Джеймс Чейз - The Way the Cookie Crumbles

He glanced at Hess. ‘Find any bits of the other lens, Fred?’

‘Got them here.’ Hess took an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Lepski who went off fast.

‘I’ll be in my office,’ Terrell said, thinking regretfully of the ‘something’ in the oven, waiting for him. ‘Let’s have your report as fast as you can type it, Fred,’ and he returned to his office to telephone Caroline.

Ticky Edris opened his eyes and blinked at the bedside clock. The time was 08.30 hours and the morning sun was bright against the drawn curtains.

Through his bedroom door, he could hear Algir’s snores. Algir had been up, working on the key, when Edris had returned from La Coquille restaurant a little after 03.00 hours.

Edris felt a prickle of excitement as he thought about the key. He had overheard one of Garland’s friends who was dining at the restaurant say the Garlands had won over a hundred thousand dollars on their last night at the Casino.

Even if Mrs. Garland had only stashed away half their winnings, the key would be more than worth the trouble Algir had taken with it.

He closed his eyes, and for some minutes, he dozed, but his mind became too active for further sleep and throwing off the sheet, he clambered out of bed. He walked silently into the sitting room. Algir was sleeping on the settee. He stirred uneasily as Edris went into the bathroom.

Ten minutes later, shaved and showered, Edris went to the front door to collect the milk and the morning newspaper.

Algir stirred and sat up as Edris came into the sitting room.

‘Getting coffee?’ he asked hopefully as he stretched.

‘Yeah.’ Edris walked into the kitchenette and plugged in the percolator. Then, leaning against the wall, he flicked open the newspaper.

The banner headlines splashed across the paper made him catch his breath. He stared, the paper rustling in his hands that had become unsteady. His mouth turned dry and his heart began to skip beats:

UNKNOWN BLONDE FOUND STRANGLED AT CORAL COVE .

Unmindful of the coffee that was beginning to boil, Edris read the account of the finding of the body, stared at the photograph of Hess’s fat son, then switching off the percolator, he walked stiffly into the sitting room. He was so mad and shaken he could have killed Algir.

Algir was sitting on the bed. He had put on a light dressing gown and he was yawning and scratching his head. When he saw Edris’ white face and the rage smouldering in his eyes, he stiffened.

‘What’s up?’

Silently, Edris handed him the newspaper.

Algir read the headlines, then the blood drained out of his face. He got unsteadily to his feet.

‘Judas!’ he gasped. ‘They’ve found her!’ He tried to read the account but his hands shook so violently and his eyes were so blurred with fear he couldn’t read what was written there. Cursing, he flung the newspaper to the floor.

‘What do they say?’

Edris went to the cocktail cabinet and poured two stiff whiskies into tot glasses.

‘What do they say, damn you!’ Algir shouted.

‘Knock it off!’ Edris snarled. ‘Here, drink this.’

Algir grabbed the glass and tossed the whisky down his throat. He poured himself another.

‘I’m getting out of here!’ he muttered. ‘Damn you, Ticky! I should never have listened to your crack-brained scheme. I...’

‘Shut up!’ Edris’ voice was vicious. ‘It’s all your fault! I told you to bury her somewhere safe! Buried! You slob! For a kid to dig her up! You call that burying?’

Algir drank the whisky and again filled his glass. The whisky warmed him and he began to recover his nerve. He sat down and picked up the newspaper.

‘I buried her all right. This is bad luck.’

‘Yeah? I could kill you, you slob!’ Edris was dancing with rage. ‘You’ve blown the lid of the most beautiful take in the world! Damn you! Why didn’t I do it myself?’

Steadier now, Algir picked up the newspaper and read the account. Then he said, ‘Well, they don’t seem to know who she is and they say there are no clues. As long as Ira acts her part, how can they guess the bitch is Norena?’

Edris controlled his rage. He snatched the newspaper from Algir, sat down and reread the account.

‘Yeah,’ he said finally. ‘We could still swing it. Maybe they’ll never find out who she is.’

‘Oh, no!’ Algir said getting in a panic again. ‘I’m clearing out. This isn’t safe anymore. I know cops. They hold back when they talk to the press. They could know who she is right at this very minute.’

‘The chances are they’ll never find out who she is,’ Edris said. ‘They’ve got nothing to go on. It says her face has been half eaten away by ants and what’s left of it is unrecognizable. It says she has no identifying marks and no dental work. So how the hell can they identify her?’

Algir thought about this, but he wasn’t convinced.

‘But suppose they have found something and they’re keeping it back?’

‘Found what?’ Edris snarled. ‘If they had, they would put it in the paper. They want to identify her, don’t they?’

Algir blew out his cheeks. He finished his whisky, then feeling slightly drunk, he began to prowl around the room.

‘All the same, I’m going, Ticky. I have twenty thousand dollars and that’ll hold me. I’ll try to get on a plane to Cuba this afternoon.’

The last thing Edris wanted now was for Algir to quit. Without him, he couldn’t hope to lay his hands on the Garland money. Containing his temper with difficulty, he picked up the key to the Garland safe that was lying on the table and shook it in Algir’s face.

‘This could be worth a hundred grand!’ he shrilled.

‘Are you passing up that kind of money?’

Algir hesitated.

‘We can’t pull the job until tomorrow, by then they may know who she is. Once they know that, they’ll go to the school and that teacher will give them a description of me. It’ll be easy for them to pick me up. No, the hell with the money! I’m going while the going’s good.’

‘To hell with fifty thousand dollars? Are you crazy?’ Edris cried, jumping to his feet. ‘How long do you imagine twenty thousand fish will last you? Now, listen, Phil, do what I’m going to do. We’ll both leave tomorrow afternoon. I’ll come with you to Cuba, but we’ll have the Garland money with us.’

Algir glared at him.

‘I wouldn’t take you with me to hell! Every cop in the country could spot you, you stinking freak! Going around with you would be like hanging a neon sign around my neck.’

Edris was so enraged he could scarcely breathe. With sweat running down his face, he somehow managed to control himself.

‘Well, all right,’ he said, his voice strangled. ‘Then we split up, but we’ll get the Garland take first.’

‘Not me!’ Algir said. ‘I’m leaving this afternoon.’

Edris looked at him for a long moment, his little eyes red with hate, then he realized he just had to persuade this gutless creep to cooperate and he quickly decided to play on Algir’s greed.

‘Okay then, if you feel that way about it, then I’ll take the lot.’

Algir paused in his pacing to stare at Edris.

‘What do you mean?’

‘We’re partners but if you’re running out on me, then I’m entitled to all the money I get from the Garland safe.’

‘You can’t get it, you fool! You can’t get it without me!’

‘Yeah? You’re wrong, I can make Ira bring it out. It’s in a fat envelope. All she has to do is to stick the envelope down her pants and walk out with it and she’ll damn well do it or I’ll fix her!’

‘But listen, you stupid punk,’ Algir said, his eyes uneasy now, ‘the cops will have you by tomorrow morning. Can’t you see that? If they find out Ira isn’t Norena and they will, she’ll talk, and then you’re in the crap.’