Fast Buck

‘He didn’t go into details,’ Eve said, looking down at her hands. ‘He said he hadn’t been successful.’

‘That’s rather an understatement,’ Gil is said. ‘The whole thing was a complete flop.’

She didn’t say anything or look at him,

‘You don’t seem particularly concerned,’ Gillis said, watching her narrowly. ‘After al , you’ve lost a quarter of a million, haven’t you?’

‘Have I?’ she asked, and looked up to meet his eyes. ‘I didn’t count on getting it, Adam. Come to that, you don’t seem particularly concerned, either.’

‘You wouldn’t have said that the night before last,’ Gillis said, and laughed. ‘I don’t think I’ve ever been in such a rage. I had everything so well worked out, Preston was marching up and down outside the lodge in a perfect fever, and I was crouching behind a bush, also in a fever. We waited hours, and nothing happened. Then Preston turned on the radio, and we heard the details of the escape. They said Hater had stolen a police launch. We waited and waited, but Baird didn’t show up. I nearly tore my hair out I was so angry.’

Eve got up and began to move around the room aimlessly. Her silence irritated Gillis.

‘You don’t seem very interested,’ he said sharply. ‘After all, we were working on this together.’

‘We weren’t working together, Adam. I behaved like a weak fool and did what you told me to do. All along I thought the idea was crazy, and I’m glad it didn’t come off.’

Gillis shrugged.

‘You’re a funny girl,’ he said, blowing smoke to the ceiling. ‘We could have snapped our fingers at the world with half a million in our pockets. You don’t seem to realise what you’ve lost.’

‘I think I do, but I’ve gained much more.’

‘Nice to have such a placid philosophy. Well, I wasn’t wrong about Baird. I told you he could do anything if he put his mind to it.’

‘Eight men lost their lives through him. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?’

‘Should it?’ he said, mildly surprised. ‘It’s what they were paid for. If a man’s mug enough to be a prison guard, he must expect to run risks.’

‘What do you think has happened to Hater?’ she asked, turning away so he shouldn’t see her disgust.

‘I imagine Baird’s hanging on to him,’ Gillis said, frowning. ‘There was always the possibility that Baird would deal direct with the Rajah. I’m afraid that’s what he’s going to do. It won’t be easy for him.

The police are hunting for him for Zoe Norton’s murder. But if he can get to the Rajah, the Rajah wil do a deal with him.’

‘When you found out that Baird had tricked you,’ Eve said quietly, ‘I suppose you decided Preston was of no further use, and you gave him away to the police?’

Gillis looked at her, his eyes cynically amused.

‘Do you real y want to know, pet? Wouldn’t your silly conscience be happier if you didn’t know?’

‘I want to know.’

‘Then you shal . You’re quite right. You’ve said al along you want to be rid of Kile. I phoned Olin and told him he’d find Jean Bruce’s bracelet in Kile’s safe. He went along and found it. So now you don’t have to worry about Kile any more.’

‘So I’m to blame, real y?’

‘Well, I suppose you are,’ Gil is said, and laughed. ‘I certainly wouldn’t have bothered to phone Olin if you were still anxious to remain Kale’s mistress. But as you aren’t, I thought I’d bet er do something about it. After all, Eve, you’ve helped me in the past. The least I could do was to help you when the opportunity arose.’

‘Are you sure it wasn’t because Baird tricked you?’ Eve said quietly. ‘Are you sure you didn’t round on Kile in a moment of spite because you had to work off your temper on someone, and he was the least likely to hit back?’

For a moment Gillis’s face hardened, but he quickly controlled himself, and burst out laughing.

‘You certainly know me, don’t you, Eve? You’re absolutely right I was livid at the time. Everything was going so well. Yes, I under-estimated that sonofabitch. I thought he was a gun-happy thug without any brains. But he beat me to it. I admit it. He even got paid to get Hater out of the swamp, and then he calmly walked off with him, and will probably do a deal with the Rajah and pocket the half million.

Well, I’ve got over it now. I’ve other ideas: not quite so lucrative, but definitely more promising.’

It had always been the same, Eve thought bitterly. He was forever working on some new idea to get rich quickly. Nothing discouraged him. As soon as one idea petered out, he began working on another.

He would go to endless trouble to try to make money out of his crack-pot schemes, although he wouldn’t stir a finger to get himself a job that would bring him in a legitimate income.

‘I think I’ll go to bed now,’ she said abruptly. ‘I’m tired. You can stay here for the night if you want to.’ ‘I was going to suggest it,’ he said, smiling. ‘But don’t run away just yet. I want to talk to you about my new idea. By the way, pet, how are you off for money?’

‘How much do you want?’

He sat up, his face suddenly ugly with rage.