The Gigantic Shadow by Julian Symons Page B

know? That’s why we came along, thought it might be fun.’ When they were on the floor she nodded at a couple who swayed past them in a clinch. ‘You don’t expect me to dance like that?’
    ‘I don’t expect anything.’
    For a moment her body pressed against him, breasts, stomach, thighs. Then she withdrew. ‘Why did you do that?’ he asked.
    ‘I wanted to see what it was like.’
    ‘And what was it like?’
    ‘Pretty much as I expected.’ She threw back her head as she laughed, so that he saw white teeth, pink throat, strong white neck. Her hair was black and long, her mouth well shaped, her head came above his shoulder. ‘What are you thinking?’
    ‘I was thinking that Roger’s foolish to leave you out of his sight.’
    She laughed, and called across to what Hunter recognised as the other couple, ‘I’ve been picked up. Where’s Roger? He’ll be mad when he comes back.’
    The other girl was an insipid blonde. ‘He went thataway.’
    When they had moved apart from the others he said, ‘I’m not sure I like being talked about as if I weren’t there.’
    ‘Don’t be so sensitive. Oh, my God, Roger’s at it again. He really is a bore.’
    Turning, he saw that the dark, sullen young man was standing in the entrance to the room and that the two teddy boys were with him. They were talking, it seemed, quietly and earnestly in low voices. ‘I don’t see anything wrong.’
    ‘You will. Roger’s a ju-jitsu expert. He loves trouble.’
    As she spoke, one of the teddy boys reached into his hip pocket and came out with a knife. His hand with the knife in it moved upwards. In the same moment Roger took hold of him, quite lightly, by the arm. Then the teddy boy was on the floor, the knife rattled against the wall. Somebody screamed.
    ‘Showing off,’ the girl said. She sounded pleased.
    The screams did not stop. They got louder, and suddenly he saw the reason. There were two, half a dozen, a dozen policemen in the doorway, now in the room, shouting something unintelligible. At the other end of the room Billy Bell and his Boys were also shouting. Hunter saw the drummer from the band open a door at the side of the stage.
    ‘Come on,’ he said to the girl, and she followed him. He pushed open the door and they found themselves in a little changing room. The drummer, a skinny blond boy with big spectacles, looked up. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘What do you want?’
    There was a small window, almost a skylight, high up in the wall. Hunter stood on a table under it, reached up and pushed. The window stuck at first, then opened so suddenly that he almost put his hand through it. Hunter levered himself up, squeezed through with difficulty, and saw that the drop was no more than a few feet. There was no policeman in sight. He looked back and down, and spoke to the girl. ‘After me. Not much of a drop. I’ll catch you.’
    ‘Come on, mate,’ the drummer called. ‘Haven’t got all day.’
    He had a glimpse of the girl’s face below him, strained and earnest. Then he dropped, suffering nothing worse than a slight jarring sensation as he landed. He saw the girl above him, and held out his arms. He half caught her, but she landed awkwardly, and there was a splintering noise. She took his hand and they ran.
    As they turned the corner into a narrow road he heard a police whistle. He saw that she was hobbling.
    ‘What’s the matter?’
    ‘I’ve snapped the heel off my shoe. I can’t run properly.’
    ‘Take them off. I live near here.’
    She slipped off the shoes, and carried them in her hand. They turned left and right, with the police whistles still audible behind them, until he saw in front of them the dim blue sign that said Cosmos. He led the way into the gloomy entrance. The man at the desk barely glanced at him as he led the way up the stairs. Probably he was surprised that Hunter had not brought in a girl before this evening.
    ‘You keep a room in this place?’ she asked as they went up the