‘Yeah.’ He shook his head. ‘Who the hell knows? You know something, man? I’ve drunk too much.’ He got unsteadily to his feet. ‘I’m going back to my pad.’
‘Do you want me to drive you, Joe?’
He lurched to the door, paused and looked at me.
‘Would you?’
‘We’re working together, Joe. I don’t want some smart cop picking you up. I’ll drive you home.’
‘Thanks, man. I guess that drink...’
I steered him to the elevator and down to the Chevy.
‘Where do we go?’ I asked, as we settled in the car.
‘Straight ahead. Tenth to the right. No. 45,’ he mumbled, and his head fell forward.
After a ten-minute drive, I stopped outside a walk-up apartment block and shook him awake.
‘We’re here, Joe.’
He pawed my arm.
‘You’re a real pal, man,’ he muttered. You take the car back. I’ll pick it up tomorrow. Man! Was that drink strong!’
As he made to get out of the car, I caught hold of his arm.
‘Joe where is Glenda?’
He stared drunkenly at me.
‘With the boss, man. Where do you think? All nice and snug with Benny breathing down her neck.’
He reeled out of the car and plodded across the sidewalk.
I watched him open the front door and disappear. Then I drew in a long, deep breath.
It seemed to me the cards were falling my way.
‘The truck will be ready next week,’ Harry said. ‘I’ve got the uniforms fixed.’
We were sitting in cabin six at the Golden Rose motel. The room was comfortably furnished with a double bed against the far wall, four lounging chairs, a TV set and a liquor cabinet. We were both nursing whiskeys as we sat opposite each other.
‘I’ll collect the truck around midnight from Frisco,’ Harry went on. ‘That’s no problem. I have a couple of stooges who will be the guards.’
‘They know what they are walking into?’ I asked.
‘Oh, sure. They’re picking up a couple of grand. For that money, they would cut their mothers’ throats.’ He eyed me thoughtfully. ‘The one weak thing in this operation is this patrolling guard. How would it be if we knocked him off, and put a guy in his place?’
This suggestion shocked me, but it warned me that Harry was as ruthless as Klaus.
‘The guard is relieved Sunday morning. Get rid of him, and the operation is blown.’
Harry thought about this, then nodded.
‘Yep. I see that.’ He scratched at his beard, then smiled. He said he had a girlfriend who would be waiting on the east side of the bank, and when the guard came around, out of sight of the bank’s entrance, she would ask him to direct her to a hotel.
‘She’s cute,’ Harry said, his grin widening. ‘She can chat up this guard for at least five minutes: all the time we need to get into the bank. She’s done jobs for me before, and she’s sharp.’
This seemed to me a sound idea. I had been worrying about the guard.
‘I go along with that,’ I said,
‘Now tell me, pal, is this shindig going to work?’
‘My end will. What happens when you get the loot into the truck and take off is up to you.’
He regarded me, his eyes narrowing.
‘Why shouldn’t we get the money away? You said the alert won’t be until Monday morning. That gives us all Sunday to get lost.’
‘That’s fine.’ I sipped my drink. ‘Then you have no problem, but that’s a lot of money.’
He cocked his head to one side.
‘So?’
‘You realize Klaus is as nutty as a fruitcake? He’s a psychopath.’
‘Suppose he is?’
‘Three million, Harry. Even a psychopath doesn’t give that kind of money away. You’re taking all the risks. He just sits back.’
He stiffened and leaned forward.
‘So?’
‘Anything. I don’t have to worry. I’m being paid in advance. It’s you who have to worry.’
‘You think Klaus could double-cross us?’ There was a note of uncertainty in his voice.
‘You are dealing with a nut case. Anything can happen. I don’t know. He might be so nutty he will let you three walk away with three million dollars. On the other hand, he might arrange for you and Joe to get knocked off, and take the money for himself.’
Harry scratched his beard, his eyes uneasy.
‘Who would knock us off?’
‘He tells me he has an organization.’
Harry laughed.
‘Sure: he has me, Joe and Benny: that’s his organization. He likes to talk big. I’m the guy who knows where to hire help: he doesn’t. You’re talking a load of crap. Once we get the money, there’s nothing he can do about it.’
‘There’s Benny,’ I said quietly.
Harry jerked upright. He looked like a man who had walked into a brick wall.
‘Yeah... there’s Benny.’ He sat silent, thinking, as he stared into his glass.
‘Benny is a moronic killer,’ I said. ‘If you can trust him, you have no problem. I wouldn’t trust him further than I can throw him. He bothers me. Given the slightest chance, I think he would knock off the three of us, and drive away with the loot. That’s my thinking.’
Harry shifted uneasily. He thought about this, frowning, then finally he said, ‘Aw, come on. I...’
‘What would a moron like Benny do with three million dollars?’ I broke in. ‘If he knocked off the three of us, he wouldn’t know how to handle money that big, but Klaus would. Benny would go to Klaus. Maybe Klaus has already sold him on the idea he’ll tell him how to handle the money. So Benny could be a sucker too. What’s to stop Klaus knocking Benny off, and vanishing with the money? Three million dollars!’
Harry stared at me, and I could see I had got him worried.
‘You’re a smart guy,’ he said slowly. ‘You’ve given me something to think about. You do your job, and leave me to look after Benny. Now let’s go over the whole operation from A to Z. Right?’
Certain I had sown a seed of doubt in his mind, I produced the blueprint of the bank from my brief-case, and for the next two hours, we worked on the break-in.
Harry was quick and intelligent. His questions were probing, but he seemed satisfied with my answers.
Finally, he said, ‘That’s it. It looks good to me.’
‘Sure?’
‘Can’t see how it can go wrong. Yeah, it’s fine.’
‘Tell Klaus that. He’s agreed to pay me in advance if you’re satisfied.’
He gave me a sly look.
‘Looking after yourself, huh?’
‘I’d be a sucker if I didn’t. I’m not kidding myself you three would share with me. My share comes out of Klaus’s pocket.’
‘What’s he paying you?’
‘Two hundred and fifty in bearer bonds.’
I saw his eyes shift.
‘Bearer bonds?’ he repeated.
‘Yes... as good as cash.’
He gave a sly little grin that told me all I wanted to know. He knew the bonds Klaus had given me were forgeries.
‘You’re real smart.’ He nodded. ‘Bonds are a lot better than a heap of bills.’
‘They sure are,’ I said, thinking, okay, you twister, my laugh will come last. ‘How are you getting rid of the jewellery?’ I went on casually as I put the blueprint back in my brief-case. ‘There’ll be a lot of it.’
‘Should be no problem. I’ve a guy lined up who’ll handle it, but there will be cash, won’t there?’
‘Yes, but more jewellery than cash.’
He grimaced.
‘You think there’s three million in that vault?’
‘I don’t know: could be more. In a town as rich as Sharnville, there must be a lot of money stashed away in the vault. There are all kinds of big property deals going on right now, and a lot of it will be in cash to avoid tax.’