Джеймс Чейз - There’s Always A Price Tag

She nodded. ‘Yes, I’m in it with you.’

I leaned forward and kissed her. I expected her to duck away, but she didn’t. She remained still, looking up at the ceiling, but I might have been kissing the back of my hand for all the response I got. It was the kind of kiss Dester must have got time and time again until the poor guy had taken to the bottle, but it would take more than a frigid kiss to turn me into a rumdum.

I grinned down at her.

‘And that’s no skin off my nose either.’

She just stared blankly at me. I remember what Dester had said about loving a dead thing.

‘Okay, stay in your iceberg,’ I said. ‘There are more important things to worry about. We’ve got to raise some money. That’s the first essential. I want all the jewels you’ve got: anything he had that will raise money.’

She came alive then.

‘You’re not having anything of mine!’

‘Don’t be so dumb! We’ve got to have funds if we’re going to swing this job. I’m putting two thousand bucks into the kitty. You’ve got to part with as much as you’ve got. I’m going right away to San Francisco to sell the Cadillac.’

‘That’s my car! You’re not touching it!’

I let go of her and stood up.

‘Do I have to give it to you in one-syllable words? Today is Saturday. It’s possible nothing will happen today; certainly not tomorrow, but on Monday his creditors will have heard he has left the Studios and they will arrive by car, on foot, by bicycle and by taxi. There will be swarms of them. We’ve got to be ready for them. We’ve got to make them believe that Dester isn’t short of money. We’ve got to pick two or three of the most troublesome of them and pay them. They’ll spread the tale, and with any luck, the others will hold off. From now on I’m going to be Dester’s personal secretary. He’s been offered a job in commercial television: a big job. He’s in New York right now negotiating a salary that will top anything anyone has ever been paid in television before. I’m handling his affairs here until he comes back.’

She was sitting up, her green eyes startled.

‘They won’t believe you.’

‘Oh, yes, they will. You haven’t seen me in action. I’m a salesman. I can sell snow to an Eskimo if I put my mind to it, and am I going to put my mind to it! But I must have my bluff backed with money. I’ll only have to pay one or two of them and the rest will beg me to let their accounts run on. I know. These boys are suckers. I’ll put it to them in such a way they’ll know Dester will go elsewhere if they ask for a settlement. But I must have at least six thousand bucks to work with. I’ll get twenty-five hundred with any luck for the Cadillac. I’ve got two thousand of my own. Now you’ve got to chip in.’

She got out of bed.

‘How do I know you won’t take the money and never come back here?’

‘You don’t know, but if you think I’m nuts enough to pass up a half share in three-quarters of a million bucks for a handful of jewellery, you have another think coming.’

I got the stuff out of her in the end. It was like drawing her teeth, but what she did finally part with was good, and I had no doubt that I could raise three thousand on it if I worked at it.

I got away by six forty-five. I had a four-hundred-mile drive ahead of me. I had to go to San Francisco to sell the car. If I tried to sell it in Los Angeles the word would have got around that Dester was selling up, and then we would be in trouble.

The Cadillac could move and I kept it moving. For the first two hours I had the road more or less to myself, and I touched ninety-five in places. But later the roads got more congested and I lost time. I finally reached the city late in the afternoon. I had to go to three car marts before I got the price I wanted, but I got it in the end. I hadn’t left myself much time to work the jewellers, and most of them were shut for the week-end, but I found a hock shop and hocked the stuff for fifteen hundred: not what I hoped to get, but at least I could get the stuff back.

I now had a working capital of five thousand six hundred dollars, including my own two thousand. I could have done with more, but it was the best I could do at short notice.

I was lucky to catch a plane back to Los Angeles with no more than half an hour to wait, and I took a taxi back to the house.

I walked into the lounge as the clock was striking nine. I expected to see Helen, but instead there was a short fat guy sitting in one of the lounging chairs, smoking a cigar. He was around fifty with a bulge in his vest that comes from over-indulgence. He had on an expensive-looking suit, hand-made shoes and there was a pearl stick-pin in his black satin tie.

The moment I set eyes on him I knew he was a creditor. I could tell by the steely look in his eyes and the wide, cheerful smile he gave me that was as false as a show-girl’s eyelashes.

‘I was expecting Mr. Dester,’ he said, getting to his feet. ‘Mrs. Dester said something about him coming back very soon.’

‘Mr. Dester won’t be back for some days,’ I said. ‘I’m Glyn Nash, Mr. Dester’s personal secretary. Is there anything I can do for you? I look after Mr. Dester’s affairs when he is away.’

The fat man frowned. ‘Well, I wanted to see Mr. Dester personally,’ he said in a complaining voice.

‘Okay,’ I said, shrugging. ‘Let me have your name and address and I’ll tell Mr. Dester when he returns. If he has the time, I’ll arrange an appointment and I’ll let you know.’

‘He’s returning on Wednesday, you say?’

‘I didn’t say Wednesday. I don’t really know when he will be back. He’s pretty busy right now. I’ve just seen him off from San Francisco. He’s on his way to New York. He might be back on Wednesday, he might not.’

‘New York?’ The fat man’s eyebrows lifted. ‘Perhaps I had better introduce myself. I’m Hammerstock.’ He showed his dead white bridgework in another of his false smiles. ‘Hammerstock and Judd, Wines and Spirits. I came about Mr. Dester’s account.’

I knew that he must be one of the biggest creditors, if not the biggest, and probably the most troublesome. If I could handle him, I should be able to handle any of them.

‘Mr. Dester’s account?’ I said, looking puzzled. ‘What about it?’

‘It’s been owing too long.’ Hammerstock fumbled in his pocket. ‘We have written to Mr. Dester time and again.’

‘Mr. Dester has been far too busy recently to bother with small accounts,’ I said, walking over to the table and taking a cigarette from the box. ‘What’s the trouble? Is your firm short of money?’

He turned a deep shade of purple.

‘Short of money? I’ll have you understand.’

‘Okay, okay, then what’s the excitement about? The deal Mr. Dester is handling right now has taken up all his time. That’s why he’s engaged me to look after his private affairs. I’ll let you have a cheque if you’ll tell me what we owe you and I’ll tell Mr. Dester you’re anxious for him to settle the account.’

‘Is Mr. Dester handling a deal?’ Hammerstock asked, looking at me with sudden interest.

‘I’ll say he is. Now he has left the Pacific, he’s in demand. After all, he is the greatest producer in Hollywood, and he’ll probably be the greatest factor in commercial television before long. It’s a matter of arranging terms.’

‘Commercial television?’

‘Yeah, but that wouldn’t interest you. What is this account worth?’

‘Four thousand dollars.’

Well, that jolted me. I had expected it to be big, but not that big. How anyone could have swallowed four thousand dollars’ worth of whisky and still have kept alive beat me.

‘It’s been outstanding for over a year,’ Hammerstock went on, producing the account.