Mission to Siena

by James Hadley Chase

  Felix shrugged.

  “I don’t know,” he said, forcing his voice to sound harsh, “and I don’t care. She’s asked for it and she’ll get it.”

  Willie nodded.

  “That’s the way I figured it,” he said. “It’s nothing to do with me what happens to her. Think I could ask the old man for a bonus?” He opened a drawer and took out a clean shirt. “There’s a car I saw in Florence the other week. If the old man shells out, I might be able to buy it.”

  “He’ll give you something,” Felix said and wandered over to where Willie’s gun was hanging. He got between Willie and the gun. “Don’t press him. If he doesn’t offer you anything, I’ll have a word with him.”

  Willie’s face brightened.

  “You will? That’s fine. It’s time I had a bit more money. I work hard enough for what I get.”

  Felix’s hand went behind him, his fingers closed around the butt of Willie’s gun and gently eased it out of the holster. He let the gun slip through his fingers until he was holding it by its barrel.

  “You’d better hurry,” he said. “The old man won’t give you anything if you keep him waiting much longer.”

  Willie shook the shirt out of its folds and slipped into it.

  “Yes,” he said. “I’ve been too long already.”

  He turned to the mirror and began to comb his thin, greasy hair. He saw in the mirror Felix had moved forward. Their eyes met in the reflection of the mirror. The expression he saw on Felix’s face suddenly turned him cold. He saw Felix’s hand flash up. He opened his mouth to shout, but he knew he had left it too late. Then the butt of the gun smashed down on the top of his head and he fell limply forward, bouncing against the toilet basin. His dying body slid to the floor.

  Chapter XI

  THE TUNNEL

  About ten minutes after Englemann had gone, Don unlocked the bracelet around his ankle and got to his feet. He knew he was taking a risk of being discovered, but he couldn’t continue to sit and do nothing. He couldn’t resist the temptation to explore.

  He crossed the cave and stood at the mouth of the tunnel, peering into the darkness. Luck favoured him. His sharp eyes caught the glint of metal high up against the wall, and taking out his cigarette lighter, he thumbed the flame alight. In a bracket attached to the wall was clipped a long, chromium-plated flashlight; probably put there, he thought, in case of an electric power failure. The beam of the light, when he pressed down on the button, was powerful and told him the battery was comparatively new. He set off down the tunnel, passing the ramp on his left and continued on for some fifty yards before he came to a steel door that blocked any further progress. There was a rubber-covered button near the door, but although he pressed it several times, there was no response,.and baffled, he stepped away from the door to examine it from head to foot in the light of his torch. It was set flush with the rock face, and when he pushed against it, it was immovable. He made his way back to the ramp, and climbing it, he reached the door he knew led into the corridor where Englemann’s surgery was as well as the control room if what Lorelli had told him was correct. He pressed on the rubber-headed button he found by the door, heard a faint click and the door moved inwards. He peered into the brightly lit corridor. It was a temptation to go forward, but he resisted it. At least he knew he could get to the control room when he wanted to, but this wasn’t the time. He would wait until Lorelli contacted him that night. He took hold of the steel rail on the door and pulled the door shut, then he went down the ramp to the tunnel again.

  Having nothing better to do, he began a careful examination of the walls of the tunnel and he quickly made a discovery.

  Let into the stone wall at eye level and roughly about twenty feet apart were a number of small steel plates with small knobs in the centre of them. He took hold of one of the knobs and found the plate slid back, making a peep-hole that looked directly into a room equipped as an office. There was no one in the room, and Don closed the plate. He went along to the next plate and moved that aside. He found himself looking into Lorelli’s bedroom.

  Lorelli was seated at her desk. She was engrossed with pencil and paper, and Don guessed she was preparing a plan of the underground fortress which she had promised him.

  He was about to call to her, when he heard a sound from the door. Lorelli started, dropped her pencil, grabbed up the sheet of paper she had been drawing on and pushed it into the top drawer of the desk.

  The door rattled impatiently and Felix called, “Open up. I want to talk to you.”

  “I’m coming,” Lorelli said. She hurriedly undid the buttons of her dress and mussed up her hair, then she ran over to the door and unlocked it. “I was changing.”

  “Since when do you lock the door when you’re changing?” Felix asked, coming in and closing the door.

  “I just turned the key without thinking.” She moved over to the dressing table, sat down and began to brush her hair.

  “What is it?”

  Felix sat on the bed. He lit a cigarette and blew a thin stream of smoke towards the ceiling.

  “Alsconi was asking what happened at the villa,” he said.

  The hairbrush she was using nearly slipped out of Lorelli’s hand. She put it down and picked up a comb.

  “He seemed to think it went off too easily,” Felix went on. “I told him you had no trouble: that’s right, isn’t it?”

  “Of course,” Lorelli said curtly. “I told you what happened. You don’t want me to go over it again, do you?”

  “So it’s definite the money will be paid into the Banca de Roma in four or five days?”

  “Yes; anyway that’s what Micklem’s secretary said.” Lorelli finished combing her hair. She reached for her handbag, opened it and took out her cigarette case. She lit a cigarette.

  Felix saw her .25 automatic in the bag.

  “That’s fine,” he said and got to his feet. “The old man’s still a little doubtful about you, but I told him how well you carried this job out. I’m pleased with you.” He came over to the dressing table. “I think I’ll give you a new handbag as a reward for your cleverness.” He picked up the handbag, moving a shade faster than Lorelli, whose hand had darted out to snatch the bag out of his reach. “This one’s getting shabby.”

  “Please put it down!” Lorelli exclaimed, her voice shrill.

  Felix looked at her. She saw then how cold, white and set his face was.

  “You sound jumpy.” He turned the bag over. “I think one of those new lizard skin jobs would suit you.” He opened the bag and took out the .25.

  Lorelli sat very still, staring up at him, her eyes wide open.

  “You’re spoiling the shape of the bag, carrying this in it,” Felix went on. He put the bag on the dressing table, holding the gun in his right hand, the barrel pointing at Lorelli’s feet.

  She didn’t say anything. She was rigid, her hands gripped between her knees.

  “It’s a nice little toy,” Felix went on, turning the gun over. “At close quarters it could do a lot of damage.” He slid out the clip, emptied the six bullets into his hand, removed the bullet from the breech, put the empty clip back and laid the gun down on the dressing table. “Safer unloaded, don’t you think?” he went on and stood the seven bullets in a row by the gun.

  Lorelli watched every movement, her heart beating so violently she had difficulty in breathing.

  “Yes, I must see about a new handbag for you,” Felix said and wandered back to the bed and sat down.

  Lorelli felt sick with relief. For a horrible moment, she had wondered if Felix had guessed she was betraying him. The business with the gun shook her nerve. She picked up a nail buffer and began to polish her nails.

  A long silence hung over the room. She looked out of the corners of her eyes at him. He was leaning back, his head against the wall, looking up at the ceiling. The expression on his face set her heart thumping again.

  “I was worrying about you,” he said suddenly. “It’s a funny thing fo
r me to worry about anyone, but I was about you.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked sharply. “What is there to worry about?”

  “Odd, isn’t it?” Felix said, ignoring her question. “You’re the only woman I’ve really ever cared for. When I first met you, I had no idea I could get so fond of you. I sometimes wonder if you’re as much in love with me as I am with you.

  Are you?”

  Lorelli touched her dry lips with the tip of her tongue. The expression on his face, the tension in the room and these odd words warned her something badly was wrong.

  “Aren’t you being sentimental?” she said huskily. “You can’t measure love. How can I possibly know if I love you more than you love me?”

  He stubbed out his cigarette.

  “Yes, I guess that’s right, but you do still love me, don’t you?” “Yes, of course.” He looked over at her.

  “Felix! What is it? Why are you looking like that at me?” Lorelli cried. “What’s the matter?”

  “You know you said you wanted to go to Buenos Aires? I’ve been thinking about that. If we did decide to go, what would we do for money?”

  Lorelli stared at him. “But you said you wouldn’t go.”

  “I can change my mind, can’t I? If I thought we could get hold of some money…” he broke off and shrugged. “It costs a lot to live in hiding. Then there are the fares. We would have to fly. That costs money.”

  Felix’s face hardened.

  “Just how much money have you?”

  “A half a million lire. It would be enough to get us there and to keep us for a month until I found something to do.”

  Felix shook his head.

  “It’s not enough. Alsconi would hunt for us. We need much more than that to be safe. You wouldn’t dare earn a living.

  He has spies everywhere. You’d be spotted.”

  “It would be enough. Oh, Felix, please come with me.” She leaned forward and beat her clenched fists on her knees.

  “You must come with me!”

  “Will you go alone if I don’t come with you?” Felix asked, not looking at her.

  There was a long pause. She hesitated, then controlling her agitation, she said, “No, I wouldn’t leave you. Of course, I wouldn’t, but you will come with me, won’t you?”

  Felix stood up.

  “Well, at least I have the answer to my other question,” he said. “Now I know just how much you love me.”

  “I — hope you do,” Lorelli said.

  He came over to her.

  “So you didn’t see Willie at the Trioni villa?” he said in a quiet, conversational tone.

  For a moment, Lorelli didn’t get the impact, then she felt as if a splinter of ice had been driven into her heart. She stared at Felix, her face blanching under her make-up, her eyes wide with terror.

  “Willie?” she gasped. “Was he at the villa?”

  “Of course,” Felix said. “You don’t imagine I’d let you go there without someone to take care of you in case there was trouble, do you?”

  “Oh!”

  She jumped to her feet and looked wildly around the room as if looking for a means of escape.

  “Willie has just got back,” Felix said, watching her. “Alsconi is waiting for him. He wants Willie to confirm you had no trouble at the villa.”

  Lorelli backed away from his fixed, glaring stare.

  “You mad little fool!” he went on, his voice suddenly out of control. “Do you imagine you can get away with this?” He went to her and crowded her against the wall. “Do you?” His hands closed over her shoulders, his fingers digging into her flesh. “Willie heard everything that was said.”

  Lorelli’s knees buckled. If he hadn’t held her, she would have fallen. He pulled her over to the bed and let her drop on it.

  He stood over her, his fists clenched.

  “You fool! So you planned to sell me out!” he went on furiously. “Two hundred and fifty grand! Do you think you’d ever have got your hands on the money?”

  Lorelli shrank back.

  “I had to do it! They’ll pay the money. I know they will! It’s our only chance to get away. The money is for both of us.”

  “Is it?” Felix laughed. “I gave you the chance to offer it to me and you didn’t even mention it. So you wouldn’t leave me? That’s funny; when all the time you were planning to sneak away and lose yourself in Buenos Aires. Lose yourself?

  That’s a laugh too. You’re crazy to think you could get away. You wouldn’t get as far as the boat. You wouldn’t even get out of Siena!”

  She struggled upright. Her face rigid with terror.

  “You won’t tell him? You won’t give me away?” She scrambled off the bed and down on to her knees, catching hold of his hand. “You can’t tell him, Felix! You said you loved me. You know what he would do to me! Felix! Don’t do it!”

  Don who was watching was shocked by her abject terror.

  Felix jerked his hand out of her grip and moved away from her.

  “He asked me if you would like to go to Buenos Aires. He’s planning to start operations there. He thinks you should go.”

  Lorelli closed her eyes.

  “Then he knows?”

  “It’s possible. It might be a coincidence, but at least it shows how crazy your idea is.”

  “We can find another place,” she said feverishly. “There must be dozens of safe places…”

  “Don’t kid yourself,” Felix said savagely. “You’re going no place.”

  “If you tell him, I’ll kill myself. I’ll never let Englemann touch me.”

  “Very dramatic,” Felix sneered. “Okay, go ahead and kill yourself. Do you think I care?”

  She began to cry, resting her arm on the bed and her head on her arm.

  Felix lit a cigarette. His hand was so shaky he had trouble holding the match steady.

  “All right, all right, cut it out,” he said. “I’m not telling him. I must be stark, raving mad to do this for you, but I won’t tell him.”

  She looked up.

  “You mean it?”

  “I mean it. Now shut up snivelling!”

  “But what about Willie?” She got off her knees and sat on the bed. “He knows! We can’t trust him! He’ll tell Alsconi.”

  Felix showed his teeth in a mirthless smile.

  “I was wondering how long it’d take before the nickel dropped. I’ve fixed Willie.”

  “But you can’t trust him…” Lorelli began, then seeing the expression on Felix’s face, she stifled a scream.

  “Willie will stay fixed.” He came over to her. “We’re both in this up to our necks. Alsconi’s waiting now for Willie’s report, and Willie’s in my room with his head smashed in. You’re full of bright ideas: how do we get out of this jam?”

  “You’ve killed Willie?” Lorelli gasped, staring at him in horror.

  “What else could I do? How much have you got in cash here?”

  “I don’t know — not much.”

  Felix snatched up her bag, opened it and emptied the contents on to the dressing table.

  “Is that all — five thousand lire?”

  “Yes.”

  “How much in the bank?”

  “I’ve told you: a half a million lire.”

  “I have four million. That’ll get us somewhere. We’ve got to get out and get out fast before Willie’s found.”

  The sound of the telephone bell made him stiffen. They looked at each other.

  “Answer it!” he said.

  With an unsteady hand, Lorelli picked up the receiver.

  “Is Mr Felix there?” Carlos asked. “The boss wants a word with him.”

  Lorelli looked across at Felix, sick terror in her eyes.

  “Alsconi wants to speak to you,” she said and held out the receiver.

  Through the peephole, Don watched Felix’s sweating face. This ten minutes of drama had held him rooted, but now his mind was already at work, wondering how this change of situation would a
ffect him. If these two panicked and bolted, he would be cut off from Lorelli’s help, and without her help he knew his chances of getting out of the cave were slight.

  He watched Felix cross the room and take the receiver from Lorelli’s shaking hand.

  “I am waiting for Willie,” Alsconi said softly in his ear. “Where is he?”

  “I’m waiting for him too,” Felix said. “Maybe he’s had a breakdown. I’d better drive down and see what’s happened to him.”

  “He hasn’t had a breakdown,” Alsconi said. “I sent Menotto to look for him and he tells me the car is at the bottom of the drive, but there’s no sign of Willie.”

  “ГП come up,” Felix said.

  “That won’t be necessary,” Alsconi said. “You can stay where you are.” He chuckled, a sound that made Felix stiffen.

  “You’ll probably have to anyway,” and the line went dead.

  Felix replaced the receiver. There was a look in his eyes that brought Lorelli to her feet.

  “Wait here,” he said curtly and went quickly out of the room.

  Lorelli ran to the door and looked out into the corridor, then she turned and came back into the room. Watching her, Don saw terror was turning to hysteria. If they were to make a move, he had to do it now.

  “Lorelli!” he said sharply.

  Lorelli screamed and jerked around, her eyes wildly searching the room.

  “I’m here,” Don said, pushing the slot back as far as it would go. “It’s Micklem.”

  She located the opening in the wall through which he was looking and she backed away.

  “Pull yourself together,” he said. “You want the money to get away. I have it. We must help each other. Give me the gun!”

  “No!” Lorelli said. “I’m not going to help you. I’m getting out of here.”

  “How far do you think you’ll get?” Don said. “Don’t be a fool. Give me the gun. If you get in his way, he’ll wipe you out as he wiped Willie out. You can’t trust him. I can take care of you. Give me the gun!”

  He was counting on her terror. The snap in his voice seemed to hypnotize her. She picked up the gun.