Джеймс Чейз - You're Dead Without Money

They danced and they ate and Vin could see Judy was enjoying herself. By the way she ate, he decided she was a strictly hamburger girl. As soon as they had finished, he paid the check, letting her see the roll of five-dollar bills he took carelessly from his pocket, then led her out into the hot night air.

‘Come on, baby, let’s kick this town apart,’ he said, getting into the Jaguar.

‘Where are we going now?’

‘The Alligator Club,’ Vin said. ‘You know it?’

Judy’s eyes popped wide open.

‘Why, no... that’s strictly big time. Are you a member?’

‘Why, sure. You mean none of your kids ever took you to the Alligator?’ Vin asked. He had never been there himself but again Elliot had fixed things with a telephone call to the Secretary of the Club... about the only club in the City where Elliot didn’t owe money.

‘Man!’ Judy said under her breath. ‘Let’s go!’

They danced, drank and finally had a swim in the vast pool before leaving the dub at 02.00.

‘Now we get laid,’ Vin said who was thoroughly enjoying himself. He found Judy an amusing companion. ‘We’ll go to the Blue Heaven motel. Okay?’

‘Why not?’

During the evening he had told her he was an account executive, working for a top advertising agency in New York and was on vacation. Elliot had given him enough background details to make his cover stand up. Judy didn’t seem interested in what he was but only became alert when he talked money. He could see that money was her only interest so he talked money.

‘That’s what I want,’ Judy said. ‘I want money. I want to get away from home, get away from my stinking father, live a life of my own.’

‘What’s the matter with your father?’ Vin asked as he drove along the highway towards the motel.

‘Matter? Don’t talk wet! Every parent is a pain in the ass and anyway, my father’s special. All he thinks about is postage stamps for God’s sake!’

‘What’s so special about postage stamps?’

‘Oh, the hell with it! Why talk about him?’

‘Tell me... I’m interested. Does he make money out of stamps?’

‘He spends money, the old goat! He has thousands of goddamn stamps. You know something? He’s been offered a million dollars for eight goddamn Russian stamps! A million dollars and the old ape wouldn’t deal!’

Vin nearly drove off the highway. He swung the wheel wildly, got back on to the road as a driver of a car behind him honked on his horn.

‘You drunk?’ Judy demanded. The swerve at the speed they were driving at scared her.

‘You never been drunk?’ Vin said. ‘Relax. I was listening to you and my mind strayed.’

‘Man! Don’t let it stray again.’

They drove in silence while Vin turned this sensational bit of information over in his mind.

These must be the stamps Elliot was after! he thought. Holy mackerel! Elliot was offering fifty thousand and here was this chick telling him they were worth a million!

A million!

He felt his mouth turn dry. Here was the Big Take! The real Big Take! His mind worked swiftly. If he handled this carefully and used his head there would be no need to split the take four ways. Elliot, Cindy and Joey could go to hell. After all he (Vin) was the front man. All he had to do was to get information from this stupid chick and he could cash in for a million! The thought brought him out into a sweat.

‘What’s the matter with you all of a sudden?’ Judy asked crossly. ‘Have you gone dumb on me?’

With an effort, he switched his attention back on her.

‘You wait, baby,’ he said, aware his voice sounded husky. ‘Let’s get to the motel... I’ll show you if I’m dumb or not.’

In another five minutes driving, he turned off the highway and drove up a long twisty road that led to the motel.

He slid out of the car, saying, ‘I’ll go fix it. You wait here.’

Minutes later he returned to the car, opened the offside door so Judy could get out and together they walked across to one of the cabins.

Elliot’s warning not to rush things hammered in Vin’s mind. They had the rest of the night. He must play this cool. A million dollars! Who could be the nut to offer all that bread for eight stamps? This, he told himself, he had to find out.

He unlocked the door of the cabin and they went in. The Blue Heaven motel, again recommended by Elliot, had de luxe cabins. A big room, furnished with modern lounging chairs, a settee, a colour TV set and a fully stocked bar, greeted them. There was a bedroom with a king’s size bed to their left and a bathroom to their right.

‘Fancy,’ Judy said approvingly as she looked around.

Vin shut and locked the door.

The bed was prepared and inviting.

‘Strip off, baby,’ he said, ‘and take a shower. I want to catch the late news.’ He went over to the TV set and turned it on.

‘What’s so important about the news?’ Judy asked as she slid out of her clothes.

‘Never mind... hurry it up,’ Vin said curtly. He wanted her out of the way so he could think.

Now naked, Judy went into the bathroom and shut the door.

A million dollars!

This was the only thought in Vin’s head.

He stared at the lighted screen without registering what was going on while he thought. This chick wanted money. She had said so. If he handled her right, she and he could get the stamps and with her know-how sell them for this lump of money. Maybe she could find out who had made the offer. She could for sure tell him how to get the stamps. A million! Sweet Judas! The thought made Vin’s pulse rate bound.

Once he had the money he could deal with Judy. She wasn’t his style. She was too tricky and tricky chicks weren’t for him. Once they had the money, he would lose her.

But he must be careful, he warned himself. He mustn’t rush it. So okay, he would play this cool. He turned off the TV as Judy came out of the bathroom.

He got to his feet and grinned at her.

‘Come and get it,’ she said and going to the bed, she lay down, swung up her long legs and beckoned to him.

It was while they were eating breakfast on the patio, the morning sun shining on them, that Vin began his probe.

‘If I’m going to make it a regular thing to go around with you, Superman,’ Judy was saying, ‘I’m going to get fat.’

She was engaged in eating a breakfast of grapefruit, eggs and grilled ham, toast and coffee, and she was eating as if she hadn’t had a meal in days.

Vin had settled for orange juice, coffee and a cigarette. He grinned.

‘This is what comes of going around with kids, baby,’ he said. They can’t afford to feed a girl like you. Don’t worry about getting fat. I’ll give you enough exercise to keep your weight down.’

Judy giggled.

‘You’ve got something... hang on to it.’

‘Tell me about your old man,’ Vin said casually. ‘You two don’t get along together?’

‘That’s the understatement of the year,’ Judy said, buttering toast. ‘I don’t want to talk about him. He gives me a pain in my ass.’

‘But these stamps you were telling me about.’ Vin reached for another cigarette. ‘You said someone offered him a million for eight stamps. Were you putting me on?’

‘No. I saw the letter on his desk.’ She heaped marmalade on the toast. ‘You could have knocked me down with a whisky bottle.’

‘You mean some crackpot actually offered your old man all that bread for eight goddamn stamps?’

‘That’s it. It made me sick to my stomach. All that money! What I could do with it! The stupid old bastard just threw the letter in the trash basket.’

‘Just what are these stamps?’

She shrugged.