Lizard Men of Los Angeles | Page 4

chauffeur. "Back toward Los Angeles."
"You know Veronica Fleming?" Cairo asked the girl.
"I should think I know her. She stole my boyfriend." In contrast to her fashionable appearance, her voice was uneducated and somewhat shrill.
Cairo raised one eyebrow and the girl continued. "The first time she come to the house, I couldn't even believe it, her being in pictures and all. I used to watch her back in Hillsboro when she was just a little girl. She's one of the reasons I come out here to Hollywood. Brother Perdurabo was going to make me a star just like her." Cairo frowned at the name Perdurabo, one of Crowley's many aliases. "Then," the girl went on, "she went and moved in on my Bruno."
"Bruno?" Cairo asked.
"Bruno Galt. He's a geologist. Works for one of those big mining companies. He's got piles of money. Brother Perdurabo was going to teach Bruno the Art, so he give me to Bruno for his, you know, those tantrum rituals?"
"Tantric," Cairo said.
"That's the ones. Then three days ago Veronica, she puts the moves on Bruno and he leaves the mansion with her. That was the last time I seen either one of them."
"Do you know where Galt lives?"
"I should think I do. He's got a place downtown." She gave the driver an address on Grand Avenue.
"As quickly as you can," Cairo told him. The driver nodded, made a right turn, and accelerated into the eastbound traffic on Huntington Drive. Cairo turned back to the girl. "What makes a geologist so interested in the occult?"
"It's this guy he works with. Warren Shufelt. He's a mining engineer."
"Another of Crowley's benefactors?"
"As far as I know, Mr. Shufelt don't got nothing to do with Brother Perdurabo. He's only interested in his tunnels."
"Tunnels?"
"Yeah, the tunnels that--"
She broke off as a police siren suddenly split the night. Red lights flashed through the rear windscreen. The chauffeur slowed the car and steered toward the side of the road. Cairo leaned forward. "I'll handle this."
A policeman ran up to the car as Cairo wound down the rear window. "Your name Cairo?" the patrolman asked.
Cairo nodded.
"Follow us," the man called, already running back to his own vehicle. "There's trouble at Mr. Rosenberg's."
*
When they arrived at Rosenberg's house three police cars already sat in the driveway, red lights flashing. Cairo sprang out of the limousine and one of the policemen led him toward the house, with Mildred and Mrs. Lockhart following closely behind.
"There was a break-in," the policeman said. "Mr. Rosenberg asked us to put out an all-points for you. He said he needed to talk to you right away, and when Mr. Rosenberg needs something, well, we try to oblige him."
"I'm sure," Cairo said.
Rosenberg awaited them in his sun room, wearing a heavy terrycloth robe and drinking coffee. He was pacing back and forth in front of the sliding glass doors that led to his swimming pool. His hair was damp and he seemed feverish.
Cairo sat in a wicker chair. As soon as Mildred and Mrs. Lockhart had settled themselves on the divan he said, "Tell us what happened."
"I was fast asleep," Rosenberg explained. "I awoke when I felt the covers pulled away from me, and I sat up in bed. I caught just a glimpse of one of those creatures standing over me, and then it doused me in some kind of liquid."
"Can you describe the liquid?" Mrs. Lockhart asked, leaning forward.
"It was greenish and slightly oily to the touch. Thicker than water, somehow. And it had a faint, fetid smell, like a marsh."
Cairo and Mrs. Lockhart exchanged a significant look.
"I sprang out of bed," Rosenberg continued, "and caught only a glimpse of my attacker. He was small, heavily swathed--in short, almost identical to the intruder at the theater this evening. The way he moved, I tell you, sir, I'm not entirely sure he..." Rosenberg shook his head, then dabbed at his forehead with a handkerchief. "Is it unnaturally hot in here?"
"Quite the contrary," Cairo said. "Tell me what it is you were unsure of."
Rosenberg's voice dropped to a whisper. "I am not entirely sure he was...human."
Cairo nodded. "I see. What happened next?"
"The creature disappeared into the night. I called the police immediately, of course, and then I took a hot bath and scrubbed my skin nearly raw. It had begun to itch most fearsomely. In fact," he confided, mopping his brow again, "it still does."
Suddenly Rosenberg stood stock still. "My God--" he said.
Cairo got to his feet. "Rosenberg? Is something wrong?"
Rosenberg's only reply was a high-pitched moan that seemed to escape involuntarily from his lips.
Cairo looked at Mrs. Lockhart. "What's wrong with him? Do you see anything?"
Mrs. Lockhart shook her head but Mildred suddenly gasped and put her hand to her mouth. "L-look!"
Cairo turned back. Faint wisps of smoke had begun to rise from