1975 - The Joker in the Pack

by James Hadley Chase

  Stop this stupid thinking! she told herself. You know such things cannot happen! There is a joker in the pack somewhere! This sniveling man is trying to con you!

  “You had better explain,”’ she said, her voice unsteady.

  “That’s why I am here.” Jackson clenched and unclenched his hands. “I need money, Mrs. Rolfe. Give me five thousand and I’ll tell you everything.”

  She regarded him contemptuously.

  “If you persist in trying to blackmail me, I’ll call the police and you can explain everything to them!”

  He cringed.

  “You wouldn’t want the police to know about this, Mrs. Rolfe. I’m not trying to blackmail you. I swear I’m not! I must have money to leave here. The information I can give you is worth much more than five thousand. Jones is carving a doll to resemble you. He stole a bit of silk with your initials on it to make the doll’s dress. He said he must have something belonging to the person he wants to control.” With a shaking finger, Jackson pointed to the tiny plastic bag hanging around the doll’s neck. “In that bag, Mrs. Rolfe, are nail pairings belonging to your husband. Jones got them when he cleaned the hotel suite. I’m telling you, Mrs. Rolfe, he is planning to kill you.”

  Although shaken, Helga stubbornly refused to accept this.

  “I’ve told you, Jackson! Get out! I’ve had enough of this nonsense!”

  “Jones has bled me white! I’ve got no money!” Jackson wailed. “I’ve got to get off this island! Lopez is already hunting for me! Mrs. Rolfe, for God’s sake, give me some money! If Jones hadn’t broken his arm he would have finished the doll and by now you would be dead!”

  Staring at his frightened, sweating face, Helga suddenly became frightened.

  By now you would be dead.

  She recalled Gritten’s serious face. She recalled Mrs. Joyce’s change of expression when she had asked about voodoo. Was this possible?

  With an effort, she forced herself to say, “I have had enough of this nonsense. Get out!”

  Jackson stared hopelessly at her, then lifted his hands in despair.

  “Then I’ll have to trust you to help me, Mrs. Rolfe. That girl . . . Terry Shields.” He leaned forward. “I can tell you who she is.”

  “For the last time, get out!”

  “Jones and she are planning to get rid of you by voodoo so she can inherit Rolfe’s money!” Then stabbing his finger at her, Jackson went on, “Terry Shields is your stepdaughter! She is Sheila Rolfe who will inherit all her father’s money if you are dead!”

  chapter eight

  Helga reached for her glass of brandy while she struggled to absorb the shock of what Jackson had said. She forced herself to sip the brandy, knowing that Jackson was watching her for a reaction.

  Terry Shields? Herman’s daughter?

  She thought of the girl with the Venetian red hair, the strong face, the wide, firm mouth and the big eyes. From the moment she had seen her, Helga had registered that this girl had character, that she was unusual, but Herman’s daughter?

  Then she remembered the cable to Hinkle: the cold, callous message: Impossible to come to Nassau. Daddy will survive. He always does.

  Did this stupid amateur blackmailer really think she would believe such a clumsy lie?

  “Oh, get out! Mr. Rolfe’s daughter is in Paris! I have proof of that!”

  “That cable she sent to Hinkle?” Jackson shook his head. “That was just a blind. She didn’t want you to know she was here. She got a friend in Paris to send it. I heard her and Jones talking about it. I tell you, Mrs. Rolfe, Terry Shields is your stepdaughter and she is planning to get rid of you.”

  Helga hesitated. She couldn’t bring herself to believe this, but looking at Jackson, she found it hard to believe he was lying and besides how did he know about the cable?

  “I can check if you are lying,” she said, “and if you are, I’ll turn you over to the police. I mean this! Do you still say Terry Shields is Sheila Rolfe?”

  He nodded.

  “I swear it, but wait a moment, Mrs. Rolfe. If you are satisfied I’m not lying, will you give me five thousand dollars to get away from here?”

  “If you are not lying,” Helga said coldly, “I will give you five hundred dollars which is enough for you to leave here.”

  “Christ!” Jackson beat his fist together. “You with all your money! I’ve got to get away! I’ve got to make a new start! What’s five thousand to you?”

  She got to her feet.

  “Wait here.”

  She went into the living room and called the Paradise City villa. The connection took a few minutes, then Hinkle’s fruity voice came over the line.

  “This is Mr. Herman Rolfe’s residence.”

  “Hinkle!” How glad and relieved she was able to hear his voice! “This is Mrs. Rolfe.”

  “Ah, madame. I was about to take the liberty of telephoning you as I have not heard from you,” Hinkle said, reproach in his voice. “I have just called the hospital. It appears there is no change.”

  “No, I’m afraid not,” she said, then went on, “I’m sorry not to have called before, but I have been busy.”

  “I am glad to hear that, madame. It must be lonely for you.”

  Helga thought: Lonely? Could you or anyone else know how lonely?

  “How is everything at the villa, Hinkle?”

  “Not entirely satisfactory, madame. I am glad to be back, but I can assure you that by the time Mr. Rolfe and you return everything will be in order.”

  “I am sure it will.” A pause, then she said, “Did you get the cable I forwarded to you from Miss Sheila?”

  “I did, madame. It distressed me.”

  “Yes, but the young don’t really care, do they? I am sure she is very busy.”

  “It would appear so, madame.” Hinkle’s voice sounded mournful.

  “I have been thinking about Miss Sheila. I am disappointed not to have met her. When I think of a person it is helpful to have an image of them. Can you give me a description of her?”

  “A description of her, madame?” Hinkle’s voice went up a note.

  “What is she like?” Helga held on to her patience.

  “Well, madame, I would say she was a person of strong character.” Obviously, from his voice, Hinkle didn’t approve of this conversation.

  “But her appearance, Hinkle? Is she fat, thin, tall, short?”

  “Miss Sheila has an excellent figure, madame. Like most young people she has improved on her appearance. She now has what I believe is referred to as Venetian red hair. It suits her very well.”

  Helga experienced a little jolt.

  “That is interesting.” She paused, then deliberately changing the subject, she went on, “Have you any plans yet about Mr. Rolfe’s study?”

  “Indeed yes, madame. I have already consulted an interior decorator. I am sure, when Mr. Rolfe returns, he will be most satisfied.”

  “Wonderful. All right, Hinkle I am going to play bridge. I just wanted to hear your voice.”

  “You are most kind, madame.”

  “And to say I miss your marvelous omelets.”

  As an exit line, she knew she couldn’t have done better. She replaced the receiver.

  So Jackson wasn’t lying. This girl, calling herself Terry Shields must be Herman’s daughter!

  Jones and she are planning to get rid of you by voodoo so she can inherit Rolfe’s money!

  Could anything be more ridiculous? Then she thought of the doll with the needle in its head. She thought of Herman’s mysterious coma. For a brief moment she felt frightened, then the steel in her asserted itself. Know your enemy. She could hear her father’s dry, hard voice.

  Now to handle Jackson. She would need to know everything he could tell her even if it cost her money.

  She walked out onto the terrace. Jackson was sitting, slumped in his chair, a cigarette burning between his fingers. The reflected light from the swimming pool showed his face was shiny with sweat.

&nbs
p; “Right, Jackson,” she said as she sat down. “So this girl is Sheila Rolfe. Now you start talking. I want to hear all about this. How did you find out who she was . . . did she tell you?

  “Look, Mrs. Rolfe, if I don’t have another drink, I’ll flip my lid!”

  “Help yourself. The drinks are in the living room,” Helga said impatiently. “You don’t expect me to wait on you, do you?”

  He scrambled to his feet and after a moment or so, returned with a bottle of brandy. He poured a drink, swallowed it, the poured more brandy into his glass.

  “Now start talking, Jackson!”

  “How about the money?” He leaned forward and peered at her. “I’m not telling you anything more unless you promise to give me five thousand dollars!”

  She could see he was slightly drunk and this made her uneasy. If he turned vicious there was nothing she could do about it. She must be careful how she handled him, she told herself.

  “If what you have to tell me is worth so much, I will pay you.”

  He grinned uneasily at her.

  “It’ll be worth it. Let’s see the money, then I’ll start talking.”

  She thought of the eight thousand dollars upstairs in her bedroom. He mustn’t know about that. He could overpower her, take the money and run.

  “You don’t imagine I keep a sum like that here? I will give you a check.”

  He sipped more brandy then shook his head.

  “No checks, I want cash.”

  “That can be arranged. The Diamond Beach hotel will give me the money.”

  He thought about this, then nodded.

  “Yeah. Well, okay. Then it is agreed: I talk, I get five thousand . . . right?”

  She mustn’t let him think he was beginning to intimidate her.

  “Talk first, Jackson. It is for me to decide.”

  He studied her, sipped more brandy, then set down his glass, his hand unsteady.

  “You’re a real toughie, aren’t you?”

  “Come on, Jackson. How did you find out this girl was Sheila Rolfe?”

  “She arrived on the same plane as you did,” Jackson said, sitting back in his chair. “Acting on Rolfe’s instructions I was at the airport to see you arrive. When you left, Sheila came up to me and asked me if I knew of a cheap pad.” He grinned. “I attract the chicks, Mrs. Rolfe. They are always coming up and asking me dopey questions. Then she asked if you were Mrs. Herman Rolfe. I asked myself why this chick was interested in you, so I got friendly with her. I drove her to a motel. I told her what my job was and that I was watching you. Then she said you were her stepmother so I asked her what she was doing here.” He blew out his cheeks. “By this time, Mrs. Rolfe, she and I were very friendly. I get very friendly with chicks pretty fast.” He leered at her. “You know that, don’t you? I got friendly with you, didn’t I?”

  “What did she say she was doing here?” Helga asked, her face like stone.

  “She had seen in the papers her father had come here. She had always wanted to see Nassau. She had saved some money so she took off. Simple as that.”

  “Did she see her father?”

  “From a distance.” Jackson shrugged. “From what she told me they don’t hit it off.”

  “And Jones? Where does he come in?”

  “That little creep? Like I told you, he worked for me. If there’s a snake . . . it’s Jones. I offered him a hundred dollars to search your apartment. When he found and read that letter to Winborn, the little bastard held me up for four thousand bucks to buy his goddamn motorcycle. Then you blackmailed me and got the letter back. Then you started real trouble by telling him you wanted him in Paradise City. He came crying to me, but there was nothing I could do about it and I told him so. I won’t forget the way he looked at me . . . like a goddamn cornered rat. ‘I’m not going,’ he said. ‘I’ve got a way to stop her leaving here.’ He often used my beach hut to keep a lot of junk he didn’t want his mother to know about. After I had shut up my office, I went out there and found him making this doll. He’s damn clever with his hands. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was stopping you from taking him to Paradise City. He said it was voodoo magic. I told him he was crazy. I sat there watching him. When he had finished the doll, he drove the needle into the doll’s head, then he began to bang on a drum. After a while, he said Rolfe was not too ill to travel. I again told him he was crazy. He gave me a sly little grin and told me to wait and see.”

  Helga stared at the doll.

  “This is utter rubbish and you know it!” she said angrily.

  “Is it? What do you or I know about these colored finks who live here? It worked, didn’t it? You didn’t take the fink to Paradise City, did you?”

  “It just happened my husband became worse.”

  Jackson shrugged.

  “I’m telling you what happened. Now I’ll tell you something else. Sheila came to my beach hut when I wasn’t there and she met Jones. They hit it off. Don’t ask me how he found out who she was, but he did. Maybe she told him. She liked boasting about her rich father. Now this fink is no dope. I told you he wanted to hold you up for five hundred thousand but you didn’t believe me. He had read the letter and he knew Sheila was coming in for a million. He also knew just rich Rolfe is. He thought why bother with a million? Why not grab the lot? With Rolfe and you out of the way, Sheila would get a lot more than a million. She and he were already rolling in the hay. So suppose he could persuade her to marry him? That’s the way the fink began to plan, so first things first . . . he begins carving a doll like this.”

  “Did Sheila know about this?”

  “Maybe . . . maybe not. I don’t know.” Jackson’s eyes shifted from her direct stare.

  “But he told you?”

  “Yeah. When he bust his arm he couldn’t get the doll finished so he came to me and offered to cut me in. He wanted me to get something of yours you had worn, but I wouldn’t do it. So he did it himself, then the little bastard got scared I would talk so he called up Lopez and told him I was having it off with Maria.” Jackson wiped his sweating face with the back of his hand. “So, Lopez is looking for me and I’ve got to get off the island pronto and I need money. This is where we came in, Mrs. Rolfe.”

  “If you imagine I believe for one moment any of this, you need your head examined,” Helga said with conviction. “But to be rid of you, I will give you a thousand dollars and that is all.” She got to her feet. “I’ll get my bag.”

  “Wait, baby.” Jackson leaned forward. “I want more than that. You say voodoo is rubbish. Want to gamble on it?” He pointed to the doll. “Take that needle out of his head. See what happens. The fink said to get Rolfe out of his coma, he had only to remove the needle. Go ahead and do it! Then call the hospital.”

  “Oh, stop it!” Helga snapped. “I’m not listening to anymore of this damn nonsense. I’ll give you the money and you’ll go.”

  Jackson studied her.

  “Wait baby, don’t rush this,” he said. “I’ve got something very special to tell you. I read that letter to Winborn. I know if Rolfe lives you are out in the cold, but if he dies, you’ll have no problems. You want the old ruin to die, don’t you? You’ve been sitting around, willing him to die, haven’t you? Okay, suppose you make an experiment? The fink told me – and baby, listen hard to this – that if he took the needle out of the doll’s hear and stuck it where the doll’s heart is, Rolfe would be dead in minutes. That’s how the fink was planning to get rid of you, once he had finished the other doll. Maybe you haven’t the guts to do it, but for five thousand dollars, I’ll do it. What do you say? You don’t believe in voodoo. Okay, I don’t believe in it either, so let’s see what happens. You promise me five thousand if Rolfe dies and I’ll move the needle!”

  Suppose it worked? The thought flashed into Helga’s mind. Just suppose this ridiculous voodoo theory wasn’t ridiculous. Suppose this half-drunk amateur blackmailer by moving the needle killed Herman? The very idea was sheer fantasy but she remembered G
ritten saying that twenty years ago who would imagine men walking on the moon? So suppose it worked?

  It would mean she would be free, that she would control an enormous sum of money and she wouldn’t have to face the life of a nun!

  She stared at the doll. It brought back the picture of Herman lying in bed, his useless arm propped on a pillow, saliva dripping from his slack mouth.

  Suppose he did die? Wouldn’t it be a blessing to him?

  A sudden chill ran through her. No! This was a con trick! So far the cards had been falling her way, but now . . . the joker in the pack!

  Aware her heart was beating furiously, she said, “I have had enough of this. I will give you a thousand dollars and no more. I have the money here. That is all you are going to get.”

  “No, it isn’t baby. You know you want me to do it, but you haven’t the guts to say so.” He reached out and took the doll from the box. “You don’t believe. I don’t believe.” He took hold of the needle and jerked it from the doll’s head. Now baby, five thousand and I’ll fix this rich old bastard.”

  Helga stepped back, knocking over her chair.

  “No! Leave it alone!” Her voice was shrill.

  Jackson grinned drunkenly at her.

  “Let’s experiment. You don’t believe, nor do I. So why not? Here we go!” Holding the needle, he pushed it slowly and steadily into the doll’s chest. “Now, let’s see what happens.”

  She stood staring at the doll lying impaled on the table. Had she imagined that the doll had given a little jerk as the needle had entered?

  “It’s done, baby,” Jackson said. “Give it ten minutes to work, then call the hospital. Who knows? You could be worth millions!”

  A sudden dreadful panic seized hold of Helga. A terrifying and horrible atmosphere seemed to her to have come into the room like a poisonous, invisible cloud. She turned and ran blindly from the room and up the stairs and into her bedroom. She slammed and locked the door. As she looked wildly around the room, she heard Jackson come pounding up the stairs. She darted to the telephone and after two attempts, managed to dial the operator.