Реймонд Маршалл - The Paw in the Bottle

Wesley had listened to her story without interruption, and now when she had finished he lit a cigarette.

‘There’s nothing to worry about,’ he said, and smiled. ‘We’ll find a way out of it. Now look, it’s getting late. I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry. Will you order supper for two to be sent up from the restaurant while I see what can be done? I want a moment or so to think about all this. You run off and get some supper. Then we’ll have another talk while we eat.’ He got up, walked over to the cocktail cabinet. ‘And you’re going to have a drink. There’s no need to be miserable. I’m very glad you’ve told me the whole story. I don’t think you’re to blame at all.’ As he mixed the two drinks, he went on, ‘Was that Gleb who was with you when I first met you?’

Julie flushed scarlet.

‘I... I didn’t think you could see me,’ she said. ‘I’m so ashamed I dressed up like that.’

He laughed.

‘You looked very beautiful, Julie,’ he said and handed her the drink. ‘One of these days you must dress again in some-thing nice, but this time for my benefit.’

She stared at him, startled, not expecting anything like this from him.

‘It was Gleb?’ he went on.

‘Yes.’

‘All right, now run along. Take your drink with you. I want to think this over. Don’t be too long about supper, will you?’

Julie’s mind was in a whirl as she telephoned down to the restaurant for two suppers. While she was waiting for the trays to come up, she ran to her room and put on a bright red scarf and a red belt to offset her black dress. Looking at herself in the mirror she saw a young, lovely little face that pleased her. So long as she kept her looks, she thought, there was hope for her.

Back in the kitchen she finished the cocktail, which cheered her. Things were going well. Better than she had thought possible. He had seen her looking her best in Blanche’s dress and he had remembered her in it.

‘One of these days you must dress again in something nice,’ he had said, ‘and this time for my benefit.’

‘He’s interested in me,’ she thought. ‘If I’m careful and play up to him it might be possible to ask him for anything. There’s nothing he couldn’t do for me if he wanted to. He has loads of money, and he can get rid of that French woman and Theo. He’ll know how to handle them. And there’s Harry, too. I’ll never forgive him for letting that beast hit me. He must have known. I’ll pay him out for that! I don’t need him now if I’m careful with Wesley.’

When she carried in the two supper trays she found him pacing up and down, his hands clasped behind his back. She still wasn’t used to seeing him without the black-lensed glasses and he made her feel nervous.

‘All ready?’ he said, taking one of the trays from her. ‘It looks good, doesn’t it? You sit there where I can see you.’

They sat at the table opposite each other. Under his friendly gaze she began to feel less nervous of him.

‘We won’t talk business until we’ve finished,’ he said. ‘It’s not going to be so difficult as you think, but we’ll go into that later. You’re not going to be miserable any more, are you?’

‘No,’ Julie said, not feeling miserable at all. To find out his reactions, she went on. ‘But I shouldn’t really be here. Mrs. Wesley would be furious.’

She saw his face harden.

‘Mrs. Wesley has no right to complain,’ he said sharply. ‘She forfeited that right by her behaviour. You saw what went on?’

‘Yes,’ Julie said. ‘I thought it was dreadful.’

‘Then don’t let’s talk about her,’ Wesley said. ‘I’ll get you another drink.’

There was an awkward silence while he mixed more drinks, but when he came back to the table he seemed to have recovered his calm and he smiled at her.

‘I’m glad this has happened, Julie. I lead a lonely life: too lonely I’m discovering. I’m enjoying this. I haven’t had supper with a pretty girl for years.’

Julie was a little startled; she hadn’t expected him to take the initiative so soon.

‘I’ve been thinking about what you were saying,’ he went on, not appearing to notice her surprise, ‘about not having any fun. Tell me, Julie, what exactly is your idea of fun?’

‘Being able to do the things you want to,’ she said promptly. ‘And what do you want to do?’

Again without hesitation, she said: ‘Have money and nice clothes. I want to go dancing, go to the best restaurants, have a car, buy what I like. Things like that.’

He laughed.

‘My dear Julie, what good are those things to you now? You’re living in the past. That kind of fun is over and done with. It’s the simple things of life that give fun now; things like good books, a garden, going for a walk, listening to music, things like that.’

‘That’s where you’re wrong,’ Julie thought. To him, she said, ‘If I had money I’d be able to have a good time. I know I should. I know how to get the things I want.’

‘Well, we’ll see,’ he said, a little mysteriously, and began to ask her questions about her life at the café, drawing her out and listening with flattering attention to her description of the people who visited the café.

By the time the meal had ended she was thoroughly at ease with him.

‘All right, Julie,’ he said, pushing back his chair. ‘Let’s get rid of these trays and then we’ll get down to business.’ He glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece. ‘I haven’t long to give you. I have a great deal of work to get through before I go to bed.’

When she had taken the trays into the kitchen and returned, he motioned her to the arm-chair and stood with his back to the fireplace, looking down at her.

‘There’s only one thing to do. We’ll have to go to the police,’ he told her quietly.

‘Oh, no,’ she said, alarmed at once. ‘We mustn’t do that.’

‘Because you’re frightened of this gang? I can understand that, Julie, but there’s no other way. We must set a trap for them. We must round them all up and then you’ll be safe. We can’t do that without police aid.’

‘But suppose they find out?’ Julie said with a shiver. ‘Suppose Theo gets away?’

‘We’ll take care they don’t get away, and they won’t find out. See them on Wednesday and tell them how the safe opens. I’ll jot down the exact operation so you’ll know how it works, and you can copy it. We must catch them red-handed. I’ll see the police to-morrow. If Gleb wants you to help him in the actual robbery, you must do it. He must have no suspicion at all that we’re waiting for him. You’ll be all right, I’ll see to that.’ He sounded so confident that Julie’s courage stiffened.

‘But if nothing happens to me they’ll know I... I gave them away,’ she said uneasily.

‘It’ll be too late then for them to do anything. Now look, Julie, this is the only way to save yourself. You do see that, don’t you?’

‘Yes,’ she said reluctantly.

‘All right. You carry on as if nothing has happened. See Gleb on Wednesday and try to find out when he intends to rob the safe. That is vitally important. We’ll be ready for him. Do you think you’ll be able to go through with it?’

‘I think so,’ she said, thinking of Theo. Her voice lacked conviction.

He looked at her for a long moment.

‘Are you wondering what’s to become of you when all this is over?’

‘Well, I don’t know. I haven’t thought. I don’t know what I shall do.’

‘There’s no need to worry,’ he said quietly. ‘I intend to do something about that if you will let me. I want to give you an opportunity to find out if your idea of fun is really what you want.’ He thrust his hands into his pockets and continued to look at her searchingly. ‘I’ve been married for six years, Julie. I’ve had no love nor tenderness during those years. I’ve been blind for three years. Life has been pretty drab for me, and now I have recovered my sight I’m going to change all that. You’re very lovely. I’m tired of leading a life without a woman. I need someone like you. Forgive me if I’m blunt. Do you follow what I’m getting at?’