James Chase - Strictly For Cash

“Maybe you’d better handle the car...”

“I’m staying right here. This is where you earn your share of the money, Johnny. Make a mistake and it’s all yours. You killed him; you fix it. Get going!”

I went into the bathroom and turned on the light. He was lying on his back, his head still wrapped in the towel. I kept my eyes averted as I took hold of him. His muscles were wooden, and he was heavy. I got him across my shoulder and stood up. Sweat ran down my face, and I had trouble with my breathing. As I came out of the bathroom with him, she turned off the lights and opened the door.

As I passed her she jerked at the towel, pulling it away. I didn’t stop. The car was where she had said it would be. It was an open convertible, and I dropped him in the back seat without any trouble. She came up with a blanket and spread it over him.

“Good luck, Johnny,” she said. “Come straight back. I want to talk to you.”

I got in the car, trod on the starter and drove away without looking at her. The clock on the dashboard showed twenty to one. In the distance I could see the bright lights around the swimming-pool. People were out there, bathing. The casino was lit up like a Christmas tree. I could see men and women, in evening dress, on the verandah, caught glimpses of them through the windows of the gambling rooms, and heard their hard, strident voices, raised in excitement.

I drove slowly, with only the parking lights on, and followed the carriageway past the casino. There were too many lights, and it was like driving with a searchlight focused on me. But beyond the casino it was dark. I kept the car moving. I could smell the lions now. One of them gave a sudden grunting cough. I slowed down. Ahead of me I could just make out the white posts supporting the iron railings around the pit. I stopped the car and turned off the lights.

For a minute or so I sat motionless, my eyes searching the darkness, my ears straining for any sound. I saw nothing. I heard only the restless movement in the pit: the soft pad, pad, pad of one of the lions as it paced up and down. I got out of the car, crossed the grass verge to the railings and looked down. It was too dark to see anything: the smell of the lion came up to me; the padding suddenly stopped. I looked to right and left. No one was likely to be here. There was nothing to see. The zoo was the only place on the estate Reisner hadn’t floodlit.

Drawing in a deep breath I returned to the car. I pulled the blanket off him and carefully folded it, putting it on the seat next to the driving seat. Again I looked to right and left, then I caught hold of him and heaved him out of the car. His stiff, claw-like hand brushed across my face as I got him over my shoulder, and I nearly dropped him. I was panting, and my heart was jumping about in my chest like a flea on a hot stove. I staggered with him across the close-cut grass. The lion below must have smelt him. It gave a sudden choked roar.

I leaned my heaving chest against the railings and bent forward. Reisner’s body began to slide slowly off my shoulder. I shoved it into the darkness. It went easily enough. I continued to lean against the railings, my eyes closed, my hands gripping the iron spikes. I heard his body thud on to the concrete below. It was a thirty-foot drop. There was a rushing sound as the lion bounded forward.

I pushed myself away from the railings, gulping in warm air, turned and moved unsteadily back to the car. Well, it was done. The horrible sounds coming out of the dark pit told me I was safe. By the time they found him no one would know I had killed him.

I crossed the grass, trying to shut out the snarling, flurrying rush of the other lions as they came out of their cave. The roaring, snarling and growling filled the silent night with a hideous pandemonium.

I began to sweat as I got hurriedly into the car. I hadn’t reckoned on this awful noise. I had to get away quick. My foot went down on the starter. Nothing happened. I could see the brightly lit verandah of the casino, not a hundred yards away. Men and women, sitting under the lights, were getting up and coming to the verandah rail, looking in the direction of the pit.

Again I trod on the starter, still nothing happened. Sweat was running off my face. I had to control a crazy impulse to get out of the car and run. I had to get it started! Then it flashed through my mind I hadn’t turned on the ignition. As my shaking hand reached for the key I saw three or four men running down the terrace steps. I touched the starter again and the engine fired. Keeping in bottom gear I let the car move silently forward. I was shaking like a leaf. I got around the bend as the first of the men came pounding across the lawn. Shifting through the gears, I kept the car moving. They couldn’t hear the engine above the hideous uproar that was coming from the pit.

I increased speed. A couple of minutes later I saw the lights of Della’s cabin. I pulled up, got out and walked up the path. She stood in the doorway waiting. Even as far away as we were now from the zoo, we could hear the choked roars and screams of the lions.

I pushed past her, went into the cabin and slopped myself a big whisky.

She came in and shut the door. Her face was pale, and her eyes wide and shadowy.

“Did they see you?”

I shook my head.

“Better pull yourself together,” she said impatiently. “Hame may be back.”

“Easy for you to talk!” I snarled at her. “You didn’t have to do it.”

“I had to sit with him for nine hours. I’ve done my share.”

I finished the Scotch and poured another.

“Go into the bathroom and smarten yourself up. If Hame sees you like this, he’ll know you did it.”

I went into the bathroom. She had cleaned up the mess in there. I caught sight of my face in the mirror. I looked like hell: my face was running with sweat, my hair hung over my eyes and my skin was the colour of a fish’s belly.

I ran cold water into the basin and stuck my face in it. I rubbed my skin hard with a towel until it got back a little colour. I fixed my hair. I was still trembling.

She stood in the doorway, watching me.

Then suddenly she said softly, “Who was she, Johnny?”

I didn’t think I had heard aright.

“What was that?”

“Who was she?”

I went on combing my hair, but my insides turned cold.

“Who was who? What are you talking about?” Somehow I managed to keep my voice steady and my face expressionless.

“The girl who brought you back. The guards told me. Who was she?”

“How the hell do I know?” I said, and turned to face her. “I’d lost my way. I told you. I was late. I wanted to get back quick. She passed and I thumbed a ride. I didn’t ask her who she was. What does it matter, anyway?”

She stared at me, and I stared right back.

“I only wondered,” she said. “You’re good at thumbing rides, aren’t you?” She moved into the sitting-room, and I followed her. “From now on, Johnny, our future lies together. Even if we didn’t happen to love each other, we know too much about each other ever to part. You do understand that, don’t you?” She didn’t wait for an answer, but went right on, “I think we’d better have an understanding together. There must be no other girls. I mean that. I’d never share you with anyone. I told Paul the same thing. I just won’t tolerate cheating. If the idea that you can play around with other women ever enters your head, I’ll get rid of you, and there’s only one way to do that. I’ll turn you over to Hame.”

I started to say something when the telephone bell rang. She walked swiftly across the room, picked up the receiver and said, “Hello?”

I stood and watched her. She listened to the excited voice for what seemed a long time, then she said, “I can hear the noise now. How awful. He was always a fool, going into their cages. Paul warned him time and again. Yes, Ricca’s here. He’s just got back. No, we’ll keep clear of it. Will you handle it? We don’t want to get mixed up with the newspaper men. That’s fine. I’ll see you tomorrow. Thank you so much, Captain.” She listened, laughed, and said, “Good-bye, now,” and hung up.