Knock, Knock! Who's There?

by James Hadley Chase

  Sammy stiffened.

  “You really mean that, Mr. Johnny?”

  “Have I ever let you down? You check the bus station and if it’s clear, you’ll get six thousand… that’s a promise.”

  Sammy hesitated.

  “But suppose it ain’t clear?”

  “Then you keep on checking and as soon as it’s clear, you’ll get the money.”

  Again Sammy hesitated. Six thousand dollars! Cloe would get her abortion! His goddamn brother would be in the clear and he’d have money back in his steel box!

  “Okay, Mr. Johnny, I’ll do it.”

  “I’ll call you this time tomorrow,” and Johnny hung up.

  Sammy was shaking with fear, but if he could get hold of six thousand dollars all his troubles would be over! And when Mr. Johnny made a promise, it was a promise.

  Putting on his peak cap, he left his apartment and walked fast to the garage. Why was Mr. Johnny so anxious to know if the bus station was being watched? Sammy cringed. It could mean only one thing, but he refused to let his mind dwell on it.

  He drove Massino to his office.

  “Get home pronto,” Massino said. “Mrs. Massino has shopping to do. We’ll be going out tonight. She’ll tell you about it.” He paused to look at Sammy, seeing his grey complexion and the sweat glistening on his face. “What’s the matter with you?”

  “Nothing, boss,” Sammy said, cringing. “I’m fine, boss.”

  Massino grunted, then strode across the sidewalk into his office building.

  Sammy looked across at the Greyhound station, then after a long hesitation, he got out of the Rolls.

  As Massino entered his office, he found Andy standing at the window.

  “Let’s get at it,” Massino barked. “Have you got…?” He stopped as Andy raised his hand, then beckoned to him. Frowning, Massino joined him at the window. He saw Sammy crossing the street, look furtively right and left, hesitate, then enter the bus station.

  “What’s that big bastard doing?” Massino growled. “I told him to get back right away to my wife.”

  “Watch it,” Andy said quietly.

  There was a long delay, then Sammy came out of the bus station, again looked furtively to right and left, then he crossed the street, got in the Rolls and drove away.

  “So what?” Massino demanded.

  He could see by Andy’s expression that he had just seen something he didn’t understand but Andy did.

  “He looked like a dip, didn’t he?” Andy said. “He was scared.”

  “That’s right. I asked him what was the matter. He was sweating like a pig… so what?”

  Andy sat down by Massino’s desk.

  “All along I’ve thought Bianda wasn’t working alone. I was sure someone helped him steal the money. I thought it was Fuselli. I never thought of Sammy.” Massino grew still, his eyes glittering.

  “Bianda has worked with Sammy for years,” Andy went on. “When you start to think about it, it slicks out like a boil. It’s my bet Sammy is in contact with Bianda. The money’s over there, Mr. Joe, in one of those lockers and Sammy is checking to see if we’re still covering the lockers. That’s my reading. Bianda had to have someone to work with… it’s my bet Sammy rushed the two bags over to the locker while Bianda rushed back to establish his alibi.”

  Massino sat down, his face congested with rage.

  “Get Ernie and Toni to pick up that sonofabitch and bring him here. I’ll talk to him! I’ll smash him to a pulp!”

  “No,” Andy said quietly. “We want Bianda and the money. So we set a trap. This afternoon, you and me will take a drive uptown and with Sammy listening you’ll tell me you’ve heard from Luigi that Bianda is now in Havana and you’ve kissed the money goodbye. We then call off the boys watching the lockers so when Sammy checks again he finds the coast clear. He’ll tell Bianda and he’ll come back.” Andy stared at Massino. “All we need is Toni sitting up here with a target rifle and a silencer.”

  “I want that bastard alive.”

  “It’s better to have him dead and the money back, isn’t it?”

  Massino thought about this.

  “Maybe.”

  “More than maybe, Mr. Joe. We don’t have to pay the Big Man. We handle this ourselves. It’ll save us a lot of money.” Massino showed his teeth in a savage grin.

  “Now you’re using your head.” He patted Andy’s arm. “At least I can take care of that big bastard.” He brooded for a moment, his face savage. “And the whore.”

  ELEVEN

  The Greyhound bus had dropped them at the Brunswick bus station. Johnny had gone to the information desk and asked the girl for a decent, cheap hotel.

  She was a pretty little thing with blonde curls and long, false eyelashes and she was helpful.

  “You could call me biased,” she said, “but my uncle runs the Welcome hotel. It’s thirty dollars a day, everything included and the food’s wonderful. That’s for the two of you.” She fluttered her eyelashes first at Freda, then at him. “Honest, you’ll be happy there.”

  “Okay and thanks,” Johnny said. “Where do I find it?”

  “Third on the left up Main Street: it’s not far.” Carrying their bags and with Freda at his side, Johnny walked up Main Street. He was a little worried about the price. He had no idea how long they would have to stay at the hotel.

  But when they were shown into the big room, with a double bed, two comfortable arm chairs, a shower room and a colour T.V. set, Johnny ceased to worry.

  They both took showers, then got on the bed.

  They had spent the rest of the afternoon in each other’s arms. Around 19.30, they went down to the restaurant and enjoyed a good meal.

  Johnny was pleased to see Freda was much more relaxed and even gay. They watched T.V. until midnight, then went to bed. Neither of them spoke of the Mafia nor of the money, consciously enjoying this comfort, and desperately clinging to what they both knew was an interval free of danger.

  The following morning, Johnny called Sammy. Freda, sitting up in bed, listened. When he hung up, they looked at each other.

  “We’ll know this time tomorrow,” Johnny said. “Do you think it’ll be all right?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine.” He got back on the bed. “Baby, I

  want my boat. Do you mind?”

  “Of course not. I want it too.” She put her hand on his. “I want it for you because I love you.”

  Later, as he was dozing off, she said, “They’ll never find us, will they?”

  What was the use, after warning her, in telling her they could never escape? .What was the use of telling her they were buying time? But he couldn’t lie to her. In silence, he turned his hand to grip hers.

  He felt her shiver and he knew she had got the message.

  “Love me,” she said, pulling him on to her. “Make me forget.”

  The day drifted by. They went down to the restaurant for lunch. They returned to their room and watched a ball game on T.V. They went down to the restaurant for dinner, then returned to their room. They watched T.V. until after midnight.

  Johnny didn’t sleep much. He kept thinking of Massino. He was aware that Freda was having nightmares. Twice, she cried out, but by putting his hand on hers, he stilled her cries.

  Soon after 07.30, he called Sammy.

  “What’s happening?”

  “I got news,” Sammy said, his voice excited. “Mr. Joe is sure you’re in Havana. He said he’s kissed you good-bye.”

  Johnny’s heart gave a little jump.

  “How do you know that?”

  “I had to drive Mr. Joe and Mr. Andy up town. Mr. Joe was in a terrible mood: cursing and swearing. He told Mr. Andy this Mr. Luigi had telephoned. This gentleman said you were now in Havana and there was nothing more he could do. He said the money was gone.” A pause, then Sammy asked, “You’re not in Havana, are you, Mr. Johnny?”

  “Never mind where I am. Look, Sammy, check the bus station. I must know if the boys
are still there. Will you do that?”

  “Yeah, I’ll do it.”

  “I’ll call you back. When can I get you?”

  “It’s my night off. I’ll be right here at five.”

  “I’ll call you just after five.”

  “And, Mr. Johnny, you still mean it about the six thousand bucks? I’m worrying about it: Cloe’s giving me no peace.”

  “You’ll get it. I told you: it’s a promise.”

  When he had hung up, he told Freda what Sammy had said. They looked at each other.

  “You know something, baby?” Johnny said, smiling at her. “I think you’ve saved us. It was your brainwave to have told them I was heading for Havana. I’d never have thought of it. This could be our break. If the locker isn’t guarded and I’ll know this evening, then we can get the money.”

  “Oh, God, Johnny! I prayed last night! I haven’t prayed for years. So what do we do?”

  “If we get the green light this evening, we hire a car and drive back to East City. We can do it in three hours. We’ll arrive at the bus station around eleven o’clock. That’s a good time. Not many people around and it will be dark. We get the money and we get out.

  “I can’t believe it!”

  “It depends if the bus station is being watched. If it isn’t, then we go.”

  “And Johnny, if they think we’re in Havana…” She paused to look at him. “Then no one will come knocking on our door.”

  “That’s it, baby.” He pulled her close to him. “No one will come knocking on our door.”

  As Sammy came out of the elevator; heading for Massino’s office, Andy appeared. He stared at Sammy’s grey, sweating face.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  Sammy ducked his head in a servile bow.

  “Just going to ask the boss if there was anything else for me to do. It’s my night off, but I just wanted to ask him.”

  Andy was sure Massino wouldn’t be able to control himself if he saw Sammy. Andy had tapped Sammy’s telephone and the conversation between Sammy and Johnny was on tape and Massino has listened to it.

  “It’s okay,” he said. “You push off. Mr. Joe’s busy right now.”

  Sammy nodded and got back into the elevator. Andy crossed to Massino’s office, entered and closed the door.

  Massino was at his desk. Leaning against the walls were Toni, Ernie, Lu Berilli and Benno. On Massino’s desk lay a .22 target rifle equipped with powerful telescopic sight and a silencer.

  “Sammy’s going home,” Andy said and went to the window. “Toni, get the rifle and come here.”

  Puzzled, Toni looked at Massino who nodded. Toni picked up the rifle and followed Andy to the open window. Andy pulled up a straight-backed chair.

  “Sit down. Look across the street. Look at the entrance to the bus station.”

  Toni did as he was told.

  “Now look through the telescopic sight,” Andy went on. “Focus on anyone.”

  Looking through the powerful sight, Toni was startled. A taxi driver, lolling against his cab and enjoying the sunshine came into focus and Toni felt he could reach out and touch his head.

  “Man!” he muttered. “Some sight!”

  “Keep watching. You’ll see Sammy in a moment. I want you to get him in focus.”

  Massino shoved back his chair and joined them at the window. They watched Sammy cross the street and pause to look around: His movements were furtive.

  “Got him?”

  “Sure. I can see the sweat on his mug,” Toni said.

  They watched Sammy edge into the bus station and disappear. They waited. After a few minutes, Sammy came out, again looked furtively around and then walked away.

  “Could you have killed him?” Andy asked as Toni lowered the rifle.

  “With this beauty? Sure! A kid of six could have knocked him off.”

  Andy looked at Massino.

  “Maybe I’d better handle this, Mr. Joe. Maybe it would be better if you were out of town.”

  Massino thought, then nodded.

  “Yeah.”

  Looking at the other men, Andy said, “So let’s get this operation set up. Sooner or later, Bianda will show.” He turned to Toni. “You and me are going to sit at this window until he shows. When he does, you blow his head off.”

  Toni drew in a sigh of relief. He had been scared he might have to face Johnny in a gun fight, but now he knew he had only to sit at the window with a target rifle, he felt he could afford a grin.

  “That’ll be a pleasure,” he said.

  “You others stay out of sight downstairs. When Toni hits this bastard, you chase across the street, grab the two bags and come back here. It’s got to be done fast. I’ve fixed it the cops will be out of the way, but not for long, so work fast.” He turned to Massino, “You like it, Mr. Joe?”

  “Yeah. You’re using your head. So okay, I’ll take a week off in Miami.” He stared at Andy. “When I get back, I expect the money in the safe and those three straightened out.”

  “That’s my planning, Mr. Joe.”

  “When you have the money, I want Sammy taken care of,” Massino said to Benno. “Take Ernie with you and smear that sonofabitch across a wall. I mean that. Smash him to bits! Take a can of gas with you. When you’ve finished smearing him, set him on fire.”

  Benno grinned.

  “Okay, boss.”

  Massino turned to Toni.

  “There’s the whore. You’re the only one who’s seen her. Take care of her. She’ll run, but keep after her. Make her suffer. You don’t work for me until you’ve found and fixed her, but you’ll get paid.”

  Toni nodded.

  “That’ll be another pleasure.”

  When Massino had left the office, Andy said, “Okay, we can relax. Sammy gets a call from Bianda in another hour. In an hour’s time, Bianda could try for the money. We have to get this organized. Bianda may be cagey. He might wait a week… so, okay, we wait a week, but any minute of that week, he could show… so we wait.”

  Waiting meant nothing to these men. They spent a third of their lives waiting.

  Andy tapped Toni on his shoulder.

  “When he shows, you have to nail him. Fluff this one and you get the treatment.”

  Toni patted the target rifle. “A kid of six…”

  The big, airy room with its double bed, its two armchairs and its T.V. set seemed to have shrunk. The traffic sounds coming through the open window seemed to have increased. Tension hung in the room like a black canopy.

  In bra and panties, Freda lay on the bed, her arm across her eyes. Johnny sat by the telephone, his eyes on his strap watch.

  “Can’t you call him now?” Freda asked, lifting her arm to look at Johnny. “For God’s sake! We’ve been waiting hours!”

  “I warned you, baby,” Johnny said gently, “this is a waiting game.” Sweat was trickling down his face. “It’s only five to five.”

  “I’ll go crazy if we have to wait much longer. All my goddamn life, I’ve had to wait for something!”

  “Who hasn’t?” Johnny wiped his face with his handkerchief.

  “Everyone is waiting for something. Take it easy, baby. Think of the boat, the sea, the sun and you and me. Think of that.”

  Her arm went back across her eyes.

  “Sorry, Johnny. I’m on edge.”

  On edge? Johnny suppressed a sigh. He looked at her, lying there, so desirable and to him, beautiful. On edge? He felt now the chill of fear. In spite of his warnings, she didn’t seem to realize what kind of jungle they were heading for.

  They waited, listening to the traffic, hearing a police whistle and in the distance, an ambulance siren. The tension in the room built up. The minute hand of Johnny’s watch crawled on. Could a minute last so long?

  “Johnny!” Freda sat up. “Please call him now.”

  “Okay, baby.”

  He picked up the receiver and dialled Sammy’s number.

  Listening to the burr-burr-burr on t
he line, he thought of the moment when he unlocked the locker and pulled the two heavy bags out and he closed his eyes. All that money!.

  Then Sammy’s voice came on the line.

  “Who’s that?”

  “Sammy? Johnny. You checked the bus station?”

  “I checked it, Mr. Johnny. There’s no one there.”

  Johnny leaned forward, his heart beginning to thump.

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yeah. I went all over it. The boys have gone.”

  “Where’s Toni?” Johnny knew Capello was the danger man.

  “I don’t reckon he’s back yet, Mr. Johnny. The boss sent him to Florida. I haven’t seen him.”

  “Okay.” Johnny thought for a moment. The way south and out of town would take him past Sammy’s place. “Around midnight, I’ll look in with the money. Be there.”

  “Six thousand, Mr. Johnny?”

  “That’s it. Be there,” and Johnny hung up. He looked at Freda who had got off the bed and was watching him. “It’s okay. They really think we’re in Havana. We’ll leave here at seven-thirty. Let’s pack. I’ll fix a Hertz car.”

  “You really mean it’s safe… you’ll get the money?”

  Johnny put his fingers into his shirt to feel his St. Christopher medal: it was a reflex action, but when his fingers felt nothing but the sweat-coated hairs of his chest, he again heard his mother’s words: as long as you wear it nothing really bad can happen to you.

  “We’re going to try, baby. Nothing in this life is safe, but we’re going to try.”

  He picked up the phone book, found the number of Hertz-rent-acar and called them. They said they would deliver a car to the hotel at 19.00.

  Freda pulled on her green trouser suit and she was doing her hair as Johnny hung up.

  “The car’s fixed,” he said, then going to his suitcase, he took out his gun and harness.

  Watching him, her eyes opened wide.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Just being careful, baby.” He smiled at her. “I don’t think we’ll need it, but one never knows.”

  “You’re frightening me, Johnny.”

  “Go on packing. This isn’t the time to be frightened… this is the time to look ahead… to the future. This time tomorrow, you and me will be worth one hundred and eighty-six thousand dollars!”