Carrying the parcel, I returned to the living-room. Maclain was humming softly. I saw the level in the whisky bottle had shrunk.
‘Damn fine whisky, Mr. Lucas.’
I went to my desk and addressed the parcel to Brannigan at the Californian National Bank, Los Angeles.
‘Can I ask a favour, Fred?’
He blinked blearily at me.
‘For you. Sure... anything.’
He poured more whisky into his glass, drank, sighed and shook his head in appreciation.
‘I have here in this parcel some important papers for Mr. Brannigan,’ I said, hoping he wasn’t, by now, too drunk to understand. ‘Would you lock this parcel in your safe, Fred?’
He gaped at me.
‘Put it in the bank, Mr. Lucas.’
‘I told Mr. Brannigan I would give the parcel to you for safe-keeping,’ I said. ‘He went along with the idea. He thinks a lot of you, Fred. He told me you would be the next sheriff if he has anything to do with it, and you know Mr. Brannigan draws a lot of water.’
Maclain’s bloated face lit up with a delighted grin.
‘He said that? Mr. Brannigan?’
‘That’s what he said.’
‘Yeah, and he’s right.’ He levered himself out of his chair. ‘For Mr. Brannigan, any favour.’
‘I want you to keep this parcel in your safe, Fred. If you don’t hear from me on Monday morning, I want you to deliver this parcel in person to Mr. Brannigan. Monday morning after ten o’clock, and not before. Now listen, Fred, this parcel is important. When you drive to Los Angeles, take one of your boys with you. Mr. Brannigan would appreciate this, and don’t give this parcel to anyone except Mr. Brannigan.’
Maclain again gaped at me.
‘Well, okay. I’ll take care of it. On Monday morning, huh?’
‘That’s it. When Mr. Brannigan gets this parcel, you can reckon on becoming the sheriff of Sharnville.’
He hitched up his gun belt, pushed his Stetson hat to the back of his head and grinned drunkenly at me.
‘Consider it done, Mr. Lucas.’
‘Thanks, Fred. Let’s go. I’ll drive you back. I want to see this parcel locked in your safe.’
‘Sure.’ He bent forward and splashed more whisky into his glass, drank the whisky, grunted, grinned at me, then holding the parcel under his arm, he went with me to the elevator.
At the police station, I watched him lock the parcel in the big safe.
‘Okay, Fred, unless you hear from me before ten o’clock on Monday, take this parcel with an escort to Mr. Brannigan.’
‘Sure, Mr. Lucas. I’ll take care of it.’ He wiped his lips with the back of his hand. ‘That was fine whisky.’
I left him and returned to my car.
Sitting in the passenger’s seat, his hat at the back of his head, was Benny.
Chapter Six
‘Hi, fink,’ Benny said, grinning evilly. ‘The boss wants you. Let’s move.’
‘I’ll see him tomorrow night at nine,’ I said. ‘Now, get out!’
‘You’ll see him right now, fink, or I’ll start breaking your whore’s fingers. Let’s move.’
I placed my hand on the horn button.
‘Listen to me, Benny, you touch her, and the operation is off. I’ll see Klaus tomorrow night, and not before. Get out or I’ll start the horn, and you’ll get a load of law in your lap.’
We stared at each other. There was an uneasy, frustrated rage in his eyes.
‘Get out!’ I repeated.
‘I told the boss you’d be a smart sonofabitch, but don’t kid yourself, fink, I’ll take care of you.’
At this moment, a patrolman came out of the station house. He paused, then came over to my car.
‘Evening, Mr. Lucas,’ he said. ‘You can’t park here.’
‘Hi, Tom.’ I knew most of the patrolmen. ‘I’m on my way.’ Turning to Benny, I said, ‘Then tomorrow. So long.’
Benny hesitated, then aware that the patrolman was staring at him, he slid out of the car and walked across the street.
‘Who’s he?’ the patrolman asked. ‘I haven’t seen him around.’
‘Business, Tom.’ I forced a smile. ‘They come in all shapes and sizes,’ then nodding, I drove down the street. I stopped outside a Howard Johnson restaurant and went in. I ordered a club sandwich, and while I ate it, I thought about Glenda. She was now very much on my mind. I felt that I had enough on Klaus not only to stop the break-in, but to get Glenda away from him. With the evidence I had given Maclain to guard, I was sure I had Klaus trapped. I couldn’t see how he could wriggle out of it. I knew I was taking a risk, dealing with a psychopath, but it seemed to me he would either have to accept defeat or eventually be jailed for years once Brannigan and the police came after him.
I spent a restless night, half sleeping, half dozing. I kept thinking of Glenda, and the more I thought of her, the more I realized how much she meant to me. If I could call Klaus’s bluff, stop the bank break-in, make him leave Sharnville, then my life would once again be on an even keel. Now Marsh was dead, there was nothing to stop me marrying Glenda, always providing Klaus disappeared.
I was glad I had so much office work to do the following day. The rush of work prevented me worrying about the evening when I had to face Klaus. In the afternoon, Bill Dixon phoned through to say he had landed another contract to build a small factory to produce electrical components, and they wanted office furniture. Could I see the director on Monday to discuss exactly what he wanted? I said there would be no problem, and fixed a time. As I hung up, I wondered if I would still be in Sharnville on Monday, If I couldn’t bluff Klaus, then I would be on the run.
I considered writing a letter to Bill Dixon, enclosing a copy of my statement to Brannigan in case I had to get out fast, but I decided I still had all day Friday and half Friday night to decide which way the dice would fall.
If I were forced to go on the run, I would need cash. I checked my bank statement. I had some eight thousand dollars in my account. I wrote a cheque for this amount, then telling Mary I was going to the bank and would be back right away, I left my office.
As I was waiting for the traffic lights to change, I spotted Joe, — propping up a fire hydrant. He and I looked at each other, then the lights changed and I crossed. I went into the lobby of the bank, signed my name with a computer pen, fed the cheque into the slot, and after a minute or so, the money dropped into the pay-out slot. I put the bills into my hip pocket and returned to my office block. Joe was still propping up the fire hydrant. I ignored him, pushed open the glass doors and took the elevator up to my office.
I spent the rest of the day clearing my desk. There was a mass of outstanding work still to be done, and if I had to bolt, I didn’t want Bill to be landed with too much work.
At 19.00, I told Mary to go home. When she had gone, I put the copy of my statement to Brannigan and the two tapes into my brief-case. Then picking up a small tape player, I locked up and went down to my car.
As I was unlocking the car door, Joe materialized out of the shadows.
‘You seeing the boss tonight, Mr. Lucas?’ There was an anxious note in his voice.
‘I’m seeing him, Joe,’ I said. ‘You don’t have to hang around me. I’ll be there at nine.’
‘The boss told me to keep tabs on you, Mr. Lucas. I do what I’m told.’
‘I’m going to have dinner. Come with me,’ I said, and got in my car. Leaning over, I unlocked the passenger’s door.
Joe gaped at me.
‘I can’t eat with you.’
‘Oh, skip it, Joe. I know a place. You may as well eat if you have to keep tabs on me.’
He hesitated, then got in beside me.