continuing Reveille &apos;s exciting serial . vice king &apos;s sweetheart . hide-and-seek with a killer . by Douglas Enefer . a glance in the driving mirror told me I was being tailed by another car . I knew the man at the wheel . his name was Ugo Caramello . I had met him a few days earlier - after I had found lovely Anna Pavone dead in Rome &apos;s famous Fountain of Trevi . he had been with Anna &apos;s sister , Adriana , when I went to tell her the news . Adriana had denied that her sister was dead . and Ugo had threatened me . events moved rapidly after that . I had run across New York vice-boss Frank Delgarra in Rome in the company of a call-girl , Gina Vanoni . a few hours later I found Gina murdered - and Adriana left for New York to collect an oil fortune she should have shared with her sister . helping her to collect would be her fiance , business tycoon Lance Mallory . I followed . I talked to Adriana in her penthouse suite . she told me her sister had died - in a car crash . her eyes and lips had been inviting . but I had snubbed her and stalked out . now watchdog Ugo was following me . and he had a gun in his hand . I was still being tailed by Ugo Caramello in his blue Chev when I drove downtown through Columbus-circle . he was still keeping the sort of distance he figured necessary for me not to know I was being followed . but I had seen him . at Times-square I made a sharp left turn and went down Eighth-avenue as fast as the traffic would allow . I had not shaken him off , but I was widening the gap . then I slewed into Greenwich-avenue and twisted and turned in the little side streets with their curio shops and outdoor art shows west of Washington-square . when I finally ran the car into a narrow alley I knew I had Caramello beat . I got out , walked to the mouth of the alley and stood back under a shop awning waiting for him . three minutes later the blue Chev poked its nose into the street . Ugo had his dark glasses off now and was peering around . his dark Sicilian face was savage with annoyance . he killed the car engine , stepped out and dodged into a corner drugstore across the street . I waited for a second , then drifted over the street and pushed the drug-store doors open . inside four teenage kids , two boys and two girls , were drinking cokes and chattering . the counterman , a hefty lad with the shoulders of a quarter-back , was polishing glasses with quick , deft movements . in the middle of the store a middle-aged guy with waxed moustaches was reading as much of a magazine as you can do without buying the thing . no sign of Signor Ugo Caramello . then I saw the telephone booth . I strolled down to the end of the long counter and pushed my ear against the side without glass . I could just hear Ugo &apos;s voice . it seemed a bit agitated . is that Plaza 6-1079 , please ? a pause , then : who is speaking , please ? again a pause . this is Caramello . I follow him but he disappear in the traffic . another pause . no , I do not know where he went . I - oh , damn . I heard the phone slam back on its rest and went fast into the street and across to my car . I sat in it until Caramello came out and drove off . then I went back into the drugstore . the counterhand eyed me coldly . you want something , mister ? I bought a pack of cigarettes , shut myself in the telephone booth and dialled Plaza 6-1079 . Mr Lance Mallory &apos;s residence , said a voice . I let the receiver slide down on its cradle and went back to my car with a head full of thoughts - none of which started to make sense . I drove home . Lesley , the brown-haired girl who operates the switchboard in my apartment block , looked up pertly as I came in . did you have a nice time in Rome , Mr Power ? swell . you &apos;ve a good tan , but otherwise you do n&apos;t look like a man fresh back from sunny Italy , she said critically . and why are n&apos;t you at the office ? I &apos;ve two more days &apos; leave before I check in , I told her . going up to the little railing which protects her from the harsh world , I leaned over and kissed the top of her head . I &apos;ve been counting the hours to that , she said . put your face up and I &apos;ll do better , I said recklessly . her smooth oval face came up directly . her mouth was warm and a little moist and not immobile . finally she moved away from me and said , briskly : a telephone message came for you while you were out . from a Miss Adriana Pavone . she eyed me mockingly . so they even follow you from Italy , do they ? oh , sure - I see them in rotation , I said . what did Miss Pavone want ? Lesley tapped her small teeth with a newly-pointed pencil . she said she wanted to speak to you rather urgently , but as you were n&apos;t in she would send a written message . about a half-hour later this came . she handed me a small , pale-blue envelope . thanks , Lesley . I had started for the elevator when she asked innocently : are n&apos;t you going to open it , Mr Power ? I grinned . yeah - where you can n&apos;t watch my emotional reactions . I went up to my apartment and read the letter . I did n&apos;t know quite what I had expected - if I had expected anything in particular - but what it said shook me . dear John - I was very distressed when you left me with those dreadful words . I simply do not know what I can do to convince you how wrong you are . but I shall never have the opportunity - because tonight I am flying back to Rome . I have been uncertain for some time about my engagement to Mr Mallory and today I decided not to marry . I have explained this to him and I think he understands - better , I am afraid , than you understand me . so it is goodbye - Adriana Pavone . I dropped the letter on my desk and rammed tobacco into the biggest pipe I have . the hell with Adriana Pavone ! if she wanted to skip back to Rome - let her . I did n&apos;t give a damn . just the same , I found myself picking up the letter and reading it again . so she was n&apos;t marrying Mallory . maybe she wanted old man Power ? maybe she did n&apos;t care about either of us ? maybe she did n&apos;t care about New York once she had latched on to that five-million-dollar pay-off ? the thoughts jostled through my mind - and came to a sudden stop . she could not hope to conclude a deal like that in a couple of days , could she ? she was just stalling . I &apos;m flying back to Rome , my sweet , so you do n&apos;t any longer need to poke your goddam nose into my affairs &amp;hellip; . that could be it . I grabbed the telephone and got through to the air terminal . is there a reservation on the night flight to Rome in the name of Signorina Adriana Pavone ? I asked . I have to contact her before she checks in . a girl clerk answered : wait a minute , sir . I &apos;ll find out . there was a long pause . I dragged pipe smoke in coughing clouds . then the line came alive again . sorry , sir . we have no reservation in that name . the morning flight tomorrow , then ? I &apos;ve looked , sir . no one of that name is booked to Rome . thanks , I said thickly . fifteen minutes later I was driving north again . the commissionaire was n&apos;t on hand at the plushy hotel where Adriana was staying , so I rode myself straight up to the penthouse suite . the door was locked . I banged on it three times . that made it open about a foot and a face came into slit view - a thin , faintly yellowed face with eyes like deadly sins and shining crinkly hair . he was around twenty-five years old and looked like a Filipino houseboy . before , I had not noticed that she had one . Miss Adriana Pavone , I said . John Power calling . he twisted a wide mouthful of teeth into a grin . Miss Pavone not in , sir . you know where she &apos;s gone ? no sir . but no come back . the grin had died but the eyes were alert . too alert . I have n&apos;t seen you here before , have I ? I put a foot in the door as I said it . he looked down at the foot and smiled a long slow smile . if you are friend of hers , I tell , he said . Miss Pavone left just now with all her baggage . she fly back to Rome , sir . on the night flight ? he started to nod , then checked himself . but he was too late . the night flight does n&apos;t take off until eleven-thirty , I said . she has some shopping to do first , I think . his eyes were snapping at me now . a tiny globule of saliva pooled on the left side of his mouth . I swung my shoulder against the door . he reeled back , his arms flailing . I went in . you &apos;re lying , Flip . where &apos;s she gone - and why ? he backed warily from me , going across the hallway towards the wide lounge . then , without warning , he lunged . something long and blue and shining had slid down his sleeve into his right hand . I hit him on the point of the jaw with everything I had . for a second he seemed to hang , suspended in mid air . then he zoomed backwards , hit the floor and rolled over . but he was not done . he came face-upwards on the roll , his wrist angled for a knife-throw . I trod savagely on his wrist and ground it until he screamed his agony . the flick-knife jumped out of his hand , clattering over the floor . I reached down , hooked him up by his collar , and hit him one more time in the mouth . I felt a couple of his teeth crack . he sat sprawled on a large sofa , his mouth full of blood and his eyes full of death . I felt inside his jacket and down the outside of his pants . he was not wearing artillery . all right - talk , I barked . he dragged a handkerchief from his breast-pocket and dabbed at his mouth . I took the gun from under my arm , the big Luger I thought I had not needed in Rome . you can go into the bathroom and fix your mouth , I said . he stood up soundlessly and speechlessly and glided across the hallway and through a door . I went in after him and watched while he got the dislodged teeth out of his face . all right , I said again , tell it . he smiled wolfishly , but no words came . I could beat it out of you , Flip , I said , but I have n&apos;t the time and I have n&apos;t sadistic instincts . on the other hand , I could drag you down to police headquarters and the boys could stand you under the lights . he swayed against the wash-basin , killing me with his eyes . I shrugged . I have n&apos;t the time for that , either . you stay tied up in the locked bathroom until I get back - with a gag in your mouth . and if it &apos;s damned uncomfortable I &apos;m not going to shed tears . I turned the lock and went into the big lounge . I dropped the key on to Adriana &apos;s writing desk . something was on it . a piece of paper , pale blue , like that she had used to write to me . it had writing on it , too : dear John - I was very distressed when you left me with those dreadful words . I simply do not know what I can do to convince you how wrong you are , but I would like - there was no more . just a letter she had begun and then started again on another sheet . pushed against the back of the desk top was a newspaper , folded down on black headlines which read : Frank Delgarra , back from Rome , talks of big deal . 