THE PERFECTIONISTS
By ARNOLD CASTLE
ILLUSTRATED by SUMMERS
Frank Pembroke sat behindthe desk of his shabbylittle office over Lemark's Liquorsin downtown Los Angeles andwaited for his first customer. Hehad been in business for a weekand as yet had had no callers.Therefore, it was with a mingledsense of excitement and satisfactionthat he greeted the tall,dark, smooth-faced figure thatcame up the stairs and into theoffice shortly before noon.
"Good day, sir," said Pembrokewith an amiable smile. "Isee my advertisement has interestedyou. Please stand in thatcorner for just a moment."
Opening the desk drawer,which was almost empty, Pembrokeremoved an automatic pistolfitted with a silencer. Pointingit at the amazed customer, hefired four .22 caliber longs intothe narrow chest. Then he madea telephone call and sat down towait. He wondered how long itwould be before his next clientwould arrive.
The series of events leading upto Pembroke's present occupationhad commenced on a dismal,overcast evening in the SouthPacific a year earlier. Bound forSydney, two days out of Valparaiso,the Colombian trampsteamer Elena Mia had encountereda dense greenish fog whichseemed vaguely redolent of citrustrees. Standing on the forwarddeck, Pembroke was one of thefirst to perceive the peculiar odorand to spot the immense grayhulk wallowing in the murky distance.
Then the explosion had come,from far below the waterline,and the decks were awash withfrantic crewmen, officers, and thehandful of passengers. Only twolifeboats were launched beforethe Elena Mia went down. Pembrokewas in the second. Theroar of the sinking ship was thelast thing he heard for sometime.
Pembroke came as close to beinga professional adventurer asone can in these days of regimentedtravel, organized peril,and political restriction. He hadmade for himself a substantialfortune through speculation in agreat variety of properties, realand otherwise. Life had givenhim much and demanded little,which was perhaps the reasonfor his restiveness.
Loyalty to person or to peoplewas a trait Pembroke had neverrecognized in himself, nor had itever been expected of him. Andyet he greatly envied thosestaunch patriots and lovers whocould find it in themselves toelevate the glory and safety ofothers above that of themselves.
Lacking such loyalties, Pembrokeadapted quickly to the situationin which he found himselfwhen he regained consciousness.He awoke in a small room inwhat appeared to be a typicalmodern American hotel. The walletin his pocket contained exactlywhat it should, approximatelythree hundred dollars.His next thought was of food.He left the room and descendedvia the elevator to the restaurant.Here he observed that itwas early afternoon. Orderinga full dinner, for he was unusuallyhungry, he began to study theothers in the restaurant.
Many of the faces seemed familiar;the crew of the ship,probably. He also recognized severalof the passengers. However,he made no attempt to speak tothem. After his meal, he boughta good corona and went for awalk. His situation could havebeen any small western Americanseacoast city. He heard the hissof the ocean in the direction theafternoon sun was taking. In hisfull-gaited walk, he was soon appro