Complete works of peter.., p.421
Complete Works of Peter Cheyney. Illustrated, page 421
Guelvada raised his eyebrows. "But you're expecting him?"
The man said: "Yeah. The thing is, is he expectin' you?"
"No...." Guelvada smiled pleasantly. "I assure you, my friend, that I am the last person in the world that he expects."
The man said: "So what?" He looked bad-tempered.
Guelvada said: "So nothing. I'm just waiting." He took the pistol out of the holster. "I'm very good with this. Practically, I am one of the best shots in Europe. Also it would mean nothing at all to me to put a bullet through your head or somewhere where it might hurt even more."
The man said slowly: "For crissake!... I believe you mean it."
Guelvada said: "Take your hat off the hook and go away. My advice to you, my friend, is to go away and stay away." His voice was terrible. "Because I think it might be very unpleasant for you if you stay."
The man got up. "Look... I'm not arguin'. I just do a job here on the night staff." He grinned. "I am the night staff. But I don't want to be no corpse."
"I think you are very sensible," said Guelvada.
The man put on his hat; passed Guelvada. He opened the door.
Guelvada said over his shoulder: "If I were you I'd go straight home. I wouldn't even try to find Jake. You understand?"
The man said: "Look, mister, I got medals for keepin' my nose clean."
Guelvada heard his steps echoing down the passageway.
He moved over; sat behind the desk. He sat there smoking a cigarette, the pistol lying on the blotter in front of him. Twenty minutes went past slowly. The door opened. Carno came into the room. He stood in the doorway, big, burly, aggressive, looking at Guelvada, looking at the pistol.
Guelvada smiled cheerfully. He said: "Good evening, Jake. This, I think, is an historic occasion. Keep your hands just where they are and precede me into your private office. You and I have some business to discuss."
"Say, listen," said Carno. "What is this? What the hell do you think you're playin' at? Do you think you can get away with this Red Indian stuff around here?"
Guelvada picked up the pistol. He threw it in Carno's face. When it struck it made a noise like a mallet striking wood. Guelvada followed it like a streak. His hands shot out. Carno described almost a semi-circle; finished on his neck near the door of his own office. Guelvada kicked him in the stomach.
He said almost casually: "I think it is better to get the preliminaries over quickly. Goddam it, it makes things so much easier, don't you think?" He kicked Carno again. Then he picked up the pistol. He said in an icy voice: "Go into your room and sit down."
Carno picked himself up. His face was covered with blood. One tooth was missing. Guelvada followed him into the room. Carno sat at his desk. He held his handkerchief to his face. He was breathing heavily. Guelvada drew up the chair opposite the desk; sat down.
He said: "You are filth! In my life I have met many really bad men, but you stink. Men may murder and still have souls. They may cheat, lie, rob, and still be men. But a man who is prepared to sell his country is the filthiest cur in the world."
Carno said: "What the hell is all this in aid of? D'you think you are gonna get away with this? What goes on?"
Guelvada said: "I shall get away with it. I assure you of this." He was smiling almost pleasantly. "Maybe, Jake, you have heard of Alcatraz—that island prison where Federal prisoners go; where the electric light is always on in the cell. The place where most inmates would prefer to die than to go on living there. That is where you are going." He continued: "Like most inefficient stooges you over-played your hand, Jake. When Julian Isles arrived in Miami on Mervyn Jacques's boat, Jacques came to you because you are working for the same people as he was. And I said was. He told you about Isles. He told you about Isles's escape from the island. So you telephoned Mrs. Lyon. You knew all about her, but she knew nothing of you. I can imagine, my friend, what you told her. You told her that you had heard from the police here in Miami that they were looking for an escaped suspected murderer from Dark Bahama. You told her that the escaped suspected murderer, Julian Isles, had been landed by Mervyn Jacques from his fishing launch early that morning. You told her that for a consideration you would straighten things out; that you would get Isles away from Miami to New York and thence to England where he would be safe."
Guelvada spread his hands and grinned. He threw the pistol on the desk in front of him with a careless gesture. He asked; "What could she do? She knew she had got Isles into this jam by sending him to Dark Bahama. She thought you were telling the truth. She hoped you were telling the truth, so she gave you a thousand dollars and told you to get Isles out of the way. I'm guessing pretty well, aren't I, my friend?"
Carno said nothing.
Guelvada went on: "Unfortunately for you, Julian Isles was not so easily intimidated. At this moment he was not quite sure of Mrs. Lyon himself. He had an idea that you were employed by her. Anyway, he took a chance and went to see her. Some time afterwards she telephoned you and told you not to worry; that she was satisfied with the situation."
Guelvada sighed. "How happy your employers must have been. Here they were—Mrs. Thelma Lyon and Mr. Julian Isles—stuck here in Miami right under their noses in a place where they could watch every movement they made. Unfortunately they—and you—did not reckon on one thing—that thing being Mr. Guelvada! Well...?"
Carno said nothing. He sat looking at the desk in front of him, dabbing at his face with a blood-stained handkerchief.
Guelvada said: "You are small fry. You are nothing. You are a hewer of wood—a drawer of water. You are like a cheap messenger employed to do the dirty work. The unfortunate Jacques is dead. He left Dark Bahama to report to his chief on the cay behind Bear Island. He was shot—a fitting end for such an indifferent person. And his boss made a getaway. His boss came to Miami. He is still here. He will remain here until this little affair is brought to an adequate conclusion. I suggest that you take me to see him."
Carno said: "What the hell do you mean? I——"
Guelvada said: "Look... which you like.... In any event, you are going to prison for a long time... the Federal prison at Alcatraz. How long you stay there; what eventually happens to you depends on how you behave to-night. Make your choice. You will take me to see the man who has employed you here, or you can go round to the F.B.I. Field Office now. Think it over."
Guelvada got up. He did not even bother to pick up the pistol. He lighted a cigarette; stood leaning against the wall, looking at Carno.
After a while Carno said: "You win. But this might be tough."
Guelvada said: "Nothing will be tough. Go and put some water on your face. Pull yourself together. Then we will go, my friend."
Carno went behind the screen in the corner of the office. Guelvada, comfortable in his chair, lighted a cigarette. He listened to the sound of Carno splashing about in the wash-bowl. After a minute he came out, dabbing his nose.
He said: "Look, mister, maybe you're gonna believe me an' maybe you're not, but I don't get all this. What was all that stuff about being a Federal rap? Nobody ain't taken anybody outa this State yet."
Guelvada asked pleasantly: "What exactly do you mean by that, my tender-nosed friend?" He leaned forward. "Goddam it, Carno, you're not trying to tell me that you don't know what you've been doing, are you? Tell me, what do you think you've been doing."
Carno said: "I thought that it was some kidnap rap... this dame Lyon. I was told to keep an eye on her. I was told she got plenty of jack—a rich woman, see? An' if anything happened to her her friends would pay plenty. I was supposed to keep an eye on her."
Guelvada said: "I see. So, according to you, the idea was to... snatch, do you call it... Mrs. Lyon and hold her to ransom? Is that what your principals told you?"
"That's the idea," said Carno. "That's what I thought. When this guy Isles landed at Miami from Dark Bahama, Jacques came to me like you said. Jacques was working for the mob too. He was keepin' an eye on the Lyon dame when she was on the island. He told me that this guy Isles had something to do with her. Maybe he was a bodyguard or something. But he'd got himself mixed up in a murder rap—see?"
Guelvada said: "I see...."
Carno dabbed his nose with his handkerchief; then he took out a cigarette pack; began to smoke. He said: "Here's where I thought I could get myself a bit on the side. I thought maybe she'd pay some dough for gettin' this guy Isles out of it. I thought he was in trouble, see? I thought I might do a little private business, so I telephoned her. She came round to see me and she gave me a thousand bucks to get him out of it. Like you said."
Guelvada said: "So that's why you had that very inefficient tail on me to-night. If what you say is true; if you thought this business was just a kidnap plot, why did you put that not-very-good-looking friend of yours to follow me to-night?"
Carno shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know anything. I do what I'm told. I heard that maybe you'd be coming over here from the island; that if you came I was to keep an eye on you."
Guelvada said: "If what you say is true, my burly and unintelligent friend, maybe I shouldn't have been quite so tough with you. Supposing I were to tell you that the kidnap part of this scheme is just nothing at all—merely an incident—merely an incident in a greater scheme on the part of some enemies of your country to become possessed of certain documents?"
Carno said: "For crissake!... Look, I'm tellin' you I didn't know anything about that. I thought this was a big snatch, but I wasn't havin' anythin' to do with takin' anybody outa this State, see? That's what would make it a Federal rap. I was gonna finish before then—take my dough an' finish. An' that's the truth."
Guelvada said: "The joke is I don't disbelieve you. Well, now you know. My advice to you, my friend, is to make yourself useful. Do I take it that the individual through whom you have been obtaining your instructions has only recently arrived in Miami?"
Carno nodded. "Yea... that's right. I had a phone call. I had a phone call that said he was to be the boss from now on. I was told where he was. When the guy I'd put on to you reported back to-night I was supposed to go an' see him. I was to telephone him."
Guelvada said: "An admirable arrangement. Well, what's stopping you? I suggest you get on the telephone, my friend. Tell your principal that you are coming round to see him. Then we will both go and see him."
Carno said: "That's O.K. by me. But ain't you takin' a bit of a chance?"
"Life is a matter of taking chances," said Guelvada. He pointed to the telephone.
Carno picked it up. He began to talk into the transmitter.
The house was a one-storey, stucco building—a large-sized cottage, surrounded by a lawn with a white paling. It was a pleasant-looking place—a mixture of Spanish and Colonial architecture. There were flowers in the garden. Guelvada thought it looked delightful and charming—the sort of residence that a rich denizen of Miami would keep for week-ending. It stood back from the main road between Orlando Beach and Miami.
Carno pushed open the wrought-iron gates. He said: "Look, have you got a gun?"
"No," said Guelvada. "I left mine in your office. Have you?"
Carno shook his head. "It might not be so easy."
Guelvada smiled. "On the contrary, we have now arrived at a stage in these proceedings when firearms are, I think, of little use." He led the way up the gravel path; went up the portico steps; pressed the door-bell. Carno, his hands in his pockets, stood close behind him.
The door opened. Inside, in the half-light, Guelvada could see the squat figure of an Asiatic house-boy. The man was well dressed, neat.
Guelvada said: "Mr. Carno has an appointment with your master."
The servant nodded. "You come this way, please."
They followed him across the hallway down the short passage. He opened the door at the end. They went in. Guelvada heard the door close softly behind them.
The room was large, with big windows looking out on to a garden at the back of the house. It was well furnished. There was a desk in the corner with a shaded light on it. Behind it sat a man.
He was tall, thin and distinguished looking. He had a small beard. He was smiling. He seemed a pleasant sort of individual.
He said: "Good evening, gentlemen. I'm doubly honoured. I expected only Mr. Carno."
"I am glad you are pleased," said Guelvada. "My name is Ernest Guelvada. Maybe at some time, in some place, you have heard of it."
The man smiled. He got up. Guelvada saw that he was almost elegantly dressed.
He said: "I am glad to meet you, Mr. Guelvada. I have heard of you a long time ago in circumstances which were perhaps as difficult as these are. My name is Voisana."
"I don't suppose it is," said Guelvada; "but it will do."
Voisana shrugged his shoulders. "Won't you be seated?"
Guelvada sat down. Carno moved to the fireplace; stood, his back to it, his legs wide apart.
He said: "Listen, there's just one thing I want to talk to you about before he starts in." He indicated Guelvada with his thumb. "Right from the first I thought this business was a snatch job and I thought the idea was to snatch Lyon; that all I had to do was to keep my eye on her until the time came. Then I was to take my dough and get out. I didn't know anything else about this, an' I don't like it. Maybe I've been goddam crooked in my life, but I've never got myself in a job against this country. I'm sorta fond of it."
Voisana said: "I cannot be blamed, Mr. Carno, for your supreme unintelligence. Also it has never been my policy to inform underlings exactly what they are doing."
Carno said to Guelvada: "So that lets me out. Now you know I was tellin' the truth."
Guelvada said: "I'm glad to hear it." He faced Voisana. "Mr. Voisana, the situation is rather unfortunate for you. In the language of the romantic I think the game is up."
Voisana said: "Is it? Is that what you think, Mr. Guelvada?"
Guelvada smiled. "I don't think. I know. Consider your position, my friend. For some time you have been living on that solitary island three or four miles from Dark Bahama. Carno was your contact here—an unwitting one possibly, who did not know what the real game was. His business was to look after Mrs. Lyon; to report when she left Miami for Dark Bahama. On the island, Jacques was your agent. He worked for you. It was on your instructions he killed Sandford. And when he came to see you last, to report that his arrest on the island was imminent, you killed him."
Voisana said gently: "I always thought that Mervyn Jacques was a stupid individual. I overestimated his intelligence."
Guelvada said: "Maybe. Well, what do you propose to do now?"
Voisana shrugged his shoulders. "I don't propose to do anything. My business is finished. I think I may say that this little affair has come to a successful conclusion for us. What you say or do now means nothing."
Guelvada grinned. "In other words you are a philosopher, Voisana?"
"Why not?" said Voisana. "This is one of those moments when philosophy is a good friend. Whatever happens to me I shall have the pleasure of knowing that we succeeded."
Guelvada said: "That remains to be seen. I take it that somewhere or other you have Mrs. Lyon and Julian Isles? Do you think I should consent to use them as a base for bargaining?"
"I don't even mind," said Voisana. "I'm not interested."
Guelvada asked: "Where are they?"
Voisana laughed. "You must think our organisation is a very stupid one, Mr. Guelvada. I have not the remotest idea where they are. Our little society is what you call watertight. We each do our own job. We know enough to do our job. It is not part of my business to know where the estimable Mrs. Lyon or the doubtless gallant Mr. Isles are at this moment. It is a matter of indifference to me what happens to them. I should think it might easily be the worst. That is my attitude. Do you understand?"
Guelvada nodded. "In other words you have the courage of your convictions. The only point is that I think your convictions are lousy."
He got up. He asked: "Would you like to get a hat, Voisana? There is quite a breeze to-night. Or perhaps you like to feel it on your hair."
Voisana said: "Why should I worry about a hat?"
Guelvada smiled. "I think you are right. I should not even worry about your head or your neck if I were you. And don't think you are going to have a heroic trial. The charge will be murder. I don't know what they do in this State. I think they might save the Dark Bahama authorities the trouble. I have an idea they'll deal with you here. I don't know whether it is hanging, electrocution or the gas chamber. I suppose you don't even mind about that."
Voisana said smilingly: "Not very much. I have served my purpose."
Guelvada said: "Take him away, Carno. Walk down the road towards Miami. There will be a car not far away from here. Take him to police headquarters. They'll know what to do with him." He turned to Voisana. "It may seem to you that your departure is heroic. To me it is merely rather sordid. I have no doubt you profess yourself to be full of ideals for the salvation of the world. To me you appear merely as a cheap and inefficient killer."
Voisana raised his eyebrows. "Inefficient?"
Guelvada grinned wickedly. "Inefficient. Because, before you die, my friend, you will realise that you have failed."
Carno said: "Come on, Tutz!"
Voisana got up. He came round the desk. He said:
"Good night, Mr. Guelvada." He went out of the room with Carno on his heels.
Guelvada lighted a cigarette. He began to walk up and down the room. He looked at his strap-watch. He walked out through the french window on to the lawn; followed the path round the side of the house on to the main road. Fifty yards in front of him, in the moonlight, he saw the car draw up. Carno and Voisana got in. The car made a "U" turn; drove away.
Guelvada walked down the side of the road, smoking his cigarette, crooning softly to himself.
After a hundred yards a dirt road led off to the right. Just down it he saw the second car. He walked over to it. Frim got out.
He said: "Good evening, Guelvada. How's it with you?"
Guelvada said: "Not at all bad."
"We've been on your tail to-night," said Frim. "I've had some good men on Isles and Mrs. Lyon from the time he arrived."
