Джеймс Чейз - So What Happens To Me?

I stood watching her as she chose a chair and sat down.

‘I’m so happy Jack, that you are making such a success of your life,’ she said as she opened her handbag and took out a pack of cigarettes. ‘I’ve been talking to Dolly Byrnes: she’s a special friend of mine. So you’re now Essex’s white-headed boy.’ She stared at me: the hatred in those green eyes was chilling. ‘Fifty thousand a year, tax free, this nice apartment, a Caddy and Mr. Big Shot at the airfield. How marvellous!’

I sat down. I was over the shock now and my mind was beginning to work.

‘Fantastic, isn’t it?’ I was aware my voice was a little husky. ‘That’s the way the cookie crumbles, Pam. A terrible thing about Bernie. I had no idea he had a dicky heart: did you?’

‘No.’ She lit her cigarette. ‘I went to his funeral: it was the least I could do. I hoped you would have been there too.’

A chill crawled up my spine. So she could explode the story that we had crashed into the sea.

‘I know you and Bernie...’

‘Don’t let’s talk about Bernie,’ she cut in. ‘He’s dead. Let’s talk about me.’

‘Sure.’ Without any hope I went on, ‘Do you want your job back Pam? I can fix it.’

‘How nice of you Jack. Well, no... I will want something rather better than that... now.’

So it was going to be blackmail

An immediate thought dropped into my mind. She had come here alone. Suppose I killed her? Would that stop this nightmare that was slowly building up around me? So okay, I killed her, but what was I going to do with her body?

I said. ‘What can I do to be helpful Pam?’

‘I’ve been talking to Claude. He tells me you’ve returned all the money. Claude hasn’t been helpful. He told me to talk to you.’ She crossed her slim legs. ‘Bernie was planning to marry me. We would have shared a million dollars. I would love to own a million dollars.’

I nodded.

‘Who wouldn’t?’

She flicked ash on the carpet.

‘I spent five days at the Continental Hotel at Merida.’ She regarded me, her green eyes stoney. ‘They could have been dull, lonely days, but as it happened, Juan picked me up.’

‘You were always a girl to find friends.’ I said.

‘Come on Jack! You’re not listening: Juan Aulestria. Remember? He works — used to work for Orzoco: remember now?’

My mind went back to the tall, thin man with thick longish hair and the smoothness of a snake and my heart skipped a beat.

‘Juan was very kind to me,’ Pam went on. ‘He’s with me now: we’re staying at the Hilton. He thought it would be more tactful for me to see you first, then he will talk to you.’ Her red lips parted in what could be called a smile. ‘Juan has marvellous tact.’

I had had enough of this cat and mouse act. I saw now that she had me in a comer. I was thankful I hadn’t done anything stupid like killing her. Aulestria was far more dangerous than she could ever be.

‘Let’s skip the buildup,’ I said. ‘Let’s talk business. What do you want?’

She took from her bag an envelope and tossed it into my lap.

‘Take a look Jack.’

The envelope contained four good photographs of the Condor wreck as it lay in the jungle. There was no mistaking the plane. Its name and number were clear on the fuselage. The fourth picture made me stiffen. It was of Erskine’s dead body, his head in a halo of blood.

‘Just in case you miss the point of that photo,’ Pam said, ‘and I’m sure you don’t: what was Harry doing out of the flight cabin at the time of the crash?’

I put the photos on the table.

‘What else?’ I asked and lit a cigarette. I was surprised to see my hands were steady.

‘Isn’t that enough?’ She lifted her eyebrows mockingly.

‘You could talk yourself into trouble. You were part of the hijack.’

‘You prove it. I was Bernie’s girl. He told me to wait for him in Merida. I had no idea what you three were planning. Juan is going to tell the insurance people. If they are to be told.’

‘Okay. So what’s the pay-off?’

‘Five hundred thousand dollars: my half share of Bernie’s money.’

I couldn’t believe it. Staring at her, I said, ‘Come on!’

‘You heard Jack.’

‘And where do you imagine I could raise money like that?’

‘From the Essex bitch: from where else?’

‘You’re crazy! She would no more give me a sum like that than fly to the moon.’

Pam smiled her hateful smile of triumph.

‘She will.’ She took another photograph from her bag. ‘I wouldn’t have thought of it but Juan did. He arranged for a private eye to keep tabs on you the moment you returned here.’ She flicked the photo into my lap. ‘Five hundred thousand is nothing to her. She’ll pay to keep this photo away from Mr. Lane Essex.’

I looked at the photograph. It showed me outside the cabin, standing by the new Caddy. I was handing my overnight bag to Sam.

She left behind her the smell of cheap scent and the five damning photographs. Just before she left she said Aulestria would be contacting me.

‘From now on Jack, he’ll be in charge of the negotiations. We won’t wait long. See the bitch and fix it.’

I wondered how Vicky would react. I was sunk. That I knew, but could I get her out of this mess? If Sam’s loyalty stood up under pressure, that photo of me arriving at the cabin wasn’t all that damaging. Vicky could tell Essex that she had lent me the cabin while I was on vacation and she had never been near it. After thinking, I realised this was a pipe dream. She must have told Essex she was going to the cabin and I was sure Sam wouldn’t stand up to an Essex cross examination.

So what was to be done?

I put the photographs back in the envelope and the envelope in my breast pocket. I lit a cigarette while I tried to find a way out. My first thought was to trap Pam and Aulestria somehow and kill them, but that too was a pipe dream. Aulestria was no fool. He would have taken precautions, lodging another set of photographs with an attorney with instructions: in the event of my death. Had Pam been handling this on her own, I was sure I could trap and kill her, but not Aulestria.

Again I thought of Vicky. I was wasting time, trying to find a way out. I had to discuss it with her and I cringed at the thought of her explosion. You involve me in this and you’ll be sorry you’re alive! Now, because she had had hot pants for me, she was involved. Because she couldn’t give me up, she had lied about the crash not only to Essex but also to the insurance people.

I looked at my watch. The time was 14.45.

Bracing myself, I left the apartment and drove back to the cabin. It was a drive I was to remember for the rest of my days. The nearer I got to the cabin the more scared I became. I had already seen her in a rage and I flinched at the thought of how she would react once she knew how involved she was.

I also thought of the years I could spend behind bars. I couldn’t hope to get out under fifteen years. I would be middle aged by then and fit for nothing. Very late in the day I thought of my old man. This would kill him: I was sure of that.

I pulled up outside the cabin and Sam beaming, opened the door.

I went into the cabin, leaving him to put the Caddy out of sight, in one of the garages.

Vicky was lying on the settee, a copy of Vogue in her hand. I stood in the doorway, looking at her. She put down the magazine and smiled at me.

‘Hi Jack!’ She laughed. ‘You’re nice and early.’ She patted the settee. ‘Come and kiss me.’

I moved into the room and shut the door. I didn’t approach her, but stood still, my shoulders against the door.

She lifted her eyebrows.