The sweat was now running in trickles down Joe Davriosh’s plump body; his shirt was showing damp patches on each side of his tie.
‘Now, Reggie, do me a favour –’
‘I beg your pardon?’ Statler said softly.
‘Eh? Oh – Mr. Statler, then. Listen, don’t be ridiculous. How can I reel numbers off the top of my head? We been operating together a few months now, already, a few months! Do you expect me to remember every penny of expenses, for Chrissakes?’
‘Yes,’ Statler said.
‘Then I’ll have to go and get my books,’ Davriosh muttered wretchedly. He was sitting lower in his chair now, so that the shoulders of his jacket pushed up against his ears. He looked like a frightened penguin.
‘No need,’ Statler said. ‘I can tell you.’
He hadn’t even turned his head, let alone made any gesture, but Malplackett was there, reaching for a sheet of paper on the desk and coming round to put it on Davriosh’s knee. He looked up at him and licked his lips and then, hands fumbling a little, reached in his breast pocket for his glasses.
He took his time putting them on the end of his nose and then looking at the sheet of paper and the other three men waited impassively for him. They saw his face go whiter and he looked up and protested loudly. ‘Are you crazy? I’ve had nothing like so much!’
‘Oh, yes you have. You and your agents, Mr. Davriosh,’ Statler said, his voice still soft. ‘I have receipts, signatures, all the paper work. Do you want to examine it?’
‘Yes!’ Davriosh began to bluster. ‘You must be crazy! I needed money to buy that freehold of course, Bosquet’s freehold, and that was big numbers, very big numbers, but you said to me there was no problem, to get it no matter what. So I did. The rest I know nothing about –’
‘Know or not, Mr. Davriosh, it was all disbursed in your name.’ Statler shifted his gaze and looked at Cord who was still sitting looking as bored as he had ever since he sat down. ‘Right, Mr. Cord?’
‘Oh, indeed right,’ he said readily, and smiled with great charm.
‘What do you mean, right?’ Davriosh turned and glared at him. ‘What the hell are you talking about?’
‘The money you sent me to Mr. Statler to get. As your agent. To pay the various expenses you incurred on his behalf. You arranged for me to sign, remember?’
‘No!’ Davriosh shouted. ‘I made no arrangements –’
‘No?’ Cord lifted his brows. ‘Oh, I understood you had. Certainly when I told Mr. Statler I was acting as your agent he seemed content to give me what you had asked for.’
‘I never asked for nothing!’ Davriosh howled. ‘For Chrissakes, man, you know that! I made a private deal with you to work for me, sure, but I never said you should come here and give Mr. Statler a load of lies – and –’
‘You told me you had people working with you,’ Statler said. ‘Remember? You told me they were not able to be as forthcoming as you’d like – I think those were the words – but that they would definitely deliver what we wanted. So, when this man arrives here and tells me, with chapter and verse, what he is to do under your instruction – why!’ He smiled suddenly, a rictus that showed his teeth alarmingly.
‘Why, I believed him. He knew all the facts, you see. Why shouldn’t I believe him?’
‘Because he’s a bastard,’ Davriosh said passionately. ‘A lying, cheating bastard –’
‘Much as you are yourself, Mr. Davriosh,’ Statler said and again produced that rictus. ‘Which means of course that any arrangement I made to employ you is null, void and dead. Except for what you owe me.’
‘Owe you?’ Davriosh said and had to cough, for his voice had become very hoarse. ‘How can I owe you?’
‘Very easily. That money there –’ He pointed to the sheet of paper Davriosh was still holding in his hand. ‘That’s an account of what you owe me.’
‘But Cord’s had most of this!’ Davriosh said, still hoarsely and now he turned and stared at Cord. ‘You can’t deny that –’
‘On your behalf,’ Cord said calmly. ‘All of that money was spent according to your instructions.’
‘You liar,’ Davriosh shouted again and Statler sighed.
‘I don’t want recriminations, gentlemen,’ he said. ‘Just my money. Have your sordid arguments elsewhere. Just give me my money. I want your account of how it was spent and the return of it.’
‘The freehold in Little Vinegar Yard,’ Davriosh said. Now he was sweating again; his face gleamed in the rich lighting of the big office, reflecting redly the carpets and deep upholstery of the furniture. ‘And people had to be softened up, paid for making efforts –’ He pointed suddenly at Malplackett who had returned to stand behind Statler. ‘He had money for that –’
‘I know about that,’ Statler said. ‘And that was earned. I have no concern about that. If you look carefully at that sheet of paper, Mr. Davriosh, you’ll see that I’ve been more than fair. I’ve deducted what I regard as reasonable expenses. The money you paid to Edward here was reasonable. The money we paid to Mr. Cord was not. That you’ll have to return. Mr. Cord, do you hear me?’
‘I hear you,’ Cord said and smiled. ‘How are you going to make me?’
‘There are ways, I imagine,’ Malplackett said, speaking loudly for the first time. ‘I’m sure we can work them out between us –’
‘I wouldn’t bother.’ Cord got to his feet. ‘I really wouldn’t bother, Mr. Malplackett. There are too many problems I could make for all of you.’ He turned to go, and then stopped at the door. ‘You, for example, Mr. Statler. I was a colleague of David Whitehouse, you know, once. You didn’t? Ah well, these things take time to come to the surface, don’t they? Yes, a colleague of Mr Whitehouse. So upright a gentleman! So concerned for the welfare of other people, hmm? I don’t think you’ll worry unduly about the trifling sums I’ve used on your behalf, Mr. Statler, will you? You’re so like him – as I recall – so concerned for others’ welfare – it positively brings tears to the eyes. I heard about the Elderly Dependents’ Fund you both ran. Hmm? So lucrative. So, as regards this money – well, you can come down on Davriosh there for it, if you like. He hasn’t got it, and squeezing him will be like squeezing a lemon. So, all you’ll get is sour juice no one can swallow and a dead lemon. But still, you can do it if you want to. But leave me out of it. I’ve done well enough so I shan’t make any trouble. I could, of course. Not only Whitehouse, but the man Hersh, you see. Public servant, bribes and blackmail? Nasty, nasty stuff if it gets into the press. You wouldn’t like that. But there, it was done on your behalf, wasn’t it? So you see, there really isn’t any more for me to talk about. I’ll be on my way and leave you to Mr. Davriosh, for all the good that’ll do you. Good morning, gentlemen.’ And the door swished open and closed softly behind him.
There was a long silence and then Statler said, ‘Hersh?’
Malplackett leaned forward and spoke softly into his ear as Joe Davriosh sat and stared blankly at the piece of paper in front of him. The figures danced on the page, making as much sense to him as rows of telephone numbers. How much had Cord got out of this man in his name? And how had he managed to persuade him to part with it? He frowned then as slowly some of his fear began to leak away and his paralysed wits began to operate, creakily, but at least a little.
Malplackett had stopped his whispering and Statler was sitting gazing with unfocussed eyes across the room, clearly thinking.
‘How did you let that bastard con you this way?’ Davriosh demanded. ‘It’s all very well to go on at me about it, but me – I was a babe unborn in this! Sure, I hired the man to work for me, but I didn’t send him round here! Would I do anything so bloody daft? If I wanted to get money out of you that way, I’d have bloody done it on my own behalf, I wouldn’t let a shit like Cord do it –’
‘Mr. Cord will be dealt with separately.’ Statler spoke with a sharp decision. ‘I need time to think about him. All right, Davriosh. I believe you. It was his doing. Now I know a litt
le more about him –’
‘What do you know?’
Statler shifted his eyes and stared at him. ‘That’s none of your affair, since it has nothing to do with my present activities. Just leave it at that. I know more now and I’ll deal with Mr. Cord in my own way and in my own time. Now, as for you, Mr. Davriosh –’
He sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers and looked over the top of them at Davriosh who tried to grin at him.
‘I always thought you were a reasonable man, Reggie,’ he said and even essayed a laugh. ‘Now I know it. You know who can be trusted, and who can’t. You can spot a villain and –’
‘Yes, yes,’ Statler said. ‘Leave out the chat. We don’t need it. Now, we deal with you, Mr. Davriosh. You told me that you had made all the necessary searches on the Little Vinegar Yard properties?’
Davriosh stared blankly. ‘Eh?’
‘One of the jobs you used this man Cord on was to make the searches on the properties. To see how they might be encumbered.’
‘Well?’
‘You told me they were freeholds. That they could be purchased by me or my agents.’
‘And so they can be. I bought one for you, dammit –’
‘As to who that belongs to, we’ll come back to that point. I am more interested in the Hallash property.’
‘I know. We got it in hand to get it for you. The man Hersh – I have to tell you I knew about that. It wasn’t my idea and I didn’t like it, but it seemed – well, I knew about it.’ He shot a malevolent glance at Malplackett. ‘He knew the most of course –’
‘Yes,’ Statler said. ‘I know that now. That will have to be sorted out.’ He turned his head. ‘Perhaps you’d better see to that this morning, Edward. As soon as Mr. Davriosh here leaves us. Ten minutes, no more. See to it that the man is called off. I want none of that sort of business round me. It’s not my style any more. Whatever it was once, it isn’t now. Call him off, this morning.’
‘Yes, Mr. Statler,’ Malplackett said and, outrageously, winked at Davriosh over Statler’s shoulder. ‘At least there was no money involved there.’
‘That’s what was wrong with the whole damned affair,’ Statler said with sudden violence and the other two men were at once silent, very aware of the power inside that apparently insigificant little body. ‘Money’s the only clean thing there is.’
They were silent for a long moment and then Malplackett moved forwards. ‘See to it, then,’ Statler repeated curtly and then looked again at Davriosh. ‘Now, you – you told me the other property is unencumbered.’
‘It is,’ Davriosh said. ‘I mean, its ownership is complicated, but Cord there –’ He blinked. ‘You may have to get him back,’ he said uneasily. ‘He’s the key to getting that place, you see. He has his hands on a share of the property and he’s the one putting the pressure on the other, especially the woman – Laura – especially on her. That’s why Hersh –’
‘You don’t have to spell it out,’ Statler said. ‘I’m ahead of you. I’ve been ahead of you this past week. Ever since I discovered what you failed to discover about that property.’
‘What?’
‘It has a Grade Two listing on it,’ Malplackett said and smiled sweetly at him. ‘The Vinegar Trust, you know – the newsletter. I discovered it for a little article I was doing for the newsletter. There’s panelling in the upper rooms and on the staircase that she had done over a while ago and the result was that they slapped a preservation order on the place. I found that out and I thought – well, someone ought to tell Mr. Statler about it –’
‘And you came straight here and told him yourself,’ Davriosh said bitterly. ‘Even though it was me who brought you into this, and me who was paying you.’
‘Well, yes,’ Malplackett said and smiled widely. ‘Why talk to the monkey when you can speak to the organ grinder, hmm? I thought it might be quicker –’ And he smiled down at Statler’s head. ‘And he thought me interesting enough to employ direct.’
‘Great to be you,’ Davriosh said savagely. ‘So now what can we do? How do we get that bloody listing taken off so we can go ahead?’
‘We don’t,’ Statler said and pulled a sheet of paper towards him and bent his head to look at it. ‘I’ve got a better site. Edward has found me a better place for my building. The other end of Greek Street, near the Square. Very nice, indeed. Just a tailor to clear out. The adjoining buildings are already mine, and the Levy place is big enough to make it a prime site when I get him out. When Malplackett gets him out.’ He glanced at the man who smiled confidently back at him. ‘So this deal is off. I want my money back, Mr. Davriosh. The deal’s off.’
Davriosh’s eyes had dilated. ‘You want it – how can I give it back? You said I didn’t have to –’
‘You don’t have to deal with Cord’s debts to me. I’ll deal with him on my own. But your own debt, Mr. Davriosh, that I want settled.’
‘What debt have I got? What sort of –’ He began to bluster and Statler sighed gently.
‘The other property in Little Vinegar Yard, Mr. Davriosh. I don’t want it, do I? It’s no use to me. Sell it and return me the money. You call yourself an estate agent, don’t you?
So, sell the place, return my money and our dealings are at an end. That’s all, thank you, Mr. Davriosh. Good morning! Malplackett, get on to that Hersh man, will you? I want that affair stopped at once. Now go away, both of you. I have work to do.’
37
‘I’ve never done business with you, Mr. Davriosh, and I don’t intend to start now,’ Laura said tartly. ‘I don’t like being rude, but you give me no option. I’ve told you I have no interest in listening to anything you have to say, so I’d be grateful if you would leave me now as I have a great deal to do.’ And she turned on her heel and marched into her restaurant, and closed the door with a little snap.
But that didn’t stop him. He opened the door and came in right behind her and she stood very still in the middle of the floor and called loudly and urgently, ‘Angie!’
There was a clatter from the kitchen and the old man came running in and glared round, alarmed.
‘Whatsa matter? What happened? Did you –’ He saw Davriosh then and stopped. ‘What is it, Mizz Horvy?’
‘This man is making a nuisance of himself,’ Laura said, still loudly, and moved away, going behind Angie. However brave her words, she was shaking inside. The man had been so urgent, when he’d come puffing into the Yard where she had been picking over the plants in the new trough that she had decided looked pleasant against the outside of the window, that he had alarmed her a great deal. She had backed away from him, but the more she had backed away the more urgent and even incoherent he had become. She had tried to understand what he wanted but his words had come tumbling out so fast and had been so hard to follow that the only thing to do was get rid of him. That he wanted to sell her something was clear; that she didn’t want to buy whatever it was was equally clear.
The phone rang as Angie moved forwards threateningly and she muttered under her breath and for a moment considered ignoring it; but the lunchtime bookings had not yet all come in and business, after all, was always business.
‘Hmm?’ she said into the phone as Angie began talking to Davriosh in a low but very dogmatic voice and she put her other hand over her ear so that she could hear more clearly. And her face lifted into a smile as she listened.
‘Yes,’ she said after a moment. ‘I think I can find you a table. How many? Hmm? No, of course you can come on your own. What? Well, it all depends. I can’t usually sit down at lunchtime and pretend I’m a customer. But if I get the chance – what? Oh, you can hear that? It’s rather odd. A bit frightening, actually. It’s Joe Davriosh making a nuisance of himself. What? No, I don’t suppose you know him –’
She turned her body so that her back was to the men in the middle of the restaurant. Unpleasant as Davriosh was she couldn’t bring herself to say bad things about him while he could actually hear her.
‘He’s a nasty, greasy, little estate agent. I’ve never liked him and I try never to take bookings from him though he’s a pushy devil and sometimes I can’t help myself. What? Oh, he wants to sell me something. I don’t know – I wouldn’t buy a box of matches from him. But he’s being very – I don’t know. Unpleasant. What? Well, not really frightened. Well, perhaps I was, a bit. But Angie’s here and – No! Joel – don’t be silly! You don’t have to! I can cope perfectly well – Joel. Joel –’ And she jiggled the telephone, and then made a face and hung up.
‘Mizz Horvy –’ Angie began but she shook her head at him and turned at once to Davriosh.
‘Listen, Mr. Davriosh. I’ve told you I don’t want you here. And there is someone coming round from over the street to get you out. If you don’t listen to him as well as to Angie, then I’ll call the police. You hear me? I don’t want you here.’
‘Listen Mizz Horvy, I think you might want to listen to him after all,’ Angie said uneasily. ‘I mean he’s got something important to tell you – you should hear it –’
‘Nothing he says can be of the least importance to me, Angie,’ she said firmly. ‘I don’t listen to people who push and – and well, I don’t want to know. Now, are you going, Davriosh, or are you waiting till Mr. Coplin gets here and makes you go?’
‘Coplin?’ Angie said and scowled. ‘That man lives here these days. Ain’t he got no work to do?’
Laura looked at him briefly and felt her face redden. Angie was always protective and tended to get a bit jealous when she paid any attention to people outside the restaurant and its staff. He had clearly hated Philip Cord and had made no effort to hide the fact. It was his disappearance from the scene that had made Angie so much more equable about the rape that was about to be committed on his beloved kitchen. But it was ridiculous of him to be jealous of Joel Coplin. Just a friend, dammit, she told herself; and then repeated it. Just a friend. She wasn’t sure, though, that she believed it.
The door clattered and Joel came in. He was in his shirt sleeves which were rolled up his arms and his tie was hanging loose round his neck.
Lunching at Laura's Page 37
