On the other side of the room, Negrini was on the telephone. ‘Sure, honey, I’m all right. I don’t care what it said on the radio, I’m still all right. Look, I’ll be staying here tonight. Lock up tight, you hear?’

The doctor was content to let Leotta strap me up tightly in bandages. Negrini said, ‘Who’s that? Charisse? Hello, honey-bun.’ He made oochy-coochy noises for a while, then put down the telephone. ‘Kids!’ he said. ‘I love ’em.’

The doctor went away and Leotta fingered her torn dress. ‘Would your establishment run to a needle and thread, Mr Negrini?’

‘Better than that,’ he said. ‘We can find a new dress.’

He picked up the telephone and presently a young lady appeared who made commiserating noises and whisked Leotta away. Negrini stared at the closing door and said, ‘That’s a hell of a beautiful woman. Who is she?’

‘She was David Salton’s mistress.’

He choked over his drink. ‘The randy old goat! You mean that he … and she …’ He put down his glass. ‘Did Jill know?’

‘She does now. Conyers was blackmailing her with it.’ I told him about it.

‘Conyers,’ said Negrini disgustedly. ‘He’s so crooked I bet he uses marked cards when he’s playing solitaire.’ He shook his head sadly. ‘Jesus, you never know what a man will do.’ He held up two fingers close together. ‘I thought Jill and David were like that.’

‘Maybe they were,’ I said. ‘I think they were.’

He nodded slowly. ‘I know what you mean. It would take some woman to equal Jill, but maybe this Tomsson girl does that.’

I felt suddenly weak and tired. The doctor had doped me with something and all I wanted was a bed. I looked at the jacket I had been wearing. One of the pockets had been torn right off and the rest of it didn’t look too good. It appeared I owed Hanna a new suit. That and my life.

Negrini looked closely at me. ‘You’re nearly asleep. We’ll get you into bed.’

He helped me into the bedroom and stood around while I undressed and then assisted me into pyjamas and saw me settled. It was the first time I’d been tucked into bed since I was a child. As he straightened up he said, ‘By the way, you wanted to know something about Salton’s plane on the day he vanished. It went to Benning all right, and took off for New York at eight in the evening. Hope it helps.’

He switched off the light and closed the door and I lay there trying to think about that and what made it so important. But my head was buzzing with drugs and fatigue – there is nothing in the world so tiring as being beaten up – and I slid into the depths of sleep while trying to grasp hold of something significant but very slippery.

II