Lay Her Among the Lilies vm-2

by James Hadley Chase

  “Was it your idea to shoot Nurse Freedlander’s father?”

  She made a little grimace of disgust.

  “What else could I do? If he told you she had a bad heart I knew you would guess what had happened. I got in a panic. I thought if we could silence him and get her papers from the police we might be able to carry on. But it does seem rather hopeless.”

  “Janet’s here then?”

  She shrugged.

  “Yes, she’s here.”

  “And you’re trying to make up your mind what to do with her?”

  “Yes.”

  “Any ideas?”

  “Perhaps.”

  I finished my drink. I needed it.

  “You shot Sherrill, didn’t you, and set fire to the ship?”

  “You have found out a lot.”

  “Didn’t you?”

  “Oh, yes. I knew he would let me down if the police caught him. He was a nuisance, anyway. It was quite fun to set fire to the ship. I’ve always hated it. Did it burn well?”

  I said it burned very well.

  We sat for some moments looking at each other.

  “I’m wondering about you,” she said suddenly. “Couldn’t we team up together? It seems so senseless to give all that money to a lot of stuffy old scientists. There must be nearly two million left.”

  “How should we team up?”

  She bit her thumb while she thought about how we should team up.

  “You see, she’s my sister. I can’t keep her here for long. If they find out she’s alive I shall lose the money. It would be better if she died.”

  I didn’t say anything to that.

  “I’ve been in there three or four times with a gun,” she said, after a long pause. “But every time I start to pull the trigger something stops me.” She stared at me, said, “I would give you half the money.”

  I stubbed out my cigarette.

  “Are you suggesting I should do it?”

  This time the meaningless smile did reach her eyes.

  “Think what you could do with all that money.”

  “I’m thinking, but I haven’t got it yet.”

  “Oh, I’d give it to you. I’ll give you a cheque now.”

  “You could always stop the cheque when I had done it, couldn’t you? You could shoot me as you shot Sherrill,” I said, and gave her one of my dumb looks.

  “When I say a thing I mean it, and when I make a promise I keep it,” she said patiently.

  “And besides, you can have me, too.”

  “Can I?” I tried not to sound as unenthusiastic as I felt. “That’s fine.” I stood up. “Where is she?”

  She stared at me; her face still expressionless, but far up on her left cheek a nerve began to jump.

  “Are you going to do it?”

  “I don’t see why not. Give me the gun and tell me where she is.”

  “Don’t you want me to write the cheque first?”

  I shook my head.

  “I trust you,” I said, and hoped I wasn’t over-working the dumb look.

  She pointed to a door opposite the casement windows at the far end of the room.

  “She’s in there.”

  I stood up.

  “Then give me the gun. It must be made to look like suicide.”

  She nodded.

  “Yes; I thought of that. You—you won’t hurt her?”

  There was a blank look in her eyes now. Her mind seemed to have wandered off into space.

  “The gun,” I said, and snapped my fingers at her.

  “Oh, yes.” She shivered, frowned, looked vaguely around the room. “I had it somewhere.”

  The nerve was jumping like a frog under her skin. “I think it must be in my bag.”

  The bag was lying in one of the armchairs. She moved towards it, but I beat her to it.

  “It’s all right,” I said. “I’ll get it. You sit down and take it easy.”

  I picked up the bag and slid back the clip.

  “Don’t open it, Malloy!”

  I turned quickly.

  Manfred Willet stood in the open casement doorway. He had an automatic in his hand and it was pointed at me.

  V

  Maureen cried shrilly. “You fool! Why didn’t you wait? He was going to do it! You stupid, brainless fool!”

  Willet’s cold eyes shifted from me to her.

  “Of course he wasn’t going to do it,” he said curtly. “He wanted your gun. Now, be quiet, and let me handle this.”

  She stiffened and swung round on me. There was a feverish glitter in her dark eyes.

  “Weren’t you going to do it?” she demanded. “Weren’t you?”

  I shook my head.

  “No,” I said, and smiled at her.

  “This has gone far enough,” Willet said, and advanced into the room. “Sit down,” he went on to me. “I want to talk to you. And you sit down, too.” This to Maureen.

  I sat down, but she didn’t. She stood motionless, staring at Willet, her sharp little teeth gnawing at her thumb.

  “Sit down!” he said, and turned the gun on her. “You’re as crazy as your mother. It’s time you were put under control.”

  She smiled then, and wandered over to the armchair in which her bag had been lying. She sat down and crossed her lees and went on biting her thumb.

  Willet stood in front of the empty fireplace. He held the gun level with his waist and pointing between Maureen and me. There was a gaunt, worried look about his face, and his eyes kept shifting from her to me.

  “Where’s Janet?” he asked.

  As Maureen didn’t say anything, I jerked my thumb to the door opposite the casement window.

  “She says she’s in there.”

  “Is she all right?”

  “As far as I know.”

  He relaxed slightly, but didn’t lower the gun.

  “Do you realize there is still a lot of money to be made out of this set-up if you throw in with me?” he said. “We can still get it under control. Where I went wrong was to let her have so much freedom. I didn’t think she was quite so dangerous. I knew she was unbalanced. Her mother was. But I thought they were harmless. I would have acted sooner, but Sherrill blocked me. Now he’s dead it’ll be easy. You are the only obstacle now. Will you take fifty thousand and keep your mouth shut?”

  I raised my eyebrows.

  “She’s just offered me a million.”

  He made an impatient gesture.

  “Look, this is a business proposition. Don’t let’s waste time. She hasn’t a million. She wouldn’t have given you anything even if she had anything to give. She’s not in the position to collect the insurance on the Dream Ship. I am.”

  “What’s going to happen to her?” I asked, and glanced across at Maureen who gave me a blank empty look from blank, empty eyes.

  “I’ll have her put in a home. She has no alternative unless she wants to be handed over to the police and prosecuted for murder,” Willet said, speaking softly and rapidly. “It can all be arranged quietly. Janet isn’t likely to make trouble. I can persuade her to do what I say. She will have the Trust money. You and I will have the insurance on the Dream Ship.”

  “Just let me get this straight,” I said. “Did you hatch this little plot from the beginning?”

  “We needn’t go into that,” he said curtly.

  “It was his idea,” Maureen said. “All along it’s been his idea. He’s been gambling with the Trust. Janet found out. It was he who persuaded mother to lock Janet up in the sanatorium. If

  it hadn’t been for Douglas, he would have had me locked up, too.”

  “Be quiet!” Willet snapped, and his face hardened.

  “I guessed it was something like that,” I said. “Someone to do with the Trust had to be in on it. I began to wonder about you when you were reluctant to report to the other Trustees. Then, when Janet was taken from my secretary’s apartment, I knew. No one except you and me and Paula knew Janet was there.”

  “What d
oes it matter?” he said impatiently. “If it hadn’t been for Sherrill and this mad woman it would have worked. But I don’t stand for murder. As soon as they started that game I made up my mind to stop her. And she can be stopped. Are you coming in with me? I’ll split the insurance money with you fifty-fifty.”

  “Suppose I don’t?”

  “I’m ready for a get-away,” he said. “I don’t want to go, but I will if I have to. I’ll have to keep you both here until I collect the insurance. It won’t be easy, but it can be done. But if you’re smart, you’ll come in with me.”

  I looked at Maureen.

  “Haven’t you anything to say to all this?”

  “There’s nothing she can say,” Willet said impatiently.

  “She either goes into a home or to jail. She’s too dangerous to be left free.”

  I ignored him and said again, “Isn’t there anything you want to say?”

  She smiled then, a tight, hard little smile.

  “No; but there’s something I’m going to do.”

  She must have had the gun wedged down the side of the chair all the time. The shot sounded like a thunderclap. The gun-flash set fire to the loose cover of the chair.

  Willet dropped his gun and took two unsteady steps forward, his hands clutching at his chest. I saw him fold at the knees, then I threw myself out of my chair across the narrow space that divided my chair from hers. I clutched her wrist as the gun came round in my direction. It went off and I felt the gun-flash burn the side of my neck. She and I and the chair went crashing to the floor. I wrenched the gun out of her hand, gave her a hard shove, and scrambled to my feet.

  “Okay, okay; take it easy,” Mifflin said from the casement windows, and Jack Kerman and he came into the room.

  “You all right, Vic?” Kerman asked.

  “Yeah; did you hear all that?”

  “We heard,” Mifflin said. “Is he hurt bad?” And he started towards Willet.

  “Watch her!” I shouted and jumped forward.

  Maureen had made a dart towards the casement window. I made a grab at her, but she was too quick. She ran out on to the verandah and down the terrace steps.

  “He’s dead,” I heard Mifflin say in disgust as Kerman and I ran out after her.

  We reached the first terrace as she reached the fourth. I grabbed Kerman and held him back.

  “Let Mifflin go after her if he wants her,” he said.

  Mifflin came thudding down the terrace steps to join us.

  “Where’s she gone?” he demanded.

  I pointed.

  She was running well, and already had reached the lowest terrace. Mifflin started after her; then stopped. She ran straight towards the cliff edge, and she was still running when she went over.

  For some moments we stood motionless, listening and waiting. But we heard nothing. It was as if the space between the cliff head and the sea had opened up and swallowed her.

  “That’s the best way out for her,” I said and turned back to the house. I felt a little sick.

  Even if she was crazy, she had been beautiful, and I always feel sorry when something beautiful gets broken.

  As we reached the verandah, I asked, “Did you climb the cliff?”

  Kerman nodded.

  “I came over the bulge,” he said with an exaggerated shudder. “I’m going to dream about that for the rest of my days. Paula’s somewhere around. She’s looking for Janet Crosby.”

  “Now we’ll have to explain the set-up to Brandon,” I said as Mifflin came panting up.

  “That should be a lot of fun.”

  “Smashed herself to pieces,” Mifflin said, glaring at us. “Now, come on, you two smart punks, get in there and talk!”

  We went in there and talked.

  The End

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