I drove to a small restaurant that employed black staff. The restaurant was noted for its steaks, and I often ate there.
Joe seemed to relax as he settled himself at a corner table. There were more blacks than whites at the tables, and the black waiter gave him a friendly smile.
‘Two steaks, rare,’ I said, ‘and beers.’
I took out a pack of cigarettes and offered it to Joe who shook his head.
‘I don’t smoke, Mr. Lucas.’
As I lit up, I said, ‘Time’s running out, Joe. Are you still going ahead with it?’
He moved uneasily.
‘Like you, Mr. Lucas, I’ve got to do what I’m told.’
‘You don’t. You can get on a bus and disappear.’
He stared at me.
‘Why should I do that?’
‘Better to disappear than get a bullet through your head.’
He flinched.
‘You said Harry, you and me would watch Benny.’
‘I’ve talked to Harry. He’s worrying about himself. He’s not worrying about you, Joe. I can understand that. I’m worrying about myself.’
The steaks arrived with the beer. I began to eat my steak, but Joe sat still, staring down at his plate, his face creased in a worried frown.
‘Come on, Joe, eat up,’ I said. ‘I could be wrong about Benny, but if I were black, I would get the hell out of Sharnville. I would rather have my life than risk Benny.’
‘I’ve no place to go,’ he muttered. ‘I’ve got no money.’
While his mind was occupied with his troubles, I shot out,
‘How’s Miss Glenda, Joe?’
Off guard, he looked up.
‘She’s having it rough, Mr. Lucas. That Benny...’ Then he stopped short.
I stiffened.
‘What’s Benny doing to her Joe?’
He began to toy with his steak.
‘You see, Mr. Lucas, I don’t hang around the place nor does Harry, but Benny stays there all the time. He’s the boss’s bodyguard. He’s got nothing to do but to pester Miss Glenda, and he sure does.’
‘You realize your boss has kidnapped her, Joe?’
He chewed on his steak while he thought about this, then he shook his head.
‘That ain’t right, Mr. Lucas. She works for him.’
‘She has been forced to work for him, and she is being held prisoner. In law, Joe, that makes your boss, you, Harry and Benny kidnappers. You get a much longer stretch for kidnapping than for breaking into a bank.’
His eyes shifted.
‘I know nothing about the law,’ he mumbled. ‘I do what I’m told... like you, I’ve got to.’
‘Would you help me free her, Joe?’
His eyes grew round.
‘The boss wouldn’t dig that, Mr. Lucas.’
‘Never mind about him, think of yourself. If you helped me to get her free, you wouldn’t go to jail as a kidnapper.’
‘How would I help you?’ he asked, and cut another piece of steak.
‘Is Harry out there tonight?’
‘He’s gone to Frisco about the truck.’
‘So there’s only Benny, your boss and Miss Glenda there?’
He nodded.
‘Do you know where she is, Joe?’
‘Sure. She’s in a room at the back of the house.’
‘Is the door locked?’
‘Not locked, it’s bolted on the outside.’
I pushed aside my plate. Then taking out the bills I had drawn from the bank, keeping them out of sight under the table, I peeled off five one-thousand dollar bills. The rest of the money I put back in my pocket.
‘The bank operation is off, Joe,’ I said. ‘Don’t ask questions: take it from me it is off. Here’s your chance to get away. I’ll give you five thousand dollars if you’ll get Miss Glenda out of that house.’
His eyes bugged out.
‘Five thousand bucks?’ He put down his knife and fork and stared at me. ‘You’ll give me five thousand bucks?’
There was no one sitting at the table near us, so I showed him the bills. He gaped at them.
‘Now, listen, Joe. It’s easy. This is what you do. I’ll drive you out to, the house and leave you at the end of the lane. While I’m talking to Klaus, you get in, go to Miss Glenda’s room, get her out and put her in my car. Drive her to the Sherwood Hotel and leave her there. Tell her I’ll join her later. That’s all you have to do. Then drive back, leave my car by the gate, then beat it. At the highway, you can get a bus. With five thousand dollars you can get lost. You won’t have to worry about a kidnapping rap nor being arrested for trying to break into the bank. What do you say?’
He screwed up his eyes while he thought. I waited, my hands clammy, my heart thumping. Finally, he shook his head.
‘There’s three million in that bank. Five grand is peanuts.’
‘Don’t be a fool, Joe! I’ve told you there’s not going to be a break-in.’ I picked up my brief-case, standing on the floor by my side, took out my statement to Brannigan and handed it to him.
‘Read that.’
It took him nearly ten minutes to read the statement. He traced each word with a thick finger, frowning, and holding the two sheets of paper close to his face as if he were short-sighted. Finally, he finished, then stared at me.
‘The boss will kill you, Mr. Lucas.’
‘No, he won’t. A copy is already in the hands of the police. They read it on Monday morning and they will go into action. They have the forged bonds with Klaus’s prints on them. By this time tomorrow, Joe, he’ll be miles away, and he won’t be worrying about you.’
‘You mention me in this,’ Joe said, tapping the statement.
‘But no description, Joe. If you free Miss Glenda, with this money, you haven’t a care in the world.’
Again he screwed up his eyes while he thought.
‘You sure played it smart, Mr. Lucas. Yeah. I’ve thought about what you said the other night. I can’t imagine Benny letting me walk away with a big lump of money even if we did get into the bank. Yeah, I guess I’d be smart to play along with you.’
I drew in a long, deep breath.
All my nights of thinking had paid off!
‘So you’ll get her out, Joe, and take her to the Sherwood Hotel?’
‘Yeah. That’s what I’ll do. Then I’ll bring your car back and get me out of Sharnville pronto.’
I studied his black, sweating face. I felt I could trust him.
‘Don’t worry about Benny. I’ll get him in the room with Klaus. Give me exactly ten minutes from the time I enter the house. Have you a watch?’
‘Sure, Mr. Lucas.’
‘I’ll make sure the front door is unlocked. Give me ten minutes, then get Miss Glenda out. Understand?’
‘Sure... ten minutes, and I get her out.’
‘Right.’ I looked at my watch. I had twenty minutes now to get to Klaus’s place by 21.00. I called for the cheque, paid, then picking up my brief-case, I went out to my car, closely followed by Joe. We got in the car, and I headed out of town.
Joe said, ‘When do I get the money, Mr. Lucas?’
‘I’ll explain that.’
We said nothing until we reached the dirt road leading to Klaus’s place. Half-way up the dirt road, I stopped the car.
‘Now about the money.’ I took the bills from my pocket, folded them in half, then carefully tore them apart.
‘Hey, Mr. Lucas! What’s that you are doing?’ Joe’s voice shot up.
I handed him the torn half of the five bills and put the other half in my pocket.
‘The moment I know Miss Glenda is at the Sherwood Hotel Joe, I will deliver the other half to you... no problem. I just want to make sure you don’t chicken out. Okay?’
‘You’ll bring them to my pad?’
‘That’s it. When I’m through with your boss, I’ll drive to the Sherwood Hotel, see Miss Glenda, then come on to you, You stick the bills together and get lost.’
He nodded.
‘Okay, Mr. Lucas.’