‘That’s Grandi’s headache,’ Frost said. ‘Me for bed.’
After a four-hour sleep, he shaved, showered, then called the Spanish Bay hotel. He asked to speak to Miss Goolden.
Marcia came on the line so quickly, Frost grinned to himself.
‘Why, honey, where have you been?’ she asked. ‘I’ve missed you.’
‘That makes two of us. Look, baby, how about spending the afternoon on the beach? I’m not in the mood for plush luxury. Bring a swimsuit, and let’s get lost some place.’
‘Sure, darling. Marvellous! Suppose you pick me up at two o’clock.’
‘But maybe you’re too busy,’ Frost said, grinning. ‘Just say the word. I’ll understand.’
Her instructions from Silk had been clear: stay with him; keep him hooked.
‘No problem, darling. I’ll be waiting. ‘Bye now,’ and she hung up. She immediately called Silk. ‘He wants to go swimming with me. He says he’s not in the mood for plush luxury.’
‘He’s just playing hard to get,’ Silk said. ‘Now, here’s how you handle him.’
Marcia listened, her expression tense, then when Silk had finished talking, she said, ‘Okay, I’ll do it, but he bothers me. There’s something about him I don’t trust.’
Silk laughed. It was a mirthless sound that always sent a chill up Marcia’s spine.
‘Since when have you ever trusted any man?’ he said, then after a pause, he went on. ‘This is important, chick. Don’t foul it.’ The threat in his voice was unmistakable.
He hung up.
Marcia closed her eyes, feeling a shiver run through her as she replaced the receiver. Silk had instilled such terror into her as to leave her defenceless. Some years back, Ross Umney had come to see her when she had the apartment in Miami. Although he didn’t say so, she knew he had come on Silk’s instructions.
‘I want to spell this out to you,’ Umney said, after settling in an armchair. ‘Lu is a professional killer. He makes his living knocking off creeps who get in the way. He’s not a guy to fool with. He thinks you can be useful to him, as I am useful, and as Mitch is useful. So when he needs a silk pussy to setup a creep, you’re going to be it.’
After four years as a call girl, Marcia had developed into a very confident, tough cookie. She laughed.
‘Tell Uncle Lu to go screw himself. I’m not working for anyone but myself. Up on the feet, handsome, and blow.’
Umney smiled sadly.
‘Come on, honey, you should know better than that. He needs a silk pussy. Before you, he tried a couple of chicks, but they said just what you just said.’ He took from his wallet two coloured prints and leaning forward, dropped them into her lap. ‘That’s what he did to them. Lu’s an acid expert.’
The prints were so horrifying, Marcia dropped them as if they were red hot.
Shuddering, she stared at Umney.
‘He wouldn’t do that to me... I’m his niece.’
‘He’d do it to his own mother if she didn’t cooperate,’ Umney said with his sad smile. ‘When he needs you, you jump. That’s the way it is, honey, unless you want to lose your looks,’ and he had left her.
Marcia had picked up the prints and studied them, shuddered, then tore them to bits. From that moment, she was Silk’s slave. Her greatest pleasure had always been to stand before a mirror, admiring her beauty. To be reduced to a freak like those two girls was something she just couldn’t take.
A year later, she had a telephone call from Silk.
‘Go to apartment fourteen at the Sheraton at nine tonight chick,’ he said. ‘You are expected. Give the creep value for his money. Ross will give you a pill. Drop it into the creep’s drink. When he’s asleep, get out. Easy, isn’t it?’ A pause, then the threat in his voice. ‘Don’t foul it up.’
Umney had arrived and had given her a tiny envelope containing a yellow tablet.
‘Careful, honey, of your looks,’ he said.
She read in the next morning’s Paradise Herald that a Mr. Ballinski had been found dead in bed. Apparently, he had shot himself. He had been under considerable financial pressure. Mr. Herman Radnitz, the well-known financier, had put in a bid to take over Mr. Ballinski’s company. Mr. Ballinski had declared that only over his dead body would Mr. Radnitz succeed. The company was failing through lack of management control. The financial editor of the Paradise Herald thought Mr. Radnitz could revitalise the company, and in despair, knowing this, Mr. Ballinski had shot himself.
Shuddering, Marcia now realised she was an accessory to murder.
Another year later, she had been instructed by Silk to set up another financier. She obeyed his instructions, but didn’t look at the morning paper. She couldn’t bear to know that this financier was also dead.
Then she had inherited the Ace of Spades restaurant. Free at last! she had foolishly thought, but Silk had come to her. He told her the Ace of Spades would make a suitable headquarters for him. Caught in the web of terror, Marcia had given over four of the rooms above the restaurant to him, Umney and Goble. The three of them had moved in, and she was stuck with them.
There had been no activity for her from Silk for the past four months, and she began to hope Silk no longer needed her, but would let her run the restaurant and her call girl service and leave her alone. Now, this crazy, dangerous kidnap idea, and she was right in the middle of it!
Silk had said in his quiet deadly voice, ‘We need this guy, chick. You hook him, and keep him hooked. Understand?’
Yes, she understood. Those horrifying photographs were still very much alive in her mind.
Now, after a swim, she lay in her wet bikini beside Frost under the shade of palm trees. In the far distance, people disported themselves in the sea and on the beach, but where she and Frost were lying, they were isolated.
Frost seemed remote. He was smoking a cigarette, his eyes closed. She looked at him, worrying, then deciding she must take action, she moved her hand gently on his crotch. His reaction was instant. He swept away her hand and sat up.
‘Let’s talk,’ he said, looking down at her. ‘You’re not here for fun and games? Right?’
She tried to make her eyes register surprise.
‘What are you saying, honey?’
‘I said let’s talk,’ Frost said. ‘Silk needs me. I’ve figured it. You’re his niece, so you work with him. You are a whore. The sex stuff means nothing to you. Fair enough, but don’t get the idea you’re conning me. That’s what I am saying.’
Marcia again thought of those horrifying prints. She sat up, crossing her arms around her knees.
‘Yes, Silk needs you, and I need you, Mike,’ she said quietly. ‘My restaurant is in the red. I thought it was going to be my lifeline. Without an injection of money, it’s going to fold. Lu came up with this idea of getting a big ransom from Grandi. The way he has it figured, it will work, but not without you. Your take will be five million. If you want money like that, then talk to Lu. It’s as simple as that.’
‘How has he got it figured?’ Frost asked, regarding her.
‘He’ll tell you.’
‘Has he told you?’
She shook her head.
‘I wouldn’t want to know, Mike. My job was to find you. I talked to a lot of guys before deciding you were the one Lu needed. For finding you I get five hundred thousand. With that kind of money, my restaurant will survive.’
‘What makes you think that Silk will give you the money if he does get the ransom?’
‘You don’t have to worry about your share, Mike. Silk is a professional. He’s no piker. He’ll pay me, and he’ll pay you. That’s the least you have to worry about.’
‘What else would I have to worry about?’ Frost asked, stubbing out his cigarette.