Figure it Out For Yourself

'Nothing,' she said curtly, and sat down on the settee. The wrap fell open. She had certainly dressed for the occasion. The white satin dress, the skirt heavy with gold brocade, was fit for a State ball. Diamonds glittered at her throat. A diamond bracelet, four inches wide, imprisoned her left wrist. She seemed determined I shouldn't forget she was the fourth richest woman in the world.

I poured out a stiff whisky, carried the glass to my favourite armchair and sank into it. I felt tired and a little depressed. All the way from Myra's bungalow I had been racking my brains to find a way of cracking this case, but it was like hammering my head against a brick wall.

Then, being suspicious by nature, an idea floated into my head. I considered it, decided it was a sound one, got to my feet again, crossed the room and thumbed down an electric switch on the wall. Then I came back to the chair again and sat down.

Serena watched me, under down-drawn eyebrows.

'I have a telephone connection in my bedroom. It wasn't switched through,' I explained; went on, 'Well, now, Mrs. Dedrick, what can I do for you?'

'I want you to stop interfering with this kidnapping case,' She said.

I sipped a little whisky, stared at her, not very surprised, but taking her believe I was.

'Are you serious?'

Her mouth tightened.

'Of course I am. You're being a nuisance. You're prying into things that don't concern you. The police have made an arrest. I'm satisfied that this man kidnapped my husband. There is no point in you stirring up more trouble.'

I lit a cigarette, tossed the match into the fireplace, and blew a little cloud of smoke to the ceiling.

'The man the police have arrested didn't do the job, Mrs. Dedrick. He happens to be a friend of mine. I shall continue to investigate this business until I have cleared him.'

She went very pale and her eyes lit up. Her hands became fists in her lap.

'I am willing to pay you to stop being a nuisance,' she said in a hard, tight voice.

'The number of times beautiful women with more money than ethics have tried to bribe me to give up a case really astonishes me,' I said. 'Sorry. I'm not interested.'

'You can name your price,' she said, her voice edged with anger.

'Yeah, I'm sure, but I'm still not interested. If that's all you have to say, I'll turn in. I'm tired.'

'Fifty thousand dollars,' she said, watching me.

I grinned at her.

'We're bargaining for a man's life, Mrs. Dedrick. If I don't go on working on this case, Perelli will go to the gas chamber. Do you seriously mean that's what you want?'

'I know nothing about Perelli. I'm not interested in him. If he is tried and found guilty, then he is guilty. I will give you fifty thousand dollars to go away for a month. Will you take it?'

'I can't go away for a month, Mrs. Dedrick. I'm busy trying to find out who kidnapped your husband.'

'Seventy-five thousand!'

'What are you scared of? What don't you want me to find out?'

'Seventy-five thousand!' she said.

'What's happened to Dedrick? Did someone hit him too hard? Have you discovered your father's at the back of this, and you want to buy his life? Or is it purely selfish motives and you don't want the great American public to know you were taken for a ride by a reefer-smuggler?'

'A hundred thousand!' she said, through white lips.

'Not a million!' I said, getting to my feet. 'So save your breath. I'm going ahead with this job, and I'm going to finish it. Good night!'

She stood up. There was a dangerous stillness about her that made me look quickly to see if she had a sandbag with her, but she hadn't. In the mood she was in now I wouldn't put it past her to shoot me.

'Are you sure?' she said.

'I said, good night. You can't expect always to get your own way. Run along, Mrs. Dedrick. You bore me.'

'There's another way of taking care of you,' she said with a cold, set smile. 'I'll give you one more chance. Two hundred thousand.'

'Get out!' I said, and crossed the room to throw open the door.

She went quickly to the telephone, dialled, waited a second then screamed in a voice that made me nearly jump out of my skin : 'Police! Help! Come at once!'

She dropped the telephone and turned to me, the set smile still on her lips.

'Very smart,' I said, and sat down. 'What am I supposed to be doing? Criminal assault?'

She put her hand on the front of her dress and ripped it down. Then she dug her nails into her shoulder and clawed into her white flesh, leaving four angry red marks on her skin. She ran her fingers through her hair. She kicked over a table, pushed the settee into the fireplace, scuffed up the rug. As she walked across the room to disarrange more furniture, I reached for the telephone, dialled, and waited.

'Hello?' Paula said.

'I'm in trouble. Come over here fast. You know what to do, collect Francon and get down to Police Headquarters as fast as you can. In five minutes I'll be on a charge of criminal assault. Mrs. Dedrick is setting the stage now.'

'I'll be with you,' Paula said and hung up.