You're Dead Without Money

Seven

There was a long moment of silence as Elliot and Joey watched Cindy take a plastic envelope from her bag and lay it on the table.

‘These are the stamps, aren’t they?’

His heart beating fast, his breathing uneven, Elliot looked at the eight stamps through their plastic cover. He recognized them immediately from the photocopy that Kendrick had shown him.

‘Yes.’ His voice was husky. He straightened and looked at Cindy. ‘Why did you take them, you crazy kid? As soon as Larrimore finds they are missing, he’ll call the police. They’ll come here! We wrote to him and he knows this address! What were you thinking of?’

‘I don’t think he will call the police,’ Cindy said.

‘Why do you say that?’

She sat down abruptly and looked so pale, Joey rushed to the liquor cabinet and began to pour a brandy.

‘No, daddy... I don’t want it,’ she protested. ‘I’m all right.’ Joey regarded her, stared at the brandy in the glass and then swallowed it himself.

‘Why do you say he won’t tell the police?’ Elliot repeated, sitting at the table and facing her.

‘There was a letter in the drawer with the stamps,’ Cindy told him. ‘It was from the Central Intelligence Agency, Washington. It said it was an offence to have these stamps and the owner would be prosecuted if he didn’t notify the C.I.A. if he had them. The letter was dated two months ago. They said the maximum sentence would be three years and a fine of thirty thousand dollars. When I read that I saw Mr. Larrimore couldn’t complain to the police without getting into trouble... so I took them.’

‘The C.I.A.?’ Elliot’s voice shot up a note.

‘Yes.’

‘Suppose you tell us just what happened, Cindy.’

She drew in a deep breath, then said, ‘I arrived at the house and Mr. Larrimore took me into the stamp room. He was nice and kind. He told me to sit down and he looked through the stamp album. The only stamps that interested him were the ones dad had bought. He said they might be worth three hundred dollars. Then just as I was wondering how I could get the index from him, he took it from his pocket and looked at it. Then he took me over to one of the drawers and showed me other stamps in the same series as the ones in the album. He left the book on his desk. It was so easy. He asked me if I would leave the stamp album with him. I got a little behind him, opened my bag and gave you the signal. Then you phoned. He excused himself and left me in the room. I found the drawer number in the index. I could hear him talking to you so I went to the drawer and found the stamps. Then I saw the letter. He was still talking to you so I read it. It seemed to me that if I took the stamps he couldn’t call the police... so I took them.’

‘For Pete’s sake!’ Elliot leaned forward and took her hand. ‘That was quick thinking, but he could tell the police.’

‘I don’t think he will,’ Cindy said. ‘Anyway, it’s worth the risk. Now, you don’t have to break in.’

‘You shouldn’t have done it,’ Joey said, his voice quavering. ‘You should have left it to Don and Vin.’

‘We have them,’ Cindy said.

‘We can’t keep them here.’ Elliot paused to think. ‘Joey take them right away to the Chase National Bank. Buy an envelope, write your name on it and put the stamps in it. Rent a safe deposit box. Get going, Joey! If the police come here and find them we’re sunk.’

Joey nodded. Picking up the plastic envelope he put it in his pocket.

‘What shall I do with the key?’

‘Bring it back here. We’ll hide it some place.’

When Joey had gone, Elliot regarded Cindy.

‘You shouldn’t have done it, Cindy.’

She smiled at him.

‘I just couldn’t bear the thought of you going with Vin into that house. Vin’s dangerous. Once he got the stamps, he might have done something to you.’

‘But why is the CIA. interested?’ Elliot said. ‘Was it a personal letter to Larrimore?’

‘It was a circular letter addressed to philatelists.’

‘And it said it was an offence to hold the stamps?’

‘Yes.’

Elliot didn’t like this.

‘I don’t understand it, but it looks as if the temptation to keep such rare stamps was too much for Larrimore.’ He thought, then nodded. ‘Yes, I think you’re right. He would be asking for trouble if he complained to the police.’ He stared uneasily at Cindy. ‘But why the C.I.A.?’

‘Perhaps we’d better not try to sell them,’ Cindy said.

‘They’re safe for the moment. Let’s find out who the buyer is before we make up our minds. And not a word about this to Vin.’ Elliot got up and coining around the table, he put his arms around her. ‘You’ve done a marvellous job, Cindy.’

She put her head against his shoulder and clung to him.

Barney had been talking now non-stop, apart from eating and drinking, for the past two hours. The time was after 23.00 and the Neptune bar was now lined with fishermen, noisy in their demands for beer and Sam, the barman, was being kept busy.

Barney paused to regard the backs of the men as they leaned on the bar and his fat face wore an expression of disapproval.

‘Fishermen!’ he said scornfully. ‘No good riff-raff. You take my word for it, Mr. Campbell. They spend all their nights drinking when they should be home keeping their wives and children company.’

I asked him if he was married.

‘I know better, mister,’ he said. ‘The thing I object to about marriage is a guy never gets a chance to talk and if there’s one thing I like — excluding beer — it’s talking.’

I said I could understand that.

‘Yeah.’ He paused to wave his empty glass in Sam’s direction. ‘You take these men over there. All they think about is money, women and drinking. I’ve never been mercenary. If you offered me a million dollars I wouldn’t take it. I wouldn’t know what to do with it. What the hell does a man want with a million dollars?’

I could have told him, but I got the impression he wouldn’t be interested. He paused while Sam rushed a beer to his table, then went on, ‘But this Vin Pinna I’m telling you about had the itch to get his hands on this million Judy Larrimore had told him about. He had the itch the same way as a dog gets the itch for a lady dog every now and again if you’ll excuse the comparison. Now Vin had been brought up in a tough world. I don’t say he didn’t know better, but knowing better and doing better are two different things... right, Mr. Campbell?’

I said that was indisputable.

‘Well, when he realized that Elliot wasn’t going to give him the number of the drawer and also had said he would go to the buyer himself, Vin decided Elliot had to be got rid of. He had driven to the cliff head and was sitting in the Jaguar and he gave his mind to the problem. He decided after getting his brain to work — and this was a slow process because up to now Vin seldom used his brain — that the only way he could get his hands on all this money was first to find out from Judy who the buyer was, then get rid of Elliot, then scare Cindy into telling him the number of the drawer.

‘For perhaps five or six minutes, Vin hesitated about getting rid of Elliot. Up to now he had kept clear of murder. Once or twice, when he had been disturbed by a householder while he was robbing a safe, he had been tempted, but he found by threatening the householder with a gun, murder hadn’t been necessary. But, thinking about the past, he did see that if the householder had turned awkward he would have pulled the trigger.

‘Turning all this over in his sluggish mind, Vin came to the conclusion that for a million dollars he would commit not one murder but several if anyone tried to outsmart him. For that sum of money, he would take murder in his stride.

‘Having got that little problem solved, he turned his mind to Judy. It was no good knocking Elliot off without first knowing who the buyer was. Judy was a tricky chick. She had already told him that she wasn’t giving him the name of the buyer until he got the stamps and even when he had them she was doing the deal with the buyer. This meant he would be lucky if she didn’t gyp him out of the two hundred and fifty thousand she had promised him.

‘This was pretty frustrating to Vin because he had no intention of taking that kind of money when he could get a million if he worked at it.’

A massively built man, wearing a dirty sweatshirt and oil stained white ducks, knots of black hair on his arms, shoulders and chest, came into the bar. He was around twenty-five years of age, his ugly face good-natured and he was hailed by the other men standing up at the bar with a warmth that told me he was a bar favourite.

He spotted Barney and waved to him.

‘Hi, Fat-guts!’ he bellowed in a voice that made my eardrums quiver, ‘having a ball?’

Barney didn’t deign to look his way.

‘He will come to no good, Mr. Campbell,’ he said as soon as the massive man had been absorbed in the crowd. ‘No respect for his elders or his betters... just a low fisherman. Fat-guts! Wait till he’s my age. Like I said... no respect’

I said that was the trouble with the younger generation.

‘You’re right, Mr. Campbell.’ Barney sipped his beer. ‘Well, getting back to Vin... he sat in the car and wondered how he was going to handle Judy. The more he thought about her the more irritated he got. Now when a thug like Vin gets irritated, he becomes like a vicious dog. Sooner or later the dog will snap and then bite and Vin was built on the same lines. He decided he would force Judy to give him the name of this stamp buyer. He would scare her into opening her mouth even if he had to rough her up. Once he had made this decision, he considered how he was going to do it.

‘He had no illusions about Judy. She was tricky and he was sure she was tough. Even if he roughed her up so she parted with the buyer’s name, as soon as he let her go, she would squeal to the cops. Once the cops moved in, it was goodbye to all that money. Vin thought about this for over half an hour, then he came to the logical solution. If he was going to knock Elliot off, what was the matter with knocking Judy off too? Once rid of her, once rid of Elliot all he had to do was to make Cindy talk and if she got tricky why not knock her off as well? If he had to knock her off, then to make a nice clean job of it, he would also knock off Joey.

‘Vin now realized that it was one thing to think about knocking off four people but quite another thing to do it successfully. By successfully, he naturally meant having no trouble with the cops. What was the use of getting a million dollars if you had the cops breathing down your neck?

‘He would have four bodies to get rid of... one was tricky enough... but four!

‘Then he remembered the deserted cove Judy had taken him to the first time they had met. Burying bodies in sand wasn’t hard work. Hard work never had appealed to Vin. But he couldn’t believe no one ever went to the cove and sooner or later some kid would dig or the sea would wash up and then there would be trouble.

‘He thought some more and finally decided that the cove was too dangerous. Then he remembered seeing a bulldozer at work on swampland a few miles outside the City. He remembered hearing a barman talking about a big reclaiming scheme and another luxury hotel going up there. This might be a hiding place for bodies.

‘So Vin drove out to the swamp right away. He found three bulldozers working, tearing up mangrove trees and leveling the ground and a twenty-foot high cement mixer grinding out cement which was being used to cover the masses of rubble trucks were unloading.

‘Vin sat in the car and watched the cement mixer at work. He noted there was a perpendicular steel ladder going to the top. After a while, he convinced himself that he could carry a body up there and tip it into the mouth of the machine. What better method of getting rid of a body?’

Barney paused and squinted at me.

‘From all this, Mr. Campbell,’ he said, ‘you can see how the thought of so much money turns a man into something less than an animal. Once Vin convinced himself that he could get rid of the bodies without trace, he drove away from the swamp feeling pretty pleased with himself. The first move would be to get Judy to part with the buyer’s name. He would fix that when he met her this evening. He wondered now how he could kill her quickly, silently and without mess. This was important if he was going to knock her off at the Blue Heaven motel.

‘As he drove through the shade of the palm trees that lined the highway, he considered the various methods he had heard about while in jail and while fraternizing with various criminals in New York. A gun or a knife were out: there must be no blood. He considered a crushing blow at the back of the head, but that still might produce blood. He had read somewhere that there was an artery in the neck which, if pressed hard enough, would produce the required effect, but as he had no idea where the artery was located he passed that one over. Then he remembered a Mafia button man he had once met who was a garrote artist. His garrote had been a dog lead so if the cops ever searched him and found it, he had an explanation ready. The lead whipped over the head, the hands crossed, a knee driven into the back did the trick in a few seconds.

‘ “Why not?” Vin said aloud.

‘On his way back to the bungalow he stopped at a pet store and bought a leather dog lead.

‘The pansy assistant asked him if he would like the name of his dog stamped on the lead.

‘ “You may not believe it,” the assistant said, regarding Vin with serious eyes, “but doggies do know and they do care. It won’t take a tiny moment and it will be only three dollars extra.”

‘Vin told him to get stuffed.

‘In the meantime, Joey got back to, the bungalow. As soon as he came into the back garden, Elliot saw he was worried. He and Cindy had been waiting for Joey’s return and as he joined them, Elliot said a little anxiously, “All okay, Joey?”

‘ “Yes.” Joey sat down. “I rented a safe and here’s the key.” He handed Elliot a safe deposit key. “But we’re being tailed, Don. I didn’t spot the tailers, but I get a feeling and it’s never wrong. I was picked up as soon as I left here. As soon as I got the feeling, I shook the tailer off... I lost him. It was tricky. He was good, but I lost him.”

‘ “What’s going on?” Elliot was puzzled. “That’s the second time you think you were followed.” Then he remembered that the C.I.A. were interested in the stamps. Could the C.I.A. be following Joey? He decided he wouldn’t start a scare without more information so he said nothing. “You’re sure you lost them?”

‘ “I’m sure,” Joey said.

‘Elliot got to his feet.

‘ “Suppose we hide the key that’s an idea?”

‘Joey agreed.

‘They went together into the small shed that housed a few gardening tools and a battered power mowed. Elliot hid the key under a can of weed killer.

‘ “Now if anything happens we know where it is,” Elliot said.

‘Joey looked sharply at him.

‘ “What does that mean?”

‘Elliot grinned.

‘ “Probably nothing. Tell Cindy where it’s hidden.”

‘Later, Vin returned to the bungalow. Joey and Cindy had gone for a walk and Vin found Elliot on his own in the garden.

‘ “Give me a thousand bucks,” Vin said, “and I’ll get the buyer’s name tonight.”

‘Elliot studied him.

‘ “Okay... you are sure she will tell you?”

‘ “Yeah.”

‘ “She could be conning you.”

‘Vin moved impatiently.

‘ “We’ve gone over all that jazz. She shows me the letter her old man had from the buyer.”

‘ “And you will show it to me?”

‘ “Sure... if she’ll part with it.”

‘ “Look, Vin, no offence, but I don’t trust you. I have to be sure the name of the man you give me is the buyer. Get me his name and I’ll call him. If he says he’ll buy, I’ll give you the number of the drawer, but not before.”

‘Vin restrained his temper with an effort.

‘ “Get me the money and stop acting like a goddamn movie star.”

‘ “Just so long as you know,” Elliot said and went into the bungalow.

‘Vin stared after him, his eyes vicious.’

Orson was alerted by Nisson around 21.00 that Pinna in the Jaguar was heading his way. He immediately alerted the six men Lessing had stationed around Larrimore’s house: three of them in the garden, two in a parked car and one patrolling the road.

‘This could be it,’ he said. ‘Pinna’s on his way. Let him get into the house, then grab him as he comes out. Watch it! He could be armed!’

His mind totally occupied in how he was going to force Judy to tell him the name of the buyer, Vin completely forgot Elliot’s warning to watch out that he wasn’t being tailed. He was oblivious that Ross was driving ahead of him and Nisson behind him. When he reached Larrimore’s house, he pulled up, lit a cigarette and waited for Judy to show.

He would have to be careful not to arouse her suspicions, he told himself. He would take her to the Low-Life Club, give her dinner, then take her to the Blue Heaven motel. Once in the cabin, he would ask her for the buyer’s name, then if she didn’t come across, he would knock her cold, gag and bind her and see what a few lighted cigarettes applied to her legs would do to get her talking. When she had parted with the name, he would call this guy and ask him if he were interested in buying the stamps. If he was and agreed the price, then Judy would cease to exist.

Although tense, he managed a wide grin as Judy got into the car.

‘How about the Low-Life Club, baby?’ he asked, shifting into gear, ‘then we can go to the Blue Heaven. Okay with you?’

‘Fine.’ She regarded him. ‘How are your plans working out, Superman? Any nearer to the stamps?’

‘Yeah. Let’s talk about that at the motel,’ Vin said. ‘Pleasure before business, huh?’

‘You mean you’ve found out where he keeps them?’

‘I didn’t say that, but I’m getting nearer.’

‘You sound cagey.’

He grinned at her. ‘That makes two of us, doesn’t it?’

‘Is that girl who came to see my old man this morning hooked up with you?’

Vin stiffened and gaped, then realizing she was watching him and he had given himself away, he said, ‘That’s right. You saw her then?’

‘I saw her. What’s she to you?’

‘Me? She’s just a kid... nothing.’

‘She didn’t look such a kid to me. Why did the old bastard see her?’

‘Okay,’ Vin said. ‘We’ll go to the motel first. I’ll tell you and you tell me.’

‘What’s that mean?’

‘You’ll see.’

He turned off the highway on to a side road that led to the motel.

‘Have you become a dog lover, Superman?’ she asked suddenly.

Vin twisted his head to stare at her.

‘Dog lover?’ Then he stiffened as he saw she was holding the dog lead he had bought and which had been in his pocket. ‘Oh that...’ He felt sweat break out on his face.

‘Where’s the dog?’ she asked, staring at him.

‘I don’t take it around. I’ve left him in my flat.’

‘And little miss prissy looks after him?’

‘Nothing like that, baby. He’s an old dog. He likes being alone.’

‘What kind of dog?’

Vin had no idea what kind of dogs there were since he never bothered about dogs. He shrugged.

‘Oh, a dog... big, floppy... a dog.’

‘What’s his name?’

Vin drew in a slow breath of exasperation.

‘How the hell... its name? Joe.’

‘That’s a funny name for a dog.’

‘That’s what I call him... you interested in dogs?’

‘No.’ Again she looked steadily at him as she handled the lead. ‘I’m just curious why you should have a dog lead in your pocket.’

‘I was late... didn’t want to keep you waiting. I guess I forgot it was in my pocket.’ Vin slowed to drive through the archway leading into the motel.

‘When I saw this hanging out of your pocket, I got the idea you might be kinky and wanted to beat me with it.’

Vin pulled into a parking bay.

‘Would you like that?’

‘I’ve never tried it. Maybe.’

He took the lead from her and stuffed it into his pocket.

‘I don’t dig for that stuff.’ His voice was husky. ‘Still, if you want to try...’

She laughed.

‘I’ll survive without it. Check in, Superman. Let’s talk business. I’m hungry.’

By now the fat Negro in charge of the office had come to know Vin. He had never seen Judy as she always remained in the car while Vin checked in. Seeing Vin come into the office, the Negro glanced through the window, saw the Jaguar and then grinned at Vin.

‘Evening, sir.’ He pushed the register towards Vin. ‘Nice seeing you again. I’ve got your usual cabin free.’

‘Fine.’ Vin signed the register as Steve Hamish. ‘We won’t be long, Jerry. Just a couple of hours.’

‘You stay as long or as short as you like, Mr. Hamish.’

Vin gave him a five-dollar bill, then taking the key the Negro offered him, he returned to the Jaguar.

‘All set... the usual,’ he said, opening the car door.

They walked together to the cabin and as soon as they were inside, Vin shot the bolt.

Judy wandered over to the bed and sat on it.

‘So you sent the girl to find the stamps,’ she said. ‘Did she find them?’

Vin went to the refrigerator. He felt in need of a drink.

‘Scotch?’

‘Yes... did she find them?’

He poured the Scotch into two glasses, then turned.

‘You give and then I’ll give,’ he said and carried the drink over to her. ‘What’s the name of the buyer?’ He offered the glass and stood over her. ‘You tell me that and I’ll tell you if she found the stamps.’

She took the glass and smiled up at him.

‘When you have the stamps and when you have shown them to me I’ll tell you the name of the buyer. We’ve gone over this routine before... remember? But in case you are suffering from amnesia, I take the stamps to the buyer, collect the money and pay you off... remember? We have also gone over that routine before.’

Vin took a long pull at his glass. So he would have to take action, he thought. Well, okay, she couldn’t say she hadn’t asked for it. He would have to get her off her guard, then slam a punch at her jaw. He mustn’t make a mistake. He would have to knock her cold with the first punch or else the bitch would start yelling her head off.

‘She knows where he keeps them,’ he said, moving away from the bed. He sat down in a nearby chair. ‘I can get them. I’ll try tomorrow night.’

‘How did she do it?’

He shrugged.

‘Don’t worry about that... she did it and I’ll get them tomorrow night.’

She sipped her drink, regarding him over the rim of the glass.

‘Do you read gangster stories, Superman?’

He gaped at her. She was always asking unexpected questions that threw him.

‘No... I watch TV. I don’t read books.’

‘I read a gangster book the other night,’ she said. ‘It was about a brainless moron who was hired to kill people. Guess how he killed them?’

Vin put his glass down on the occasional table. Her steady, probing stare brought him out into a sweat.

‘Who the hell cares? Let’s talk business.’

‘I thought you might have read the book. It’s called, Dollars are for Dames.’

‘I don’t read books.’

‘That’s right... you told me. Well, this moron carried a dog lead around with him. He strangled people with it.’

Suddenly Vin could smell his own sweat A quick jump across to her, his fingers on her throat to throttle back her scream, then a slam on the jaw. Once he had got her gagged and bound, he would teach her to act tricky with him. He braced himself. One quick jump. He could hear yells and gunfire from the TV in the next cabin. Even if she did yell before he could shut her mouth, no one would pay any attention.

‘Are you married, Superman?’ Judy asked, nursing her drink.

This question so surprised Vin’s slow working mind that he paused as he prepared himself for his spring forward.

‘Married?’ He gaped at her. ‘No... why the hell do you keep asking stupid questions?’

‘Are you sure you haven’t a jealous wife?’ Her eyes were mocking now.

‘What’s with it?’ He got to his feet and began to move casually towards her. ‘I haven’t a goddamn wife.’ Three more steps and he would be within range.

‘Then why are these two men following us?’ Judy asked. ‘I thought they were private dicks after divorce evidence.’

Vin felt as if he had walked into a wall. A wave of cold blood rushed up his spine. It was only at this moment that he remembered Elliot’s warning to watch out that he wasn’t followed. He remembered that Joey and Cindy had said they had been tailed.

‘Following us?’ His voice was strangled. ‘What do you mean?’

His expression of fear, vicious frustration and alarm seemed to amuse her. She giggled.

‘They followed us last night and they followed us tonight.’ She put her head on one side and looked cute. ‘Didn’t you spot them, Superman?’

‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ he snarled.

‘I like having them around.’ She smiled at him. ‘They give me a feeling of security.’

Vin drew in a slow breath. She was wise to him! The shock hit him and he found his legs were unsteady. He sat down abruptly. What an escape! Suppose he had knocked her off! Imagine carting her body from the cabin to the Jag and as he was putting her body in the boot, these two punks had descended on him. The thought made sweat run down his face. What an escape!

‘Have they upset your plans?’ she asked. ‘How sad! Did you really think I’m so dopey as to come here without protection? You and your dog lead!’ She put her glass down and throwing back her head, she began to laugh.

Vin sat like a stricken bull. Finally he could stand the sound of her laughter no longer.

‘Shut up, you goddamn bitch!’ he bellowed.

She stopped laughing and taking a handkerchief from her bag, she mopped her eyes.

‘Superman! You’re the funniest thing alive. I knew you were stupid, but I didn’t believe you could be such a brainless moron as you are.’

Vin half started from his chair, but, with an effort, he controlled the urge to grab her by her throat and strangle her.

‘Cut it out!’ he snarled. ‘You and me are partners. I know where the stamps are and you know where the buyer is. We both want the money. Do we go ahead with this or don’t we?’

She regarded and her face became as hard as stone.

‘Yes... we go ahead.’ Her voice now had a cutting edge that startled Vin. ‘Now listen to me, you stinking creep. You planned to force me to give you the name of the buyer and then you planned to murder me and take all the money for yourself. You’re so obvious an idiot child could read the mess you call your mind! Make no mistake about this: you’re going to get the stamps and you’re going to give them to me! Don’t imagine, you stupid clown, you can get them and take off. I’ll know if they go and I’ll give the police a description of you and they’ll pick you up so fast you won’t know what’s hit you. From now on, Superduper, you’re going to do what I tell you to do. There’ll be no more cosy motels. When we meet, we meet with people around us so get the idea out of your moronic head that you’ll ever get a chance of murdering me. Understand?’

Vin eyed her. The expression in her hard, cold eyes warned him to play it cool. This bitch was dangerous. If she put the cops on him... but dare she? She would get involved herself.

‘My father wouldn’t bring a charge against me, Superduper,’ Judy said. I know what you’re thinking. Just step out of turn and you’ll have the fuzz crawling over you like fleas on a dog.’

Vin wiped the sweat off his face. He realized with sick frustration she was too goddamn smart for him to cope with.

‘Okay,’ he said. ‘I’ll get the stamps and then we’ll do a deal.’

‘It’s going to be a different kind of deal, little man,’ Judy said. ‘You will now get a hundred thousand and I’m having the rest Now get out! I’ll take a taxi home. When you have the stamps, telephone me and we’ll meet at the Plaza Beach. If the stamps go and I don’t hear from you, the fuzz will be after you. That’s a promise... now, get out!’

Vin hesitated. This could be his last chance to be alone with her. Suppose she was bluffing? Suppose they hadn’t been tailed? Dare he take the risk? His fingers itched to fasten on her throat.

Judy faced him, her eyes contemptuous.

‘Just try it, you stinker, and see where it gets you!’ she said in a fierce whisper. ‘Get out!’

With a feeling of frustrated defeat and fury, Vin turned and stamped out of the cabin.

Soon after Vin had gone to meet Judy, for no reason at all Elliot’s non-existent foot began to ache. This pain always put Elliot in a bad mood and saying curtly he wanted to read, he went to his room, leaving Cindy and Joey to settle to television.

Lying on his bed, Elliot again considered his future. He realized that Cindy had made an unexpected difference to his outlook. He now had the stamps. He was sure Vin planned to double cross them all... so why not double cross Vin? Why not take the stamps to Kendrick, try to get the price upped or if Kendrick wouldn’t play to accept the two hundred thousand dollars and with Cindy and Joey, take off, leaving Vin to whistle for his share?

But Elliot realized after some thought that it wasn’t in him to double cross anyone. He knew Cindy wouldn’t approve and if he did it he knew for the rest of his days he would have put himself on the same level as Vin and that was unthinkable.

Vin had said he would get the name of the buyer from the Larrimore girl. After all, five hundred thousand was a lot better than two hundred thousand. Elliot found he had no qualms about double crossing Kendrick. After all, Kendrick had swindled him in the past No, he had no qualms about Kendrick.

He was still thinking, turning over in his mind whether — once he got the money — to join up with Cindy and Joey or whether to take off and have a hell of a splurge and then take sleeping pills, when he heard Vin come into the bungalow.

He heard him say: ‘Where’s Elliot? Okay... you keep out of this! I’ve got to talk to him and that doesn’t include you two!’

From the sound of Vin’s voice, Elliot guessed he was in a vicious rage. He swung his legs off the bed and sat up.

Vin came into the small room, kicked the door shut and stood glaring at Elliot.

‘She didn’t play?’ Elliot asked quietly.

During the drive back to the bungalow, Vin had thought until his brain had creaked. He realized that Judy had outsmarted him. He had a feeling that once she got the stamps she would gyp him out of this hundred thousand she was offering and there would be nothing he could do about it She had said her father wouldn’t bring a charge against her but that didn’t mean the old punk wouldn’t bring a charge against him! With frustrated fury he finally accepted the bitter fact that he hadn’t the brains to cope with a situation like this. If anyone could cope with it it was this punk movie star and Vin decided he would have to put his cards — not all of them — on the table and be willing to accept part of the take and not all of it.

‘No... the bitch!’ Vin clenched and unclenched his hands. ‘She won’t tell me who the buyer is until I give her the stamps and she insists on dealing with the buyer herself!’

Elliot began to rub his tin foot while he regarded Vin.

‘Then you owe me a thousand dollars,’ he said.

Vin took the roll from his pocket and threw it on the bed. He watched Elliot count the money and transfer it to his pocket.

‘Don’t worry about her,’ Elliot said. ‘We’ll go for the lower figure. I’ve got the stamps.’

Vin stood motionless, a glazed look coming into his eyes.

‘You’ve got them?’ he said hoarsely. ‘What the hell are you saying?’

‘Cindy got them.’

Vin sat abruptly on a chair.

‘You mean when she saw Larrimore, she got at the stamps?’

‘That’s right.’

Vin began to sweat.

‘When Larrimore misses them we’ll have a load of fuzz here!’

Elliot shook his head.

‘For some reason I don’t understand, Larrimore was warned two months ago that he would be prosecuted if he had the stamps and kept them. He can’t complain to the police now unless he wants to risk a prosecution by the C.I.A.’

‘The... who?’

‘The C.I.A.’

Vin gaped at him.

‘You mean the Government jerks who spy and play general hell?’

Elliot nodded.

‘But what have they to do with the stamps?’

‘I’m trying to figure that one out itself.’

Vin’s mind was in a whirl.

‘Where are the stamps?’

‘In a safe deposit box. I’ll see Kendrick tomorrow. Maybe I can squeeze more money out of him. Forget Judy. If we are lucky we could get another fifty thousand out of Kendrick. As you didn’t get the stamps, your share goes down to fifty thousand and as Cindy got them, her share goes up to a hundred.’

Vin drew in a snorting breath. He saw now that he would have to put his final card on the table. He hesitated for a long moment, but if Elliot sold the stamps for a mere two hundred and fifty, Vin knew he would have nightmares for the rest of his days.

‘Do you know how much these goddamn stamps are worth?’ he demanded, sitting forward and glaring at Elliot.

‘Do you?’

‘Yes. That bitch told me. Larrimore was offered a million for them and you are talking of selling them for two hundred and fifty!’

For a moment Elliot stared at Vin, then he shook his head.

‘She was conning you. No stamps are worth that kind of money.’

‘That letter I told you she had seen. She didn’t know I was interested in the stamps when she told me,’ Vin said feverishly. ‘That’s what they’re worth! A million! That’s why she won’t play. She wants all that money for herself!’

Elliot felt a prickle run up his spine. Could it be possible? he asked himself. If he could lay his hands on that amount of money he could clear his debts and make a new start. A million!

‘I can’t believe it!’

‘I’m telling you,’ Vin said violently, ‘and I’ll tell you something else... this bitch told me she’d give the cops a description of me if she found the stamps missing. You hear? As soon as her goddamn father tells her Cindy has taken the stamps, we’ll have the fuzz in our laps!’

Elliot waved this away.

‘She’ll never know they are missing,’ he said. ‘If Larrimore can’t tell the police they have gone, is it likely he would tell her who he dislikes?’

Vin hadn’t thought of this. He relaxed a little.

‘You can forget her,’ Elliot went on. ‘There must be some other way to find out who this buyer is without getting involved with her. Kendrick knows. Larrimore knows. Neither of them would tell us. Who else would know?’

Vin shuffled uneasily.

‘Search me and I’ll tell you something else... I was followed last night and tonight. I didn’t spot them but Judy did.’

Elliot stiffened.

‘If she did... why didn’t you?’

‘I had things on my mind,’ Vin said sullenly. ‘I forgot to check.’

‘Could she have been conning you?’

Vin’s eyes narrowed. He hadn’t thought of that. By spinning a yarn that they were being watched she had saved her goddamn neck. Yes... she could have been smart enough to have conned him.

‘Maybe... I don’t know. Someone followed Joey and Cindy.’

Elliot got to his feet.

‘This bothers me. Let’s check and find out’ He left his room and went into the living room. Vin, scowling, joined him.

‘Joey... I want to talk to you,’ Elliot said.

Reluctantly, Joey turned off the TV set and regarded Elliot inquiringly.

‘Vin thinks he was followed tonight. I want to be sure. He’s going to take a walk down town. Give him a start, then go after him. See if you can spot the tailer.’ He turned to Vin. ‘Go to the end of the road and keep along Beechwood Drive until you come to the drug store. Buy some cigarettes and then come back... take your time.’

‘What’s the matter with taking the car?’ asked Vin who hated walking.

‘Do what I say!’ Elliot snapped.

Shrugging, Vin left the bungalow and after giving him a three-minute start, Joey went after him.

‘What is it, Don?’ Cindy asked anxiously. ‘Do you really think someone’s following us?’

‘If there is someone, Joey should spot him.’ Elliot turned to the door. ‘Go to bed. I’ve got thinking to do.’

‘I’ll wait for dad to get back.’

‘Cindy!’ The snap in Elliot’s voice startled her. ‘Go to bed and stay in your room no matter what you hear. Do you understand?’

‘What’s going to happen?’

‘For God’s sake, don’t be a nuisance! Go to bed!’

With a hurt expression on her face, Cindy left the room. Elliot grimaced, then sat down and waited for Vin and Joey to return.

Half an hour later, Vin came in.

‘Anything?’

‘Not a damn thing! No one followed me,’ Vin said sourly. ‘A waste of time.’

‘Let’s wait for Joey.’

Twenty minutes later Joey came in and quietly shut the door.

‘He was followed and so was I,’ he said. ‘One of them is in the back garden right now.’

‘Did you see him?’ Elliot asked, getting to his feet.

‘Yes... he’s behind the big shrub at the end of the garden. There’s no place else for him to hide. The other one is in a car at the end of the road.’

‘Okay, Joey... you’ve done a swell job. Now, go to bed.’

‘Cindy in bed?’

‘Yes.’

Joey looked at Vin, hesitated, then moved to the door.

‘Well, then... good night.’

When he had gone, Elliot said softly, ‘Let’s go get him. Maybe we can persuade him to tell us who he is working for.’

Vin’s face lit up with a wolfish grin.

‘If it’s to be told, he’ll tell. How do we take him?’

‘Let’s look.’

The two men went into the dark kitchen and Elliot closed the door. They went to the window and looked out on to the back garden. Although there was a big moon the tall trees surrounding the garden made it dark, but they could make out the outline of the big flowering shrub at the bottom of the garden.

‘I’ll crawl down there and flush him out,’ Elliot said. ‘When you hear me call, come fast.’

Vin nodded. This was the kind of action he liked. He was impressed by the way Elliot slid out through the back door and disappeared into the darkness. He waited, then hearing a sudden commotion, he charged down the lawn and blundered on Elliot, kneeling over a limp body.

‘Okay,’ Elliot said, standing up. ‘I’ve fixed him. He was half-asleep. He’ll be out for ten minutes or so. Help me carry him in.’

Together, they carried the unconscious man into the kitchen, down a short passage and into the living room.

‘Lock the door,’ Elliot said as they dumped the man on the settee.

Vin locked the door and joined Elliot to look down at the man on the settee. He wasn’t much to look at: below average height, small boned, sandy haired, round, boyish face and at a guess, Elliot thought he couldn’t be more than twenty years of age.

‘Not much of a punk, is he?’ Vin said. ‘What did you do... knock him on the nut?’

‘Chop at the back of his neck,’ Elliot said. ‘Hell be all right in a few minutes.’

The name of the man lying on the settee was Jim Folls. He had joined Lessing’s investigators as a learner two months ago. With all Lessing’s top investigators concentrating on Larrimore’s house, Nisson had thought it safe to leave Folls to keep an eye on Elliot’s bungalow. He had told him to do nothing but sit behind the shrub and leave it to Ross, parked in a car at the end of the road, to take care of anything that might happen. Folls’ job was to alert Ross by his transceiver if anyone left the bungalow. But Folls had taken a correspondence course in detective work and was keen. When he saw Vin leave the bungalow he not only alerted Ross, but followed Vin just in case Ross made a box up of it He hadn’t any opinion of Ross’s talents. By doing so he had given himself away to Joey who spotted him sneaking after Vin.

‘He’s coming to the surface now,’ Elliot said. ‘We’ll scare the crap out of him. He doesn’t look as if he has any resistance.’

‘I’ll handle him,’ Vin said viciously. This is right up my alley.’

Folls stirred, moaned, blinked and then half sat up. When he found himself staring into Vin’s hard, vicious face, he shrank back, catching his breath in horror.

Vin caught hold of Folls’ shirtfront, lifted him slightly and shook him.

‘Okay, rat... what were you doing out there?’ he snarled.

Folls’ mind spun like a top. ‘When in a tight corner, his correspondence course had told him, act cool, bluff and show no sign of fear.’

Strictly against this advice, Folls quaked with fear, couldn’t get his brain to work and just gazed with horror at the menacing figure bending over him.

‘Don’t hurt me...’ he finally managed to splutter.

‘Hurt you?’ Vin snarled. ‘I’m going to tear your goddamn arm off and beat you to death with it!’

‘Strictly B movie dialogue,’ Elliot said disapprovingly. ‘We don’t have to do that. What we can do is to put burning cigarettes on his naked feet. It’s an old Japanese custom and it works fine.’

Folls looked as if he were going to faint. Vin let go of him and stepped back. Folls huddled on the settee, staring up at the two men, quivering and wishing he had remained a grocer’s assistant and hadn’t been crazy enough to volunteer to be one of Lessing’s investigators.

‘Yeah,’ Vin said. ‘I dig that. Let’s do it.’ He grabbed hold of one of Folls’ feet and dragged off his shoe and sock. Into Folls’ panic-stricken mind came the heading of Chapter Six of his correspondence course: If subject to torture, remember your loyalty to your boss always comes first. A top class investigator never talks.

He fervently wished the writer of this course was now in his position. He was ready to bet the creep would sing like a canary.

‘I’ll talk,’ he said breathlessly. ‘I’ll tell you anything you want to know!’

Vin sneered.

‘Yeah? Well, let’s try a little burning first’ He took a cigarette from his pack and lit it.

‘Hold it,’ Elliot said. ‘I’ll talk to him.’

‘Just let me mash this on his foot,’ Vin said. ‘It’ll loosen him up.’

‘Keep smoking. You can have a go at him if he doesn’t come clean. There’s no point in having to carry this punk out of here. Once you start on him he won’t be able to walk for weeks.’

Folls shuddered.

‘Why are you tailing us?’ Elliot demanded.

Folls had been warned by Nisson that if the suspects got an idea that they were being watched not only would he lose his job but Nisson would also lose his, but Folls was too scared by now to think up a convincing lie and seeing Vin was itching to burn him, he said in a quavering voice, ‘I was only acting on instructions.’

‘Who are you working for?’

‘The Lessing Agency.’

Elliot knew of the agency which was the best and the most expensive in the City.

‘What are your instructions?’

‘Just to watch you all... see where you go... what you do and make reports.’

‘Why?’

Folls licked his dry lips and hesitated.

‘Let me just mash this cigarette on his foot,’ Vin said. ‘Just once. He needs loosening up,’ and he started forward.

Folls’ eyes popped wide open.

‘No... no! They think you’re going to break into Mr. Larrimore’s house. They plan to catch you as you come out.’

‘Who are they?’ Elliot asked.

‘Mr. Lessing and his investigators.’

‘How many of them are on the job?’

‘Six now... before they found where you are living, they had about thirty men looking for you.’

Elliot and Vin exchanged looks.

‘Are you anything to do with the C.I.A.?’ Elliot asked.

‘The C.I.A.? No, sir. I just work for Mr. Lessing.’

‘Who hired Lessing to watch us?’

‘I don’t know.’ Then seeing Vin’s menacing move forward, he repeated in a shriller voice, ‘I swear I don’t know!’

Elliot decided he was telling the truth. Why should a punk like this be told the names of Lessing’s clients? ‘Thirty men looking for you,’ Folls had said. At Lessing’s rates an operation on this scale would cost a lot of money.

‘Who’s Lessing’s most important client? You must know that,’ Elliot said.

‘I don’t know. We’re never told anything about anyone who hires us. I’d tell you if I knew.’

With an impatient snort, Vin flicked hot ash on Folls’ bare foot. Folls reared up as if he had been touched by a red-hot iron.

‘Don’t do it!’ His voice cracked. ‘I’ve heard them talking about someone, but he mightn’t even be a client. I just heard a name.’

‘What name?’ Elliot asked.

‘I heard Nisson and Ross talking. They talked about a man called Herman Radnitz who lives at the Belvedere Hotel.’

Radnitz!

Elliot stiffened. His mind went back to a big cocktail party thrown by the Vice President of M.G.M. when he was on vacation in Paradise City. Elliot, along with four hundred other celebrities, had been invited. The one man who had made an impression on him among all the rich and the famous had been a toad like, fat financier who someone had told him was the most important wheeler-dealer in the world. His name had stuck: Herman Radnitz. ‘A man who has dealings with the Soviet Union,’ his informer had told him. ‘Come to that: he has dealings with every foreign government and is on first name terms with the President.’

Concealing his excitement, Elliot asked, ‘Who are Nisson and Ross?’

‘They lead the investigation... Ross is out there in the car.’

Vin was listening to all this with growing impatience.

‘Let’s set about this creep. He’s got more up his jersey than he’s spilling.’

Elliot was satisfied. He shook his head.

‘Get your sock and shoe on,’ he said to Folls. ‘I could turn you over to the police, but I’m not going to. You keep your mouth shut and I’ll keep mine shut. Go ahead and watch us. We’re doing nothing wrong and we have no intention of breaking into Larrimore’s house. That’s someone’s pipe dream. You start something and I’ll start something. Okay?’

‘Are you letting this creep go?’ Vin asked, gaping at Elliot.

‘That’s right. Let him watch us. What have we to worry about?’ Elliot turned slightly so Folls couldn’t see and winked at Vin.

Vin, baffled, moved to the door and unlocked it.

‘Get the hell out of here!’ he snarled at Folls.

Scared witless, Folls bolted down the passage and out into the garden.

Elliot regarded Vin.

‘I think he gave it away,’ he said. ‘Herman Radnitz. There’s no one in this City except him who could offer a million for those Russian stamps. He has dealings with Russia. He fits, but now I want to find out why he wants these stamps so badly.’

‘Who cares as long as he pays out?’

‘He’s big time and dangerous. He could put you on the ball of his thumb and make a smear of you on a wall.’

‘Oh, yeah?’ Vin sneered. ‘Rich punks don’t scare me.’

‘There are times, Vin, when I despair of you.’ Elliot moved to the door. ‘I’m going to bed.’

‘Hey, wait a minute! Are you seeing this guy tomorrow?’

‘No. I have to be sure he really is the one who wants the stamps. At the moment, I’m guessing. Then I’ll have to think of a way to handle the deal.’

‘What’s so tough about it?’ Vin demanded impatiently. ‘You go to him, tell him you have the stamps, you want a million, get the money and give him the stamp. What’s wrong with that? If you don’t want to handle it, I’ll handle it!’

‘As I said, there are times when I despair of you,’ Elliot said and left the room.