Джеймс Чейз - There’s Always A Price Tag

‘I didn’t kill Dester,’ I said, my voice unsteady. ‘And you can’t prove that I did. I have his suicide note. He shot himself.’

‘No, he didn’t; you killed him,’ Maddux said mildly. ‘I’ll tell you why you did it and how you did it. He gave you a job as his chauffeur. You and Helen Dester fell for each other. She knew he was insured for three-quarters of a million and she wanted that money as she wanted Van Tomlin’s insurance money. But you were smart. You knew if Dester was murdered, she and you would be our suspects. You found out that Dester had cancelled the self-destruction clause in his insurance policy. You also found out that he had already paid a hundred and four thousand dollars in premiums, and you knew that if an insurance company doesn’t settle a claim, it is a rule that they return all premiums.’ He laid an emphasis on these words. ‘You decided it would be safer to go for the smaller amount, and that’s what you planned to do. But you saw no reason why you should share the money with Helen Dester. You got Solly to dig into her past and you found out that she killed Van Tomlin. Although Dester and his wife didn’t get on together, he was still in love with her. You blackmailed him. You threatened to tell the police what you had found out about her unless he gave you a sum of money, as much as he could then afford. He gave you two thousand, six hundred dollars that pretty well emptied his account. We can prove this. We have the cheque he gave you.’

‘That’s a lie!’ I sat forward and glared at him. ‘He paid me a year’s salary. He said I might as well have it while it was there.’

Maddux shrugged.

‘Is anyone going to believe that? But never mind, you can argue that out with the jury. I’m telling you what happened; what the jury will believe happened. You weren’t satisfied with such a trifling sum as two thousand six hundred — blackmailers are never satisfied. You forced him to leave the rest of his estate, when his debts were paid, to you in his will. We’ve seen the will and the wording fixes you, Nash. It says everything is to come to you after Helen Dester’s death. That was all right with you because you planned to murder her. You shot Dester. You and she put him in the deep-freeze cabinet. Now why did you put him in there instead of calling the police right away and telling them that Dester had shot himself? I’ll tell you why. You had allowed Helen Dester to believe she and you were after the three-quarters of a million insurance money. You had told her the plan was to make it look as if Dester had been kidnapped and later murdered so she could put in a claim for the full amount. You wanted to get her to the forestry station and that was the only way you could do it. You impersonated Dester so Marian Temple could see you leave. You took Helen Dester to the forestry station and you killed her. You tied her and left her. Your idea was to throw the blame on to Dester, making out he had killed her, then faked it to look like a kidnapping. He was to lose his nerve, come back to the house, write a confession and kill himself. It looked a cinch to you, but when Harmas started to investigate and pointed out the damning facts that there were no fingerprints, that Dester couldn’t have got into the house without being seen and that he hadn’t bled enough, you lost your nerve. I found out that you had a safe deposit and I got Bromwich to watch for you there. I also got him to block you off from your bank. So what did you do? What every guilty character does: you tried to bolt.’

‘I didn’t kill Dester!’ I exclaimed. ‘I didn’t kill her either! It was an accident! I didn’t mean to hit her.’

‘I shouldn’t talk like that,’ Maddux said and knocked out his pipe. ‘If I were you I wouldn’t say anything until you have had a talk with your lawyer. By the way, do you know of a good lawyer? If you don’t I do. I know a man who isn’t scared of a forlorn hope and who will put up a good fight for you.’

‘I don’t want anyone you recommend,’ I said.

‘Don’t be a fool. I’m not interested one way or the other now. My business was to block any claim on my company. I’ve done that. This guy could help you.’

I didn’t know anyone. I had to have someone.

‘Well, all right.’

‘Okay. I’ll have him come over right away,’ Maddux said, ‘but don’t expect miracles. He’s a good man, but I don’t think he can save you. I don’t think anyone can save you. At least you can be sure he will try.’ He got up and crossed to the door. ‘Well so long. I won’t wish you luck. I don’t think you deserve it.’

I listened to the sound of his footfalls receding down the corridor.

After a minute or so, Bromwich came into the room with two detectives.

As I looked at his hard, hostile eyes, I knew this was the beginning of my end.