Lynda Plante - The Talisman

BB couldn’t quite follow. ‘You fix each ampoule? That’s what you’re doing? What’re you using, chippings? Real stones?’

Edward waved his hand around at the already tagged samples. He gave a wink, tapped his nose. ‘It will take me years to “gather” this lot, but I will gradually take them into the lab, the lab of a well-thought-of company with a big name. They will receive them carton by carton, so it will look like I’m working on each one, one at a time. They will have no idea I’ve doctored them, right? With me? I’ll need to be taking trips out to mines every day, and I need gold, diamonds and gems to grind and roughen. It will cost every penny you can borrow or beg. You will have to borrow more from the banks, do you understand?’

BB’s brain began to tick. It was a wild, far-fetched scheme, but Edward’s enthusiasm was contagious. ‘You’ve got to get inside one of the major companies, the only way to pull it off, need them behind you.’

Edward knew the old boy was hooked, and he grinned. ‘Richard will get me in, I know it. If he’s already working for De Veer’s he may be able to get me an introduction, added to which I have a first-class honours degree from Cambridge, plus my professor is sending me glowing reports — reports, BB, on my work at Cambridge, which is... the theory I’ve just told you. But I have to gain authenticity from one of the big companies. So, I want to get Richard out here, and fast.’

‘Consider it done — partner.’

Johnny was shaving when Dora took in his coffee, put it down and asked him if he remembered one of those rich fellas from the other night, the one with the Greeks?

‘I dunno! What other night? What the hell are you talking about?’

She sat on the edge of the bath and said that the reason she was asking was she had been asked to set up a game in the club — a real private one for high stakes, on a Sunday when the place was closed.

Johnny was immediately alert, she could see just by the way he continued shaving and said nothing.

‘Only that Sunday I gotta go to Brighton, it’s Hylda’s birthday party. You know Hylda, girl with the long blonde hair and the lisp... Well, she’s having her twenty-first, I can’t get out of it.’

Johnny rinsed his face, patted it dry with the towel. ‘What you want me to do?’

She told him the most important thing was that he didn’t even think about playing. These were big money boys with a lot of cash to throw around. ‘What you say, Johnny, you around Sunday?’

He was so annoying she could have hit him. He combed his hair and said he might be, he wasn’t sure.

‘All right then, I’ll get Arnie in to see to it. I dunno, I don’t ask you to do much, but I would have thought you could at least show some interest. By the way, is it true you took cash out of the till again last night... Johnny, I’m talking to you.’

He sprayed her cologne over himself and admired his new suit in the mirror.

‘Johnny, will you answer me?’

He tossed her comb on to the bed and went out into the hall. ‘I hear yer! I hear yer, what else yer want from me? Any more bits of fucking paper yer want me ter sign? You can go stuff yourself! You got that ape Arnie counting out all the money I take out. So I owe yer a few quid, so fucking what, it’s my club. Anyone calls for me, tell ‘em I’ve gone away, fend ‘em off, will yer. And Sunday I’ll be there, I’ll be there.’

She stopped him at the door and made him promise not to play, and then he slammed out. She dived for the phone. ‘Alex? Alex, he’s hooked, I know it. Can you set the game up, you sure? This Sunday, yeah, I’ll have it for you, I will, no problem.’

Dora dressed quickly, went straight to the bank and made an arrangement to withdraw twenty-five thousand pounds, saying she would be in to collect it on Friday. Alex was waiting for her, and she stood on tiptoe and kissed him, then drove off in her little white sports car.

The three Greeks looked smart, and each carried a briefcase. Alex met them outside the club and gave Arnie the signal to open up and let them in.

Arnie switched all the lights on as they passed through. The smell of stale booze and cigarettes clung to the flock walls and, empty, the place seemed seedy. It surprised Alex as he had only ever seen it in full swing, with flowers on all the tables and a bevy of pretty girls. Now in the cold light of a Sunday afternoon it disgusted him.

No sooner had they entered when George Windsor arrived. He gave Alex a look, and behind him came two girls dressed in evening clothes to serve the drinks. There was no sign of Johnny Mask.

‘Where the hell is he?’

Johnny waltzed in and apologized for being late but he had been busy. Alex could see he had already been drinking. Johnny stared hard at Alex and moved to his table, put an arm round him. ‘Hey, Alex, you son of a bitch, how ya doin’? Jesus, truck run over yer face or what? Never would’ve known ya.’ Then he pulled Alex to one side and whispered, ‘You playin’ with these wops?’

Alex assured him he was, then smiled and nudged Johnny and said after all he was an accountant now, and had made a few bob. Johnny seemed satisfied, and Alex caught the gleam in his eye as the Greeks dug deep in their pockets and laid thick wads of notes on the table. Alex joined them, and the girls moved around the table with drinks.

New packs of cards were ready on the table. Alex took his seat and, like the Greeks, took out a wad of money. Johnny perched on a bar stool, poured himself a Scotch, and watched the seal on a pack of cards being broken and the game begin.

Alex was up by two thousand, the men hardly speaking except to bid, and Johnny’s fingers began to itch. The phone rang and Arnie answered, then looked across to the table. ‘Call for you, Alex, important, sorry.’

As he passed Johnny, Alex spoke to him out of the side of his mouth. ‘I thought these guys were supposed to be sharp, I’m creamin’ them.’

The game went quiet, the men covered their cards. Alex swore into the phone, looked back at the table, then slammed the phone down.

‘I got problems, I got to walk — I’m sorry about this.’

The Greeks argued among themselves, and Johnny moved to the table.

‘No need to break the game, I’ll take his place if you agree. Alex, what you say?’

Alex put it to the men and they refused, saying they would need to see the colour of Johnny Mask’s cash. They knew about him, about the markers, and they were not interested. They wanted his money on the table.

Johnny swore and went to the till, sprang it open. It was cleaned out. As planned, Alex took Johnny aside and told him to get the papers from the safe in the office. He could put his share of the club up as a stake, and Alex would lend him cash in return. ‘It’s just between you an’ me, Johnny, up to you. It’s your choice, only I got to go.’

Johnny signed his half share of the club to Alex, and was handed twenty thousand pounds.

Alex walked out of the club as the game proceeded. He gave Arnie a look, and George walked with Alex to the exit. ‘Gawd almighty, he fell for it, he’s off his rocker.’

One hour later, Johnny was five thousand up, flushed and drinking steadily. He was playing well, and he was beginning to raise the bidding higher and higher. The Greeks won, lost, won, lost, making sure that Johnny believed he was on a winning streak. They had been playing for over two hours when the game began to move into really high stakes. The stakes were being pushed up by Johnny himself. He started the bidding on one hand at five thousand... Slowly the tables turned on him. The Greeks were good, and although Arnie watched closely he couldn’t see how they were doing it. He would never play a game in one of their joints, that was for sure. They were wiping Johnny out, hand by hand. As Johnny began to panic, he doubled up his betting to try to recoup his losses.