Introducing The Toff by John Creasey Read Free Book Online Page B

the truth?
    The Toff did not enlighten him.
    ‘You see,’ he pursued, ‘our first meeting was accidental, and you got the best of it. And so I thought this one out first. Dragoli, said I to myself, must have been expecting me to call; otherwise he wouldn’t have sent the spider the other day. And he’ll let me go, because if he swats me he’ll never learn how much I know, which would be a pity. And so –’
    ‘Supposing I let you go?’ asked Dragoli.
    “There isn’t any supposing about it,’ said the Toff with assurance.’ I’m going, Achmed, and I’m taking Annabelle with me.’
    ‘And after that?’
    ‘And after that,’ said the Toff, who was under no delusions as to Dragoli’s reason for prolonging the conversation, and who was aware that Garrotty was moving backwards until he leaned against a door which probably possessed an electric button, ‘it’s just possible that you might give me best. But I’d be disappointed if you did. And just to lure you on, Achmed, I’ll tell you that I don’t know why you killed Goldman.’
    Dragoli was quiet for a moment. So was Garrotty. The only sound that broke the silence was a low gasp from the girl.
    The Toff snatched a glance at her, and his eyes narrowed. Again the mention of Goldman broke through her self-control; she was deathly pale.
    Dragoli’s voice made the Toff forget her.
    ‘No?’ queried the Egyptian, and there was a sharp edge to his voice, for which the Toff had been waiting.
    ‘But I shall find out,’ said the Toff smoothly.
    And he was conscious of tension in the air.
    Dragoli’s single ‘no’ had been a mistake, for the change from suavity to hostility suggested that reinforcements were at hand. Garrotty’s manner changed too. He moved a yard nearer the Toff, grinning evilly. It was his first encounter, so he had an excuse.
    ‘Clever, ain’t yah, fella?’
    ‘So clever,’ murmured the Toff, ‘that even you recognize it.’ He looked at the girl. ‘Annabelle, get right behind me and move towards the door. Don’t take any notice of anything or anybody excepting me.’
    Then he grinned at Dragoli, who was standing up.
    ‘I shouldn’t move if I were you. Funny things happen – like that!’
    It came out of the blue, or, more prosaically, from the Toff’s gun. He had seen a leg poke out from a gap which had appeared suddenly in the wall, and fired from his pocket. The shot echoed loudly as the bluish flame spat – and the leg disappeared, amidst cursing.
    ‘First blood,’ smiled the Toff, and laughed at the sudden rage in Dragoli’s face. ‘I warned you, Achmed. This isn’t a plaything, and I’ve used it before’
    Then he dropped his voice so that only the girl just behind him heard his words.
    ‘Open the door. Cut across the lounge and get in the lift Count a hundred, and if I’m not out by then, press the button you’ll see on a level with your eyes, and when you get to the top yell for a policeman. O.K.?’
    ‘Yes,’ said Anne, and the Toff liked the quiet assurance of her voice. She was more self-possessed now.
    He saw Garrotty rushing towards him like a great bull, fists whirling like flails. He saw a second pair of legs inserting themselves through the sliding wall. He saw the glint of steel in Dragoli’s hands.
    His gun spoke. Dragoli whipped his hand from his pocket, and the gun clattered to the floor. Blood dropped from the Egyptian’s shattered fingers, and the Toff laughed mockingly.
    ‘I told you,’ he said, and his gun spoke again. The bullet whistled past Garrotty’s head, making the man flinch back – it was a lucky thing, the Toff thought at that moment, that he had caught Garrotty at a time when the gangster couldn’t get at his gun – and embedded itself in the thigh of a second man who was climbing through the hole in the wall. The man staggered back, his ugly face distorted with fury and pain.
    ‘Cheer up, Handsome,’ taunted the Toff. ‘That was only a taster. Now for the real thing