Реймонд Маршалл - The Paw in the Bottle

‘Yes, I’m going through with it,’ she said.

But the moment Wesley had gone and she heard the front door slam she once more became a prey to her fears. There were another forty minutes yet before Harry arrived and she sat in her room, her fists clenched, sick with apprehension, and her eyes on the clock. As its hands moved slowly towards the hour she became more and more jumpy. Every sound, the creaking of the doors, the ticking of the clock, the soft sound of the passing traffic, and the whine of the lift as it raced between floors, made her nerves tighten.

But she wasn’t the only one to be strung up. In the Park, under the dark shadow of the trees, Harry Gleb and Theo were watching the lighted entrance of Park Way.

Harry held a cigarette in his fingers, the glowing end shielded in the palm of his hand. He was also uneasy and nervous, and every now and then he shifted his position restlessly.

Not so Theo. He leaned against a tree, his hands in his pockets, his hat at the back of his head, callously calm. He wasn’t going to get excited over a job like this. It took a lot to upset Theo.

‘What’s the time?’ Harry asked suddenly. He took out his handkerchief and wiped his sweating hands.

‘Twenty past seven,’ Theo returned after consulting the luminous face of his wrist-watch. He glanced at Harry, hate in his eyes.

‘Time they left,’ Harry said, dropped the cigarette on the grass and stepped on it. ‘Think we’ve missed them?’

Theo scratched his ribs, swore softly under his breath.

‘Not a chance. What’s your hurry? We can’t do anything until eight.’

‘I don’t understand why Ma’s dragged Dana into this,’ Harry muttered. ‘We two could have handled it.’

Theo grinned evilly in the darkness.

‘She’s right,’ he returned. ‘Anyone might spot the car if it remained for long in the alley. It’s better this way. I can get round to the back without anyone seeing me, get the furs together, then when Dana arrives all I have to do is throw the furs in and she’ll be away. It’s a smart idea.’

Harry grunted. He distrusted any sudden change of plan.

‘There they go,’ Theo said suddenly and pointed.

They watched Blanche and Wesley get into the waiting taxi. Neither of them said anything but their eyes followed the red tail light until it disappeared.

Harry lit another cigarette.

‘Well, that starts it,’ he said. ‘I’d like to get in there now. This waiting gives me a pain in the guts.’

‘What’s the matter with you?’ Theo sneered. ‘Got cold feet?’

‘Shut up, you ape,’ Harry snarled.

There was a long silence between them, then Theo again consulted his watch.

‘About time I got going,’ he said. ‘Give me five minutes and then come on. See you in prison,’ and he slouched away into the darkness.

Harry’s face tightened. ‘The little rat has nerves like steel,’ he thought. ‘See you in prison! The kind of crack he would come out with on a job like this.’ Harry crossed his fingers and stood waiting. While he waited he thought of Julie. He was determined to make her leave the flat with him after he had passed the furs to Theo. He didn’t care how much she protested. She was going with him.

Deciding that Theo had had time to reach the alley at the back of the building, he turned up his coat collar and walked slowly across the grass out of the Park towards Park Way. His heart was pounding and his throat was dry. He had never before felt like this on a job, and it worried him.

It would have worried him still more if he had known that Detective Inspector Dawson and two plain-clothes men were watching him and moved silently after him as he left the Park.

He entered the vast lobby of Park Way and went up to the porter’s office.

‘I’m looking for Mrs. Gregory’s apartment,’ he said. ‘Can you direct me, please?’

He remembered that Julie had told him the top flat was occupied by a Mrs. Gregory. Such information was always useful, and Harry had filed it away in his retentive memory for future use.

‘Mrs. Gregory?’ the porter repeated, coming out of his office. ‘Yes, sir. Top floor. Take the lift on your right. I don’t know if Mrs. Gregory is in. Would you care for me to find out?’

Harry blew his nose loudly. He had been holding his handkerchief to his face in the hope that the porter wouldn’t get a good look at him.

‘She’s expecting me,’ he said. ‘It’s all right. Top floor? Thanks.’ He walked quickly to the lift and pressed the automatic button.

While he waited he had a creepy sensation that he was being watched, but he didn’t look round. Sweat began to trickle down the back of his neck and he mopped himself with the handkerchief.

The lift doors opened and he stepped inside. As he pressed the button indicating the top floor he took a quick look round the lobby. It was deserted. The porter had returned to his office. He drew in a quick breath of relief and leaned against the side of the lift as it shot him to the top floor.

Leaving the lift, he ran down the two flights of stairs that brought him to the landing leading to Wesley’s flat. He looked up and down the deserted passage, then walked to the front door and rang the bell.

There was a long, unnerving pause before Julie opened the door. She stared at him, white faced, her eyes wide with fear.

‘All right, Julie,’ he said, trying to sound brisk. ‘Let’s go.’ He pushed past her into the flat and shut the door. ‘Come on, kid. Let’s make it snappy.’

But she could only stare at him. He was wearing a dark overcoat and a slouch hat pulled low over his eyes. A black silk scarf hid his chin. She could see sweat trickling down the side of his face from under his hat and his eyes burned feverishly.

‘Harry!’ she exclaimed, backing away. ‘Please don’t go through with this!’

He caught hold of her arm and bustled her, protesting weakly, down the passage to Blanche’s bedroom.

‘Now, take it easy,’ he said, far from easy himself. ‘This has got to be quick. In and out, see? Get the safe open, kid, as fast as you can.’

She was sick with fright, expecting any moment for the police to appear. She couldn’t move, but stared at him with eyes like holes in a sheet.

‘Harry! Why did you come! I told you to stay away!’ she cried, wringing her hands.

He caught hold of her.

‘Come on; for God’s sake stop talking and get this damned safe open,’ he said feverishly, and shook her.

‘But Harry...’ she wailed.

‘We’ll talk when we get outside.’ He was controlling himself with difficulty. ‘Come on, get it open.’ He shoved her before the quilted wall. ‘Turn off the alarms. There’s one behind the bed, isn’t there? Turn it off.’

It suddenly occurred to her that if he didn’t take the furs the police couldn’t do anything to him. She could swear that he had come to see her and then they would have no case against him.

‘Harry! Listen, you mustn’t take anything. Please go. I’ll even come with you if you’ll go now.’

He rounded on her. His own nerves were at breaking point. He had never before wasted so much time on a job.

‘Turn the blasted alarm off!’ he shouted at her. ‘And stop talking!’

‘But Harry, you don’t understand...’ she began, but cursing under his breath he caught hold of her arm and gave her a stinging slap across her face.

‘Pull yourself together, you little fool!’ he exclaimed furiously. ‘Open that safe!’

She stepped back, her hand going to her face. She realized at once that he had struck her because he was frightened, but in spite of that she couldn’t forgive him. If he could do that to her after he had told her he loved her, what was his love worth, she thought.