There’s Always A Price Tag

Chapter Ten

Dester may have been a drunk and he may have been washed up in the movie business, but I quickly discovered that he was still an important figure in the eyes of the police.

I expected the desk sergeant, when I told him Dester and his wife had been missing for a couple of hours, would promise to inquire around at the hospitals and check the accident detail and let me know if he heard anything, but he shook me by saying he would send someone out to the house right away.

‘You’d better get dressed,’ I said to Marian. ‘We’re going to have visitors. There’s no news of an accident. It beats me what’s happened to them.’

Looking worried and a little scared, Marian left the lounge. I turned up Edwin Burnett’s number in the telephone book and called his house. I got him out of bed after a long delay and told him the news. He seemed pretty startled.

‘You say the police are coming over?’

‘That’s right. I thought maybe you’d want to be here.’

But he hedged. It was just after three o’clock, and I guessed he didn’t want to make the trip at that time in the morning.

‘You can handle it, can’t you, Nash? Give me a call at ten o’clock at my office and let me know what’s happening.’ He gave me the number. ‘It may be they have only had a breakdown. If the Press get on to you, don’t tell them anything.’

‘That’s easier said than done, Mr. Burnett,’ I said.

‘I know, but we’ve got to be careful not to embarrass Mrs. Dester.’

I suddenly heard the faint note of an approaching siren. The sound chilled me.

‘I think the police are arriving now. I’ll call you at ten,’ I said and hung up.

I crossed the hall and opened the front door just as the police car pulled up.

Two men got out, both in plain clothes. They came up the steps, and I stood aside to let them in.

One of them was a short, fat man with reddish hair, a fiery complexion and a mass of freckles. At a guess he was nudging forty-five or so. He had pale blue eyes that looked like blobs of frozen water. The other detective was taller, younger and dark, with a hatchet face and intent staring eyes.

‘Lieutenant Bromwich,’ the fat detective said, stabbing himself in the chest with his thumb. ‘Sergeant Lewis.’ He jerked his thumb in the direction of the younger man. ‘Who are you?’

‘I’m Glyn Nash.’ I found my voice was a little husky. ‘I’m Mr. Dester’s majordomo.’

Bromwich screwed up his eyes. ‘Major — who?’

‘I look after Mr. Dester’s affairs, drive his car, help him dress: that sort of thing.’

Bromwich gave me a suspicious stare, then walked past me into the lounge. Lewis remained in the hall. I followed Bromwich, who sat down in a lounging chair, pushed his pork-pie hat to the back of his head and stared around the room, a little grimace on his red face.

‘How the rich live,’ he said as if speaking to himself. He pulled out a notebook, thumbed it to a blank page, produced a stub of pencil and then stared at me. ‘Let’s have it. What time did they leave?’

I told him; then I went on to tell him where they were going, how I happened to be out and got back just after they had gone, how I had to return to the Buick to fix it, how I had come back and waited for Mrs. Dester to return. I explained that I had dozed off and didn’t waken until Marian telephoned me. Then as soon as I realized the time and that Mrs. Dester hadn’t come back and that Dester hadn’t arrived at the sanatorium, I had called the police.

Bromwich sat listening, his face blank. He made no attempt to write anything in his notebook.

‘Where’s the girl?’ he asked when I had finished.

‘You mean Miss Temple?’

‘That’s who I mean.’

‘She’ll be down in a moment. She’s getting dressed.’

He crossed one fat leg over the other.

‘This guy Dester’s supposed to be in New York, isn’t he? I read somewhere he’s now in television or something.’

I explained about that. I said I had no idea how the rumour started, but Dester was pretty ill and as far as I knew he wasn’t going into television.

‘He’s a drunk, isn’t he?’ Bromwich asked.

‘That’s how you could describe him.’

‘How is he off financially?’

‘He owes money.’

‘Much?’

I hesitated.

‘Come on, come on,’ Bromwich said. ‘You don’t have to be coy with me.’

‘Around twenty thousand.’

Bromwich made a face.

‘These rich.’ He let it hang, then went on, ‘Did they take any luggage?’

‘Mr. Dester had a suitcase.’

‘I’ve seen that Rolls. That’s worth something.’

‘I guess so.’

‘Mrs. Dester take anything with her?’

I very nearly walked into that one.

‘I don’t know. I know Mr. Dester took a case with him because I packed it.’

Just then Marian came in.

Bromwich screwed his bullet head around and stared at her.

‘This is Miss Temple,’ I said. ‘This is Lieutenant Bromwich,’ I went on to Marian.

Bromwich waved Marian to a chair. He didn’t bother to get up.

‘Did Mrs. Dester take any luggage with her?’ he asked. Marian looked startled. ‘Why, no. Mr. Dester had a suitcase, but Mrs. Dester...’

‘Okay, okay, just answer the questions.’

He got her to describe exactly what had happened when she saw Helen and me leave the house. It was a little eerie to hear her account of the departure.

‘Mrs. Dester seemed to be having trouble with him,’ Marian said. ‘He knocked something over and there was a smash. He seemed very unsteady. He wanted the light in the hall turned off because it hurt his eyes. He came down the stairs very slowly, holding on to her arm.’

‘What was he wearing?’ Bromwich asked in a bored, flat voice.

‘A dark brown, wide-brimmed hat, a camel-haired, belted coat, dark grey trousers and nigger brown reverse calf shoes,’ Marian said promptly.

Bromwich looked up. ‘Are you sure?’

‘Yes.’

‘You’ve got pretty good eyes, haven’t you?’

‘I was curious. I hadn’t seen him before. He took some time to cross the hall.’

‘How long have you been here?’

‘Exactly a week.’

‘And this was the first-time you set eyes on him?’

‘Yes.’

I felt my hands go clammy. Was she going to say she didn’t think he had been in the room all that time?

‘So he stayed in his room for a week?’

‘Mr. Dester stayed in bed,’ I put in. ‘He was pretty bad, and he slept most of the time.’

Bromwich swivelled his bullet head and stared at me.

‘Who was his doctor?’

I felt my heart give a little kick, but I managed to keep my face expressionless. A doctor was something Helen and I had overlooked.

‘He refused to have a doctor.’

‘Who suggested he should go to a sanatorium?’

‘Mrs. Dester. He was glad to agree.’

Bromwich turned back to Marian.

‘So for a whole week you didn’t see Dester? The first time you saw him was when he was leaving for the sanatorium — right?’

‘Yes.’

He brooded for a moment that seemed like an hour to me, then asked how Mrs. Dester was dressed. This time he made notes.

‘Did they have any ready cash in the house?’ he asked me when he had finished writing.

‘Not more than a couple of hundred dollars.’

‘Know what Dester’s bank account is worth?’

‘About three or four thousand.’

‘Mrs. Dester own an account?’

‘Not to my knowledge.’

He scratched the side of his face while he stared blankly in front of him. Then he looked over at Marian and came out with a fast one that jolted me.

‘Would you say from what you saw of him walking to the car that he was a sick man or would you say he was faking?’

Marian looked startled.

‘He... he was very shaky. He looked as if he had been in bed some time and was unsteady on his legs.’

‘Yeah, but that’d be easy to fake. How did he look?’

‘I didn’t see his face. His hat was pulled down and his collar was turned up.’

I felt a trickle of sweat run down the side of my neck, but I didn’t dare wipe it away.

‘Hey, Lewis...’ Bromwich called, raising his voice.

The other detective came to the door.

‘Take him up to Dester’s room,’ Bromwich said to Marian. ‘Let him see Mrs. Dester’s room also.’ He looked at Lewis. ‘Check to see what clothes they’ve got, personal stuff. I want to know if they’ve skipped.’

Lewis nodded and followed Marian up the stairs.

Bromwich turned to me.

‘There’s been no accident reported for the past eight hours,’ he said, ‘so that rules out a smash. If they had had a breakdown, we should have heard by now. It looks to me that as he can’t pay his debts, he has skipped.’

‘I can’t see him doing that,’ I said. ‘He was pretty ill. Besides, he’s well-known. He couldn’t go to any place and remain long without being recognized.’

‘She might have persuaded him,’ Bromwich said. ‘If they haven’t skipped, then why have they disappeared? Any ideas?’

I wasn’t going to walk into that kind of trap.

‘I thought they must have met with an accident.’

‘Well, they haven’t. Any more ideas?’

‘No, unless he was taken ill on the road and they’ve stopped somewhere not on the telephone.’

He gave me a long stare of disgust and shrugged his fat shoulders. We sat for a few minutes in silence, then we heard Lewis and Marian coming downstairs. Bromwich heaved himself out of his chair and walked into the hall.

Lewis shook his head.

‘Doesn’t seem to be anything missing. She has a stack of clothes and jewellery up there. They certainly haven’t packed and run.’

Bromwich scratched his nose. He didn’t look convinced.

‘Well, okay. I’ll notify all patrols to look out for them,’ he said to me. ‘If I hear anything I’ll call on you. If you hear anything you call me — right?’

As he moved to the front door, he paused and looked at Marian and then at me.

‘Do you sleep in this joint?’

‘I have an apartment over the garage.’

Again he looked at Marian, then he shrugged his shoulders, jerked his head at Lewis and went down the steps to the car.

I didn’t have to be a mind reader to know what had been going through his mind. It had been a smart move of mine to have moved back to the garage apartment. These cops were forever looking for the sex angle.

I didn’t sleep much for the rest of the night. Not wanting to listen to Marian’s theories, I had told her to go back to bed. I had gone over to the garage apartment where I lay on the bed and dozed. I did finally drift off into a light sleep towards seven o’clock and woke with a start at a few minutes after half past eight. I swung my legs off the bed and went into the bathroom to take a shower. I was surprised that I hadn’t already heard from Bromwich that Helen had been found. The staff of a forestry station starts work early and Helen was bound to have been found by now.

Was the fat detective suspicious of me? Was he checking Helen’s story before seeing me?

I felt pretty jittery and my hands were unsteady as I dressed. There was no backing out now, I told myself. I tried to assure myself that the prize of three-quarters of a million was worth the tension and the wait. In a couple of months, I told myself, all this would be behind me and I would be heading for Rome with Marian.

Suddenly the telephone bell rang. Here it is, I thought, my heart beginning to pound. But it was only Marian telling me she had made coffee and did I want any?

‘I’ll be right over,’ I said, and hung up.

By the time I got over to the house it was just after nine. I didn’t want the coffee Marian had ready, but I forced myself to drink it.

‘Hadn’t you better call the police and find out if they have any news?’ Marian asked after a while.

We had been discussing endlessly it seemed to me what could have happened to the Desters without getting anywhere, and the time was now twenty minutes to ten. I kept asking myself why they hadn’t been through to tell me Helen had been found. It was as much as I could do to remain still. Had Helen’s nerve cracked and had she given herself away already and me too?

‘Yes, I guess I’d better. I promised to call Mr. Burnett at ten.’

I went over to the telephone, got through to police headquarters and asked for Lieutenant Bromwich. I was told he was out and Sergeant Lewis was with him.

‘Is there anyone who can tell me if there is any news of Mr. and Mrs. Dester?’

The sergeant who had answered the telephone said he hadn’t any information to give me. Lieutenant Bromwich would get into touch with me when he returned.

Maybe they were out at the forestry station now, I thought as I hung up. Now I thought about it. I decided Helen would have been found around eight o’clock. There would be some kind of delay before the police were notified. Then Bromwich and Lewis would have to get out there. They would probably arrive around half past nine. They had to listen to Helen’s story. They would want to check it. I couldn’t expect to hear anything much before eleven o’clock.

‘No one knows anything,’ I said to Marian. ‘Bromwich is out. He’ll call when he gets back.’

‘Do you think they have been kidnapped?’ Marian asked suddenly. ‘It’s possible, isn’t it?’

That jolted me. I wanted the police to learn of the kidnapping through Helen and no one else. Then I remembered they were probably hearing Helen’s story right at this minute and I relaxed.

‘Could be, but we mustn’t jump to conclusions. It’s a job for the police. Now look, will you carry on just as if Mrs. Dester is still here? I’ve got to call Burnett.’

‘I don’t want to stay here, Glyn,’ Marian said. ‘There’s an atmosphere in this house that scares me. I don’t like being alone here.’

‘I can understand that, but you can’t leave yet. The police will want to talk to you again. Mrs. Dester may want your help. You will wait until they are found, won’t you? I tell you what we’ll do. I’ll move into your room and you take over mine. You won’t mind being in the garage apartment alone, will you?’

‘I’d prefer it.’

‘Okay. Well, you pack your stuff and I’ll take it over. You can help me move my stuff. You start now while I call Burnett.’

I wanted to get her out of the lounge. Talking to her was a strain while I had so much on my mind. When she had gone I called Burnett and told him there was no news. He said he would get in touch with the Chief of Police who was a friend of his and get some action.

‘Has the Press been on to you yet?’

‘Not yet.’

‘If they do, refer them to me. I’ll handle them.’

That was a weight off my mind. I said I’d do it and hung up.

As I was moving to the stairs to warn Marian not to talk to the Press if they arrived, I heard a car pull up and I went to the front door.

Bromwich and Lewis were getting out.

I felt my mouth turn dry. Why hadn’t they brought Helen with them? Had they arrested her? Somehow I kept my face expressionless; somehow I forced myself to stand still and not to give way to the impulse to turn and bolt out of the house.

They came up the steps. Bromwich looked tired, as if he had been up all night. He nodded to me, then walked into the lounge and sat down. Lewis remained out in the hall.

‘This is a puzzler,’ Bromwich said, stretching out his short, thick legs as he stared up at me. ‘These two are playing some sort of game and I’ll be damned if I know what it is.’

‘What do you mean?’ My voice sounded off-key.

‘We’ve found the Rolls. It was ditched in West 9th Street. He’s taken the suitcase. There’s no sign of them.’

There’s no sign of them!

That must mean the staff at the forestry station hadn’t reported finding Helen. I crossed over to the bar for the cigarette-box, not wanting him to see my face. Could it be possible that the hut I had left Helen in wasn’t often used? Was she still lying on the floor, bound hand and foot, waiting for someone to find her? I felt sweat start out on my face at the thought. It wasn’t likely. There were offices in the hut. She had only to bang on the floor with her feet to attract attention. Had she lost her nerve and asked whoever found her not to call the police? If that was the case, then where was she?

‘They were seen by a State trooper around half past ten,’ Bromwich went on, ‘on Highway 101, heading towards the sanatorium. He passed the car which was travelling slowly. He saw Mrs. Dester at the wheel and Dester beside her. For some reason, they must have turned around and come back to Hollywood, ditched the car and made off. It looks to me as if they are running out on their debts.’

I heard myself say, ‘But Dester was a sick man. He couldn’t have walked far. If he had taken a bus or a train, he would have been noticed.’

‘We’re checking the bus stations and trains now,’ Bromwich said. He took out a cigar and lit it. ‘I’m wondering just how sick this guy was. Did you visit him when he was in bed?’

‘Why, yes. That is I looked in from time to time. He was usually asleep.’

Bromwich looked sharply at me, frowned and shifted his position in the chair.

‘Well, he could have faked he was worse than he was if he was planning a runout.’

‘Miss Temple suggested just now that they have been kidnapped,’ I said. I knew it was dangerous to bring this up. It would have been safer to wait until they found Helen, but all this talk about Dester running away from his creditors had to be checked.

Bromwich screwed up his eyes.

‘Kidnapped? What makes her think that?’

‘Well, they have both disappeared. ‘

‘There’s no ransom note.’

I could see he didn’t like this idea. He got to his feet and began to pace up and down.

‘Edwin Burnett, the attorney who acts for Mr. Dester, is having a word with the Chief of Police,’ I said. ‘He’s calling for action.’

Bromwich stopped short as if he had walked into a brick wall. ‘Having a word with the Chief?’

‘Yes. Apparently he’s a friend of his.’

‘Sweet grief! So it’s going to be one of those cases! Look, tell that girl to keep her mouth shut about kidnapping. If the Press get hold of that idea.’ He broke off, snapping his fingers. ‘My luck that Burnett’s a friend of the Chiefs. I’m going to get run ragged. I can see that.’ He started to pace up and down again. Then he paused to look at me, ‘Has Dester any relations or friends he would visit?’

‘He has no relations. I don’t know about his friends.’

‘That could be it, you know. He might have changed his mind about going to the sanatorium.’ Then he stopped short and cursed under his breath. ‘No. There’s the car. Why the hell did he ditch the car?’ He turned and began to pace up and down again. ‘Yeah, this could be a snatch. The car points to it. I’d better report to the Chief before he yells for me.’

He went out of the lounge, jerking his head at Lewis as he passed him. Together they hurried down to the car and drove off.

I went over to the bar and gave myself a Scotch. Where was Helen? What had happened to her? The whole of our plan depended on her. I thought of Dester lying in the deep-freeze. If Helen didn’t show up soon I would have the job of getting him out of the cabinet on my own. The thought turned me sick.

I had just finished my drink and was mixing myself another when two newspaper men arrived. I had trouble getting rid of them. They didn’t seem to be interested in talking to Burnett. They wanted first-hand information from me, but I wouldn’t let them in the house, telling them my instructions were to refer all inquiries to Burnett. They went off finally. They hadn’t been gone ten minutes before four others turned up complete with a Press photographer. I got rid of them after a struggle, but not before the photographer had taken my photograph.

By this time it was after twelve, and there was still no news of Helen. I was by now fit to walk up a wall, and when Marian came down to ask me to carry her suitcases over to the garage apartment it was as much as I could do to be civil to her.

She offered to get me lunch, but I said I had to go out. I took the Buick and headed out towards Highway 101, but I didn’t get far. I realized that if I were seen, it would be a complete give away. I had to let the police find Helen. I didn’t dare look for her myself. I drove over to Burnett’s office in the hope of getting some news from him, but I was told he was in court.

I returned to the house. There was still no news of Helen. There could now be three explanations for her silence: the police were holding her, waiting for me to make a wrong move; she hadn’t been found yet, or she had lost her nerve, got free and bolted, leaving me to hold the bag.

I decided I had to go out to the forestry station after dark. I had to find out if she was still there.

The evening newspapers carried the story of Dester’s disappearance under a banner headline.

There was a photograph of me talking to the reporters on the front page of the Hollywood Monitor. The caption under the photograph read: Glyn Nash, Erle Dester’s secretary, holds off reporters in their attempt to learn the truth of Dester’s disappearance.

There was no mention of Dester’s debts. The Chief of Police, in an interview with the Press, said that it looked as if Dester had been kidnapped although no ransom note had as yet been received. He said that he was organizing an intensive search for the missing couple.

And yet even with all this publicity, there was still no news of Helen.

Around seven o’clock, Burnett telephoned.

‘We’re coming out to the house at eleven o’clock tomorrow morning, Nash,’ he told me. ‘It looks as if they have been kidnapped, and we’ll want to talk to you and Miss Temple. I shall want to go through Mr. Dester’s papers. You might have everything ready for me. If you have a list of what he owes.’

I said I would have everything ready for him.

‘There’s no news then?’ I asked.

‘Nothing. It’s extraordinary. Stay by the telephone, Nash. You may get a ransom call. Notify the police and myself if you do.’

I said I would and hung up. But I knew there would be no ransom call. I had to go out to the forestry station, but first I had to get rid of Marian.

We sat in the lounge listening to the radio and talking in a desultory fashion until just after ten. How I contained myself I’ll never know, but at half past ten I suggested she should go to bed.

‘I’m out of cigarettes,’ I said. ‘I’ll take the car and get a pack at the end of the road. I won’t be long.’

‘I don’t want to be a nuisance, Glyn,’ she said, ‘but I do hate being alone here. Suppose the kidnappers ring up?’

‘Okay, I won’t go then,’ I said. ‘I’ve got enough to last me until tomorrow morning. I’ll see you over to the garage apartment. Then I’ll turn in myself. I’m pretty well whacked after no sleep last night. I expect you can do with some sleep yourself.’

We went over to the garage apartment.

‘I shall leave tomorrow, Glyn,’ Marian said as we entered the sitting room. ‘I can’t stay here any longer. I’ll get a job somewhere and find a room.’

‘Burnett will be coming tomorrow morning. We’ll talk to him. I don’t want to stay myself,’ I said. ‘You’ll be all right here for tonight. Don’t run out on me, Marian.’

She smiled. ‘No, but I hate it here. There’s such a horrible atmosphere. ‘

‘Let’s talk about it tomorrow.’

I kissed her and then went down the stairs, through the garage and out on to the driveway. Fortunately I hadn’t put the Buick away. The drive from the garage was steeply sloped. I opened the car door, slid under the driving wheel and released the parking brake. The car rolled down the drive. It kept going to the gates, then, knowing Marian wouldn’t now be able to hear the engine start up, I switched on the ignition.

I knew what I was doing was dangerous. I could be walking right into a trap. If Helen had been arrested, it was possible the police were waiting for me at the forestry station. If they caught me there, they wouldn’t need any other evidence to tie me in with Helen. But I had to take the risk.

Suppose she had skipped? I asked myself. What was I going to do? Skip myself? The only other alternative would be to give the police the whole story, show them where Dester was and put as much blame on to Helen as I could.

I pushed that thought hastily out of my mind. That must be the last alternative. I wished now I hadn’t been so damned smart. I wished I had never thought up this crazy plan. I cursed myself for going back with Dester to his house on the night we first met.

As I drove along Highway 101 I kept my eyes open for the sight of any State trooper, but I didn’t see one.

I slowed down when I was a quarter of a mile from the dirt road that led to the forestry station. Ahead of me was a lay-by. I pulled into it, turned off the car’s lights and cut the engine. I didn’t intend to drive up that dirt road in case the police were waiting for me. I would sneak up there on foot, giving them no warning of my approach. With any luck I might spot them if they were there and duck out of sight before they saw me.

I reached the opening to the road after six or seven minutes. There was no moon; only stars, and it wasn’t easy to see where I was going. I moved as silently as I could, not hurrying. I kept to the centre of the road, my ears and eyes alert.

It took me a little over a quarter of an hour to reach the barbed-wire gate. I could just make out the outlines of the gate in the semi-darkness. It stood open, the way I had left it when I had driven away the previous night.

I stood still, staring at the gate. Did that mean anything? Did it mean no one had been here since last night? Or was this a smart move of the police to lull me into walking into their trap?

My heart was beating violently as I stood listening, staring beyond the gate at the dim outlines of the three huts. There was no sign of life, no light showed, and the only sound I could hear was the thumping of my heart.

I moved forward cautiously, and finally reached the hut where I had left Helen. I paused outside the door, listening, then very gently I put my hand on the door and pushed. It moved and swung open.

Why hadn’t the lock been repaired? It was just as I had left it. Could this mean no one had been to the hut or was this again a smart move of the police who were waiting for me somewhere in the darkness beyond?

I had to see. I couldn’t run away now, although I wanted to. I took out my flashlight and thumbed down the switch. The bright beam lit up the passage. The doors on either side of the passage were shut. I moved forward, making no sound, listening, my heart pounding. Slowly, I crept down the passage to the door leading into the room where I had left Helen. The door stood ajar.

I couldn’t remember if I had left it like that or if I had closed it.

Were the police in there, waiting for me?

I couldn’t nerve myself to push open the door. I stood, staring at it, the beam of my flashlight lighting up the panels.

In a croaking whisper I said, ‘Is anyone there?’

The silence that came out of the room was like a physical thing: worse even than the sound of a voice.

I took another step forward, reached out a shaking hand, and touched the door panel. The door swung open with a little squeak that set my teeth on edge.

I sent the beam of the flashlight into the room, along the floor to where I had left Helen.

The beam picked up the pale green of her skirt and her long, slender legs in their torn nylon stockings.

I stood staring at her, scarcely believing my eyes. I could see the cord still around her ankles. I moved forward, cold and shaking. The light moved up her body to her face. The silk scarf was still tightly bound around her mouth. Her eyes were half open, and they looked sightlessly into the beam of the light.

She looked shrunken and like a doll. The dreadful grey, waxy texture of her skin told me she was dead.