James Chase - Fast Buck

Adam Gillis stood under a tree, his hands thrust deep into the pockets of his shabby mackintosh, his soggy felt hat pulled down over his eyes.

He didn’t appear to notice the heavy rain or the fact that he was soaked to the skin. He was concentrating on Kile’s house, a big, double-fronted mansion, its lower windows ablaze with light.

They won’t be much longer, he told himself. Nothing like a policeman for getting some fast action. A little too fast, if anything, he thought, as he remembered he had only just left the pay booth and had taken cover in a dark doorway before a couple of prowl boys had arrived. Lieutenant Olin certainly knew his business. He had tried to keep him talking while he had sent his men to pick him up.

When the prowl car had gone, Gillis had taken a taxi to Roosevelt Boulevard hoping to be there in time to see the result of his anonymous call to Olin.

He had had to wait longer than he expected. He wasn’t to know Olin had had difficulty in finding a judge to sign the necessary search warrant at that time of night.

Gillis had twenty minutes to wait in the rain before he saw the red light of a police car coming swiftly up the boulevard.

He drew back out of sight as the car pulled up outside Kile’s house. He watched Olin and two detectives mount the steps and ring on the front-door bell. He saw them admitted, and the door close behind them.

The driver of the police car remained with the car, and prevented Gillis from getting nearer to the house in the hope of looking through a window to see what was going on. He had to content himself with waiting in the rain. He didn’t have long to wait. The front door suddenly opened, and Olin came out, followed by Kile, then by the two detectives.

Kile had on a hat and coat. He walked unsteadily, his head held low. One of the detectives had to help him into the car. Olin got in beside him and the detective got in beside the driver. The car moved off, leaving the remaining detective to return to the house.

Gillis had a good view of Kile as the car went past. Kile’s face was white, and his eyes stared fixedly at the back of the driver’s head. He seemed suddenly to have become an old man.

Gillis felt a wave of satisfaction run through him as he watched the car turn the bend and disappear.

Well, at least, he thought, that’s one untidy end snipped off.

He had spent his last dollar on the taxi fare to Kile’s house, but he wasn’t despondent. He knew Eve had money at her apartment, and it would be easy enough to get it out of her. It was a long walk to Roxborough Avenue, but he was in a jovial mood and he strode along briskly. Maybe tonight would be the last time he would have to walk anywhere. From now on, if his luck held, it would be taxis until he got his own car.

He entered Eve’s apartment block, rode up in the elevator and rang the front-door bell. Water dripped from his sodden mackintosh on to the mat, and squelched in his shoes, but he didn’t care. With his mind full of his future plans, he had never felt better in his life.

Eve came to the door. She started violently when she saw him, alarm jumping into her eyes.

‘Oh, Adam! What are you doing here? How wet you are!’ she exclaimed. ‘I suppose you’d better come in.’

‘I was going to suggest it,’ Gillis said, with his most charming smile. ‘It’s raining Great Danes and Ginger Toms, and I couldn’t find a taxi.’

He entered the cosy sitting-room and took off his hat and coat.

‘I’m afraid I’m going to make a bit of a mess,’ he said apologetical y. ‘Shal I take these things into the bathroom?’

‘I don’t think you’d better, Adam. I’m expecting Preston,’ Eve said uneasily. ‘He phoned this evening to say he was coming. I thought it was he when you rang.’

Gillis smiled.

‘You don’t have to worry about Preston. He won’t be coming. He has a much more pressing appointment.’ He crossed the room to the door leading to the bathroom. ‘I think I’ll take a bath. I don’t want to catch cold.’

‘How do you know Preston won’t come?’ Eve asked sharply.

‘I’ll tel you al about it when I’ve had a bath,’ Gil is said. ‘There’s plenty of time.’

He went into the bathroom and locked himself in. He took a bath, lying in the hot water for some time, enjoying the luxury of it. Then he shaved, using Kile’s razor, and put on the dark blue quilted dressing-gown that Eve had left outside the door, and re-entered the sitting-room.

‘That’s much better,’ he said, going over to the electric fire Eve had turned on. He sat in an easy chair before the fire. ‘A whisky and soda would be welcome if you can run to it.’

Eve brought him the drink and sat opposite him. Her face was white and strained, and she looked searchingly at him.

‘What has happened to Preston?’ she asked.

‘I’m afraid he’s in trouble,’ Gil is said. He drank some of the whisky. ‘Good stuff this.’ He leaned forward to read the label on the bottle. ‘I must get some for myself.’

‘Adam! What has happened to Preston?’

He looked at her, smiling.

‘I told you: he’s in trouble. I think it’s very unlikely you’l be bothered with him again.’

‘But what happened?’ Her voice was sharp-edged as she leaned forward. ‘Why is he in trouble?’

‘The police found out about the bracelet,’ he said, shrugging. ‘They arrested him about half an hour ago.’

‘Adam! You told them about it!’

‘As a matter of fact, I didn’t,’ Gil is lied. ‘I must admit I’ve been tempted to do so several times, but in view of what’s just happened, I’m glad I didn’t.’

‘What wil they do with him?’

‘I imagine he’l get ten years. Why should you care? He’ll be out of the way for some time,’ Gillis said, finished his drink and offered the glass to her. ‘Would you like to mix me another? And if you have a cigarette?’

She made another drink, gave it to him, and put a box of cigarettes where he could reach them. He lit up, stretched out his long legs and sighed contentedly.

‘This is the life, pet,’ he said. You’re lucky. You may not believe it, but I often wish I had been a girl.

I’d have enjoyed being some old fool’s kept darling.’

Eve shuddered, but she didn’t say anything.

‘By the way, did Preston tell you what happened at the shooting-lodge?’ Gil is asked, after a long pause.

‘He didn’t go into details,’ Eve said, looking down at her hands. ‘He said he hadn’t been successful.’

‘That’s rather an understatement,’ Gil is said. ‘The whole thing was a complete flop.’

She didn’t say anything or look at him,

‘You don’t seem particularly concerned,’ Gillis said, watching her narrowly. ‘After al , you’ve lost a quarter of a million, haven’t you?’

‘Have I?’ she asked, and looked up to meet his eyes. ‘I didn’t count on getting it, Adam. Come to that, you don’t seem particularly concerned, either.’

‘You wouldn’t have said that the night before last,’ Gillis said, and laughed. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been in such a rage. I had everything so well worked out, Preston was marching up and down outside the lodge in a perfect fever, and I was crouching behind a bush, also in a fever. We waited hours, and nothing happened. Then Preston turned on the radio, and we heard the details of the escape. They said Hater had stolen a police launch. We waited and waited, but Baird didn’t show up. I nearly tore my hair out I was so angry.’

Eve got up and began to move around the room aimlessly. Her silence irritated Gillis.

‘You don’t seem very interested,’ he said sharply. ‘After all, we were working on this together.’

‘We weren’t working together, Adam. I behaved like a weak fool and did what you told me to do. All along I thought the idea was crazy, and I’m glad it didn’t come off.’