Perry looked at Brown’s thick, muscular back, at his blond hair and his evil crouch. His mind became active. He had to help this cop, hidden in the tree.
“Don’t get excited, Jim,” he said, forcing himself to sound casual. “This happens all the time.” Brown pushed the curtains together and looked around, staring at Perry.
His expression was so vicious, Perry felt a qualm.
“What do you mean?” Brown snarled. “That dog spotted a cop hidden in that tree. You think I’m a fucking idiot?”
“That dog spotted an opossum. They are always up those trees.”
“A what?”
“Opossum. An animal. Dogs hate them,” Perry lied, forcing a casual note into his voice. He searched for a cigarette, then lit it. “You have cops on the brain. I well remember, last time I was here, I saw a number of these animals, tree climbing.” Watching, he saw Brown was relaxing. “They are like big rats. They feed on fish and eggs. You’ve heard of opossums, haven’t you?”
“Yeah.” Brown moved away from the window. He now seemed totally relaxed as he shoved the gun back into its holster, but the evil grin and the uneasy darting of his eyes remained. “So you don’t think there is a cop, that tough looking Deputy up there in the tree?”
“I told you, Jim,” Perry said quietly, “I saw him less than two hours ago in Rockville. For God’s sake! Relax!”
Still Brown stared at him. “You could have driven him here, couldn’t you? You could have left him in the goddam forest to climb that tree, couldn’t you? You could be lying, couldn’t you?”
Perry tipped ash off his cigarette into an ashtray. He was surprised how steady his hand was.
“This is like a scene out of one of my movies,” he said. “Of course I could be lying to you, Jim. I understand your suspicions. Frankly, it’s great background for my movie.”
“Fuck your moviel’ Brown snarled. “Are you lying to me?”
Here, Perry felt he was on safe ground so he was able to say with confidence, “No, Jim, I’m not lying to you. I did not bring the Deputy here. I didn’t meet him.”
Brown continued to stare at him. “An opossum, huh?”
“That’s right. Now, Jim, can I go talk to my wife?” The light in the room was darkening, now the sun had set. Neither of the men could see each other clearly. Perry switched on a table lamp.
“Okay,” Brown said. “No tricks, Perry. I like you. You’re straight with me. I’ll tell you something. Ever since I was in this goddam world, no one but you has been straight with me. That’s great, isn’t it? No one. Even my pa wasn’t straight with me. My mother wished I’d never been born. My Cobra pals secretly hated me, but you...” He suddenly smiled. It wasn’t the evil grin Perry was now used to. It was a broad, almost innocent smile that made Perry feel ashamed of himself. “So, okay, go talk to your wife. I’ll get supper. Grilled prawns, okay?”
Perry heaved himself out of his chair. “Fine.” He started for the door, then paused. “You intend to leave tonight, Jim?”
“That’s it. When it gets dark, I’ll take off.” Brown said. “I guess I’ll head for Jacksonville, then get lost. It’s easy to get lost with ten grand. I’ve got lost on nothing, but this one will be dead easy.”
“I wish you luck,” Perry said, wondering if he meant this.
“I don’t want anyone’s luck... only my own,” Brown said. “Go talk to your wife. If anyone wants luck, you do,” and he went into the kitchen and closed the door.
As Perry walked into the big bedroom, Sheila spun around and ran to him.
“Oh, darling!” She flung her arms around him in a hugging embrace.
Perry fondled her, feeling the tenseness of her back muscles.
“Are you all right?” She pushed away from him, and they looked at each other. It startled him to see her hard, set expression and the stormy look in her eyes.
“All right? Yes, if you mean I had no trouble with that ape. What’s happening?”
He closed the door. “But there’s something bothering you?”
“Oh, for Christ’s sake! I’ve been waiting for you for hours! Don’t you call that something?”
“I’m sorry. I’ve been getting information. I’ve things to tell you.” Lowering his voice, Perry went on, “He’s leaving soon after dark.”
“Leaving?”
“Yes. He’s just told me. He’s using the jeep and driving to Jacksonville.” Sheila stiffened. This overpowering urge to kill Brown dominated her thoughts.
You are, to me, like the mess a dog leaves on the sidewalk.
Those words continued to burn in her mind. If this brute got away, she could imagine him telling his friends what he had said to her. She could imagine their brutal, filthy laughter.
Seeing Perry was looking uneasily at her, she nodded.
“Well, that’s something, isn’t it?”
“It will mean we will be out of this nightmare.” He forced a smile. “We can return to square one. Please, try to relax. This time tomorrow, we can begin our lives together again.”
“You talk the most utter drivel,” she snapped. “Do you imagine our lives, after this, can go on as before?”
“I don’t see why not. I love you, Sheila. We could make a new start.”
She stared at him. “Use that corny dialogue for your next movie!”
“Sheila!”
She made an effort to control herself. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m fed up. We can talk about our lives when that stinking ape has gone.” She looked at him, her eyes calculating. “You forgot my handbag, Perry. I need it. It’s in the map pocket on the driver’s side. Will you get it?”
“I’m damn sure Brown won’t let me go out there, Sheila. Your handbag has to wait.”
“Well, try. I need my handbag.”
“Why?
Her control slipped and, before she could stop herself, she blurted out with vicious fury, “Because I’m going to kill that bastard! There’s a gun in my handbag!”
Immediately she had said this she regretted it. Why couldn’t she have kept control of herself? Looking at his expression, she knew Perry was more than shocked. Then quietly, in that infuriating gentle voice he always used when she was in a difficult mood, he said, “Now, Sheila. Come on. You know you haven’t a gun.”
That voice, attempting to be soothing, sparked off her rage again. “I took it from the safe! It’s in my handbag. Go and get it!”
They were both talking in whispers.
“What are you doing with my gun?”
“You want to know?” Sheila faced him, her fists clenched, her eyes like glowing embers. “I’ll tell you. Your boss, that sonofabitch Hart, sicked a private eye on me! Do you like that? A filthy shamus who tried to blackmail me!
“Your boss, Perry! He did that to me. I had this creep in our home. He wanted ten thousand dollars. I fixed him. I got the gun from the safe and I shot at him. I scared the crap out of him. I wish now I had killed him as I intend to kill that ape!”
As Perry stood motionless, staring at her, into his mind came the words that Silas S. Hart had said to him: I know her a lot better than you do. I’ve had reports on her background and reports of what she is doing while you try to write something worth while. My people bugged the motel where she has it off.
Perry had refused to listen, although he knew it was true. He still didn’t want to accept the brutal fact that his wife was behaving like a tramp.
“All right,” he said, his voice husky. “We’ll go into all that later. This is not the time.”
“You sicken me!” Sheila exclaimed. “Go and get my handbag!”
“You either don’t understand or you won’t believe the situation we’re in,” Perry said quietly. “This man is crazy in the head. I’ve already warned you that the only way we can survive is to go along with him. If I asked his permission to get your handbag, he would want to know why. What do I tell him? You want your lipstick? He’s not only crazy, but he’s cunning. Maybe he would let me get the handbag. He would snatch it from me and find the gun. He would only need that to go over the edge. He would kill us as he killed six other people. We do nothing, Sheila. We wait. When it’s dark, he will leave.”