Have a Nice Night by James Hadley Chase Read Free Book Online Page A

had put her arms around him and hugged him. 'Dear husband, I wish with all my heart this wasn't going to happen, but you can rely on me for always.'
    She had returned for her afternoon break, but Pedro wasn't there. She had rested her body, but not her mind. She kept thinking of the gun Pedro had shown her. She thought of his friend, Fuentes, who had given him the gun. Pedro had said there would be no risk. She was so in love with him, she forced herself to believe there would be no risk, but she remained fearful.
    Back home yet again at 22.30, hoping with desperate hope to find Pedro waiting for her, the empty little room made her heart sink.
    Pedro had told her to pack, so, wearily, she packed two suitcases to contain their few belongings. As she packed, she thought that tomorrow at this time, they would be back on the small sugar cane farm, and she would once again be slaving in the heat, but what did that matter so long as she had Pedro, her loved one, by her side?
    While waiting for Pedro to return, she switched on the news. She listened to the account of the murders of Abe Levi, a rent collector and Carry Smith, a black woman, the attempt to steal the rent money which Abe Levi had collected, and her body turned to stone.
    The announcer went on, 'Detective Tom Lepski, seeing the thief escaping, shouted a warning, then fired. The thief, a young Cuban, so far has not been identified. Seriously wounded, he is now in hospital, under police guard.'
    Anita put her hands to her mouth, stifling a scream. Pedro!
    'The police want to question a Cuban named Roberto Fuentes who is missing. The murder gun has been traced to him, and it is thought he has either sold or lent the gun to the killer.'
    The announcer went on, 'Anyone knowing this man's whereabouts should call police headquarters.'
    Anita switched the transistor off. Some women have steel in them, some don't. Anita had this steel which was built in her by hard, grinding work in the sugar cane fields and her work at the hotel. Once she had absorbed the shock of knowing her beloved was critically wounded and in the hands of the police, she considered the problem. Soon the police would find out who Pedro was and where he lived. They would come to this room and question her. The Press would hound her. She would lose her job at the hotel. She must act at once!
    Fuentes! He would know the police would be looking for him and he would go into hiding.
    Anita had lived in Seacomb many months. She was part of the Cuban community. She knew Pedro's friends. She knew Fuentes was always talking about his rich friend, Manuel Torres, who had a fishing vessel moored to the West Quay.
    She had heard much about Manuel Torres. It was said he was a man of great influence. He was more than that. The Cuban community regarded him as the godfather of all the Cubans living in the city. When someone had a problem, he went to Manuel who helped him. He was known as 'The Man of Truth'. When he said he could solve a problem, it was solved. Naturally, he charged a few cents for his time, but that was accepted because his advice was always good. When he wasn't fishing, he ran a stall on the quay, selling tourist junk successfully.
    While Fuentes and Pedro had drunk cheap wine, Anita, sitting with them, had listened to Fuentes boasting.
    'Manuel is my friend,' he had declared to Pedro. 'If ever I got into trouble, I would go to him and he would help me.'
    Manuel Torres, known as The Man of Truth! Anita thought. I will find Fuentes with him.
    For more than an hour, she sat motionless, her mind busy. Pedro must be rescued! Pedro must never serve a long term in prison! This was an unbearable, impossible thought! She well knew the value of friendship. Neither Fuentes nor Manuel would raise a finger to help Pedro unless there was a big incentive.
    At the end of that desperate hour of thinking, she finally arrived at a solution. She hesitated, wondering if such a plan could succeed, then she persuaded herself there