The following is the final portion of the April 21, 1949 entry in the Rocky Stone notebooks:
It was all well and good to find Marjorie but now we had to think of a way out. I flipped away the curtains to see if we could do the old tied bedsheets routine but that gorilla guarding the back door was in the room right below us. The other problem was Marjorie herself. She wasn't overjoyed to see us and by the look of things she wanted us out.
“I want you out,” she said, firm.
It was the straw that broke the camel's nose as far as Gloria was concerned. “That's fine,” she replied, seething. “You can't help some people. You know what I think? I don't think you're worth saving. Come on, Rocky.”
Marjorie was hurt by it. “No, you don't...”
She didn't have time to finish what she had to say, but I had a good idea what it was. She was about to say No, you don't understand. I want you out because Nine Knuckles is on his way, because there he was in the open doorway in a snappy check suit, gaping at us like a hungry man at a steak. He rushed in and shut the door behind him.
“Just here to let you know Max is on his way, Margie. Didn't know you were entertaining guests.”
“They were just on their way out,” she replied, cool. “Why does Max want to see me? To gloat?”
Nine Knuckles shrugged. “Dunno.” He pointed at me with the pinky that didn't work right. “But he'll be glad to see you, friend.”
Now I was in for it. It was all right for Max to see me in The Pink Slipper in broad daylight but another thing entirely to get caught in the wrong house in the middle of the night. He would make me disappear but quick if I didn't look after myself. Something popped into my mind and if I had had time to think about it I would have thought about something else, but time was limited and it spilled out of my mouth before I had a chance to think twice.
“Vegas,” I said.
It was a nice little plan I had conjured up. I let Nine Knuckles know I knew all about his adventures with Marjorie in Las Vegas and he hides me from Max so I don't spill the beans. Problem was, as I thought about it, that had happened in my dream the previous night. Gloria looked at me as if I came from a distant planet or Pomona or something and I waited for Nine Knuckles to rear back and laugh at me. Only he didn't.
“What about it?” he said, quietly.
Marjorie's eyes were bugging out of her head. It was true!
“Max doesn't know, does he? I wonder what he'd do...”
“Shut up. He's coming.” Nine Knuckles grabbed us both and shoved us toward a door at the back of the room. I pulled the knob and we emptied into a washroom, barely big enough for the two of us. He slammed the door shut in our faces. A small keyhole sat underneath the door's knob and a latch above. I slipped the latch closed and peeked through the opening.
For five seconds Nine Knuckles glared at her. It was quiet until Marjorie whispered, “I didn't say a word.”
The door exploded open and the gorilla from downstairs stepped through. I couldn't see Marjorie's face, but her legs twitched and she pulled them into her body as Max Blank followed the big man in. He stopped at the edge of the bed and looked her over, leered at her. “How much do you owe me, dear?” he asked, sweetly.
“A thousand,” Marjorie hissed.
Max grinned at her and took a seat at the foot of the bed. “Two thousand. Interest, taxes, other fees, you understand. How much am I paying you a night?”
“Four bucks,” she said, practically spitting at him.
“That's a lot of nights, isn't it, Nine Knuckles?”
“Five hundred of 'em, boss,” Nine Knuckles replied, dutifully.
Max snapped his fingers. The big fella took the cue and slumped off into the hall, and when he returned, he had the Reverend Hosea in tow.
“This guy's willing to pay for your services for all five hundred,” said Max, as he rose from the bed. “Ain't that something?”
Marjorie didn't say a word in reply. On his way out, Max looked the Reverend square in the eye and shrugged his shoulders. “She's your headache.”
Now that the Reverend Hosea has found his wife, what will happen now? Find out next week in The Adventures of Rocky Stone!
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