He was doing his best to soothe her. ‘Matt says it could have been worse; some of these vandals have thrown molasses and preserves and even sewage around in people’s houses...’
‘He says the whole place is covered in flour... it’ll take weeks to clear up.’
‘It’ll vacuum quite easily, won’t it? It’s not sticky and it doesn’t stain.’
But she couldn’t be consoled, even when he reminded her that the money was safe, and that her mink wrap hadn’t been stolen.
‘But Matt says’, she wailed, ‘that it was white.’
‘Flour will shake out... and might even clean it.’
‘You don’t understand.’
‘Sure I do, Yola,’ he said patiently. ‘You feel like it was you who was assaulted, not your house. You feel dirty and furious and you’d like to kick the bastards who did it. Sure, I know. We had thieves in here once, when your Aunt Ellen was alive. They stole all her rings, and she said it was like being raped.’
They talked about the break-in for a good while longer, and Walt raised an eyebrow and remarked that I seemed to have gotten reasonable revenge for that clap on the head.
We were both yawning by the time Offen was through for the evening. The last half hour consisted of him telling his houseboy his plans and requirements, and none of these betrayed any anxiety or uncertainty. Culham James was confident, and I was glad of it. Worried men patrol their defences.
Walt went off to bed, and although I hadn’t slept at all the previous night I woke again after only three hours. The coloured lights on the outside of the motel threw prismatic reflections on the ceiling. I stared up at them, trying to make patterns and shapes, trying any silly ruse to stop my mind from nose-diving into the pit. The tug of the unfinished chase was very faint, and whether Allyx and Showman ever sired another foal seemed a matter of supreme unimportance. Fraud, theft, attempted murder... who cared?
I had left the Luger in its belt holster across the room on a chair. Neither the Clives nor Offen were likely to come creeping through the night to do me in, and my usual enemies were six thousand miles to the east. The only danger lay in myself, the deadliest enemy of the lot. The theory that going to bed with the gun out of reach would lessen its magnetic temptation was proving a dreary flop.
One more day, I thought in the end. Anyone could manage just one more day. If you said that firmly enough every night, one might even finish the course.
Dawn crept up on the coloured bulbs and washed them out. I took a shower and shaved, and admitted that I had seen healthier looking men than the one in my reflection.
Walt came along to my room when I was midway through orange juice and coffee at eight-thirty. ‘What you need,’ he said, eyeing this, ‘is some good solid food.’
‘I don’t feel hungry.’
His eyes slid to my face and away. ‘Come on down and eat with me.’
I shook my head. ‘I’ll wait for you.’
He wouldn’t go alone. He ordered hot-cakes and eggs and coffee from room service, and we got straight down to business while he demolished them.
‘It’ll take two and a half days for Sam Hengelman to get to Kingman,’ I said.
He nodded with his mouth full.
‘He was starting early this morning,’ I went on, ‘I called him last night, after you’d been through from Las Vegas. He’s driving the van himself, and he’s coming alone. That means his journey time will be longer, but it seemed better that way from the secrecy point of view.’
‘Did you tell him it was another snatch?’ Walt said doubtfully.
I smiled. ‘I engaged him to come and collect a horse belonging to Dave Teller. He asked if we were likely to be collecting this one in a lonely place at night, and I said yes, we probably would.’
‘And he didn’t back out?’
‘He merely remarked that he had no great objection to an easy buck if I would assure him he couldn’t go to jail for it.’
Walt wiped errant egg off his chin. ‘And could he?’
‘I couldn’t tell him it was impossible. Odds of a thousand to one, I said. He said a thousand bucks against one chance of going to jail wasn’t enough.’
Walt laughed. ‘So how much is he coming for?’
‘Fifteen hundred, plus the normal hiring fee, plus expenses.’
‘Not bad for one week’s work.’ He paused, stirring sugar, then said tentatively, ‘What do you get out of this yourself?’
‘Me?’ I said in surprise. ‘I’ve no idea. Three weeks’ heatwave instead of the English summer...’
‘Didn’t you negotiate a fee?’
‘No.’
‘How come?’
‘It didn’t occur to me.’
His face crinkled into a mixture of emotions with what appeared to be amazement and pity coming out on top.
‘How about you?’ I said.
‘I’m not on vacation,’ he pointed out. ‘I get a pretty good salary, and also a cut of everything I save the company.’
‘So Chrysalis has been worth the extra work?’
‘At a million and a half, are you kidding?’ Walt looked at me earnestly. ‘Look, Gene, I’m going to give you one half of that cut...’
‘No,’ I said, interrupting. ‘I don’t want it.’
‘You know darned well I wouldn’t have found that horse, not in a million years. Nor got him back alive so quickly. And as for these other two...’
‘You keep it for your kids,’ I said. ‘But thanks, anyway.’
He would have gone on insisting, but I wouldn’t listen, and after two attempts he gave it up. In the back of my mind, as I outlined what I suggested we should do next, there lingered a bitter suspicion that I hadn’t accepted his gift because it would be a selfish waste if I didn’t stick around to spend it. I had rejected any strings of conscience tying me to life. The death-seeking force was up to another of its tricks.
‘A pincer movement, I think,’ I said. ‘Or rather, a simultaneous attack on two fronts.’
‘Huh?’
‘Keep Culham James Offen’s attention riveted on the Moviemaker and Centigrade he has on his farm while we spirit away the others.’
‘Er, quite,’ Walt agreed.
‘You can take Offen,’ I said.
‘And you take the horses?’
I nodded. Walt considered what might happen if we exchanged roles, and didn’t argue.
‘What are the chances of finding out which company Matt insures the Las Vegas house with?’
Walt thought about it. ‘Our agent there might be able to. But why?’
‘I... er... would rather take those horses when I know Matt is safely away.’
Walt smiled.
‘So,’ I went on, ‘it shouldn’t be too difficult to get him to go back to the house on Pitts. Say for instance his insurance company required him to make an inspection of his security arrangements and sign some document or other, before they would renew full cover? We know from the telephone calls to Offen that Matt and Yola have a safe in the den with a lot of money in it. Matt won’t want to be uninsured for more than a minute, after having one break-in already.’
‘We couldn’t ask his company to do that...’ Walt paused and looked at me with suspicion.
‘Quite right,’ I nodded. ‘You can. You know all the jargon. As soon as we hear from Sam Hengelman that he has reached the Arizona border, you can start the spiel on Matt.’
‘From here?’
‘Yes. Ask him what time would be convenient for him, but try to manoeuvre him into coming late in the afternoon or early evening, say six or seven. Then it would be dark when he got home, and late, which should hamper him a bit when he finds the horses are gone... he might even stop off in Las Vegas for a couple of hours at the tables.’