An Ace up my Sleeve

by James Hadley Chase

  She went to the open door of the bedroom.

  “Who’s there?” she called, pitching her voice high.

  Silence greeted her. She hesitated only for a moment, then lifting the gun, she aimed it at the door at the far end of the corridor and squeezed the trigger.

  The bang of the gun sounded very loud in the stillness of the villa. A tiny hole appeared in the woodwork of the door and splinters flew.

  At least, she thought, whoever it was in the villa now knew she had a gun. Bracing herself, she went down the corridor and threw the door open. There was nothing to see: only the lights, the thick royal blue carpet and the corridor leading to the front door. Again she paused to listen, but although she remained motionless for several nerve-racking minutes, she heard nothing to alarm her further.

  Still holding the gun, she went back to the bedroom. She put on her coat, her hat and gloves. She was fighting off a growing panic as she paused to look at her pale, drawn face in the mirror. Then holding the gun in her right hand and the suitcase in her left hand, leaving all the lights on, she walked warily down the corridor, opened the front door, hesitated for a moment, then switched on the lights to the garage. She put down her suitcase and locked the front door. Turning, she walked swiftly to the security of the Mercedes.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  In her luxury suite at the Eden hotel, Helga had just finished dressing for dinner when the telephone bell buzzed.

  She looked at the telephone for a brief moment, frowning. She wasn’t expecting any calls. With Larry still on her mind, anything unexpected made her uneasy. As the buzzer sounded again, she crossed the room and picked up the receiver.

  “Is that you, Helga?”

  Her eyebrows lifted. She would know that booming voice anywhere. There was a time when Jack Archer went in for amateur theatricals. He had often said that only two men in the world had real actor’s voices: Sir Laurence Olivier and himself.

  “Why, Jack… this is a surprise. I’ve only been here an hour.”

  “How are you? Did you have a good run from Bonn?”

  “Not bad… a lot of snow. Where are you, Jack?”

  “I’ve just blown in. I’m in the bar.”

  “You mean you’re in the hotel?”

  “That’s it. I flew in from Lausanne yesterday. You said you would be arriving today… remember?”

  She now did remember she had written to him from Paradise City giving the date of her arrival, but she had forgotten. She stiffened, thinking what an escape she had had. Suppose he had come to the villa in search of her and had walked in when she and Larry were there!

  “I was planning to drive over to Lausanne tomorrow and see you,” she said, forcing her voice to sound casual.

  “I have other business here, Helga, so I thought I’d save you the trip. Are you alone?”

  “Of course.”

  “Well, how about dinner together?”

  “Yes… lovely.” She looked at her watch, noticing her hand was a little unsteady. The time was 20.35. “I’ll come right down.”

  “In the bar.”

  She hung up and stood motionless for some moments. Every six months she went to Lausanne and she and Archer checked through Rolfe’s investments. Their intimacy had died abruptly on the day Helga had married. Neither of them ever referred to it. They had now an easy friendship and a good business relationship. Archer had a flair for investment Sometimes he was a little reckless, and it was then that Helga put the brakes on, but this seldom happened, and when she refused one of his more reckless suggestions, he would grin at her, shrug and say, “Well, eventually it’ll be your money. If you don’t want to speculate that’s okay with me.”

  She found him sitting at a corner table, away from the sprinkling of people in the bar. He stood up and waved to her as she came in.

  She thought a little sadly that age never helps anyone. Five year ago, Archer had been one of the handsomest men she had seen off the movies. Now his straw-coloured hair was thinking and receding. He had put on too much weight. Standing over six feet, powerfully and heavily built, he still made an impressive figure, but she could no longer call him handsome. He must be five years older than herself, she thought as she smiled at him, taking his hand.

  He had already ordered her a double vodka martini, knowing her drink, and he began asking her questions about her trip as he led her to the table.

  She felt relaxed in his company. He had a soothing manner and a lot of charm: one of his major assets when dealing with the very rich. She skirted around her journey, not mentioning she had stayed at the Adlon hotel in Basle. She told him about the new car.

  “And what news of Herman?”

  She lifted her shoulders.

  “The same… always busy.”

  He looked at her thoughtfully, his bright blue eyes a little probing.

  “No regrets, Helga?”

  “Don’t let’s go into that.” She finished her drink. She was not going to remember that it had been Archer who had arranged the marriage. She had put enough business his way to reward him. She was certainly not lifting the curtain on those exciting moments in his office when he used to lock the door and they had had those “quickies’ on the settee. “Let’s eat… I’m starving.”

  The dinner of finely cut smoked beef with pickled cucumbers followed by a pheasant was impeccable.

  While waiting for the dessert trolley, she said, “I didn’t know you had other clients in Lugano, Jack.”

  “A couple of old fossils.” He grinned. “I have to see them about every eighteen months. I thought it would be a good idea - save you the trip too - if I came over and did our business and theirs at the same time. Feel like working after dinner?”

  She nodded. She had nothing else to do but to worry and brood so she welcomed having him for the rest of the evening.

  “I have all the papers in my suite,” he went on. “Let’s go up after coffee… okay?”

  She hesitated. Was it wise to go to his room? Would eyebrows be raised? He saw her hesitation and immediately read her thoughts.

  They have a small boardroom here. Let’s use that,” he said. The table will make it easier to spread the papers on.”

  She smiled at him, nodding. That was another thing she liked about Archer.

  He was highly perceptive, tactful and always had a solution.

  After the dessert, he said, “Meet me in the lobby in five minutes. We can have our coffee in the boardroom.”

  Half an hour later, the table strewn with papers, the coffee pot empty, Archer paused to light a cigar.

  That about wraps it up, Helga,” he said. “Not a very good six months, but these Euro-dollar bonds are sliding. Nothing to worry about. They’ll come back. At least, they pay a hefty interest. The equities are down… but the Dow Jones has been shot to hell. Still, it could be worse. Would you like me to explain about the losses to Herman or will you do it?”

  “I’ll do it. He can’t expect to win all the time. I’d like to look at the prices to compare them with last month’s figures. How much are we down, Jack?”

  He regarded the glowing end of his cigar and lifted his heavy shoulders.

  “A damn sight less than most investors.”

  She regarded him.

  “I’m not in the least interested in other investors, Jack. How much are we down?”

  “Oh… around ten per cent. It’ll pick up on the next half year.”

  “Ten per cent!” She sat upright. “But that’s about a two million dollar loss!”

  “Yes… about that, but there’s twenty million in the kitty.” He smiled. “My two old fossils are in the hole for a thousand.” He shook his head. “In comparison, they are worse off than Herman… a lot worse off.”

  “Let me see the stock list.”

  He shrugged, opened his briefcase and took out a file.

  “Sure you want to run through all this? Could take couple of hours.” He glanced at his watch. “You must be tired.”

  �
�I’m all right’ She took the file from him and put it on the table.

  “To save time, you might initial each page as you go. I’ve initialled my copy already.” He handed her a gold Parker pen and then began to gather up the papers strewn on the table.

  Helga lit a cigarette, picked up the pen and began to go through the list of holdings. She had an excellent memory but there was such a mass of holdings she couldn’t remember the exact price of each stock or bond as it had stood six months ago, but she remembered a number of them.

  Admittedly the prices of the bonds were down, but only by two or three points. She had been expecting something much more dramatic. She turned the pages, her eyes darting down the neatly typed columns of prices.

  Archer sat in an easy chair, watching her, his cigar burning evenly.

  “There’s a page missing, Jack,” she said finally.

  “No… you have it all there.”

  She looked up sharply.

  There’s a page missing. There are at least four Eurobonds not listed: Mobile, Transalpine, National Financial, Chevron. There are equities missing too. Calcomp. Hobart.” She paused to look at the list, then went on, “CBS.”

  He smiled.

  “Whata wonderful memory you have. It’s really remarkable. Yes, they are missing. You slipped up on one: General Motors.”

  She put down the stock list.

  “Then let me have the missing page… what is this: a memory test?”

  “Do you think Herman would miss them from the list?”

  She frowned, staring at him.

  “Why, no. You know he never looks at all this. You check it… I check it… and that’s it.” She looked more closely at him. “What is all this about, Jack?”

  “Have you initialled the sheets?”

  “No, and I’m not going to until I get the missing page.”

  He stared at his cigar for a long moment, frowning slightly, then he looked up, staring at her, his pale blue eyes hard.

  “You’re not getting that, darling.”

  She leaned back in her chair.

  “Why not?”

  “Because they don’t exist any more.”

  She felt suddenly cold and a little sick. She had been in the jungle of finance long enough to sense what he was trying to tell her.

  “All right, Jack… explain.”

  “One of those things, I’m afraid,” he said and lifted his shoulders. “That Australian nickel thing… I went into it heavily… the bubble burst… and that’s it.” “You went into it heavily… what do you mean?” He made an impatient movement which he checked immediately.

  “Oh, come on, Helga! There was a great chance… a chance of a lifetime! I got in on the ground floor at $10… imagine! I held on too long… it happens. I could have got out at $120, but I just couldn’t resist hanging on. I swore I’d get out at $150 and I would have done. Then they found there was no nickel and… that was that.”

  “But where did the money come from?”

  “Where do you think? I sold these missing bonds and stocks. Now look, Helga, Herman needn’t know about this. You know he never checks anything. He’s far too busy. You initial all this stuff and he accepts it. I’m asking you to help me out of a hole. After all he’s worth around sixty million… he’ll never miss two, will he?”

  “You sold bonds and stocks?” Helga sat forward and stared at him. “But you couldn’t have! We have joint signatures on the account! What are you talking about?”

  Again he regarded the burning end of his cigar, then he looked at her, then away.

  “I always did say, Helga, you had rather an unformed signature.”

  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

  “Are you drunk?”

  “I wouldn’t mind being drunk.” He smiled his charming, sincere smile. “I’m sorry… I admit it’s a mess, but messes do happen.”

  “Are you telling me you forged my signature?”

  He hesitated and for a moment, his heavy face darkened.

  “Sounds hellish, doesn’t it? But that’s what I did.”

  “You must be out of your mind!”

  He lifted his hands.

  “I suppose I was then, but it looked so certain. I could have cleaned up three million.”

  She put her hands to her eyes. She couldn’t bear to look at him. There was a long, heavy silence, then he broke it by saying, “I’m sorry. It seemed so certain.”

  She snatched her hand away and her eyes snapped as she said furiously. “All weak, stupid, greedy, dishonest fools say that! Don’t give me that crap! You’ve broken a trust! Worse… you’ve proved yourself a thief and a forger!”

  He flinched.

  “Yes… I deserve that.”

  “How could you, Jack! How could you have done such a thing?”

  He stubbed out his cigar.

  “A mad moment… don’t you have mad moments?”

  She felt her heart skip a beat.

  “We’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you.”

  “Yes… what are you going to do?”

  “What is there to do? I must tell Herman. There is nothing else I can do. I won’t be party to this. You have done it and you must take the consequences. I’ll try to persuade Herman to accept what has happened… I’ll do that.”

  “Herman is an unforgiving, ruthless sonofabitch,” Archer said quietly. “He’s sure to prosecute. Look, Helga, for old times’ sake, won’t you give me a hand? After all we were lovers… I did fix your marriage… don’t you feel you owe me something?”

  “No, and you know it! You wanted me married to Herman to be sure of his account!”

  “Just try leaning over backwards a little. Look, suppose you tell him I suggested investing in Australian nickel. You agreed. The stock began to rise so we plunged two million into it. Suppose you tell him we were gambling on his behalf. Do you think he would buy that?”

  She hesitated. She realized she couldn’t send this man to prison: even now the memory of those ‘quickies’ was too strong. Yes, she thought she could convince Herman this had been a bad speculation that hadn’t come off. She would be contrite and promise him it would never happen again. He was certain to give her a tongue lashing but if she ate enough humble pie he would still leave her in control of his affairs, but only if she got rid of Archer. She would have to do that. From now on she would have to deal with some firm like Spencer, Grove amp; Manly, stuffy people, but highly respectable and their integrity unquestionable. She could no longer work with Archer. She could no longer trust him.

  She lit a cigarette in the effort to steady her nerves.

  “All right, I’ll persuade Herman to buy it,” she said quietly.

  “But I am going to tell him to move the account to Spencer, Grove amp; Manly. I can’t work with you in the future. You understand that?”

  “You really think Herman will buy it?” Archer sat forward, relief on his face.

  “I said so, didn’t I?”

  “Then why close the account, Helga? There’s no need to. If you’re sure he’ll buy it we are back on square A.”

  She regarded him as if he were a stranger.

  “As soon as Herman arrives I will have a letter for him to asking you to transfer all his holdings and files to Spencer, Grove amp; Manly.” She picked up the list of securities and got to her feet “I don’t ever want to see you again,” and she walked to the door.

  “Helga.”

  She paused and turned. He was lighting another cigar.

  “Well?”

  “Is that your last word?”

  “Yes,” and she reached for the door handle.

  “Don’t run away,” he said, a bite in his voice. “We still have things to talk about.” He paused, staring at her. “How did you find Larry? He’s quite a character, isn’t he?”

  The Dean of the School of Law where Helga had taken her doctorate had said among many other things that there was a time to bluff and a time to be intelligent enough to kn
ow when not to bluff.

  Helga had accepted this wisdom during her Law years. When she had bluffed, she had bluffed with a finesse of an expert poker player but when the situation was such she always accepted the inevitable.

  The fibre of steel in her would not allow Archer to see the shock his words had on her. Her face expressionless, she turned around, came away from the door and sat down.

  “What else is there to talk about?” and even she was surprised how steady her voice sounded.

  He regarded her and genuine admiration showed in his eyes.

  “I always thought you had guts, Helga, and now I know it for sure. You took that sucker punch like a champion.”

  “What else is there to talk about?” she repeated woodenly.

  “Me and you.” He leaned back in the armchair and drew on his cigar. “You see, Helga, I can’t let the account get away from me. You don’t imagine I would forge your signature and take all that money from Herman unless I was in a desperate fix? I’ve not only lost Herman’s money, but I have lost my own. Things are bad at the office. The fact is so many of the old fossils have died recently, so many accounts have come to a grinding halt since the new US. tax laws that we’re scarcely ticking over. Herman’s account is about the one thing that keeps us solvent.”

  “You should have thought of that before you turned thief and forger,” Helga said harshly.

  “I had no alternative. I was in too deep. It was either sink or swim… I’m not the sinking type.”

  “That I can believe.”

  “The fact is I don’t intend to lose the account. You and I are going to continue in partnership, and I’ll tell you for why. We are both cheats: I am a thief and forger and you are a whore. Neither of us would get any mercy from Herman. If he found us out, we wouldn’t survive. You would lose sixty million dollars and I’d go to jail. That’s why we are going to remain partners.”

  She sat very still.

  “What are you threatening me with?” she asked.