1956 - There's Always a Price Tag

by James Hadley Chase

  'But why should I?' she demanded, frowning at me.

  'For the love of mike! We've got to create the impression that Dester has been kidnapped!' I exclaimed, raising my voice. 'Can't you get that into your thick skull? Look, there has been no major kidnapping in Hollywood for years. When the news breaks every cop will be on his toes. The heat will be on. Now just suppose he had really been kidnapped by two hoods. They find the cops closing in. What do they do? Turn Dester loose so he can give the police a description of them? No, they lose their heads. They kill him and dump him somewhere and vanish. This is the only angle I can figure to make his murder make sense. Otherwise the police will look for a motive, and you and I are the only two who have a motive. To make us safe, this has to be a motiveless murder, and kidnapping supplies the answer.'

  She drew in a long, slow breath.

  'I want to think about this. It sounds too complicated.'

  'It isn't. It's going to work.'

  'We could so easily make a mistake when it's this complicated.'

  'We have the whole week to get the details lined up. If we're not happy about it at the end of the week, we'll drop it. We can do this job, step by step, watching every move, waiting to see how the cops react before we show our next card. Then if the cards fall right, we dump his body and collect the insurance money. It's going to work. I have a feeling about it.'

  'I want to think about it.'

  'Sure, think about it, but this is the plan. We can't lose too much time. Sooner or later, someone will really want to know where Dester is. We've got time, but not all the time in the world.'

  She began to get to her feet.

  'Where do you think you're going?' I asked, staring at her.

  She stood up, her green eyes expressionless.

  'Back to my room.'

  I shook my head. 'Not just yet.'

  I grabbed hold of her arm, but she broke my grip and moved out of reach.

  'I'm not your chattel,' she said in a low, fierce voice. 'Keep your hands off me!'

  She went out of the room and slammed the door.

  Automatically I reached for the whisky bottle, then, as my hand closed around it, I realized what I was doing, I snatched my hand away. If there was one thing she wasn't going to do, she wasn't going to turn me into a rumdum like Dester.

  chapter eight

  On Monday afternoon, Edwin Burnett arrived. He was short, plump, suave and immaculate.

  Helen handled him beautifully. From my vantage point at the head of the stairs I could hear the scarcely conquered tears in her voice as she told him how Dester was so much worse and was now having hallucinations.

  Burnett seemed pretty shocked.

  'You can't remain in the same house with him if he is like that. He should be in a home.'

  That gave her her opening. She told him Dester had agreed to go to the Belle View sanatorium. He was so ashamed of himself he had begged her not to tell anyone that he was going. Then she got around to the rumour and his creditors.

  I gave her full marks. She almost convinced me. Burnett agreed that there was no point in letting anyone know that Dester was going into the sanatorium. If they were fools enough to believe rumours then that was their lookout. But he went on to warn Helen that it was unlikely Dester would ever be in a position to pay his debts.

  'It might be possible, to arrange some kind of settlement for you before the crash comes,' he went on. 'That is if you would be willing to divorce him. There should be a few thousand left, and I think I could get it for you.'

  'I couldn't desert him, Edwin,' Helen said. 'It is now he really needs me. I know we haven't got on well together in the past. He has been so exasperating, but now that he is really down, I couldn't leave him.'

  They went on like this for half an hour, then she brought the subject around to me. She told Burnett how I had saved Dester's life, how he had engaged me as his chauffeur and how I had looked after him.

  'He really is useful, Edwin. In fact I don't know what I should do without him. Erle is violent sometimes and Nash is so good with him.'

  She called me down and when I got into the lounge, Burnett looked me over. His steel grey eyes lost their expression of charm and compassion, and I saw only the eyes a criminal in the dock would see.

  Helen introduced us and I was pretty deferential. We talked of this and that for a few moments, then Helen did a nothing-up-my-sleeve, nothing-in-my-hand act when she said, 'Mr. Nash sleeps in the apartment over the garage. I have Marian with me in the house. If I hear Erle in the night, I phone across to Mr. Nash. I can't tell you how thankful I am that he is looking after Erle, but he can't go on having interrupted nights. It's time Erle went to the sanatorium.'

  'I don't mind,' I said. 'I like him. We get on all right.'

  'Well, is there anything I can do? Would you like me to go up and talk to him?' Burnett asked, after sneaking a quick look at his watch.

  'I don't think he feels like seeing anyone,' Helen said. 'I am taking him to the Belle View next Sunday. I'm hoping when he comes out, he'll be all right again. I can't believe he won't ever make any more pictures. I've suggested we go to New York. He might start again there.'

  Burnett shrugged. 'Don't rely on it, Helen. I think you'd be a lot wiser to divorce him. He's always going to be in trouble from now on.'

  'You know about his affairs better than I do,' she said as I moved away so as to let them talk. 'Is there really some money left, Edwin?'

  'Not much I'm afraid; a few thousands, but once his creditors move in, there won't be anything left. He'll have to sell up. Have you any idea how much he owes?'

  'Mr. Nash probably knows.' She turned to me. 'You can tell Mr. Burnett how much he owes, can't you?'

  'I haven't got exact figures,' I said, '’but it must be something like twenty-five thousand.'

  Burnett shrugged.

  'Well, if he can't pay, he'll have to go bankrupt. This isn't going to be nice for you, Helen.'

  Then she said something that turned me as cold as a splinter of ice. She said, 'He's not insured, I suppose? Nothing he could borrow money on?'

  'There's a life policy I believe,' Burnett returned. 'I know he mentioned taking one out soon after he married you, but he didn't tell me what it is worth. Of course, if it is for a substantial amount he could borrow on it.'

  'Well, that's something.' She smiled. 'I'll have to talk to him about it. Better to borrow on it than go bankrupt.'

  'I don't know.' Burnett scratched the end of his fat nose. 'After all, at the rate he is going, Helen, he won't last very long. I don't want to distress you, but drinking the way he does could finish him off quicker than you think. The money would then come to you. If he borrows on the policy there won't be much left when he dies and you've got to think of yourself.'

  'Oh, no. I can always look after myself.' She lifted her head proudly. It was a good act and I saw now why she had dragged in the policy. 'I would much rather him borrow the money on the policy than for him to go bankrupt.'

  Burnett looked approvingly at her.

  'It does you credit, Helen. Damn it! It really does. Well, it may not come to that. Let me know how he gets on and if I can do anything. You have only to call me.'

  He shook hands cordially enough with me, and then Helen saw him to the door. They stood talking for a few moments, then he got into his chauffeur-driven car and was driven off.

  She came back and we looked at each other.

  'Pretty smart: the ever-loving, ever-sacrificing wife,' I said. 'For a moment you gave me a heart attack when you mentioned the policy.'

  She lifted her shoulders. 'It was the way to do it.'

  'Yes. Well, that's the first hurdle taken care of. He's on our side now and we'll need him. Where's Marian?'

  'In the garden.'

  'Okay. I'll get back to the garage. We don't want to be alone together.'

  Her full red lips twisted into a sneer.

  'She's weeding the rose bed,' she said. 'You don't fool me. I've
seen the way you've been looking at her. Can't you leave any woman alone?'

  I felt the blood mount to my face. I had to hold on to myself or I would have crossed the room and slapped her.

  'It's your rotten mind,' I said angrily. 'I don't go for kids like her.'

  'Tell that to the marines,' she said, and moving past me, she went up the stairs.

  I walked into the garden to cool off. I had no wrong feelings about Marian. Okay, the kid interested me. I liked to watch her. She was young and graceful and quick and pretty. I liked to talk to her too. She had more in her head than any other girl I had ever met. There hadn't been much to do in the house that morning and we had had time to talk. The kid just interested me. Helen's rotten insinuation made me feel sick.

  * * *

  The next day, some of the newspapers carried stories about Dester, hinting that he was moving into television. One columnist, who had obviously been talking to Hammerstock, said Dester would soon be among the highest-paid producers in television. And that was just the story I wanted to see printed.

  I was so elated I took the paper over to the house with the intention of showing it to Helen, but she was in her bath so I wandered down the long passage into the kitchen where Marian was sitting on a stool at the kitchen table, cleaning the silver.

  She looked cute in a blue-and-white overall, and she glanced up as I came in and gave me a smile.

  I've had a lot of experience with women, and that smile made my heart skip a beat. It wasn't a come-on smile: nothing like that, but there was a hint of shyness in it I hadn't seen before that told me I interested her as much as she interested me, and to my surprise I got a bang out of it.

  'Hello there,' I said, sitting on the edge of the table. 'Let me give you a hand. I'm good at silver.'

  She passed me the polishing cloth. I talked of this and that for twenty minutes or so while we polished the silver, then I got around to the new movie that was showing that night at the Casino theatre.

  'I wouldn't mind seeing it,' I said. 'I go for Bogart. How about you coming with me?'

  She looked up, her eyes eager. 'I'd love to, but perhaps Mrs. Dester can't spare me.'

  'Oh, sure. You don't have to work twenty-four hours a day. That'll be okay. I'll tell her. I'll meet you at the gate at seven. Okay?'

  'Thanks. I'd love to. I think Bogart's keen myself. If you're sure.'

  I found myself staring beyond her at the deep-freeze cabinet that stood against the wall. It gave me a sudden sick feeling as I visualized how Dester had looked the last time I had lifted the lid. I looked at the neat stack of bottles on the top of the cabinet, then I dragged my eyes away.

  But there was something wrong. I couldn't make up my mind what it was, but there was something.

  Then suddenly it jelled. I knew what was wrong! It hit me with the force of a sledge hammer.

  The motor of the cabinet was no longer running!

  * * *

  'Is there anything the matter?'

  Marian's voice came to me from out of a long, dark tunnel. Somehow I dragged my eyes from the deep-freeze cabinet and looked at her.

  'What did you say?' I asked stupidly.

  She pushed back the stool and stood up. Her face was startled; fear was rising in her eyes. 'What is it?'

  I got hold of myself. I was in such a panic I could have thrown up.

  'What's the matter, Mr. Nash? Aren't you well?'

  I grinned at her. My mouth felt frozen.

  'I don't know,' I said. 'I feel pretty bad. Something maybe that's disagreed with me. Don't look so scared. I'll be all right.'

  She came quickly to me and put a cool hand on my forehead. I suddenly wanted to let her hold me, shut me out of the nightmare of Dester, the deep-freeze and what I had got myself into.

  'You'd better lie down.'

  I made a bigger effort, pulled away from her and patted her shoulder.

  'I'm all right. Will you go into the lounge and get me a big whisky? I'll be fine after a drink.'

  She went quickly out of the kitchen and I heard her running down the passage towards the lounge.

  Slowly, I went over to the freezer. The switch that controlled the motor was fixed to the wall just by the cabinet. Someone had turned it off. Gently, with a shaking hand, I turned the switch down and heard the motor rumble into life. How long had it been off? What effect had it had on Dester? The temperature in the freezer was such that if the motor failed or was turned off, there would be no change in the contents of the freezer for at least four hours. Had it been off longer than that? Had this mysterious turn-off ruined my plan?

  I turned off the switch and was moving away from the cabinet when Marian returned, a glass of neat whisky in her hand. I took it from her and tipped the contents down my throat. Then I set down the glass and smiled at her.

  'I'm okay now. I'm sorry if I scared you. I must have eaten something.' I let it hang in the air.

  'Are you sure you are all right?'

  She stood close to me, looking up at me, her Wedgwood-blue eyes anxious. I think that was the moment when I fell in love with her, although it had been coming on now for the past hours. But I think this was the moment when I became aware of it. I didn't want to grab her: not that kind of love. I wanted her to put her arms around me and make me feel cared for and safe.

  'I'm fine now,' I said, moving away from her because I didn't trust myself that close to her. It was an experience I had never known before - to back away from a girl, and it shook me. 'I don't know what got hold of me.' I looked across at the deep-freeze cabinet again. 'Sounds as if the motor's off.'

  'Shouldn't it be? I turned it off.'

  I passed my tongue over my dry lips.

  'When did you do that?'

  'Oh, about twenty minutes ago. Mrs. Dester said it was empty. It seemed odd to me to leave the motor running. I'm like that, I hate waste.' She smiled. 'So I turned it off.'

  I crossed the room and flicked down the switch.

  'Maybe you've never seen the inside of one of these things,' I said. 'After they've been in use some time they get a heavy coating of frost. If you turn off the motor, the frost thaws and the cabinet gets a lining of water. That's not good for it. So we keep the motor running because we never know when we're going to put something in the freezer.'

  My voice sounded strange to my ears, but the story seemed to go down all right.

  'I'm sorry. I didn't know. I won't touch it again.'

  'No harm done. The frost stays as it is for four hours or so after the motor's turned off.' I started for the door. 'Well, I've got to be moving along. I'll see you tonight. You won't forget?'

  She said she wouldn't forget.

  It took me most of the day to get over the shock, but I got over it, and I didn't tell Helen.

  We went to the movie that night. We went dancing on Wednesday night. On Thursday night I arranged to take her to the Foothills Club.

  While all the evening activity between Marian and me was going on, Helen and I were working on the plan during the day. She would give Marian some task to keep her busy, and then slip across to the garage apartment and we'd get down to the details of the plan. There was a lot to work out: we had to have our stories pat. I found she was every bit as good at inventing as I was.

  On this Thursday evening, she had been with me since three o'clock. We had nearly got the background of the plan worked out. It was now getting on for twenty minutes to seven, and I had promised to meet Marian at the gates at seven. Helen showed no signs of going and I was getting restless.

  'Well, okay, we needn't drive it into the ground,' I said. 'We've got nearly everything lined up and we've still got until Sunday. I'm going to change now. I'm going out.'

  She sat in a lounging chair, watching me, a jeering expression in her eyes.

  'I thought tonight we might go out together, Glyn,' she said. 'I've been neglecting you.'

  I looked at her and it gave me a shock to realize how my feelings towards her had changed. At one
time, just to look at that beautiful lush body and into those hard, glittering eyes, would have turned me into a pot of mush, but not now. I could see beyond the beauty. I knew what that cold, lovely mask of her face hid. I had learned better.

  'It's not safe for us to be seen together, Helen. You know that.'

  'All right. Then let's make a night of it here. I'm in the mood tonight.'

  'Sorry,' I said. 'I've got a date.'

  She crossed one shapely leg over the other and smiled at me. 'May I ask who with?'

  'That's my affair.'

  'I hope it's not with Marian, because she's doing a job for me that'll keep her busy until her bedtime.'

  I looked at her, feeling the blood rise to my face.

  'She's coming out with me tonight.'

  'I've already told her she is not to go out. After all, Glyn, I engaged her. She is my servant and she takes her orders from me.' She got slowly to her feet. 'You mustn't forget you're only the hired help yourself: the unofficial nursemaid to a dead man. Don't forget that, Glyn.'

  'Marian and I are going out tonight,' I said evenly. 'Tell her you don't want her. Do you hear?'

  She laughed. 'Don't be a fool. A girl like that is no use to you, and you are no use to her. You'd better stop this before it goes too far. You and I are linked together: not you and she.'

  'She's going out with me tonight.'

  'All right, if you want to make a fool of yourself, go and tell her. She won't go with you, and she'll wonder why the hired help thinks he can countermand an order from me.'

  She had me.

  'Okay,' I said. 'Then get out of here.'

  She stared at me, lifting her beautiful eyebrows.

  'I said I was in the mood, Glyn.'

  'Get the hell out of here!' I said, glaring at her. 'I don't give a damn what mood you're in.'

  'So you are in love with her, you poor fool,' she said. 'I wouldn't have believed it.'

  She turned and went out of the room and down the stairs, leaving me hating her as I had never hated any other woman before.