James Chase - Mission to Siena

Lorelli was seated at her desk. She was engrossed with pencil and paper, and Don guessed she was preparing a plan of the underground fortress which she had promised him.

He was about to call to her, when he heard a sound from the door. Lorelli started, dropped her pencil, grabbed up the sheet of paper she had been drawing on and pushed it into the top drawer of the desk.

The door rattled impatiently and Felix called, “Open up. I want to talk to you.”

“I’m coming,” Lorelli said. She hurriedly undid the buttons of her dress and mussed up her hair, then she ran over to the door and unlocked it. “I was changing.”

“Since when do you lock the door when you’re changing?” Felix asked, coming in and closing the door.

“I just turned the key without thinking.” She moved over to the dressing table, sat down and began to brush her hair.

“What is it?”

Felix sat on the bed. He lit a cigarette and blew a thin stream of smoke towards the ceiling.

“Alsconi was asking what happened at the villa,” he said.

The hairbrush she was using nearly slipped out of Lorelli’s hand. She put it down and picked up a comb.

“He seemed to think it went off too easily,” Felix went on. “I told him you had no trouble: that’s right, isn’t it?”

“Of course,” Lorelli said curtly. “I told you what happened. You don’t want me to go over it again, do you?”

“So it’s definite the money will be paid into the Banca de Roma in four or five days?”

“Yes; anyway that’s what Micklem’s secretary said.” Lorelli finished combing her hair. She reached for her handbag, opened it and took out her cigarette case. She lit a cigarette.

Felix saw her .25 automatic in the bag.

“That’s fine,” he said and got to his feet. “The old man’s still a little doubtful about you, but I told him how well you carried this job out. I’m pleased with you.” He came over to the dressing table. “I think I’ll give you a new handbag as a reward for your cleverness.” He picked up the handbag, moving a shade faster than Lorelli, whose hand had darted out to snatch the bag out of his reach. “This one’s getting shabby.”

“Please put it down!” Lorelli exclaimed, her voice shrill.

Felix looked at her. She saw then how cold, white and set his face was.

“You sound jumpy.” He turned the bag over. “I think one of those new lizard skin jobs would suit you.” He opened the bag and took out the .25.

Lorelli sat very still, staring up at him, her eyes wide open.

“You’re spoiling the shape of the bag, carrying this in it,” Felix went on. He put the bag on the dressing table, holding the gun in his right hand, the barrel pointing at Lorelli’s feet.

She didn’t say anything. She was rigid, her hands gripped between her knees.

“It’s a nice little toy,” Felix went on, turning the gun over. “At close quarters it could do a lot of damage.” He slid out the clip, emptied the six bullets into his hand, removed the bullet from the breech, put the empty clip back and laid the gun down on the dressing table. “Safer unloaded, don’t you think?” he went on and stood the seven bullets in a row by the gun.

Lorelli watched every movement, her heart beating so violently she had difficulty in breathing.

“Yes, I must see about a new handbag for you,” Felix said and wandered back to the bed and sat down.

Lorelli felt sick with relief. For a horrible moment, she had wondered if Felix had guessed she was betraying him. The business with the gun shook her nerve. She picked up a nail buffer and began to polish her nails.

A long silence hung over the room. She looked out of the corners of her eyes at him. He was leaning back, his head against the wall, looking up at the ceiling. The expression on his face set her heart thumping again.

“I was worrying about you,” he said suddenly. “It’s a funny thing for me to worry about anyone, but I was about you.”

“What do you mean?” she asked sharply. “What is there to worry about?”

“Odd, isn’t it?” Felix said, ignoring her question. “You’re the only woman I’ve really ever cared for. When I first met you, I had no idea I could get so fond of you. I sometimes wonder if you’re as much in love with me as I am with you.

Are you?”

Lorelli touched her dry lips with the tip of her tongue. The expression on his face, the tension in the room and these odd words warned her something badly was wrong.

“Aren’t you being sentimental?” she said huskily. “You can’t measure love. How can I possibly know if I love you more than you love me?”

He stubbed out his cigarette.

“Yes, I guess that’s right, but you do still love me, don’t you?” “Yes, of course.” He looked over at her.

“Felix! What is it? Why are you looking like that at me?” Lorelli cried. “What’s the matter?”

“You know you said you wanted to go to Buenos Aires? I’ve been thinking about that. If we did decide to go, what would we do for money?”

Lorelli stared at him. “But you said you wouldn’t go.”

“I can change my mind, can’t I? If I thought we could get hold of some money…” he broke off and shrugged. “It costs a lot to live in hiding. Then there are the fares. We would have to fly. That costs money.”

Felix’s face hardened.

“Just how much money have you?”

“A half a million lire. It would be enough to get us there and to keep us for a month until I found something to do.”

Felix shook his head.

“It’s not enough. Alsconi would hunt for us. We need much more than that to be safe. You wouldn’t dare earn a living.

He has spies everywhere. You’d be spotted.”

“It would be enough. Oh, Felix, please come with me.” She leaned forward and beat her clenched fists on her knees.

“You must come with me!”

“Will you go alone if I don’t come with you?” Felix asked, not looking at her.

There was a long pause. She hesitated, then controlling her agitation, she said, “No, I wouldn’t leave you. Of course, I wouldn’t, but you will come with me, won’t you?”

Felix stood up.

“Well, at least I have the answer to my other question,” he said. “Now I know just how much you love me.”

“I — hope you do,” Lorelli said.

He came over to her.

“So you didn’t see Willie at the Trioni villa?” he said in a quiet, conversational tone.

For a moment, Lorelli didn’t get the impact, then she felt as if a splinter of ice had been driven into her heart. She stared at Felix, her face blanching under her make-up, her eyes wide with terror.

“Willie?” she gasped. “Was he at the villa?”

“Of course,” Felix said. “You don’t imagine I’d let you go there without someone to take care of you in case there was trouble, do you?”

“Oh!”

She jumped to her feet and looked wildly around the room as if looking for a means of escape.

“Willie has just got back,” Felix said, watching her. “Alsconi is waiting for him. He wants Willie to confirm you had no trouble at the villa.”

Lorelli backed away from his fixed, glaring stare.

“You mad little fool!” he went on, his voice suddenly out of control. “Do you imagine you can get away with this?” He went to her and crowded her against the wall. “Do you?” His hands closed over her shoulders, his fingers digging into her flesh. “Willie heard everything that was said.”

Lorelli’s knees buckled. If he hadn’t held her, she would have fallen. He pulled her over to the bed and let her drop on it.

He stood over her, his fists clenched.

“You fool! So you planned to sell me out!” he went on furiously. “Two hundred and fifty grand! Do you think you’d ever have got your hands on the money?”