James Chase: You've Got It Coming

“For God's sake!” Harry said angrily. “That's a risk I've got to take. If we start worrying about that angle, we'll never get anywhere.”

“If they know who you are they will hunt you for the rest of your life. You will never have a moment's peace.”

“Well, so what? I can't stop them knowing who I am if I'm to handle the kite, can I? It's just one of those things.”

“Oh no, it isn't. You are going to change your appearance before you do the job. From tomorrow Harry Griffin is going to disappear. In his place, Harry Green will appear, and Harry Green will steal the diamonds. Then Harry Green will disappear and Harry Griffin will reappear. The police will be looking for Harry Green and not you.”

Harry stared blankly at her.

“I don't catch on. Let's go over that more slowly.”

“It's simple enough. Before you do the job, you will disguise yourself so no one can possibly recognize you. You will be a stranger who has no background and no friend to recognize him. When the job is done you will take off your disguise and no one will know you have done the job.”

Harry ran his fingers through his hair.

“It's a good idea, Glorie,” he said thoughtfully, “but it won't work. The success of the idea lies in disguising myself so no one will recognize me. That can't be done. Most of the guys on the airfield know me pretty well. They're certain to recognize me. I couldn't disguise myself well enough to get away with it. This is a pipe dream, Glorie.”

“Oh no, it isn't,” Glorie said. “I'll handle your make-up. I once knew a man who was one of the best make-up artists in Hollywood. I learned a lot of tricks from him. I could change your appearance so no one would know you.”

“Honest?” He leaned forward, his eyes excited. “You're not kidding?”

“I don't kid about things like this. But it won’t mean just changing your colouring and your looks. Your clothes, the way you talk, the sound of your voice, even your personality will have to be changed. A lot depends on you. How much time have we got?”

“Twenty days.”

Glorie nodded.

“We should be able to do it in that time. There's a lot to do. Tomorrow you must go to the airfield and meet your friends again. You will tell them you are going to New York to look for a job.”

Harry flushed.

“To hell with that for an idea. I don't want to See those guys again. Why should I tell them I'm going to New York?”

“You've got to! “ Glorie said sharply. “After the diamonds have been stolen, the police will begin an investigation. They will know right away it is an inside job. Sooner or later they will come across your name. They will find out you were to fly the aircraft and that you knew the diamonds were going to be on board. You will be one of their suspects. Your boss isn't going to speak well of you. That's why you must be out of town long before the robbery. You must go to New York and register at a hotel. You must be able to prove that you have been in New York, even though you drop out of sight later on. You must even get some kind of travelling job. We'll go into details later on. I want you to get the general picture of what you have to do.”

“For the love of mike, Glorie!” Harry said. “I can see the sense of this, but going to New York will cost money. It can't be done.”

“Never mind about the money just now,” Glorie said. “Just listen to me. You must make sure to make an impression on the staff of the hotel so if the police check the staff will remember you. You must then find a travelling job. It won’t be difficult if you go after one of these commission-only jobs, but you've got to get it. By then I'll be in New York. You will join me there, taking care no one sees you arrive. I'll then change your appearance and you will become Harry Green. Before you leave New York, Harry, you will write three or four letters to any of your friends. We will get hotel addresses in Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Minneapolis, and you will head each letter with one of the addresses we'll find. You will tell your friends you are travelling and enjoying yourself. I'll take these letters to each town and post them. We've got to have proof that you have been travelling and the only proof we can offer are the post marks on the letters.”

“But wait a minute . . . “ Harry began.

“Let me finish,” Glorie said. “That's your alibi taken care of.

Now you will come back here and meet Ben. Get yourself a room at some cheap hotel and show yourself. The more you show yourself and impress yourself on people the better. Whenever you get the chance brag about you being an ex-pilot and that you want a flying job. Act tough, that is the best way to be remembered. Go to one of these Photomat places and get photographed. Impress yourself on the photographer. Refuse to pay for the photographs; make a scene so he will remember you and so when he reads your description in the papers he'll give the police a copy of your photograph. Do you see what I'm getting at? If the police and the public are looking for Harry Green, they won’t be looking for you.”

Harry was gaping at her now.

“Well, who would have believed it? You're a knock-out, Glorie. This is terrific. I would never have thought of it. This way I can't fail to get away with it.”

“Please don't say that. It is so easy to make a mistake. At least it will give you a chance.”

“Of course it'll work. I'm sure of it. It's a terrific idea. But there's one point I don't agree about. I want to see Delaney before I go to New York. If he won’t play, then I'll have to think of another angle and I won’t have to go to New York.”

“You must meet him as Harry Green,” Glorie said, her voice low and tense. “You must never let him know who you are. I know Ben. He might double cross you. If the police thought that he was handling the diamonds and put pressure on him, he would give you away. You don't know him: I do. Once you get your money, you must disappear as Harry Green so that neither Ben nor the police will ever trace you. This is important. You must do what I say.”

Harry shrugged.

“Well, okay. It makes sense. So I'll meet Delaney when I come back from New York, but how am I going to get to New York — walk?” He grinned at her. “Let's face it, baby. It'll cost at least a thousand: your fare and mine to New York, and your fares to these other places, my hotel bills until I pull the job. We couldn't do it under a thousand. Where's that coming from?”

She got up and went into the bedroom, and after a few minutes she came back, carrying a small leather jewel case which she set on the table. She opened the case and took out a small diamond brooch and a gold bracelet set with sapphires. She tossed them into Harry's lap.

“We should be able to raise a couple of thousand on those,” she said. “I've kept them for this kind of a rainy day.”

Harry examined the two pieces of jewellery, then he looked at her.

“They're nice. Don't you want to keep them? Seems a pity to sell them.”

“No, I don't want them,” Glorie said woodenly. “What's the good of keeping stuff like that? When do I ever get the chance of wearing them?”

He got out of his chair and went to her.

“You hate parting with them, don't you?” he said, and took her in his arms. “Well, we need the dough now, but I'll get you something even better than these when the time comes. I promise you. Don't think I don't appreciate what you are doing for me. I love you for it, and thanks.”

She leaned against him, struggling not to cry.

“Just think of us in London, Paris and Rome,” he went on, stroking her silky, dark hair. “Think of us with all that money. Then when we're tired of travelling we'll come back here and I'll buy myself a partnership in an air taxi business, and we'll live happily ever after.”