1954 - Safer Dead by James Hadley Chase Read Free Book Online Page B

before?’
    ‘Sure,’ I said, ‘but give me lots of room. I haven’t done any serious shooting since I was in the army.’
    ‘Well, be careful,’ Peters said. ‘You better leave him to me.’
    ‘Only if you see him first.’
    I found Bernie in a room with a high barred window, sitting at a table, scowling at his portable typewriter. Sitting by the door was Scaife, Bernie’s bodyguard; a tough looking cop with sandy hair and a thick, short nose that someone had tried to push through his face at one time.
    ‘How are you getting on?’ I asked Bernie.
    ‘How can a guy concentrate when he’s expecting to be shot at any moment?’ Bernie complained. ‘I’m not getting on.’
    Scaife laughed.
    ‘He thinks I can’t look after him,’ he said. ‘Why, there’s nothing to it. I keep telling him he’s safe, but he won’t believe me.’
    ‘I’ve never trusted a cop,’ Bernie said, ‘and I never will.’ He looked suspiciously at me. ‘What’s cooking?’
    ‘We’re waiting until it’s dark, then we’ll go out and set a trap for this gunman.’
    Bernie’s eyes popped.
    ‘What do you mean - a trap?’
    ‘Well, we’ll walk, arm-in-arm, around town, hoping he’ll spot us, and when he starts something, these two guys will fill him with lead.’
    ‘That’s nice. Suppose they miss him?’
    I pulled out the .45 and flourished it.
    ‘Then I’ll take care of him. I used to be pretty good with a rod. They didn’t call me Killer Sladen for nothing.’
    Scaife and Peters laughed, but Bernie recoiled.
    ‘Put it away. That’s how accidents happen.’ He leaned forward and shoved his fat chin at me. ‘Where do you get this “we” stuff from? You won’t catch me on the streets after dark. I’m going to stay right here until he’s caught. If you want to be a hero, go ahead and be a hero. I’m staying right here.’
    I looked helplessly at Peters and Scaife.
    ‘See what I have to put up with? The guy’s got no enterprise.’
    ‘What are you worrying about, kid?’ Scaife asked Bernie. ‘I’ll take care of you.’
    ‘I’m staying right here,’ Bernie said firmly.
    I sat down.
    ‘Relax,’ I said. ‘Let’s do some work.’
    ‘I don’t mind working, that’s what I get paid for, but I’m not going to be used as bait for a trap,’ Bernie said. ‘I want that understood.’
    ‘Okay, okay,’ I said. ‘I’ll do it on my own.’ I lit a cigarette. ‘Now come on, let’s get this story on the mat.’
     

II
     
    A round five o’clock I went up to Creed’s office with Peters tagging along behind.
    ‘Any ideas?’ Creed asked, shoving aside a file he was working on and waving me to a chair.
    ‘I’m doing this solo,’ I said. ‘Low doesn’t like the idea, and I can’t say I blame him. Anyway, it’ll make it easier for your men to cover one of us instead of two. As soon as it’s dark, I’ll leave here in a taxi and go to the hotel. I want to get out of this light suit and put on something that won’t show up in the dark. Then I’ll walk from the hotel to the restaurant on the corner. I’ll have dinner there. You can have a couple of men posted in the bar. The restaurant is through the bar at the back. I’ll sit with my back to the wall. If he starts anything in there, we’ll have him. If he doesn’t, I’ll walk from the restaurant to the Gaumont cinema. If still nothing happens, I’ll walk on to Mike’s bar at the back of the Florian. From there I’ll walk back to the hotel.’
    Creed was making notes as I talked.
    ‘It’d be better if you walked from here to the hotel,’ he said. ‘Taxis can get lost in the traffic. We don’t want to lose sight of you, but at the same time, we don’t want this guy to know we’re following you. It’s got to be a trap, Sladen, if it is going to work at all. You’ll be on your own. Peters is a dead shot, but he’ll have to keep out of sight. This could be tricky; you might get hurt.’
    I suddenly realized I was sticking my neck out