Джеймс Чейз - There’s Always A Price Tag

‘That doesn’t answer my question,’ Marian said sharply. ‘I wouldn’t ask you if you weren’t acting so strangely, and you are acting strangely, Glyn.’

‘I don’t know what has happened to Dester and I have had nothing to do with his disappearance,’ I said, forcing myself to meet her eyes. ‘I admit I have a guilty conscience. Helen and I were lovers. I acted like a fool, and it could get me into trouble with the police. Surely you can see that?’

‘Just because you were lovers.’

‘Now look, don’t let’s waste time. I know what I am doing.’ I was losing patience. ‘I’m going to put the will in my bank for the time being. I’m going to do it right now. Will you continue to list these bills? I won’t be long.’

‘Are you quite sure you know what you are doing, Glyn?’

I got up and went over to her and took her in my arms.

‘I’m not doing anything wrong. I don’t want his money and I don’t want Maddux to know he has left me the money. Don’t worry and don’t tell anyone you know about it.’

I kissed her, and then unlocking the study door, I went out into the hall.

There was no sign of Lewis. I stood hesitating, thinking of the deep-freeze cabinet. Suppose Lewis got inquisitive and looked inside? Somehow I had to get Dester’s body out of the house tonight. I had no idea how I was going to do it with Lewis prowling around, but I had to do it.

I went down the passage and into the kitchen, but it was empty. I looked at the bottles on top of the deep-freeze cabinet. They were in place. I crossed over to the cabinet and turned off the switch. The motor gave a little rumble and stopped. I stood for a long moment, my hand resting on the lid of the cabinet. The body in the cabinet would be completely thawed out by tonight. Even with the body in a relaxed state, I knew it was going to be a hell of a job to get it out of the cabinet without help.

I pushed the thought out of my mind, and leaving the kitchen, I hurried over to the garage, got into the Buick and drove to my bank where I picked up the safe key. I then drove over to the safe deposit company. I opened the safe, took out Dester’s gun, being careful to drop a handkerchief over it before touching it. I put it in my hip pocket. Then I put the will on top of Dester’s suicide note, shut and locked the safe.

By the time I got back to the house, it was just after one o’clock. Marian had laid lunch for three out on the terrace. I went into the kitchen where I found her preparing lunch.

‘The motor’s stopped running in the freezer,’ she said as I came in. ‘Is that all right?’

‘Yes. We’re not likely to use it now so I turned it off.’

I heard a sound behind me and looking over my shoulder I saw Sergeant Lewis. He was looking beyond me at the deep-freeze cabinet and he walked past me and stood before it.

‘I’ve always wanted one of these things,’ he said. ‘This is a pretty big one, isn’t it?’

My heart was pounding as I walked over and joined him.

‘You can get smaller ones,’ I said. ‘The Desters scarcely ever used this monster.’

‘It certainly is big,’ Lewis said. He shifted his glance to stare at the bottles. ‘He carried quite a stock of whisky. Funny place to keep them.’

‘I put them there. He had them in his closet.’

‘If they sell up here, maybe I could get that cabinet cheap,’ Lewis said. ‘What’s inside? Is it fitted with trays and racks?’

‘It has two long trays,’ I said, and I had to make an effort to keep my voice steady. ‘I don’t think you’d get it cheap. One of the hotels is bound to bid for it.’

‘Yeah, I guess that’s right.’

He stared at the cabinet for a long moment, then shrugged his shoulders and turned away.

Marian said lunch was ready, and we helped carry the dishes out on to the terrace. After a good meal and under the influence of the warm sunshine, Lewis appeared to relax.

‘This guy Maddux,’ he said, ‘may be a ball of fire as a claims assessor, but he certainly has some crummy ideas when it comes to an investigation. It sticks out a mile that Dester knocked his wife off. You can see that, can’t you?’ He looked over at me.

‘I think he lost his head and hit her too hard,’ I said carefully. ‘I don’t think he intended to kill her.’

‘Whether he intended to or not, he killed her, and that’s murder.’ He tilted his basket chair back. ‘I wonder where he is now. It’s my bet he’s in Mexico or someplace where we won’t think of looking for him.’

‘You don’t think he will come back here then?’ Marian asked.

‘Is it likely? Why should he want to come back here? He must know the house will be watched. He’ll get as far away from Hollywood as he can. It’s his only hope.’ He glanced over at me. ‘Did you find a will?’

‘No.’

‘This guy Maddux is looking for trouble,’ Lewis said, shrugging his shoulders. ‘Anyway, why should I care? I’ve got a nice soft job for the moment.’

‘That reminds me: if you want to take a nap this afternoon,’ I said, ‘I’d better show you your room.’

‘What the hell do I want to take a nap for?’

‘I thought you were going to be up all night.’

He laughed. ‘In case Dester comes back? Not a chance. I haven’t had a decent sleep since this case broke. I’m not going to miss the chance now Bromwich can’t call me out in the middle of the night to hold his hand.’

I pushed back my chair. ‘Well, I guess I’d better get to work. Mr. Burnett wants Dester’s papers tomorrow morning and there’s still a lot to do.’

For the first time since I heard Lewis was going to stay in the house, I lost my sick feeling of fear. If he wasn’t going to prowl around the house, I had a chance of getting Dester’s body into the garden. It would be risky, but I had to take the risk.

Lewis said to Marian, ‘I’ll help you with the dishes. My wife says I’m the best dish washer in the district.’

I went into Dester’s study, shut the door and sat down. I took the gun from my hip pocket and put it in the top desk drawer. Then I slipped on a pair of gloves I had by me, took a sheet of notepaper from the rack and fed it into the typewriter. I took off the gloves and sat for a moment thinking. Then I typed the following:

I’ve come back for the gun. This is my finish. I didn’t mean to hit her so hard. I thought I might get away with it, but I now know I can’t. Anyway I don’t want to live any longer. I’m taking the easy way out.

There’s no future left for me...

I studied the note for a moment, then putting on the gloves again I took the sheet of paper out of the machine and put it under a stack of typing paper in the top drawer.

I looked at the clock. It was just after half past two. In ten hours or so, if I had any luck, I would be free of the whole nightmare thing.

Marian and I didn’t get Dester’s papers parcelled up until past eight o’clock. We had come across another drawer of bills just when we thought we had finished and that held us up.

After I had struck a grand total, I said, ‘Well, I don’t think there will be much left: he now owes close on fifty thousand.’

‘Do you think if anything happens to him that the insurance company will pay up?’ Marian asked.

‘I don’t know. It depends what has happened to him. Anyway, I don’t care one way or the other. I don’t want the money.’ I got to my feet ‘Well, I guess you don’t have to hang on any longer unless you want to, kid. Why don’t you go to a movie or something?’

She shook her head.

‘I don’t feel like it. Do you want to go?’

The thought of staying in this house waiting for Lewis to go to bed wasn’t a pleasant one, but I dared not leave the house. Lewis had shown a mild interest in the freezer. There was just a chance that, left on his own, he might take the bottles off the top and look inside.