Complete works of peter.., p.188
Complete Works of Peter Cheyney. Illustrated, page 188
Boy, can she express herself!
X. A SPOT FOR GAYDA
I.
I AM havin' my breakfast when Vaughan comes through inta the dinin'-room. He is steamed up all right. He looks like he could start something at any moment.
I point to the chair on the other side of my table an' he sits down. He don't waste any words either. He comes right to it. He says: "Look, Caution, I've trusted you and I didn't expect you to make a fool out of me."
"Take it easy, Vaughan," I tell him. "An' have a cup of coffee. Whatever the situation is, gettin' steamed up isn't gonna make it any better. Miss Mallory's been talkin' to you, hey?"
He says: "Yes. She spoke to me last night. I came up here as soon as I could. You know this thing's got beyond a joke."
"It's never been a joke with me," I tell him. "Anyway, I thought Gayda was rather stuck on bein' engaged to an F.B.I. man?"
He says: "It's one thing being engaged to a man in the Federal Service and another thing being deliberately put into a dangerous situation."
"Just a minute," I tell him. "I'm not havin' that. If anybody put Gayda inta a dangerous spot it was anybody else but me."
He says: "How do you make that out?"
"I warned Gayda," I tell him. "I told her that if she played around with me she'd haveta take a chance. It's only reasonable for people to think that if she's hangin' around with me all the time she's workin' in with me."
"I don't agree with you," he says. "It's your business to look after her. Now she's mixed up in this thing you're trying to alibi yourself. It seems that some sort of attempt has already been made on Gayda and that you're expecting another one."
"That's it," I tell him. "An' there's precious little we can do about it."
He says: "I don't agree. If Gayda's in any sort of danger I'm going to the police."
"O.K.," I tell him. "You go to the police an' what happens? They'll give you a coupla plain-clothes dicks to hang around Gayda so that anybody who wants to pull anything is gonna lay-off for the time bein'. O.K. Nothing'll happen. Then after a while they'll think you're dreamin' an' take the dicks away. Then those other guys get goin' an' do what they were goin' to do. You take it from me, Mr. Vaughan, that police protection stuff is not gonna work."
He looks at me. His eyes are snappin'.
He says: "I think you've got a swell nerve. You can sit back there, feeding your face, an' talk about my daughter as if she didn't matter a damn. I thought you were keen on her?"
"You'd be surprised!" I tell him. "I'm very stuck on Gayda. But bein' crazy about her don't affect my common sense. Incidentally, you're not payin' very much of a compliment to me, are you? D'you think I'm the sorta mug who's gonna stick around an' let anything happen to her an' do nothing about it?"
He eases up a bit. He says: "Well, I certainly never thought you were that sort of man."
I give him a big grin an' offer him my cigarette-case. He takes a cigarette an' I light it for him. He's beginnin' to cool down.
"Look," I tell him. "I've got some very tough eggs F.B.I. men planted all around your dump. Directly anything happens I'm gonna know all about it. In fact I want it to happen, an' I want it to happen for her sake."
He says: "I don't understand that."
"Of course you don't," I tell him. "Now you listen to me. When I came up to your house the first time I was lookin' for Travis or the guy you thought was Travis. An' this guy is tied up with these boys, see? Just because Gayda takes me along to the Chez Clarence an' because this Travis guy comes along too, this bunch have got an idea that Gayda's playin' in with me an' they think the best way to get at me is to get at her, see? So they try to pull a fast one. The guy Clemensky fixes to kidnap her. Well, what happens? What they didn't know was that one of the boys they got workin' in on that game was workin' for me too! I knew everything they was gonna do before they did it."
He says: "Well, I've got to admit that was clever all right."
"Look," I tell him, "don't you worry. You leave this thing to me. I'll look after Gayda all right."
He says: "That's all very well, but I think you've got the wrong slant on this, You're a man who's used to taking chances, but I'm not going to take a chance with Gayda."
I give him a big grin.
"Listen to you talkin'," I say. "You're not goin' to take a chance with Gayda! Don't make me laugh. You been takin' chances with Gayda ever since she come outa pigtails. She's one of those babies that are never happy unless they're takin' a chance. That's right an' you know it. I reckon Gayda's been gettin' in an' outa scrapes ever since she could speak words of more than one syllable. An' if she wasn't in this business she'd be up to her neck in something else an' you know it."
"I know one thing," he says, "and that is you're goddam plausible, Caution. Everything you say sounds like good common sense, but I'm still not satisfied."
"O.K. Well, what are you gonna do?" I ask him.
"I'm going to be tough with Gayda," he says. "I'll get her away some place Ireland or some other place where these people can't get at her. Once she's in their hands anything might happen. According to what Pearl Mallory said these people are pretty desperate. They'll stick at nothing."
"Maybe," I say. "Maybe they are desperate; maybe they're tough eggs. But I don't think very much of their brains. I don't think they're very clever."
"They were clever enough to get Gayda into their clutches once," he says. "She got out of that. That was a break. You were lucky enough to know what they were going to do, but I take it that you don't know what they're going to do next time?"
"That's right enough," I tell him. "All I can do is guess. But sometimes I'm a good guesser."
He says: "Look, what would you do if you were me; would you be content to chance your daughter's life on another man's guess no matter how clever you thought he was?"
"No," I say, "I can't say I would. At the same time I think you're makin' a mountain out of a molehill, an' I think the thing for you to do is to stay put an' keep Gadya where she is. You move her off some place an' it might not be so good."
"Why not?" he asks.
"Well," I say, "she might be some place where I couldn't help her."
He says: "I wish to God I'd known about this from the start." He shrugs his shoulders. "You make it very difficult for me," he says. "You know, Gayda thinks the world of you. She'd probably refuse to go in any event. I'll have the devil of a job to get her to consent to leave Mallows."
I nod my head. "Well, that's up to you," I say. "You gotta do what you think best. But if you take a tip from me you'll lay off goin' to the police. That's not gonna help anyway."
He says: "No, maybe not. I think you're right there. If I go to them they'll probably have Gayda watched for a few weeks an' these other people won't act. I think I'll do my best to get her to leave Mallows. Anyway, she needs a holiday."
He gives me a grin. He is beginnin' to look better tempered about things. He says:
"You're a pair of determined cusses both of you. I don't know which of you is the worst you or she. You both want your own way an' you'll both do your best to get it." He laughs. "What a married couple you'll make," he says. He gets up. "Well, I'll be getting along, Lemmy," he says. "When are you coming down to Mallows? If you want to come down you'd better be quick because I'm going to do my best to get her to pack up and clear out right away."
"Well, you won't be goin' for a day or so," I tell him. "Maybe I'll come down to-morrow. But in the meantime don't get too annoyed with me. I'm doin' my best with a difficult situation."
He says: "Maybe, but I wish Gayda weren't concerned in it."
He says so long an' goes.
I sit back an' give myself another cigarette. It looks to me as if Pearl did her stuff all right. It also looks as if Vaughan is pretty scared for Gayda. I can understand that too. It's also a stone certainty that if he starts makin' preparations to move off with her, somehow Schrinkler is gonna get wind of it because I bet that boy's got somebody planted in the region of Mallows just to see what's goin' on. I get to thinkin' about what Vaughan said. Maybe Pearl is right about me. Maybe I'm bein' a bit tough about this. But what the hell! I gotta do my job. At least that's my story an' I'm gonna stick to it.
I stick around, read the papers an' take in a news-reel. About three o'clock Carl comes through. He is stayin' at a pub in some place called Chapfield about two miles on the other side of Mallows. He's got the boys planted in different places pretty well around the house. I make a note of the addresses and telephone-numbers. I tell Carl to keep his eyes skinned. Then I go upstairs, take one outa the flask, light a cigarette an' lie down.
Somebody once said that waitin' was the hardest part of any game, but I don't believe this guy.
You can always go to sleep.
II.
AT eight o'clock I give myself a swell dinner at least as swell as Lord Woolton will let me have. Then I go over to Oddenino's Bar an' have a coupla quiet ones. It is a nice night an' while I'm walkin' across Piccadilly Circus I'm thinkin' about all the things I would like to be doin', that is if I ever get around to doin' the things I wanta do.
When I get back to the Regency, the hall porter tells me that there's an urgent telephone-call for me an' will I ring this number as soon as I come in. He gives me the number. It is Mallows.
I light a cigarette an' go inta the call-box. Three minutes later Pearl comes on the line. She don't sound so good.
"Lemmy," she says, "you've got to do something. Gayda's gone."
"What d'you mean she's gone?" I say. "D'you mean she's gone off with Vaughan? He was up here. He said he was gonna take her away to Ireland or something."
"No," she says, "I don't mean that. Mr. Vaughan hasn't come back here yet."
"O.K.," I tell her. "Now you take things easy, Pearl, an' don't get excited."
"I like your nerve," she says. "How do you expect me to feel? I tell you I'm certain Gayda's in terrible danger."
"So am I," I say. "I've been tellin' you that all along. But it's no good gettin' excited about it. Now take it easy an' relax. Tell me what's the matter."
She says: "I've been out with Gayda most of the day. When I came down to dinner to-night she didn't appear. A few minutes afterwards the butler brought me a note she'd left for me. I'll read it to you....
Dear Pearl,
I know that everybody will be terribly angry with me for doing what I'm doing but it's fun, and maybe I'm going to steal a march on Sourpuss.
This morning somebody pushed a letter for me through the letter-box. It was from a man named Clansing. Clansing told me that he had been working with the people who had succeeded in stealing the papers that Sourpuss wants to get. Apparently this Clansing is a little bit scared. Also it seems he's quite prepared to do a deal to give the papers to Sourpuss providing he gets some sort of guarantee about his own safety and some money.
He went on to say that if I would meet him this evening he was prepared to put me in a position wherein I could act as intermediary between him and Sourpuss. In other words, he guaranteed to return the papers to Sourpuss if I would arrange to hand him over the money when the time came and not disclose his whereabouts.
Well, what can< I lose? Anyway, it's going to be fun if it's true and I don't see how it can be anything else. I'm perfectly certain this man Clansing is telling the truth. Besides, I think it would be wonderful if I could steal a march on Sourpuss and get those papers back for him.
Anyhow, I'm going to meet this Clansing. Tell Father not to be too scared. With luck I shall be back soon after dinner. If I'm not, well, it might be even more thrilling. Then I suggest you'd better get on to my delightful Sourpuss and tell him that he'll have to organise a rescue-party. But somehow I don't feel that will be necessary. I've always believed in my instinct and I believe that what Clansing says is the truth.
All my love to you, Pearl, darling,
Gayda.
I say: "Well, that's not so good, is it? So they pulled a fast one on her?"
Pearl says in a flat sorta voice: "Whatever they've done it's your fault."
"Now, be your age. Pearl," I tell her. "I wasn't expectin' anything like this."
"No?" she says. "Well, what were you expecting?"
"I was expectin' another kidnap," I say. "An' in order to kidnap the dame they got to get her away from Mallows. That's what I put you down there for, to keep an eye on her. Didn't I tell you to stick around an' not let her outa your sight? All right. Not only do I do that but I get some good guys around there watchin' that place. Nobody coulda got at Gayda without our knowin' something about it. At least that's what I thought. But I didn't think they'd pull one like this. Damn it, she's walked right into it. Clansing is Schrinkler, and Schrinkler, believe it or not, is some tough baby. That boy's gonna stop at nothing."
She says: "What am I to do, Lemmy? I don't know what to do. Mr. Vaughan's not here. Shall I go to the police?"
"Don't be silly, Pearl," I tell her. "That's not gonna do any good. Look, honey, I'll tell you what you better do. You get the quickest train an' come up here right away." I look at my watch. "It's nine-fifteen now. You oughta be here by eleven o'clock. I wanta talk to you about this. Maybe I can still get at this guy Schrinkler. Will you do that?"
She says: "Yes, I will if you think I ought to, although I don't see what I can do. What am I to do about Mr. Vaughan? Shall I leave a note?"
"Yeah," I say, "you'd better leave a note for Vaughan. You'd better tell him what's happened. Tell him not to get excited; tell him I'm handlin' it. An' you get up here as quick as you can."
She says: "Very well, Sourpuss. But I think you ought to know I hate you like hell."
"I should worry!" I tell her. "If a dame don't love me, I'd much prefer she hated me. All I can't stand is indifference. I'll be seein' you, sweetheart."
III.
IT is ten minutes past eleven when Pearl comes inta the little lounge at the side of the Regency hallway. She looks marvellous. Maybe I told you mugs before that this dame is certainly a looker.
I say: "Hallo, Pearl. Thanks for comin' up. Maybe you'd like a drink or some coffee or something."
She says she'd like some coffee. I go outside an' tell the night porter to fix it. Then I go back.
She says: "Lemmy, I'm fearfully worried about Gayda. I think this is terrible. I've a feeling that something awful's going to happen to her."
I shake my head. "Don't you believe it, Pearl," I say. "Look, you know that I wouldn't have put Gayda into anything that was really dangerous. She's gonna be all right."
She says: "How can you say that, Lemmy? These people are desperate. They'll do anything to her."
I take out my cigarette-case. I give her a cigarette an' take one myself. While I'm lightin 'em' I say:
"Use your brains, Pearl. This Schrinkler is no mug. He thinks he's got plenty to bargain with. He reckons that while he's got those Mechanisation papers he's safe, but that directly he hands 'em over he's not safe. He thinks that even if I do a deal with him an' agree to pay him the twenty-five grand he asked for those papers, directly I've got the papers I'm gonna have him pinched. That's sense, isn't it? Another thing, he knows he can't get outa this country. There's a war on an' the police here are pretty hot. All the ports would be watched. How's he gonna make it? But there's one way he can make it. If he's got Gayda as a hostage he reckons he's all right."
She says: "You mean to say that he'll want to do a deal with you now. He'll expect you to pay him the money and he'll hand over the papers but he won't let Gayda go till he's safe?"
"That's about it," I say.
She says: "My God, Lemmy, are you tough or are you! You're in love with this woman and you've deliberately put her in this position because you think it's going to help you get those papers back. Just think of Gayda's state of mind. She must be in an awful state. She must be terrified."
I say: "All right. Think of her state of mind. You know Gayda as well as I do. Gadya's tough an' she's out for adventure. Goddam it, she's probably likin' this like hell! She probably thinks it's a big adventure. She reckons she's gonna have something to talk about for the rest of her life."
She shrugs her shoulders. She says: "It's no good arguing with you. You're obstinate so obstinate that sometimes I think you're stupid."
"Look, baby," I tell her. "You've called me a lot of things I haven't minded, but that's one thing you can't call me. I'm definitely not stupid."
"I think you're stupid obstinate and stupid," she says. "All I'm concerned with is Gayda."
"Well, it's no good your bein' concerned," I say. "We know what the situation is an' we can't do anything to alter it."
I give her a grin.
"You don't think I'm just gonna stick around an' let Gayda stay put wherever they've got her?"
She says: "Do you know where Gayda is?"
I shake my head. "No," I tell her. "But I'm gonna find out somehow."
She says: "Well, I hope you're right, Lemmy. In the meantime, what do you want me to do?"
"I don't want you to do anything," I tell her.
She raises her eyebrows. "What do you mean?" she says. "You don't want me to do anything. Have you brought me up all this way to London just to tell me that you don't want me to do anything?"
"That's right," I tell her. "You got some place you can stay here in town, haven't you?"
"Of course," she says. "I've got my flat. But I still don't understand."
I grin. "Of course you don't," I say, "but the thing is I didn't want you hangin' around down at Mallows. There's too much breakin' around there. Maybe something's gonna happen around that part of the country now that Gayda's been kidnapped an' I didn't want you in it."
She looks at me. She looks surprised. She says:
"Aren't you amazing? You want me up here in case anything should happen down at Mallows. This consideration is too astounding, Lemmy."
I grin. "Maybe I'm not only thinkin' of you," I say. "Maybe I'm thinkin' of myself. But that's how it is. You go to your flat, Pearl, an' stick around there. Let me know what the address is. I'll get in touch with you in a day or so."
