1956 - There's Always a Price Tag by James Hadley Chase Read Free Book Online Page B

look at this man who I knew, dead, was worth three-quarters of a million dollars.
    'Has Mrs. Dester gone out?' he asked abruptly, reaching for his glass.
    'Yes, sir; at least the Cadillac's gone.'
    'She didn't say where she was going?'
    'No, sir.'
    He finished the whisky and splashed more into his glass. His hand was so unsteady he spilt some of the whisky on the sheet.
    'I think you should know that Mrs. Dester doesn't want me here,' I went on. 'She has told me twice to go.'
    He smiled: a hard, bitter smile. 'That doesn't surprise me, kid. You take your orders from me.'
    'Yes, sir.'
    'Pay no attention to what she says. I want you here; I want you to handle the Rolls.'
    'Yes, sir.'
    He lay back against the pillow, staring at me. 'Are you married, kid?'
    'No, sir.'
    'You're smart. Don't ever marry. I wouldn't be a goddamn drunk if I had kept clear of marriage.' He made a movement with his hand. 'She's lovely, isn't she? All a man could want. You wouldn't think a woman as beautiful as she is could be colder than an iceberg, would you? But she is. There is only one thing she ever thinks about and that's money. Are you interested in money?'
    I had to lick my lips before saying, 'Who isn't?'
    'Yes, but there are degrees of interest. I'm interested in money too, but I don't live for it. She does.' He drank some more whisky. 'She's waiting for me to die. She thinks she'll come into a lot of money when I'm dead.' He laughed; it wasn't a pleasant sound. 'But she's going to get a shock. All she's going to get is a parcel of debts. That's all. I'm going to see to that.'
    I didn't say anything, but I was listening. I told myself this could only mean the premium was about due and he wasn't going to renew the policy.
    Suddenly he seemed to realize what he had been saying. His face hardened and he shouted at me, 'Don't stand there staring at me! Go away! I want to be alone, and don't come in here without knocking again.'
    Well, the visit to his room may not have paid off in dividends, but it certainly gave me something to think about.
     
    * * *
     
    Punctually at half past ten the next morning, Dester came from the house down to the car. He seemed comparatively sober, but his face was fine drawn, and there were dark circles around his eyes. He moved slowly as if he wasn't quite sure of his footing.
    'I'm not going to the studios this morning,' he said as he climbed into the car. 'Take me to the airport. I'm catching the half past eleven plane to San Francisco.'
    'Yes, sir,' I said.
    Why was he going to San Francisco? I wondered as I drove to the airport. I remembered the Head Office of the National Fidelity Assurance Company was in San Francisco. I would have given a lot to have asked him right out what he was going to do, but that wouldn't have got me anything but the gate.
    I pulled up outside the airport entrance, got out of the car and held the door open for him.
    'I'll be at the studios around four o'clock, kid,' he said. 'Pick me up there.' He sat still looking at me, then he went on, 'How are you off for money?'
    Although I was surprised, I said fast enough, 'Well, sir, I'm a little hard up right now. If you could…'
    I stopped and let the rest of the sentence hang in the air.
    He smiled. 'What did I say I'd pay you?'
    'Fifty, sir.'
    He took a chequebook from his pocket. Then he looked at me, his smile turning bitter.
    'You'd better cash in, kid, while there's something left. It won't be long now before the rest of them are after it.' He wrote out a cheque and handed it to me. 'That's a year's salary. Don't walk out on me now, will you? Stick with me until the smash comes. It won't be long.'
    I looked at the cheque, scarcely believing my eyes. He had made it out for two thousand, six hundred dollars.
    'You'd better cash it fast,' he went on. 'Don't hang on to it. First come, first served. In a few days there won't be a nickel left.'
    'Yes, sir,' I said, 'but I hope this doesn't mean…' I left it hanging because I didn't want a