James Chase - An Ace up my Sleeve

He looked into the room, his jaws moving as he chewed.

“I guess you must have a lot of money, ma’am,” he said and she was aware of a sullen note in his voice.

“My husband has… I haven’t.” She smiled. “We’ll have a picnic tonight. There s plenty of food in the deep freeze,” and moving around him, she walked back to the villa.

She had unpacked, taken a bath and then dropped on to the bed.

The time was now 1745 and it was dark. The San Salvatore mountain with 69

its twin radio and TV masts was obscured by cloud. The lights of Lugano showed dimly through the haze. The amber light in the big bedroom emphasized the apricot coloured walls and was kind to her reflection in the mirror.

Now was the time for love, she thought and her body melted with her desire. She lifted the telephone receiver and pressed button 10 which connected her with Larry’s room. There was a long pause and her heart contracted. Surely he was there? Then just when she was getting into a panic, his voice came over the line.

“Yeah, ma’am?”

“Come and see me. Follow the blue lights. They will bring you to me.”

“What was that again, ma’am?”

She moved impatiently, closing her legs tightly together.

“When you leave your room, you will see blue lights in the ceiling, Larry,” she said, controlling the impatience in her voice. “If you will follow the lights, they will lead you to my room.”

“Sure, ma’am. I’ll do that,” and he hung up.

She reached for the battery of buttons built into the side of the bed and pressed the blue button, then she waited. She looked a little anxiously at her reflection in the opposite mirror. Suppose he turned shy? Suppose… no! He was a young animal. He had admitted to her he had this sexual urge. Again she looked at the reflection in the mirror and she was satisfied.

She waited, and as she waited, she heard him coming up the stairs. She hoped he wasn’t chewing gum. There was a long pause, and then a tap came on the door.

Instinctively she pulled the wrap around her, suddenly worried it might be too transparent.

“Come on in, Larry,” she called, and now she wanted him as she had never wanted any other man before.

He came in.

Could it be possible? she thought as she forced a smile. He was still wearing his dark suit, his white shirt and black tie!

When he saw her lying on the bed, the black chiffon wrap scarcely concealing the whiteness of her body, he stiffened and stepped back.

“Excuse me, ma’am,” he said awkwardly and began to back out of the room.

“Oh, come on in, Larry!” Even to her, her voice sounded waspish. “Shut the door!”

He shut the door, remaining still, his eyes shifted to her, then shifted away.

“You’re not shy of me, are you?” she said, thinking: God! if this flops, I’ll kill myself!

“I guess not, ma’am.”

“Come here.”

He moved slowly to the bed, then he stood over her, looking down at her.

“Gee! You’re beautiful! I’ve never seen anyone so beautiful!”

It was a spontaneous outburst that set a flame to her body. She held out her hand. He took it and she pulled him down on the bed.

“You’re over dressed, Larry,” and her fingers pulled his tie loose.

“Is it all right, ma’am? You’re sure it’s all right.”

“For God’s sake! You’re not a kid, are you?”

Her frantic fingers began to unbutton his shirt

He pulled away from her.

“I’ll do it, ma’am. May I see you… may I look at you?”

She opened her wrap, revealing her nakedness.

“Oh, ma’am.”

He was gazing at her as she found the zip of his trousers.

As she pulled, he began to struggle out of his jacket. His hand slipped and banged against the row of buttons which controlled the lights, the TV set and all the other gimmicks in the villa. There came a blinding flash and then complete darkness. She had his fly open. She felt him jerk away from her. She lay still, her heart hammering, her eyes blinded by the flash and the darkness.

“What’s happened?” she asked, her voice husky.

“I touched something,” Larry said out of the darkness. “I guess I’ve tripped a fuse. I’ll fix it. You wait here.”

“To hell with the fuse! Larry!” She lifted herself up and stared into the darkness. “Larry!”

“I’ll fix it.”

From the sound of his voice he was already out of the room and she heard his footfalls as he stumbled down the corridor.

I don’t want you to fix it, you goddam, stupid fool! she thought as she lay back on the bed. Who the hell cares about a fuse! Come back! I want you to love me!

She waited a long moment, hearing him blundering about somewhere in the darkness, then she got off the bed. Pulling her wrap around her, she groped her way to the door. She could see nothing in the darkness.

“Larry!”

She heard a door open and then slam shut.

“Come back!” she screamed. “Larry? Do you hear me?”

She stood in the darkness, listening. The silence and the darkness weighed down on her.

She made the effort and controlled her frustrated anger. God! what a hick this boy was! Somehow he had blown a fuse and he had this stupid inferiority complex that he had to mend it immediately! She groped her way back to the bed. The distant lights on the highway made a small light in the room and she could see the outline of the bed. She sank on to it.

She felt cold and she was shaking. The fool had blown a just when she had been offering herself to him. Yet he had left her to go down to the cellar to mend the fuse! Was she so undesirable? Or was there something wrong about him? Perhaps he was only excited by very young girls. Hot tears rose to her eyes and spilled over. Maybe he wasn’t the young, sexual animal she had thought he was.

She waited. Nothing happened and silence brooded over the villa, then she thought of him groping around in the blacked out cellar, trying to mend a fuse. He could kill himself! She remembered there was a flashlight in one of the many drawers built in by her bed. She had to scrabble through three drawers before she found it. She switched it on. Its bright beam was comforting. She searched for and found her pantie briefs and slipped them on, then picking up the flashlight, she went quickly from the bedroom, down the short corridor, past the living-room to the stairs that led to cellars.

At the head of the stairs, she paused and called, “Larry!”

Silence greeted her and a wave of cold panic ran over her. The fool couldn’t have killed himself? Had he electrocuted himself in the dark? She stood motionless. Suppose he had? Suppose he was lying dead before the fuse boxes? What would she do? How would she explain what he had been g here to get himself electrocuted?

Cold and shaking, she started down the stairs. Ahead of her was the door leading to the fuse boxes and the central heating apparatus. She could hear the motor roaring behind the heavy steel door. The door was shut. She hesitated before opening it, then pushed down the steel lever and forced the door open.

“Larry?”Except for the violent beat of the electric motor, she heard nothing. She hesitated to go further, then bracing herself, she lifted the beam of the flashlight and shakily moved the beam into the big-hot room.

There way no sign of Larry. She moved into the room and played the beam on the fuse boxes. She saw the green button was out and the red button was in. After a moment’s hesitation, she pushed the green button home. The light in the boiler roam came on. Turning, she moved into the corridor turned on the switch and the three overhead lights in the corridor came on.

Puzzled and frightened, she hurried back up the stairs to her bedroom. The defused light above her bed was now on. She whirled around and ran along the corridor, down the stairs, turning on the switches as she went until she came to the corridor leading underground to the garage and the staff quarters. Holding her wrap around her, she opened the door, turned on the light and hurried along the corridor, up the stairs until she reached the three rooms reserved for the staff. She went to the end room and threw open the door to find the small room empty.