I heard the ringing of a telephone bell. They all became silent. I heard pounding steps moving across the floor toward the bell. Then it ceased ringing, and the tall man’s voice said, “Hello. Hello. . . . Who is it? Jerry? . . . Yes, Jerry. . . . Now listen, Jerry, we think he’s there in the hotel. . . . I tell you he had them. . . . Of course, it’s under an assumed name, and he’s probably lying low. . . . Well, get through the room. Cover the dump. I tell you he’s there. He has to be.”

He hung up the telephone, and said, “About two minutes after we left, Sandra Birks, her brother, and Alma Hunter came out together. This other bird who doesn’t enter the picture, came out. Jerry says he heard someone call him doctor. He thinks the brother had a hemorrhage, and the doctor was called in a rush to stop it. That’s the best the boys could pick up.”

I was coming back to consciousness again. The woman said, “Well, you can see what’s happened. He’s served those papers. He’s delivered the copies, and is keeping the original on which to make his affidavit of service.”

The big man said, “You wouldn’t want to make a little easy money, would you, Mr. Lam?”

I didn’t say anything. It was easier not to answer questions.

“If you wanted to pick up a little spot of cash, say five hundred dollars, or perhaps even six hundred dollars, I think it could be arranged. You could fix it so we could get Mr. Birks up here at the house. Perhaps you could arrange things—”

“Shut up,” the woman interrupted in a level voice. “There’s no dice with him. Don’t be a damn fool.”

The fat man said, “Well, you heard what the little lady said. I guess she’s right at that. Feeling pretty bad, are you, Lam?”

I was feeling bad enough. As I got better, I got worse. That first pile-driving smash had knocked me half unconscious. Now, as the numbing effects of it commenced to wear off, I began to feel pain from the other beating.

The telephone rang again. “Answer it, Fred,” the chief said.

Fred said, “Hello—yes—” and then was silent for almost two minutes. He said, “That’s clever as hell,” and was silent for another minute. Then he said, “Hold the phone,” and came back into the living room. “News,” he said. “Let’s go where I can tell you.”

The chief said, “You watch him, John.”

I heard an exodus of steps and lay quiet, thinking how much my side hurt. After a while I heard Fred’s voice on the telephone again. “All right. It clicks. I’ll get on the job myself. G’by.”

They came back into the room.

“Take him in the bathroom, Fred,” the chief said, “and clean him up.”