CHAPTER- ONE nr ED D MALVERN got out of his I coupe and stood for a while 1 by the side entrance of the Carondelet Then he went in and got into an elevator with a cushioned cush cush- floor Lo Albert Albert- AlbertA A swell rain The slim slim tired-looking tired kid in pale blue and silver shot the car up to nine whooshed the doors open then leaned suddenly against the cage and closed his eyes Malvern stopped on his way out flicked a sharp glance from bright brown eyes the matter Albert Sick The boy worked a pale smile on his face Im double shift Corky's Gorky's sick I 1 guess maybe I didn't eat enough The tall eyed brown-eyed man fished a a. crumpled spot five-spot out of his pocket The boys boy's eyes bulged Mister Malvern I didn't I mean I Skip it Albert What's a fin I between pals He got out of the car and started along the corridor The r run running u n n i n g man almost knocked him off his feet He rounded the turn fast lurched past Malvern's shoulder ran for forthe forthe forthe the elevator Malvern l saw a white set face under a pulled-down pulled hat that was wet with rain two empty blackeyes blackeyes black blackeyes eyes set very close Malvern went wenton on down the corridor and around the turn H HE E SA SAW SAV V the girl lying half inand inand in inand and half out of the open door of She lay on her side in m a sheen of steel gray lounging pajamas pajamas pajamas pa pa- jamas her head a mass of thick 1 corn blond hair waved with glassy precision Malvern slid down beside her touched her cheek It was vas warm H He lifted the hair softly away from her tier head and saw the bruise Sapped His lips pressed back against his teeth He picked her up in his arms carried her through a short hallway hallway hallway hall hall- l way to the living room of a suite He went back to the hallway and picked up a handled bone-handled 22 21 automatic automatic automatic auto auto- matic seven shot He took a silver flask out of his inside breast packet opened the girls girl's mouth with his fingers and I poured whisky against her small white teeth She gagged and her LI E eyes opened They were deep blue I with a tint of purple I He lit Ht a and stood looking lookIng looking look- look 1 Ing down at her After awhile I she ehe he whispered G I Who Vho are you I Ted Malvern I live down the i hall In I I 1 I got a dizzy spell I 1 guess i Uh Vh You got sapped angel r I saw the guy He was snowed t to u the hairline And heres here's your gun T He took it out of his pocket S held it on the flat of his handI hand I suppose that makes me think thin k t up a bedtime story the girl sai said d II slowly Not for me If youre you're in a jam jamI I might help you It all depends I Depends on what 1 Her voice e r Was colder sharper I On what the racket is he saidi said i softly He walked over to a des desin desk deskI deskin k I in front of the windows There wa waa was wasa wasI s I a leather photo frame on the desk r with two photos side by side Ai A i handsome dark woman and a thi thiP thin n r P blondish eyed cold-eyed man whose high stiff collar large knotted ti tir tie e r and narow lapels dated the photos photo s back many years The girl was talking behind him I Im Jean Adrian I do a number numbe r at Cyrano's in the floor loor show 1 Ii I M MALVERN i ALVERN still glared at th the e photo I know Benny Cyrano Cyran o pretty well he said absently I These your parents Yes They've been dead fo foI for forI I years j she he said dully Next Nex t question 1 He went quickly back to th the e davenport and stood in front o of f her Okeh he said thinly I Im m nosey So what 1 This is my tow town n. n j My Iy dad used to run it Old Marc Marcus us Malvern the Peoples People's Friend This Thi S Sis Is 18 my hotel I 1 own a piece of it it She stood up suddenly and he her r face got a little white You tat talk k to me as if I was a crook she I snapped Here it is if you have j to o know A boy friend of mine has been seen getting threats Hes He's a I fighter and they want him to drop a fight Now they're trying to get I I at him through me me Malvern picked his hat off a chair nodded quietly and said in a changed voice oice I I beg your pardon He started toward the door I The girl said behind him softly You have a nasty temper And youve you've forgotten your jour flask He went back and picked the the I flask lask up Then he bent suddenly put a hand under the girls girl's chin and kissed her on the lipsTo lips I To hell with you angel I like you he said softly He went back to the hallway and out I Tony Acosta the bell captain was slim and dark and slight as a I girl with small delicate hands and I velvety eyes and a hard little I mouth He stood in the doorway and said I Seventh row was the best I 1 could get Mister Malvern This I Deacon Werra Verra aint bad and Duke the next light heavy I champ knocks them over and not only in the ring Hes He's got gota a peachy blonde right on this floor Miss Adrian in Hes still a bum Tony Okeh Ill I'll meet you for dinner in front of your jour hotel at seven The Tribune office was at Fourth and Spring Malvern parked around the corner went in at the entrance On the fourth floor big double doors were lettered City Room Malvern Mahern went in n and up to a lanky red haired man Greetings Teddy Hows How's the thedie idle die rich 1 Malvern said Hows a glance at your our clips on a guy named Courtway State Senator John Courtway to be precise T 1 HEY went through a door into a i big room that was mostly six foot oot tiers of filing cases with an occasional alcove in which there was a small table and a chair Malvern scuffed through a thick wad of cuttings They were monotonous monotonous monotonous mo mo- political in nature not front page After a while he said Got a print I 1 could sneeze I Adams sighed stretched himself himself himself him him- self disappeared down the line of file walls He came back with a shiny narrow black and white photograph You can keep it he said We Ve got ot dozens The guy lives forever Malvern looked at the photo with narrow eyes for a long time Its right he said slowly Was Vas Courtway ever married Not since I left off my diapers diapers diapers dia dia- pers Adams growled And that Malvern said is isery very ery funny indeed And forget you OU ever saw me The fat man put his face close to Malvern's face He said with a wheeze You think its it's fixed neighbor Yeah For Werra How much says so Count your poke I got five fire yards that want to grow Take it Malvern said tonelessly tonelessly tonelessly tone tone- lessly and kept on looking at the back of a corn-blond corn head in a ringside seat He couldn't see sec the face He didn't have to Boy this is from home the fat man said He put his face close to Malvern's face again Im Skeets ONeal No little powders huh Malvern smiled very slowly and pushed his money into the fat fatman's fatman's mans man's hand You hold it Skeets Im I'm Ted Malvern I can shoot faster fast fast- er than you can run run and and fix it afterward Tony Acosta stared soft-eyed soft at atthe atthe the money in the fat mans man's pudgy tight hand Gee that's lost dough Mister Blister Malvern he whispered Unless Unless- unless you got something inside Enough to be worth a yard five-yard plunge Malvern growled The buzzer sounded for the sixth Copyright Avon Book Co Coe |
