She continued to stare at me for a long moment, then finally, she asked, ‘So what do we do?’
‘First, make yourselves look respectable: a brother and sister on vacation. Buy some respectable looking clothes with the money you stole from me. Then you come to Paradise City and put up at the Pyramid Moteclass="underline" register as John and Mary Hall.’ I took out my gold pencil and wrote my telephone number on the margin of the newspaper lying on the table. ‘Call me Tuesday night after midnight and give me the number of your cabin. I don’t want to ask for you at the reception desk. On Wednesday night I’ll come to your cabin at ten o’clock with all the details you’ll need. You could do the job next Friday, but I’ll let you know for certain when we meet on Wednesday.’
‘You still haven’t told us how we do the job,’ Rhea said, watching me. ‘I want to know.’
‘My boss and I will be working on the design for the collar at his penthouse, and the necklace will be on his desk. We need it for the new design. All you have to do is to walk in, tie us up so we can’t raise the alarm, pick up the necklace and walk out. It’s as easy and as simple as that.’
‘Well, for Pete’s sake!’ Fel exclaimed. ‘You mean it really will be as easy as that? No fuzz to worry about? We just walk in and take the goddamn thing?’
‘That’s it.’ I got to my feet. ‘Any further questions?’
‘We’ve got to have guns?’ Fel asked.
‘Of course, but not loaded. There’ll be no opposition. Just use them as a threat... you understand? Not loaded.’
‘Sure. I can get hold of a couple of rods okay.’
‘We’ll go into details next Wednesday. Leave the organising to me. All you have to do is to get yourselves decent-looking outfits, look respectable and don’t attract attention.’ I looked at Rhea. ‘Have you any questions?’
She studied me, frowning.
‘What’s the catch?’ she asked. ‘That’s my question. This job stinks to me: half a million bucks; simple, dead easy and no fuzz. It stinks! What’s your game?’
I turned to Fel.
‘Do you think you can find someone to work with you? I’m getting sick of her. After all two men are better than a man and a suspicious bitch.’
He grinned.
‘Pay no attention to her. She always runs at the mouth. We’ll be at the motel Tuesday night, mister.’
‘If I don’t hear from you by midnight Tuesday, I’ll know you haven’t the guts to do the job and I’ll look elsewhere.’
I made that my exit line.
During the five years I had worked for Sydney I had been to his penthouse scores of times. The nightman, Bert Lawson, knew me and always had a cheery salute for me when he let me in.
At 22.00 the glass door to the entrance lobby was locked. Once the door was locked, Lawson retired to his little office and spent the rest of the night watching TV. He only appeared to let in the occasional visitor and to answer the telephone which rarely disturbed him.
The four rich occupants, including Sydney, had their keys to the entrance door and let themselves in after 22.00. Apart from Sydney, the other three were elderly and seldom if ever went out at night. This made it easy for me. The lock on the entrance door was a Yale. Lawson pressed down the catch at locking up time and then the door could only be opened by a key. I didn’t anticipate any trouble when coming to see Sydney after 22.00. Lawson would let me in. I would take the elevator to the top floor, then walk down to the lobby. By that time, Lawson would be back in his office, watching TV. All I had to do would be to sneak across the lobby, put up the catch, then walk up the stairs to Sydney’s penthouse.
Sydney also had a Yale lock on his front door. As he was always forgetting his keys, he seldom kept his front door locked, knowing the entrance door to the apartment block was ways guarded during the day and locked at night. If, on the night of the raid, he did happen to lock his door when I was with him, I could find an excuse to unlock it. I could leave my briefcase in the lobby, come out to fetch it while he was working at his desk, slip the catch, unlocking the door. It was essential that Rhea and Fel should rush into the penthouse and take Sydney by surprise. I was sure he would collapse with fright. At the sight of a gun, he would shrivel. I was sure I would have no trouble from him, but to keep suspicion off me, I would have to act brave. I would have to be pistol whipped by Fel. I didn’t like this idea, but it was essential to keep me clear of any suspicion. I had already suffered concussion from the air crash. He mustn’t hit me over the head, I told myself, but across the face.
All these thoughts were going through my head as I drove back to Paradise City. I felt reasonably convinced that both Rhea and Fel were hooked in spite of Rhea’s suspicions. But if they imagined I would let them walk off with one million, eight hundred thousand dollars’ worth of diamonds they were in for another think.
The trick in my plan was to let them steal the glass necklace. During the flight back to Paradise City in the air taxi, I had begun to realise I was getting misgivings about Rhea. Now, driving back in the Buick I asked myself if I really wanted to have an association with her. I lusted for her, but discovered I was lusting for a million dollars more than her. If I could have laid her like the whore she was, I would have done it, but seeing her this time warned me she was hard, tough and ruthless, without a spark of feeling in her. As I drove mile after mile, I began to come around to the idea of using her and her brother as my cat’s paws. Unlike her moron of a brother, she was suspicious of me. I would now have to be very careful how I handled her on Wednesday night.
It would be a complete letdown if, like some wild cat, sniffing at a concealed trap and knowing instinctively that it was a trap, she wouldn’t do the job. Without her and Fel the plan was abortive. I had no other connections with the underworld. I couldn’t ask around for two men to pull a jewel robbery.
So everything depended on how I handled her on Wednesday night. I was sure she would come to the motel, but by then, she would have had time to think and to search for snags and to try to find out why I had stupidly offered half a million. From the expression in her cold, green eyes, I was sure she hadn’t been convinced by my explanation.
But I was certain of one thing: it would never occur to her that the necklace was a fake. I felt, since I was willing to let them take the necklace, her suspicions would be lulled. Letting them take the necklace was the bait in the trap and I was confident such a bait wouldn’t occur to her. Surely she would feel she had the whip hand with the necklace in her possession. She would be sure that I couldn’t double-cross her.
When I arrived at the shop on Tuesday morning, Jane Bowman, my secretary, told me that Sydney wouldn’t be in. He was feeling unwell. I guessed he was struggling with the design of the collar and it was proving difficult. I wondered if I should telephone him, but with Terry watching me, I decided I would call him during my lunchtime.
Business was brisk that morning. I sold a diamond clip, a bracelet and an engagement ring before I went to lunch.
Using a call booth, I spoke to Sydney. He sounded depressed.
‘Larry, precious, this isn’t going to be easy. I’ve tried and tried over the weekend and I’m getting just a wee bit desperate.’
This was unlike Sydney, but I knew his task would be difficult.
‘Two million dollars are never easy to make, Sydney,’ I said. ‘Have you anything to show me tonight?’
‘Show you?’ His voice went up into a squeak. ‘Hundreds and hundreds of designs I’m sick of looking at them.’
‘Don’t worry. I’ll be around at nine and we’ll sort them out... okay?’