Frost moved up to the big desk while Grandi stared up at him.
‘I am leaving now,’ Grandi said. ‘I’ve talked to Marvin. From now on, Frost, you are in charge. Marvin will do what you say. Understand?’
‘If you say so, sir,’ Frost said, startled.
‘That’s what I’m saying. You have more experience than he has. This has been explained to him. From now on you get nine hundred dollars a week.’
‘Thank you, sir,’ Frost said, stiffly.
Grandi leaned forward, his stubby finger pointing at Frost.
‘You’ll earn it! My daughter is to remain here! If anything goes wrong, I’ll make you wish you were dead! Understand?’
Frost looked into the ruthless, evil little eyes and felt himself flinch.
‘Yes, sir.’ He paused, then went on, ‘I told you . . .’
Grandi cut him short with a wave of his hand.
‘I know what you told me. My daughter stays here! Do you understand?’
Frost drew in a deep breath.
‘Yes, sir.’
Grandi swung around to Amando.
‘You hear what he said?’
‘Yes, Mr. Grandi.’
‘Right,’ Grandi made a gesture of dismissal.
‘Excuse me, sir,’ Frost said, ‘but as I am in charge now, I want to know where I can contact you.’
Grandi leaned back in his chair, staring at Frost ‘Why?’
Frost wanted to lick his dry lips, but he stopped in time.
‘In case of any emergency, sir.’
‘What emergency?’ The ruthless eyes bored into Frost. Suddenly, Frost lost his fears of this squat tycoon.
‘How the hell do I know?’ he snarled in his cop voice. ‘Anything can happen! If you want to stay out of sight, it’s your funeral, but if this guy, Amando, walks under a truck, if Marvin falls into the lagoon, if I break my goddamn neck somehow, this, to me is an emergency. You following me, Mr. Grandi?’
Grandi relaxed.
‘You have made your point, Frost.’ He scribbled on a scratch pad, tore off the sheet and shoved it across the desk. ‘Any time, you can reach me.’
Frost took the sheet, stepped back, and said, ‘Thank you, sir.’
‘I’m relying on you,’ Grandi said.
‘That you can do, sir,’ Frost said, then he walked out f of the room, and shut the door behind him.
An hour later, back in his cabin, Frost watched, through the big window, Grandi drive away in the Rolls.
He then walked to the guardroom where he found Marvin.
‘Hi, boss,’ Marvin said as Frost walked in.
‘Cut it out, Jack,’ Frost said. ‘We’re both in this racket. Don’t blame me for Grandi’s ideas. We’re here to make a living. I’m no more boss than you.’
Marvin grinned wryly.
‘Yeah . . . so let’s earn a living. So you’re in charge now. Do you have any extra ideas?’
‘The setup is sweet to me. I’m going for a swim. Remember? It’s my day off.’
‘You think about it, Mike. Maybe you could have ideas.’
Frost walked up to him and gave him a playful thump on his chest.
‘We’re organised, Jack. No problem. This fink’s just shooting off with his mouth.’
Marvin relaxed.
‘When dealing with a thug like him, anything can happen. Okay, Mike, we work together.’
Although his date with Silk was at 18.00, Frost decided there was no point in waiting, so when he left Marvin, he drove to the Ace of Spades, arriving there a little after 14.20.
The restaurant was crowded, but Umney, moving around, showing his teeth at the clients, saw Frost as he came in, and he came quickly to his side.
‘Where’s Silk?’ Frost demanded.
‘He’s busy,’ Umney said, ‘but he’ll be free in half an hour. How about some lunch, Mike?’
‘Where’s Marcia?’
‘On her back. I haven’t eaten yet. Let’s you and me have a lobster salad . . . right?’
Frost found he was hungry.
‘Okay.’
Umney led him to a side room. A waiter materialised.
‘A drink?’
‘Sure . . . gin on the rocks.’ Frost sat at the table, and looked around. In a corner, two girls were eating. One was wearing black slacks and was topless; her tiny breasts were like poached eggs. Her companion was lush, blonde and stupid looking. On the far side of the room was a fat, elderly man caressing the hand of a blond boy who was giggling.
As the waiter brought the drinks, Frost said, ‘Nice people you have here.’
‘Turds, but they have the money,’ Umney said indifferently, ‘and we are all after the money.’
‘You can say that again,’ Frost said.
The lobster salad was served.
As they began to eat, Umney said, ‘You got it fixed, Mike?’
‘I’ve got it fixed,’ Frost said.
Umney forked lobster into his mouth.
‘Lu will be glad to hear the news.’
‘Rest your mouth, Ross, I’m eating,’ Frost said.
They finished lunch in silence, then Frost pushed back his chair.
‘Go find Silk,’ he said.
Umney found Silk in the shooting range. Silk had just won three thousand dollars off a playboy who thought he was the best shot in the city until he had challenged Silk.
‘Frost’s here,’ Umney said. ‘He says he’s fixed it. He’s acting tough.’
‘They all act tough,’ Silk said, handing his pistol to Moses. ‘Let’s see what he has come up with. Where’s Mitch?’
‘Stuffing his gut . . . where else?’
Five minutes later, Frost, Silk, Umney and Goble were sitting around the table in the room overlooking the swimming pool.
The three men listened while Frost talked.
‘So it’s on,’ Frost concluded. ‘I could have a slight problem with the girl. She’s a reefer smoker. She wants to be kidnapped. Could be, at the last moment, she’ll change her mind. This is a risk we’ll have to take.’
‘So long as she neutralises the fence so we can get in,’ Silk said, ‘she can change her goddamn mind as often as she likes.’
‘Now I want the pill for Marvin,’ Frost said.
Silk produced a tiny pillbox.
‘All you have to do is drop it in his drink. Within six hours, he won’t know what’s hit him.’
‘For how long?’
‘Guaranteed for seven hours.’
‘So, I dope this drink at eight o’clock and he gets knocked out at two o’clock, and he surfaces at nine . . .right?’
‘That’s guaranteed.’
‘And Amando?’
‘Marcia will fix him. He’ll come to the surface around the same time.’
‘So, okay, let’s get down to the paperwork. I want to see the ransom note.’
Umney opened a briefcase and took from it a sheet of paper.
‘Here it is . . . it’s a draft, but if you want it changed, we’ll try again.’
The ransom note was brief:
Sign the enclosed order to the National Bank, Lugano.
You will be given instructions by telephone how to deliver this order to us. Any tricks, and you will not only go to jail for tax evasion (specimen copies of your tax frauds enclosed) but you will not see your daughter again.
Frost nodded.
‘Okay. Now how about the order to the bank he has to sign?’
Umney produced another paper. This was a letter to be signed by Grandi to the National Bank, Lugano, instructing them to transfer thirty million dollars from account No. G/556007 to account No. N/88073, Ferandi Bank, Zurich.
Frost looked at Silk.
‘What’s this 88073 account?’
‘For years, I have had a numbered account with Ferandi,’ Silk said quietly. ‘They know me, so there is no problem paying in thirty million. It’s a private bank and they deal with people who want to sweep money under the carpet: tax evasion, P
residents who don’t think they will last long, film stars . . . no problem.’
‘So the money goes into your own personal numbered account?’
‘There’s no way else to do it, but we’re all covered.’ Silk nodded to Umney who produced another paper.
Frost studied it. This was an order to Ferandi Bank to pay to each of the signatures (on production of passports) the sum of five million dollars drawn from the thirty million dollars of account G/556007, National Bank, Lugano, and to pay from this account the sum of ten million dollars to Mr. Guiseppe Vessi at his request.
‘We all sign,’ Umney said, ‘and each has a copy. When we have the girl, I telephone Grandi. I arrange to meet him at the Three Square motel which is a good meeting place with plenty of cover. Lu and Mitch will be there, but of sight.’ He paused, then went on, ‘He can’t afford to be tricky, but we have you as an inside man. If you think he’s calling the cops or acting smart, you’ll alert me. I have a gimmick here,’ he took from the briefcase a small, flat box. ‘This is a bleeper. You have this, I have another. If you think Grandi is going to act smart, all you have to do is to press this little button and my bleeper is activated, and the operation is cancelled, but to my thinking, he can’t afford to be tricky.’
‘Okay,’ Frost said. ‘So you have the signed banker’s order. What happens then?’
‘Lu flies to Zurich and checks the transfer. He gives me the green light when the money has arrived. Then we release the girl. Then when the smoke’s died down, say in a week, we three fly out and join Lu. We each take our share and split up. How do you like it?’
Frost sat still while he thought, then turned to Silk.
‘What happens if one of us dies?’
Silk’s face turned wooden.
‘Who’s talking about dying?’
‘I am,’ Frost said, then leaning forward, staring at Silk, he went on, ‘I want life insurance. There’s nothing to stop any of you three putting a bullet in me as soon as you have the banker’s order. I’m not signing anything unless there’s a clause put in this agreement. I either get it or the deal’s off.’
‘What clause?’ Silk asked.
‘If within one month from the date of Grandi’s order, any one of us doesn’t claim his share, his share goes anonymously to Oxfam.’ Frost smiled at Silk. ‘Don’t think I’m being charitable. It means it won’t be worth your while or your risk to kill me, and it won’t be worth my while or risk to kill you three. Get the idea?’
Silk laughed.
‘Okay.’ He looked at Umney. ‘Fix it the way he wants it, Ross.’
Umney shrugged, then grinned at Frost.
‘I’m getting the idea, Mike, you don’t trust any of us.’
‘You can say that again,’ Frost said, then getting to his feet, he went on, ‘I’m taking a swim. I’ll be back in an hour. Have it fixed by then.’
When he had gone, Goble said, ‘I warned you he is a smart sonofabitch, Lu.’
‘He’s looking after himself,’ Silk said, and smiled his evil smile.
* * *
Before returning to the Grandi estate, Frost stopped off at the National Florida Bank and lodged his copy of the agreement in a safe deposit box. He was now reasonably sure that he had covered himself, but he was taking no chances. When dealing with a thug like Silk, one thoughtless slip could be the last.
Two more days to D-Day! he thought as he let himself into his cabin. Everything now depended on Gina. If she changed her mind, if she pressed the wrong button . . . !
He wondered what she was doing right now. As he had driven up to the villa, he had seen Amando, at a table, covered with papers, on the terrace, but there had been no sign of Gina.
He changed into his uniform, then later, walked to the guardroom. The time was now 19.75, and he found Marvin, relaxed, before the monitors.
‘Had a good day, Mike?’ Marvin asked, turning.
‘Building up my tan.’ Frost sat down by his side. ‘Any excitements?’
‘She’s sick,’ Marvin said, lighting a cigarette.
Frost stiffened.
‘Come again?’
‘I didn’t see her around so I asked Old Creepy. He said she was in bed, and not to worry.’
Jesus! Frost thought. It only wants this!
‘Something bad?’
Marvin shrugged indifferently.
‘You know girls . . . they have troubles. There’s been no doctor, so I guess it’s the usual thing.’
‘Who the hell would want to be a girl?’ Frost said, drawing in a deep breath.
‘Yeah. Anyway, I didn’t have to keep my eye on her.’ Marvin flicked ash, then went on, ‘You know something? Strictly between ourselves, I think the girl’s not right in her head. I think she’s as nutty as a fruit cake.’
Frost became very alert.
‘What makes you say that, Jack?’
‘I’ve seen a lot more of her than you have,’ Marvin said. ‘She doesn’t act like a normal girl. There’s something about her that really bothers me . . . spooky could be the word.’
Frost thought of Gina’s glittering eyes, the touch of her fingers, her wish that her father was dead. Spooky, he thought, was a good word.
‘You can’t expect any girl living like a caged animal to be normal,’ he said.
‘There’s that.’ Marvin rubbed his jaw, then shrugged. ‘She asked me to give her a gun.’
Frost stared at him.
‘A gun?’
‘She said she would feel safer to have a gun. She told me she was scared of Old Creepy. She said when she was alone with him, she felt he wanted to rape her.’
‘It would scare me to have Old Creepy continually around me. So what did you tell her?’
‘I told her no way, and that either you or I were always around so she had nothing to be scared about.’
Just then there came a tap on the door, signalling to them their dinner had arrived. Suka, following Grandi’s instructions, no longer came into the guardroom. Frost got to his feet, unlocked the door and stepped into the dimly lit hall in time to see Suka walking away.
He brought in the two trays.
‘Looks good,’ he said, setting down the trays. ‘I’ll get the beers.’
He went to the refrigerator, took out two cans, opened them with his back turned to Marvin. Saturday night, he reminded himself, he would repeat the performance, but into Marvin’s can, he would drop the pill Silk had given him.
‘I’m damn grateful I’ve got a boy,’ Marvin said, as they began to eat. ‘On Sunday, I’m taking him to the funfair. He’s crazy about riding the dodgems.’
During the meal, Marvin talked on about his son while Frost half listened, then when Marvin had gone, Frost settled down before the monitors. He watched the dogs being released. This was routine, his mind was on Gina.
Around midnight, still worrying about Gina, he went to the door leading to the villa, unlocked it and edged it open. The hall was in darkness. He stood listening, then hearing no sound, he took from his hip pocket a small flashlight, stepped into the hall and closed the door behind him. He was aware of the risk he was taking. If Amando caught him, the operation would be blown, but the urge to check on Gina, to make sure she wasn’t really ill, to once again check she still wanted to be kidnapped, compelled him forward.
Moving fast, cat-like, silently, he climbed the stairs, paused at the head of them, listened, then went quickly to Gina’s room. He turned the handle, pressed and the door yielded. As it opened, he saw there was a faint light.
Moving fast, he entered the room and closed the door.
Gina, a dim bedside light illuminating her, was lying in bed. She started up, staring at him, then her face, half in shadow, lit up.
‘Mike!’ she whispered, sat up and stretched out her arms to him. ‘I’ve been waiting and waiting.’
He came to the bed, catching hold of her hands.
‘Are you all right?’ he asked. ‘Marvin said you were sick.’
She gi
ggled: a sound that made Frost’s nerves creep.
‘I’m fine. I didn’t want to see the kinky old creep again So I took to my bed.’ Her fingers moved along his arms. ‘Let’s make love. Mike! I have this thing for you. I’ve been waiting and waiting.’
Why did her dry fingers remind him of the feel of spider’s legs? He swept aside her hands, looking at her. Yes. . . as Marvin had said . . . spooky was the right word.
‘No way,’ he said, his voice low and harsh. ‘Listen, baby, it’s all fixed. I’m taking a hell of a risk, but I had to I have a word with you. When I heard you had gone sick, I was scared. You remember what you have to do, and you’ll be free.’
Her hands moved along his trouser legs, but again he swept them away.
‘Gina! Later. We’ll have all the loving you’ll ever need, but I must get back to the guardroom. You really remember what you have to do?’
She dropped back on her pillow and made a grimace.
‘Of course I do. Three o’clock on Sunday morning, I go to the guardroom, press the red button on the third row of the panel. This recalls the dogs. I wait ten minutes, then press the fourth button on the same row. Then I go down to the harbour where your friends are waiting . . .right?’
‘That’s it.’ Frost got to his feet and forced a smile. ‘Do all that, and you’ll be free to live your thing.’
He moved to the door, waved to her, eased open the door, looked into the dark corridor, then made his way silently back to the guardroom.
As he settled before the monitors, he told himself he had taken every possible precaution. The operation, which would make him five million dollars, was now in the lap of the gods.
* * *
Friday and Saturday dragged by.
Frost kept clear of the Ace of Spades. He spent the long hours on the beach. His mind concentrated on what five million dollars would mean to him. Every so often some dolly in a skimpy bikini came over to him and asked if he was lonely. He waved them away. There would be time, when he got the money, to think about dolly birds.
Saturday night finally arrived.
This was it, he thought as he walked to the guardhouse.
He had the pill for Marvin. He had telephoned Marcia who told him Amando was keeping his usual appointment at 21.00, and she would slip him the pill.
1978 - Consider Yourself Dead Page 12
