Джеймс Чейз - There’s Always A Price Tag

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.