As he was cutting a slice off the hamburger, he heard a car arrive, then he heard pounding feet, and the door jerked open.
Goble felt an unease run through him when he saw Umney’s white, scared face.
‘Didn’t it work?’ he asked, knowing what the answer was going to be.
Umney sat down.
‘The bastard laughed at me!’
Goble screwed up his eyes.
‘Didn’t you lay it on the line, Ross? About the other guy, about...’
‘Lay it on the line!’ Umney shouted. ‘I gave him the works but he laughed!’
Goble pushed the plate away. The sight of the hamburger suddenly sickened him.
‘Lu agreed that was the way...’
‘I don’t give a goddamn what Lu said!’ Umney exclaimed. ‘I’m telling you, Mitch! We were crazy in the head to get mixed up with Frost! You’ve always said he could be too smart! Now, I’m telling you he’s going to become more than too smart! He says he is coming after us, and he’s going to kill us! If you had seen his face when he said that, you’d be in my state! He’ll do it! That look on his face! Jesus! I wish to God I hadn’t listened to Lu!’
‘Where is Lu?’ Goble asked.
‘In bed and asleep,’ Umney snarled. ‘We played it the way we agreed. While I talked to Frost, Lu stayed back with the rifle. When I was through, Lu took a shot at Frost. I wish he had killed him! When I told Lu Frost was going to kill me, he told me not to worry. He said Frost was no problem! Imagine! You know, Mitch, there are times when I wish I had never had anything to do with Lu. He’s crazy or something!’
‘Get a grip on yourself!’ Goble snapped. ‘Lu’s never steered us wrong. We wouldn’t be where we are without him.’
‘Now where are we?’ Umney demanded. ‘We’ve got this bastard gunning for us!’
At this moment the telephone bell rang, making both men start. Goble snatched up the receiver, listened, then talked.
Getting up, Umney poured himself a big shot of Scotch. His nerves were fluttering so badly what Goble was saying made no sense to him.
Goble hung up.
‘That was Hi-Fi. I sent him down to the airport in case Frost took off. Hi-Fi says Grandi’s Lamborghini is in the car park and Frost hired a Mercedes from Hertz. Frost could be heading for Miami for a New York flight.’
‘No! He’s coming after us, Mitch! I know it!’ Umney banged his clenched fists together. ‘We are crazy to keep this light on! He could be out there with a rifle!’
Goble walked up to Umney and hit him across his face.
‘Wrap up! We’ve got to find Frost before he goes into action. Lu has gone to bed. Could be Frost has also gone to bed. So we start checking the motels. I’ll take the west side. You the east side. Come on, Ross! How many finks have we set up for Lu? This is just another fink! Get started!’
After half an hour, Goble called the Twin Oakes motel. He had called four other motels, now he struck gold.
‘Yes, sir,’ a voice told him. ‘A man booked in half an hour ago. He had a Mercedes. He is registered in the name of Peter Jarrow.’
‘Tall, dark, good looking?’
‘That is an exact description, sir,’ the voice said, now sounding worried. ‘I hope there is no trouble.’
Goble had identified himself as Sergeant Baski of the Paradise City traffic control.
‘Routine check,’ Goble said. ‘No problem,’ and he hung up. He was so pleased with his quick success he didn’t take into consideration the night clerk’s reaction.
As Goble ran to the door and bawled down the passage, ‘I’ve found him!’ the night clerk who had lived in Paradise City all his life and was on good terms with the police, slowly replaced the receiver. Sergeant Baski! This was a name unknown to him.
The night clerk who was a seventeen-year old student, doing night duty to earn a few dollars while he worked for a master’s degree in economics, decided that a call from the police about a routine check at 03.50 was more than odd.
He called the police headquarters and asked the night duty sergeant to be connected with Sergeant Baski, traffic control.
The night duty sergeant said in a bored voice, ‘You have made a mistake. We don’t have any Baski. What’s this all about?’
The night clerk hung up.
Two minutes later, the sound of the telephone bell woke Frost. He came awake, alert, and became even more alert as he listened to what the night clerk told him.
‘Thanks,’ he said. ‘I have a drunken friend who starts trouble. Forget it, but thanks all the same.’
Frost slid off the bed.
So they had found him! Silk could be out there in the darkness, waiting for him. Frost groped around in the dark, found the rifle, then dropping flat, he edged open the cabin door and looked out into the night.
The sky had a purple light. The palms and the shrubs were sharp edged against the coming dawn. In another ten minutes, it would be dangerously light.
Frost felt completely relaxed. This was the kind of warfare he revelled in. Moving like a silent snake, pulling the rifle with him, he crawled into the open.
Nothing happened. Nothing moved.
He decided it was too soon for Silk to take action, but he took no chances. He reached the Mercedes as the edge of the sun came up behind the trees. With one swift movement, he had the car door open and slid in, ducking down, he waited. His built-in instinct showed him the green light. He started the car and drove fast towards the Ace of Spades.
Silk lifted his head off the pillow and glared with his one eye at Umney who stood in the doorway.
‘Can’t you see I’m trying to sleep!’ he snarled.
Umney moved into the room, snapping on the light.
‘Frost is at the Twin Oakes motel,’ he said excitedly. ‘You can take him!’
‘Get the hell out of here,’ Silk barked. ‘I’m trying to sleep!’
‘Lu... for God’s sake! Frost is dangerous!’ Umney came to stand at the foot of the bed. ‘This is the time to fix him!’
Silk rolled on to his back and yawned.
‘I made a deal with Grandi and I stay with it,’ he said. ‘We are going to break Frost’s nerve. What’s the matter with you? You want a piece of the money, don’t you? We rush this and Grandi won’t pay. Leave me sleep!’
‘All you have to do, Lu, is go to the Twin Oakes motel and nail him!’ Umney said. ‘If you don’t nail him now, he’s going to nail us!’
‘Get the motel staked out,’ Silk said. ‘We wait. I can take care of Frost any day. Turn that goddamn light out. I want some sleep!’
With a sick feeling of fear and frustration, Umney turned off the light and returned to the room over the swimming pool.
‘He’s crazy!’ he said, his voice shaking. ‘He says to stake out the motel and when he’s ready, he’ll take care of Frost. He says Grandi won’t pay unless it’s slow! Jesus! While we’re farting around, Frost could come after us!’
Goble had just finished the hamburger.
‘Take it easy, Ross. No need to get excited. I’ve alerted Louie to watch the motel. He’ll be there in twenty minutes. Frost won’t do anything. He’s not all that stupid. If Lu wants it slow, we do what he wants. He’s never been wrong, so quit yelling.’ He got to his feet. ‘I’m going to bed. Look at the goddamn time.’ He walked over to the window and drew back the curtains. ‘Look, the sun’s coming up.’
He presented an irresistible target to Frost, hidden by the flowering shrubs. Frost lifted the rifle, aimed and gently squeezed the trigger.
The top of Goble’s head exploded, scattering brains and blood, and he went down like a stricken elephant, taking with him the table and two chairs.