10-Story Detective Magazine Cover — page 21: what you’re looking at

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protect her face, but she didn’t cry out. Millard swore aloud and started to rise. Steel rammed into his kidney and the voice behind said: “Try it and you'll get a gut full of lead.” Joe stopped to look around over his shoulder. Millard, shaking with help- less fury, sat down slowly, gritted: “Tell them, May. If you know where he’s gone—for heaven’s sake, tell them!” : She looked straight at Millard, shook her head and clipped out firm- ly: “I don’t know.” At a sign from the blue-jowled one, Joe went back to work. Millard’s eyes were tight and narrowed, breath pumping through his nostrils and a muscle twitching in his taut cheek. Joe stalked her. She backed toward the bed and did not stop when he snarled: “Stand still!” Angered, Joe jumped at her, swung one arm and drove a fist against her mouth. Blood spurted from her lips like the juice from a crushed pome- eranate. She was knocked backwards, arms and legs waving wildly, hitting the bed and landing on it. A cold and reckless rage was on Millard. At that moment he lunged furiously from his chair. There was a harsh oath and a quick step behind him. Millard ducked, still driving forward, and the big blued automatic chopped down on his head like an axe hitting a log. He dived headfirst to the floor and lay still as a felled tree. CHAPTER IV ESCAPE SANCTUARY OME ONE was pouring cold water over his head and face and it felt very good. Gasp- ing for breath, he choked out, “Don’t drown me!” and opened his eyes, forced them into THE CORPSE AT THE CARNIVAL——-———————_19 focus. He was still on the floor, on his back now, and Cosgrave, Sten- dahl and King were standing over him. Millard put a hand to the back of his head, felt the sticky warmth of blood in his damp hair, tried to sit up. His brain throbbed violently with the movement, sent a wave of nau- sea through him, and he almost did another blackout while the room and everything in it rocked and rolled. He sank back and Stendahl was on one knee beside him. “What gives, pal?” the police dick asked gruffly. ““You better take it easy a minute. Who slugged you?” “You tell me and I’ll know,” Mill- ard muttered, keeping his eyes closed. “A couple of out-of-town loogans. I never saw the guys before. They were looking for Eddie Fitz, but they weren’t any of his old boys.” The curt voice of the D.A. investi- gator, King, knifed down at him: “Where’s the girl?’ Millard winced. “What girl?” “You know what girl. May Fitz. The tail I put on you saw you follow her away from the pier before he lost you. She was up in that Dragon Tow- er. She killed Bonelli and you were covering her. You even helped her get away.” King’s tone was nasty, and Millard opened his eyes to slits, glared up at the too-handsome clean-cut face. “Nuts to you. If I was following her, how could I be helping her? And what makes you think she was up in that tower?” | King’s smile was most supercilious. “We got it from Lefty Reid. Bonelli went up there to meet May Fitz. He knew that much, and he tipped us to this hideout. He knew of it from the old days.” “So you’re taking that rat’s word for it? I suppose he’s got an alibi.” “Sure.” King’s smile was even broader. He was enjoying himself. “But maybe you don’t want us to take . his word for anything. You’re his alibi. He says he was talking to you Gomichbooks.com