Джеймс Чейз - Believe This... You’ll Believe Anything

‘You don’t like?’ he asked, looking searchingly at Val. ‘You are not satisfied, Señora Vidal?’

‘I think it is perfectly marvellous, but it is hotter than I thought. Let us return to the hotel.’

His little eyes brightened.

‘Midday too hot. After lunch, it would be wise to take a siesta. The evening will be cooler. If you wish, señora , I drive you around the city in the evening.’

‘I think this will be enough for today. We will see the city tomorrow.’

He positively beamed.

‘Very wise. Better to swim in beautiful pool. Then we go back now?’

‘Yes, please.’

We reached the hotel a little after 13.00. Val thanked Rivera for his careful driving and for showing her the volcano.

Leaving him, we entered the lobby.

‘Let us have a light lunch together, Mr. Burden,’ Val said. ‘Then I’ll take a siesta.’ This was for the benefit of the hall porter who was bowing to her.

We went into the crowded coffee shop and had a hamburger each I left half mine and we scarcely exchanged a word.

As we were leaving, I said, ‘Don’t hand in your key, Val.’

She nodded.

‘Third floor. Room 346,” and screening the move with my body, I gave her my key.

Smiling at me, she went across to the elevators. I walked to the far end of the lobby, lit a cigarette and sat down. After a ten minute wait, I got casually to my feet and took the elevator to the 3rd floor.

Val was lying on my bed, naked.

I hurriedly shut and locked the door.

‘Val! We mustn’t. We...’

She held out her arms. The flush on her face and the brightness of her eyes swept away all caution. I threw off my clothes and joined her.

This time our lovemaking was without the violent urgency of the previous night. This time we were gentle with each other, letting the climax build slowly until we reached the crest, then, together, we surged down the long lane of light, swiftly and silently, feeling the world blotted out in the moment of ecstasy that left us breathless.

In the air conditioned room, with the sun blinds drawn against the heat of the afternoon, Val, lying by my side on the bed, told me something of the six years she had spent with Henry Vidal.

She puzzled me by saying that she wasn’t expecting me to understand everything she was going to tell me and I would have to be patient with her. It would be difficult, she said, for her to explain why she had written that letter and why she had returned the ring, but in fairness to us both, she had to try.

‘To begin at the beginning,’ she said, ‘I first met him when he came to the office at the Statler Hilton. Bill Olson was at lunch. I was on my own. He wanted a flight to London. While I was checking the flight and preparing the ticket, I was aware that he was staring at me so intensely that he embarrassed me. It was the busy season and I kept being interrupted by telephone calls. I apologised for keeping him waiting, but he said he was in no hurry. I’ve often thought about that first meeting. I believed then and I know now that he was trying to hypnotise me. While he was with me I felt some tremendous energy and dynamic power stifling me. Does that sound nonsense to you? I assure you that was how I felt. He paid for the ticket and still staring at me, he said he would see me again. I kept thinking of him. It was as if he had taken hold of part of my mind.’ She made a helpless little gesture. ‘I began to dream about him. I kept imagining he was following me. I became nervy and I ceased to go out once I was back home from the office, but that didn’t stop the dreams.’ She touched my wrist. ‘The dreadful thing about this was that I no longer thought of you, but always of him. Your letters arrived so faithfully. Some I didn’t even read. I know this will hurt you, but you must try to understand that at that time I was fighting desperately not to be possessed. Evil spirits do try to possess people.’ She looked fixedly at me.

‘Do you believe that Clay?’

I had never thought about evil spirits. To me, Vidal was just an arrogant, self-opinionated tycoon.

‘I don’t know, but go on. What happened?’ I said.

‘When he returned from London he came to the office nearly every day, on some pretext or other. I even changed lunch hours with Bill so I could avoid him, but it made no difference. But why go on? I fought him for two dreadful months, but he was too much for me. I finally gave up and he took possession of me.’

‘Are you telling me that he forced you to marry him?’ I asked, staring at her.

‘He didn’t force me. He took possession of me. I knew that unless I submitted to him, I would never have any peace nor rest again. I was so tired and so frightened. It was easier to marry him than to continue the struggle.’

‘But why didn’t you tell me what was happening? I would have come back and helped you.’

‘No one could help me. When you are faced with that kind of struggle you either save yourself or you go under. This was a personal battle which I lost. Besides, Clay, I loved you as I love you still. I knew he would sweep you away if you tried to interfere. You would have had no weapon against his power. I did think of telling you, then I thought. Why spoil two lives? I told myself I wasn’t worth putting you in danger. So I wrote to you and returned your ring.’

I looked at her, baffled. How could anyone be expected to believe this rigmarole?

‘You still don’t understand, do you Clay? He is evil! He is a devil! You don’t believe in devils, do you?’

Her fear and the wildness in her eyes alarmed me.

‘Surely devils went out in the last century,’ I said. ‘No. I don’t believe in devils nor evil spirits, but I can understand a man of his energy and power sweeping you off your feet. I grant you he is dynamic, but this talk about being hypnotised, possessed... about spirits... no. I can’t go along with mumbo jumbo like that.’

She nodded as if telling herself this was what she expected me to say.

‘All right Clay, let us say he swept me off my feet. Let us agree about that. It is much less complicated, although it is not fair to me. Never mind. Don’t let’s waste time. I once asked him why he married me. I remember his exact words: “I am going to be rich,” he said, staring at me with those frightening eyes. “Money is power and I want power. You are going to help me. I have chosen you as my partner because you have a quick, intelligent mind and you are thoroughly efficient. You also have looks. The moment I saw you I knew you were the ideal woman I was looking for. Together, we will work and achieve.”’ She stared up at the ceiling, her eyes cloudy. ‘In four years, with me by his side, he has become what he is. He has unlimited power and unlimited money. There is in him a ruthless evil drive that won’t ever let him stop. He will go on amassing money and power until he dies. A year after I married him he made his first million. It didn’t even give him pleasure, let alone satisfaction. “This is just the beginning,” he said. “This is nothing!” How we worked! We never stopped travelling, meeting people, bribing people. How I hated it! But I was a Trilby to his Svengali. He told me what to do, I did it.’

There was a long pause while she continued to stare up at the ceiling,

‘And now... after six years?’ I was depressed. I couldn’t accept this extraordinary story. Trilby and Svengali! (What did she mean?) Spirits. Devils. I would much rather she told me that she had fallen madly in love with Vidal and now that love had turned sour. I could have accepted that but not this nonsense about being possessed and hypnotised.

‘My life is becoming my own again,’ she said. ‘He has less use for me. I have become redundant. He is too busy to entertain much, but when he does, then I have to arrange everything. He spends weeks locked in his office. He has many people working for him. For a year now he hasn’t told me what he is doing, what he is planning. He likes to have me around. I am an ornament... nothing else. He doesn’t need my help anymore and I am thankful. I have leisure now. This has given me time to think, and my thoughts, Clay, have been of you. You don’t know how I have regretted sending your ring back, but please try to understand, at that time, I was half out of my mind. Even when life was most hectic and we were rushing from one city to another, one country to another, I found time to think of you. Then last month I saw in the papers that A.T.S. were opening at the Spanish Bay hotel and you were to be in charge. I went to Dyer. He is nervous of me He isn’t sure if I have influence or not. He knows I once worked for the A.T.S. It wasn’t difficult to persuade him to transfer the account to you. I said I wanted to do my old firm a favour. He accepted that, and made no difficulty about the change. Then when I heard Henry was going on a business trip here, I persuaded him to let me come with him. I hadn’t been on a trip with him for some time. I said I wanted a change, that I would have a guide and see the country while he worked. I told Dyer you were to be the guide.’ She patted my hand. ‘You resisted, didn’t you? I got my way in the end and here we are.’ She rolled towards me, sliding her arms around me. ‘Forgive me for hurting you, darling, and do try to understand how it happened.’ I gently stroked her hip.