IV
"Don't you dare deny it!" Casey said angrily as she cornered Britt Reid at
his desk.
"Deny what?" Britt asked.
"You know perfectly well 'what'! I saw you there with my very own eyes."
"Saw me where?"
"In front of my apartment. You and Kato followed Joe and me from the
Rialto all the way to my place."
"Oh, that."
"Yes, that. How dare you do such a thing as follow us around in the Black
Beauty. What was the big idea anyway? I can't believe you'd do such a terrible
thing."
"Casey," Britt said trying to sound reasonable, "I think you're getting all
upset over nothing."
"Am I? Joe is the kindest, sweetest man I have ever known. What would he
think if he saw you?"
Crossing his arms across his chest, Britt smiled wryly. "He did see us."
"Oh, no. What id you do to him? He is so sensitive."
"Sensitive? It's the first time somebody ever dared to kick the Black
Beauty. If Kato hadn't been there, I think your sweet, sensitive Joe would've
punched me in the nose."
"Punched you? Didn't he realize who he was facing?"
"He did after the Green Hornet got out of the car. For a moment I think he
did have a few doubts, but something had him so angry that I don't think they
much mattered to him."
Casey blinked in disbelief. "I didn't realize . . . " she said softly to herself.
"That guy seems to be very fond of you," Britt commented.
Smiling wistfully, she said, "Yes, he is. He proposed to me last night."
"Marriage?"
"Yes, of course."
"You didn't accept did you?"
"No, I didn't," she replied sadly.
"Good."
"Why?" Casey asked.
"Well, he's not exactly your type," Britt answered.
"And what exactly is my type?" Casey demanded. "And why in the world
were you following us?" Her eyes widened, "That's it, isn't it? You're jealous.
You were tailing us because you were trying to scare him away."
"Oh, c'mon, Casey. You know that's not it."
"Then what is it?"
Chewing on his lower lip, Britt tried to avoid looking into her accusing
eyes. I was afraid this was going to happen, he thought. "It's something I've been
working on," he admitted.
"As the Green Hornet," Casey supplied.
Britt nodded. "I think your Joe Brown might be involved with Terrence
Wrightman, a crime boss from upstate."
"You can't expect me to believe that."
"Casey, you know I wouldn't lie to you about something like this. If you
weren't so ga-ga about this Brown guy, you'd realize I'm telling you the truth."
"Do you have any proof?"
"No, not really, but . . . "
"I see," she interrupted sharply.
"No, you don't see anything at all. You haven't even given me a chance to
explain. I don't want you to make a mistake that you might regret for the rest of
your life."
"I've already made a mistake."
"What mistake?" Britt asked worriedly.
Casey turned to leave Britt's office. "I made the mistake of saying 'no'.
I'm going to go tell him I was wrong."
"Casey," Britt said, grabbing her arm, "You can't be serious. You're angry
right now, give yourself a little time to cool off," he urged. "Please give me a little
more time."
Casey roughly pulled her arm free. "I've already given you 'time'. Six
years of it. No more. I've made up my mind." She paused a moment longer at the
door. "By the way, don't worry, I won't tell anyone about your 'little' secret," she
bit out.
"Casey, please!" Britt shouted as she slammed the door.
Kato watched Britt out of the corner of his eye. During the entire time they
were preparing for another night out in the Black Beauty, he had remained locked
in angry silence. This is ridiculous, he thought with a sigh. I hate to bug him when
he's stewing about something, but there's no way this is going to go on for the
whole night.
"Look, Mr. Reid, why don't you tell me what happened at the paper today."
Britt stared at the Black Beauty rising from its underground berth without
answering.
"C'mon, something must've happened. You've been in a rotten mood ever
since you got home."
"Nothing happened," Britt gritted, "Let's just get going, okay?"
"Not until you tell me what happened."
"Drop it, Kato."
"Mr. Reid . . . "
"All right. If you feel like you got to know," Britt growled, "Casey saw us
tailing her and Brown."
Kato gave a low whistle, "Boy, she must've been sore."
"Yeah, she was. She refused to believe me when I told her that Brown might
be involved with Wrightman. She thinks I was using the Green Hornet to scare off
Brown because I was jealous of him."
"I see," Kato murmured, thinking that Miss Case might have been at least a
little right about Britt being jealous, even if he didn't think he was. "And then
what happened?" he asked.
Britt sighed, "She got angry at me and said that she was going to marry
Brown."
"Is that bad?"
"Of course it is. I can't believe she actually loves the guy."
Kato shrugged. "Maybe she's tired of waiting."
"That's what she said, but waiting for what?"
"For you, of course."
"Me? Why?"
"She's nuts about you. She always has been, but you're always so busy
chasing every high society skirt that comes around you've never noticed how
much she cares about you."
"So according to you, and I guess her too, I'm a good-for-nothing rat," Britt
said testily.
"Not a rat, just blind. You've just never had any idea of how much she cares
about you."
"So what am I going to do about it now? Casey's turned in her resignation
and said she's going to marry Brown as soon as possible."
"You could tell her you love her. You do, don't you?"
"I don't know, Kato. I really don't know. I know I care about her a lot, but
love. I just don't know," Britt said dejectedly. His broad shoulders drooped in
resignation. "The way things are now, I don't think I'll ever know for sure."
"So you're going to give up?"
"What choice do I have?"
"You don't usually give up so easily," Kato commented.
"Oh, Hell," Britt said, as he climbed into the Black Beauty, "Let's drop it
for now."
Kato climbed behind the steering wheel. "Where to, Boss?" he asked after
the Green Hornet had finished checking the Hornet sting and the Hornet gas gun.
"Wrightman. He hasn't left town and he hasn't made any response to the
Green Hornet's offer. I think it's time to put some pressure on him."
"Looks like our pigeon has flown the coop," Kato commented disgustedly
as he stepped out of the bedroom. "All the closets are empty and so are the
bathrooms. Maybe he got your message after all."
"Maybe, but let's go through this place thoroughly first. If he has flown, I
want to make sure it's up North and permanently," the Green Hornet replied as he
walked out of the tiny kitchen. "They must've just left. There's dishes in the sink
and the stove's still warm."
Kato nodded and dumped a trash can onto an imitation Louis XIVth writing
table. Sifting through banana peels, beer cans and cigarette butts, he spotted a
crumpled piece of paper.
"I got bad news," he said after he had read the paper.
"What is it?" the Green Hornet asked leaning over Kato's shoulder.
"I found this in that trash can," Kato answered, showing the Green Hornet
the paper. "It's Brown's address."
"Damn," the Green Hornet hissed under his breath. "We better get to his
place pronto. I just hope we aren't too late."
