‘You must be kidding, Mike! Four thousand? That’s nothing!’
‘That’s your thinking. To me, that kind of money is a lump. I’m getting out or else I’ll land up with a broken arm.’
‘A broken arm? What are you saying?’
He gave her a wry grin.
‘Forget it, baby. This isn’t your scene. I’m quitting tomorrow.’ He stood up. ‘So long, baby, and thanks.’
‘Mike!’ Her voice was shrill.
He paused at the door.
‘Wait!’
She scrambled off the bed, ran to a big closet, jerked open the door and fumbled in a drawer, then she swung around and came to him, smiling.
‘Here, take it! It’s worth at least twenty thousand. My fink of a father gave it to me for my birthday,’ and she dropped a diamond and emerald ring into his hand. ‘Hock it, Mike. Pay off this jerk. I couldn’t care less about the ring.
Frost stared at the ring, hesitated, then grinned. Why not? Here was the solution to get Silk off his back and to keep this job. What did a ring like this mean to this corrupt, little nympho?
‘You really mean you want to bail me out, baby?’ he said, dropping the ring into his pocket.
‘I want you to stay here,’ she said breathlessly, and put her arms around his neck, thrusting her body against his. ‘I want many more nights.’
‘Okay.’ Frost slid his hands down her naked back and pulled her closer. ‘I’ll fix it.’ Then pushing her away, he left the room and ran silently down the stairs and into the guardroom.
He came to an abrupt standstill as he saw Suka sitting in the armchair, facing the monitors. Hearing him, Suka got to his feet, his face expressionless, and moved by Frost.
‘What the hell are you doing here?’ Frost demanded.
‘Guarding,’ Suka said, and went out of the room.
Frost stared after him, frowning, then shrugged. He dropped into the armchair, and taking out the ring Gina had given him, he examined it. Twenty thousand! Well, for God’s sake!
When Marvin relieved him at 08.00, Frost went to his cabin and slept for four hours, then after a sandwich lunch, completely forgetting he had a date with Marcia at the Spanish Bay hotel at midday, he drove to Paradise City, unaware that a cream-coloured Mercedes, driven by a swarthy, fat man wearing sun goggles, had moved after him.
Mitch Goble had been waiting in a parking bay within sight of the guard barrier leading to Paradise Largo since 09.00, waiting for Frost to appear. He had spent the three-hour wait reading a ‘girlie’ magazine. He was a man of infinite patience, also a man with a gross appetite. He had with him a paper sack of cheeseburgers, and from time to time, he dipped into the sack.
Frost found a hockshop on Seaview Boulevard.
He had his glib story ready.
‘My wife and I are parting,’ he said to the thin, Jewish clerk who was standing behind the counter. ‘We need fast money.’ He put the ring on the counter. ‘I paid I twenty thousand for this.’
The clerk examined the ring, sighed, said it was worth only fifteen thousand, and he would lend six for three months.
Frost was in no mood to haggle. After all, it wasn’t his ring. He took the money and the ticket, and as he walked back to where he had parked the T.R., he remembered his date with Marcia. The time now was 13.25. He decided she had probably gone to the restaurant. He couldn’t imagine she would wait around for any man, so he headed for the restaurant.
Mitch Goble walked into the hockshop.
‘Hi, Issy,’ he said. ‘What gives with that guy who’s just left?’
Issy, who was terrified of Goble, produced the ring.
‘He’s hocked it for six. It’s worth at least thirty.’
Goble examined the ring, grunted, then handed it back.
‘Keep your nose clean, Jew-boy,’ he said, and leaving the shop, he shut himself in a telephone booth. He called Silk.
‘Our creep has just hocked a thirty thousand diamond and emerald ring for six grand,’ he told Silk. ‘He’s heading your way.’
‘Take time off, Mitch,’ Silk said, and he hung up.
After waiting until half past twelve, Marcia had telephoned Silk from her hotel.
‘He hasn’t shown,’ she said. ‘So what do I do?’
‘Come over here,’ Silk said. ‘No problem.’
When Frost walked into the restaurant, he was met by Ross Umney who had been told by Silk to look out for him.
‘Hi, Mike!’ Umney said with his wide, friendly smile. ‘Marcia’s just arrived. She’s asking for you.’
‘I’ve got business,’ Frost said curtly. ‘Is Silk around?’
‘Sure... down in the shooting gallery.’
Shoving past Umney, Frost took the elevator down to the basement. He found Silk talking to Moses. As soon as Moses saw Frost, he moved away and began busying himself cleaning guns.
Frost planted himself before Silk.
‘I owe you four,’ he said, and taking out his wallet, he extracted four one thousand dollar bills and thrust them at Silk.
‘No you don’t friend,’ Silk said, and his thin lips moved into what could be taken for a smile. ‘We got our lines crossed. That stupid hunkhead, Ross, should have told me. How was I to know you are a friend of my niece?’
Frost stared at him.
‘Your niece?’
‘Yeah... Marcia. When she heard I’d taken you for a ride, she beat the ears off me.’ He laughed. ‘I apologise, Mike. I didn’t know you’re one of us. You owe me nothing.’
Frost felt a rush of blood to his head.
‘We made a bet. I don’t give a damn who you are. I pay my debts!’
Silk continued to smile.
‘Take it easy, friend,’ he said. ‘I run a racket here. I shoot for a living. I con suckers, but not friends. I apologise. Okay?’
Frost hesitated, then relaxed.
‘You sure can shoot. Okay.’
Silk nodded.
‘We fast buck folk are all in some racket,’ he said, and taking out a pack of cigarettes, he offered it. ‘Marcia tells me you’re guarding the Grandi babe.’ He laughed. ‘Some racket! Some babe!’
Frost grinned. He was so relieved that he hadn’t to part with four thousand dollars, his previous assessment that Silk could be dangerous began to fade. Also he liked Silk’s remark about ‘fast buck folk.’ That’s what he was: hunting for the fast buck.
‘That’s a fact,’ he said. ‘Well, it’s a job.’ He put the bills back into his wallet. A thought dropped into his mind. He would tell Gina he had paid his debt, give her I two thousand and the hock ticket, and keep the four thousand for himself.
A heavily built man came out of the elevator and moved towards Silk.
‘Hi, Lu,’ he said. ‘You want a little bet?’
Silk went into his senile act.
‘You bet too high for me, Mr. Lewishon.’
‘Aw, come on! Four to one with target rifles.’
Frost headed for the elevator. Some racket! he thought. What the hell was he doing, sitting in a guardroom at six hundred a week! He was sure Silk would be picking up four thousand in the next half hour!
Ross Umney was hanging around the elevator as Frost reached the restaurant floor.
‘You want to eat, Mike?’ he asked.
‘I’ve already eaten. Where’s Marcia?’
‘Tied up right now.’ Umney leered. ‘A girl has to work. I want you to meet a good friend of mine. He’s got influence.’
Umney linked his arm into Frost’s arm and led him down a corridor, opened a door and led him into a small room where Mitch Goble was waiting.
Goble was chewing his way through a vast hamburger. He wiped his fat fingers on a serviette, got to his feet, and beamed at Frost.
‘Mitch, I want you to meet a good friend of Marcia’s,’ Umney said. ‘Mike Frost.’
Goble extended his hand.
‘A pleasure, Mike. I’ve heard about you... you’re one of us people.’