Shayne touched the point of the knife to Zell’s throat and picked out a bubble of blood. “Tell me about that.”
Zell’s head was pressed back hard. “That’s all I know, Mike! You’ll hear from him.”
Shayne made a new move with the knife and asked another question, then still another. Zell went on babbling that he really and truly didn’t know, and his terror was so intense that Shayne decided to believe him.
“You must have money banked somewhere,” he said. “Clean it out and go. This is out of control.”
He left the lights on and the door unlocked. Downstairs, he told the doorman: “Harry says to notify the police now.”
Chapter 16
The call came at two the next afternoon.
After leaving Zell, Shayne bought food at an all-night supermarket and returned to Surfside. He called the Cuban detective, who reported that Sanchez had dropped his two companions and had then gone back to his own apartment. He called Mrs. Geary’s name as he went in, but she had left. He tried to phone her, but either she wasn’t home or she wasn’t answering the phone.
Shayne told him to knock off and be back on the job at eight in the morning. Dave, working faster and with more confidence, had tied in three more cameras. Shayne worked with him, and they finished the installations a little after daybreak. Dave promised to return by midafternoon.
They had carried several cans of paint, a ladder and drop cloths to the VIP lounge. Shayne painted the outside of the door and left the ladder in the corridor blocking the entrance, with a sign: “Fresh Paint.”
He holed up in the lounge. He slept for a few hours, letting his wristwatch alarm awaken him for the news. He used an electric razor in the bathroom, ate a cold breakfast and went back to the phone, taking quick reports from Rourke, Wanamaker and the Cuban. He gave Rourke his Centrex number, and after that left the phone open for incoming calls.
It was a long morning.
Rourke called from the paper. Someone had just called, and said that Frieda Field had told him this was the way to contact Shayne. What did Shayne think, should he give him the Surfside number?
“Of course not,” Shayne snapped. “When he calls back, find out where I can call him. Then get the hell out of the office and stay out. Tell them you’re sick, and make it convincing, Tim, because I don’t want anybody to be able to reach you. Don’t go to any of your usual bars. Pick one you’ve never been in before. Call me here every half hour.”
“It sounds very gripping. Can you spare a minute to tell me what’s going on?”
“They’ve got Frieda.”
“Frieda!” Rourke exploded. “Who has, Castle?”
“So I’m told. I probably shouldn’t have sent her to Nassau, but I didn’t think it was that risky.”
“This was a local call. Does that mean he’s in Miami?”
“We’ll know in a minute.”
“Shit. That’s lousy. How are you going to handle it?”
“I can’t let them set the conditions. They have to come to me.”
“But Mike, you can’t just let-”
“She’ll be all right,” Shayne interrupted. “That’s the way I’m betting. Unless they keep her in good health she’s no use as bait.”
“The way you’re betting!” Rourke said incredulously. “What if you lose?”
“If I lose,” Shayne said, speaking slowly and distinctly, “I’ll take a couple of weeks off and feel very bad.”
“Mike, I remember a time when you would have put a gun in each pocket-”
“Maybe I’m getting realistic. This guy has unlimited funds and good Miami connections. If he sets something up and invites me to come get her, what are the odds that I’ll walk out alive? And what good would that do anybody? Tim, I’ve been stuck here half the night and all morning. The TV picture’s on without the sound, so nobody’ll wonder who’s using the room. Nothing to do but think about this. And there is absolutely no other way. To make it anywhere near even, I have to do the arranging. Now I’m going to hang up so we can move it along.”
“Realistic, sure! I see that. In the old days, you didn’t stop to think about the odds. You did it. You got some sensational results that way.”
Shayne clicked off.
Ten minutes later Rourke called back and gave him a local number, hanging up without saying anything more. Shayne took a quick turn around the room. Below, the sprinklers were out, watering the track. He dried the palms of his hands, sat down at the phone, and dialed.
“Shayne,” a man’s voice said flatly.
It was slightly guttural, but otherwise neutral. He waited, and so did Shayne, as though they were groping toward each other in a dark room.
The voice spoke again. “We want to talk to you.”
“Who’s we?”
“I’m going to play you a tape. This is a voice you’ll recognize.”
After a click and a soft whir, Frieda said clearly and cheerfully, “Mike, I wrote this out first, and they studied it and talked about it, to be sure I wasn’t sending you any hidden messages. I made a mistake in Nassau. There’s nothing I can do about it now. They’re going to give you some instructions, and they want me to tell you that if you don’t do exactly as they say, they intend to kill me, and I believe they mean it. I’ve told them I’m sure you’ll do the intelligent thing.”
“Do you want that played again?” the voice said when she finished.
“I get the idea. Now the instructions.”
“At four o’clock exactly, be on the West Flagler extension, on the other side of Eight Twenty-six. Drive two miles and leave your car. Come in on the Fontainbleau Golf Course. Somebody will meet you on the seventh tee. Don’t bring anybody with you. No helicopters, no police cordons. We have two-way radio communication, and if there’s any hitch at all, the girl will be dead. Bang, bang. Dead. Don’t be carrying a gun. Wear a tight shirt and tight pants. Any questions?”
“Is that you talking in person, Tony?”
A pause, then: “I’m only taking questions about where and when.”
“I hope you won’t stick to that,” Shayne said easily. “You’re making a big assumption here. Frieda’s a good friend, and I’d hate to have anything happen to her. But I’d hate to have anything happen to me, too, if you see what I mean. That’s what she meant when she said she knew I’d do the intelligent thing.”
“Only a good friend,” Castle said. “Don’t give me that. I’ve had you scouted.”
Shayne grimaced. “I didn’t say I wasn’t coming, but you have to talk me into it. I heard Frieda’s voice, but you could have taped it in Nassau. Is she here?”
“Meet me and we’ll discuss it.”
“Too one-sided, Tony. I see how you figure. If she’s important to me, I’ll drop everything and come. I’ve been having this same argument with a friend of mine. Be reasonable. If I don’t come, you’ll kill her. What happens if I do come? You’ll kill her.”
“She isn’t that important.”
“Of course she is, Tony. She knows your name and where you do business. If we’re going to trade, that’s one thing. I have something you want, you have something I want. Let’s work it out.”
The connection was broken. His face grim, Shayne dialed the number again. It rang a dozen times before it was picked up.
He continued as though there had been no interruption. “From your point of view a golf course is a good place for a meeting. From my point of view it’s terrible. To get any protection I’d need a couple of National Guard companies. This isn’t an ordinary kidnapping situation, I leave fifty thousand in a phone booth and you put Frieda in a taxi. I can’t forget that less than forty-eight hours ago, some people of yours were shooting at me. Incidentally, I’m sorry about sending you that ear. That was childish of me, and I know you won’t forget it unless I can make this deal very attractive.”
“What do you have to deal with, Shayne?”
“I know how Max worked the scam.”
“Yeah?”
“We can do a division that will make sense for both of us. If it goes on this way, it’s going to get out of hand and there won’t be anything for anybody. One more thing. It isn’t in your interest for Harry Zell to go under. Unless we can close down this publicity, that’s inevitable. These are big areas, and I’m glad you’ve decided to talk. But before I agree to a meeting place, I want you to fix something so I can be sure Frieda won’t get hurt. I won’t make any suggestions. You don’t trust me, and I don’t blame you for that. I’ll leave the details up to you.”