James Chase: Strictly For Cash

I put on my shoes, shoved Benno’s gun in my hip pocket and went along the passage into the sitting-room.

Ginny lay in the armchair. Her hands were tied behind her, and she was still fagged. Her head lolled forward and she seemed to be in a faint.

I ran to her, slashed through the cord that bound her wrists and gently eased the gag out of her mouth.

“Ginny, darling!”

She moaned softly.

“Ginny, it’s me. Come on, darling, we’ve got to get out of here!”

Her head dropped back and her eyelids lifted. Recognition slowly came into her eyes and she touched my face.

“Where have you been, Johnny?” she said huskily. “I waited and waited. I moved in here, hoping you’d come back. It’s been so long.”

“I’ll tell you about it later. Come on, kid, we’ve got to get out of here. We’ve got to get out of town. I have a car outside.”

“Where are we going?” She sat up, her land going to her torn dress.

“We can decide that as we go. We’ve got to hurry.”

She shivered.

“Where is that awful little man? Who is he?”

I pulled her to her feet. Her knees buckled and she would have fallen if I hadn’t supported her.

“Don’t worry about anything. I’ve taken care of him. Let’s get out of here.”

“No!” She tried to push away from me, but I held her. “I’m not going with you until I know what all this means. Why do we have to leave? Send for the police, Johnny. Get the police here. Why should we run away?”

“You don’t understand, Ginny,” I said, trying to control my impatience. Every second we wasted now made our getaway more difficult. “We can’t go to the police. The police captain is in this too. We must get out of here!”

Sudden fear jumped into her eyes.

“What is all this talk of money about?” she asked breathlessly. “What money, Johnny?”

I knew at once it would be fatal to tell her about the money. Later, perhaps, but certainly not now. She might not understand that it was mine by right: she might even think I had stolen it.

“He’s mistaking me for someone else,” I said. “Now come on, Ginny. I’ll tell you about it in the car.”

“He kept asking me about the money,” Ginny said wildly. “He said you had stolen it from the casino.”

“He’s lying. Now, come on, darling. He may be back any moment. He’s dangerous. We must get out of here!”

“Johnny, did you steal it?”

“Of course I didn’t.”

“Word of honour?”

“Yes, word of honour. It’s all a mistake. Come on, Ginny, let’s go.”

“You’ll have to help me. I can’t walk far.”

I drew in a quick gasp of relief.

“You’re not going to walk at all. I’m going to carry you,”

I said, and took her in my arms.

She put her arms round my neck.

“I’ve been so frightened, Johnny. I’ve missed you so.”

“It’s all going to be all right,” I said. “In a week, darling, you’ll have forgotten this ever happened.”

I went to the front door and opened it.

Captain of Police Hame stood just outside. He had a .45 in his hand and he rode me back into the room, his blue eyes like chips of ice.

I set Ginny down in the armchair and raised my hands as Hame moved into the room, dosing the door with his foot.

“Looks as if I’ve caught up with you at last,” he said. The .45 centred on my chest. “Ricca lived long enough to tell me you killed him. You’re getting as dangerous as a mad dog, Farrar.”

I heard Ginny catch her breath in a horrified gasp.

“Now look...” I began, but Hame stopped me.

“I got proof you killed Reisner and the Wertham woman, and now Ricca,” he went on. “That’s one murder too many. Back up against that wall!”

I knew what he was going to do. I could read it in his eyes. He couldn’t afford to let me stand trial. I knew too much about him. The easiest out for him was to put a slug into me while resisting arrest.

My eyes went to Ginny. She was staring at me: her face was white and horrified.

Hame followed my glance.

“And you too,” he said to her. “You’re in this. Back up against the wall with him!”

She would have to go, too. He wouldn’t want a witness to my killing.

“Wait, Hame!” I said. “We can do a deal.”

“Back up against that wall!” he snarled at me. “I’m not making any deals with you. I don’t have to!”

“You don’t have to, but you will,” I said, speaking fast, knowing any second he might shoot. “I’ve got half the casino’s reserve: a quarter of a million dollars I”

That held him, as I knew it would hold him. His eyes flickered.

“You don’t bluff me, Farrar,” he said in a grating voice, “and you don’t talk yourself out of this,” but there wasn’t any conviction in his voice.

“Turn us both loose and I’ll split it with you. A hundred and twenty-five grand in cash!”

“Where is it?”

“Where you won’t get your hooks into it without my say-so,” I said. “This is cash, Hame. Money that can’t be traced. All I want is three hours to get clear. Is it a deal?”

“I wouldn’t make a deal with you unless I saw the money,” he said.

“You can see it, but I want your word you’ll turn us loose with a three-hour start when you get the money.”

A thin, sneering smile came to his sun-burned face.

“I take the lot, Farrar. You haven’t a thing to bargain with. I’ll take the lot and you can have an hour’s start.”

“No! I’ll give you two hundred grand. I’ve got to have something. I’ve got to have a getaway stake, and I want three hours.”

“The lot or I’ll put a slug into both of you and take a chance of finding the money.” He was grinning now. “Please yourself. I told you have nothing to bargain with, and you haven’t.”

I had intended to play with him. I was ready and willing to buy Ginny’s and my freedom for half the money, but he wasn’t taking the lot. I’d worked too hard for that money to part with all of it. There was only one way out of this. I had to catch him off his guard and kill him.

“Give me five grand,” I said, making out I was frantic. “I’ve got to have a getaway stake.”

“Maybe,” he said, still grinning. “Where is it?”

I realized he’d shoot me the moment he got the money. Once again I was being jostled into murder.

“I’d be a fool to tell you, wouldn’t I? As soon as you know what’s to stop you shooting me?”

He tried to keep a straight face.

“My word.”

“What’s the use of that to me?”

He grinned then.

“Well, suggest something.”

I nodded to Ginny.

“She can get it and bring it here.”

“Suppose she doesn’t come back?”

“She will. She loves me. Do you think she wants me to get shot?”

All the time I was talking, Ginny had sat motionless, staring at me. Now when I turned to her, she flinched away.

“Go on,” I said to her. “Get the money and hurry.” I reached forward and offered her the key of my car. “The car’s around the back. It won’t take you long.”

She crouched in the chair, and the look she gave me sent a chill up my spine.

“Ginny! Please do what I say. This is the only way out for you. Get the money, and it’ll be all right.” I tried to make her understand I was offering her escape.

“No,” she said. “I’m not having anything to do with it. You did steal that money, didn’t you?”

“It belonged to me, Ginny,” I said desperately. “I can’t explain now...”

“Of course he stole it,” Hame cut in. “It’s money belonging to the casino.”

“Oh, Johnny, how could you?” she said, wringing her hands. “How could you get me into a thing like this? You’ve lied to me all along. When you didn’t come to Miami as you promised, I phoned the insurance people you talked about and they said you’d never worked for them. Ever since we first met you’ve lied to me.” She pounded on the arm of the chair with her fist. “I’m not going to be dragged into this! And don’t talk to me of love!”