1977 - My Laugh Comes Last by James Hadley Chase Read Free Book Online Page B

away.
    'Get in the car and relax, Mr. Lucas. You don't have a thing now to worry about.'
    I opened the car door and sat in the passenger's seat.
    Marsh's smashed, bloody face swam in my dazed mind. I sat there until Joe and Benny returned. They got in the car, Harry slid under the driving wheel.
    'I'll drop you off at your place, Mr. Lucas,' he said, 'then Joe'll fix the car. I'll have it put back in your garage this afternoon. You don't have a goddamn thing to worry about.'
    Not a thing, I thought, until Edwin Klaus comes around to pick up the price tag.
    I spent the rest of this Sunday in my apartment, holding an ice bag to my face and considering my position.
    I was sure Klaus intended to blackmail me. But how strong was his position? The body had been buried. No one saw Glenda nor myself at Ferris Point. At least, I saw no one on the drive down and on the beach. Suppose I told Klaus to go to hell when he came to pick up the price tag?
    What would he do? It seemed to me that by arranging to bury the body, his blackmail teeth were drawn. Suppose he called the Sheriff and told him where to find the body and implicate me? What proof had he I had murdered Marsh?
    I had only to keep my nerve and deny everything to be, in what seemed to me at the moment, a strong position.
    I realized that my story to Brannigan of a car accident to account for my bruised face was dangerous. Every car accident, no matter how trivial, had to be reported to the Sharnville police. They were very strict about this. I would have to think of a better story than a car accident, and finally, after some thought, I came up with a better story.
    My mind then shifted to Glenda. Was she involved in this?
    Loving her as I did, I tried hard not to think she had been the bait on the hook. There was one way to find out. Although it was Sunday, I felt sure The Investor worked around the clock. I reached for the telephone and asked the operator to connect me with New York. I said I wanted to talk to The Investor's office. After a delay, I got through. I asked to speak to the acting editor. There was more delay, then a brisk voice said, 'Harrison. Who is this?'
    'I'm sorry to bother you, Mr. Harrison,' I said, 'but it is a matter of urgency that I contact Mrs. Glenda Marsh who I understand freelances for you.'
    He repeated the name, then said, "You are in error. We don't know anyone of that name, and we don't employ freelances.'
    'Thank you,' I said, and hung up.
    I got up and walked into the kitchen and wrung out the towel, then I wrapped more ice cubes and returned to my armchair. I had an empty void inside me. So Glenda had been the bait on the hook. Was she still in Sharnville? I doubted it. Surely this put me in a stronger position to tell Klaus to go to hell. If he now tried to involve me, I could not only involve him, but also Glenda, and maybe, once the Sheriff began to question her, she would tell the truth. I found it hard to believe that she didn't love me.
    By 16.00, the swelling in my face had gone down. I now only had a black bruise on my cheek. My head ceased to throb. I was feeling jaded but more confident that I could deal with Klaus if and when he tried to put on the screws.
    Remembering my car, I went down to the garage.
    My car stood in the bay. It had been washed and polished.
    After a moment's hesitation, I opened the trunk. It was immaculate with a new rubber mat: no blood, no sand, no body.
    As I was closing the trunk, Fred Jebson, who lived below me, drove in.
    Jebson, an accountant, was one of those hearty, garrulous men who always liked to chat up anyone in sight.
    'Hi there, Larry,' he said, getting out of his car. ‘Didn't see you at the club.' Then he stared at me. 'For Pete's sake, did he catch you with his wife?' And he gave a bellow of laughter.
    I felt my insides shrink, but I forced a smile.
    'I had an argument with a golf ball,' I said. 'I took a No. 5 down to the beach. The ball ricocheted off a tree and caught me before I could