1978 - Consider Yourself Dead (17 page)

‘So we sit around here for eight goddamn hours, doing nothing?’

‘That’s what I’ve got to do, but you’re officially off-duty. Go and get some sleep.’

Marvin poured more coffee.

‘I couldn’t sleep.’ He drank, then sighed. ‘Gee! My kid’s going to be disappointed. I promised to take him to the fun fair. I’d better call Mrs. Washington and tell her I won’t be coming.’

‘Why do that? Why disappoint the kid? Grandi won’t be here until 16.00. That gives you at least six hours to be with your kid. Go on, see him, and get back here before 14.00. Why not?’

Marvin hesitated, then his face lit up.

‘I’ve never broken a promise to him . . . not ever. Do you think it’ll be all right, Mike?’

‘Sure. I’ll just have to sit around, counting my fingers. The action won’t start until Grandi gets here. Go on, get off.’

Still Marvin hesitated.

‘How about Suka?’

‘We have him trapped,’ Frost said. ‘The guard won’t let him out and the fence is electrified. I intend to stay right here by the telephone in case they call again. I intend to lock myself in when you’ve gone. No problem.’

‘Well, then if you’re sure, I’ll get off.’

‘I’ll alert the guard to let you out. Have a ball with your kid.’ Frost reached for the telephone and gave the guard instructions to let Marvin out and let him in on his return, then he went on to the guard, ‘Mr. Grandi will be arriving around 16.00. Let him in,’ and he hung up.

After some twenty minutes, he saw Marvin drive away in the T.R.7.

At their last meeting, Frost had told Silk of his idea of making Suka the fall guy, and Silk had approved. He had told Silk what he then was going to do, and again Silk approved.

‘One Jap less is one Jap less,’ Frost had said.

He got to his feet and went to the door leading to the villa and raising his voice, he called, ‘Suka! Hey, Suka!’

Leaving the door open, he returned to the desk and sat down.

After a delay, Suka appeared in the doorway.

‘I want you to go down to the harbour right away,’ Frost said. ‘When I checked the grounds, I found the harbour gate open. I forgot to shut it. I have to stay here by the telephone. Will you go down and shut it?’

Suka nodded.

Frost got up and pressed the button that neutralised the fence.

‘The current’s off,’ he said, trying to speak casually. ‘Go ahead.’

Suka nodded and hurried away.

Frost was aware his heart was thumping. He had never killed a man, but what was one Jap less?

Drawing in a deep breath, he pressed the red button, turning on the current. The moment Suka touched the gate, he would be dead.

Seven

A
t exactly 14.00, Jack Marvin walked into the guardroom.

‘Hi, Mike! Any excitements?’

It had been a long wait, and Frost was jittery. Suka hadn’t returned, that must mean he was dead.

It was the only way, Frost had argued to himself. Having made Suka the fall guy, it would be too dangerous for him to live. From time to time, he wanted to go down to the harbour, but if Amando came to the guardroom and found him missing it would poke a hole in the story he was going to tell.

He was going to tell Grandi that he had immediately suspected Suka, and had taken precautions to make sure Suka couldn’t leave the estate. He had told the guards to let no one out and he had electrified the fence. Obviously, he would say, Suka got in a panic and had decided to take off in one of the boats, forgetting the fence was electrified and had been killed. The police would have to be called, but Frost felt he could deal with them. Suka had been killed accidentally.

Marvin was the man to find the body.

‘Not a thing,’ Frost said, ‘but I’m goddamn hungry. You eaten?’

Marvin grinned.

‘I’ve been eating hotdogs and ice cream with the kid for the past hour. Why didn’t you tell Suka to get you something?’

‘I thought I’d wait until you got back. Be a pal, and tell him to hustle up a snack.’

‘Sure.’

It was over ten minutes before Marvin hurried into the guardroom. He looked worried.

‘No sign of him. I’ve checked his cabin.’ He stared at Frost. ‘You don’t think he’s scrammed?’

‘No way,’ Frost said impatiently. ‘He’s around the estate some place. Take a look, Jack. I’ve got to stay by the telephone. Watch it! The current’s on. Don’t touch the fence.’

‘Okay,’ and Marvin hurried away.

Frost went to the refrigerator and took out a can of beer. He drank the beer slowly. In a few minutes, Marvin would find Suka’s body. He finished the beer, lit a cigarette, then walked to the guardroom door and looked along the path leading to the harbour. Minutes ticked by, then he saw Marvin come running up the path. The alarm on Marvin’s face sent Frost’s heart thumping. So Suka was dead! Frost felt a chill run down his spine. He had murdered a man!

Marvin was shouting something as he ran, but Frost didn’t register what he was saying.

‘What the hell’s up?’ he exclaimed, and went to meet Marvin.

‘He’s scrammed!’ Marvin blurted out, coming to a halt. ‘The harbour gate’s open, and the motorboat’s gone!’

Frost felt as if an ironclad fist had hit him below the heart. He stood motionless, chills running over him as he stared at Marvin.

‘Hear me!’ Marvin snapped. ‘He’s scrammed!’

Frost made an effort and pulled himself together.

‘Can’t be!’

‘The gate’s open, and the motorboat’s gone!’ Marvin said.

To gain time to think, Frost shoved by him and ran down to the harbour.

His mind worked like lightning as he ran. Had Suka overheard him telling Amando and Marvin that he (Suka) was the inside man, then seeing the open gate, had bolted?

There could be no other explanation. The fact was he had escaped! Frost felt a sudden relief. He hadn’t committed murder! But Suka at liberty could be dangerous. He must alert Silk.

He reached the harbour and saw how easily anyone could slip down to the boats without touching the open door nor the fence.

He was still standing there, his mind active when Marvin joined him.

‘I’ve turned off the current,’ Marvin said and closed the gate. ‘How the hell did he open the gate without being electrocuted?’

‘My guess he must have listened to us talking,’ Frost said. ‘Like a dope, I didn’t turn on the current until you left the guardroom to change. In those few minutes, he must have scrammed. I never thought of checking on him once you had gone. I locked myself in and stayed put.’

Marvin stared at him, his expression worried.

‘Grandi will love you, Mike. You should have turned on the current when we were talking.’

‘And he’ll love you too,’ Frost snapped. ‘You should have been here instead of at the funfair with your kid.’

‘Aw, come on, Mike. You’re in charge. You told me to go.’

‘Okay, okay. Anyway what the hell does it matter? We’re both going to lose our jobs.’

‘I guess. Look, Mike, I have friends at the cop house. How’s about me asking Lepski to pick up Suka? I can say some valuables are missing and . . .’

‘No way,’ Frost said curtly. ‘We do nothing until Grandi arrives. Anyway, we now know for sure Suka was the inside man. I’m going to get myself something to eat. Suppose you walk around, check his cabin, see if he’s taken his clothes.’

‘Yeah.’

Leaving Marvin, Frost hurried back to the guardroom.

He locked the door leading to the villa, then snatched up the telephone receiver. He dialled the number of the Ace of Spades.

Umney came on the line.

‘Suka got away in a motorboat,’ Frost said, speaking fast. ‘The boat has a big G on the stern. Find and fix him.’

‘Will do,’ Umney said, and hung up.

Frost then went up to Amando’s room, opened the door and walked in. He found Amando lying on the bed, his face ashen. Amando opened his eyes and stared glassily at Frost.

‘I am very ill,’ he mumbled. ‘My heart . . . get a doctor.’

Frost stared down at him. Faking? He thought not, but he couldn’t care less about Amando.

‘You’ll need more than a doctor when Grandi arrives,’ he said, and left the room.

He found some cold cuts in the kitchen refrigerator and made himself a couple of sandwiches, then he returned to the guardroom.

As he was eating the second sandwich, Marvin came in.

‘Old Creepy’s sick,’ Frost said. ‘He’s had a heart attack.’

‘To hell with him,’ Marvin said. ‘Look what I’ve found in Suka’s cabin.’ He put a small box on the desk. ‘A sophisticated bug.’

Frost opened the box and stared at the black button.

This was a limpet bug that was powerful enough to record a conversation from a considerable distance. He looked at the empty socket by the bug that told him there had been a second bug.

‘That’s how he heard us talking,’ Marvin said. ‘I bet the other bug is somewhere right here.’

Frost snatched up the telephone and upended it. The second bug was attached to the base of the telephone. He whirled around on Marvin.

‘Was there a recorder in his cabin?’

‘Yeah, but no cassette. I checked.’

Frost removed the bug and put it in the box. He realised the danger of this discovery immediately.

‘More evidence for Grandi,’ he said, forcing his voice to sound casual.

‘Hey, Mike!’ Marvin was pointing to the gun rack.

‘There’s a .38 missing!’

Frost looked at the gun rack. There should have been four .38 police specials on hooks on the rack: there were only three.

‘How the hell did he take that?’

‘When you were checking the grounds and when I went up to Amando,’ Marvin said. ‘We both should have seen it was missing.’

‘Okay, okay,’ Frost said. ‘We needn’t spell it all out to Grandi. Suppose you go up and take another look at Amando. If he is really bad, call an ambulance and let’s get him to hospital before Grandi arrives. Fix it, will you?’

Leaving Marvin, he went fast to his cabin. He examined his telephone, made sure it wasn’t bugged, then called the Ace of Spades. This time he got Silk.

Quickly, he explained the situation, then went on, ‘If Suka left the tape running, he has evidence I fingered him as the inside man, and more dangerous, I told him the gate was open and to shut it. If he gets to Grandi, my cover’s blown. He’ll be at the airport waiting for Grandi to arrive. You’ve got to fix him before Grandi arrives. Watch it! He’s armed!’

‘I’ll have the airport covered in ten minutes,’ Silk said.

‘When is Grandi arriving?’

‘Around 15.00. New York arrival.’

‘Keep your cool, Mike,’ Silk said quietly. ‘It’s going along well. Don’t forget we have Grandi over a barrel.’

‘Yeah, but I want to keep my cover. How’s the girl?’

‘No problem. I gave her a reefer, and she is way out,’ and Silk hung up.

Frost wiped his sweating hands on his slacks, then returned to the guardroom where he found Marvin on the telephone, ordering an ambulance.

‘He looks as if he’s going to croak,’ Marvin said as he hung up.

‘One headache less.’ Frost picked up the telephone receiver and alerted the guard at the entrance to let the ambulance in.

‘Hell!’ the guard exploded. ‘You sure sound as if you have real trouble up there.’

‘Tell that to Mr. Grandi when he arrives. He’ll love the sound of your voice,’ Frost snarled, and hung up.

* * *

The ambulance taking Amando to the Paradise Clinic, hadn’t been gone more than ten minutes, when Frost I heard the sound of an approaching helicopter. The machine hovered over the estate, then gently settled down I on the big lawn.

‘Here he is,’ Frost said, as both he and Marvin moved fast out of the guardroom. ‘Action stations!’

As Grandi climbed from the machine, Frost hurried across the lawn to meet him.

Grandi paused to say something to the pilot, then came striding forward, his face a stone mask, his eyes glittering dangerously.

‘Where’s Amando?’ he barked as Frost paused before him.

‘He’s had a heart attack, sir. The ambulance has just taken him to the Paradise Clinic.’

Grandi stared at Frost.

‘Then he’s lucky,’ he snarled. ‘Come to my study in ten minutes,’ and moving by Frost, ignoring Marvin, he strode into the villa.

‘Stick around, Jack,’ Frost said, and breaking into a run, he went to his cabin, shut himself in and grabbing the telephone, dialled the Ace of Spades.

Silk came on the line.

‘Did you get Suka?’ Frost asked, speaking low and fast.

‘No sign of the sonofabitch,’ Silk said. ‘No sign of Grandi either.’

‘He’s here. He must have flown to Miami and taken a chopper. He arrived a minute ago.’

‘Then Suka couldn’t have contacted him. We’ll keep hunting.’

‘Find him and fix him,’ Frost said and hung up.

Bracing himself, he walked to the villa, entered, then stood in the big hall, waiting.

Five minutes later, Grandi jerked open the door of his study.

‘Okay, Frost, let’s have it,’ he said, and walked to his desk and sat down.

Although his heart was thumping, Frost played it cool.

He pulled up a chair and sat down, facing Grandi.

‘I told you, sir, that the only way your daughter could be kidnapped was for an inside man to organise the kidnapping. The inside man is the Jap . . . Suka. The evidence all points to him.’ Frost went on to explain that Amando’s and Marvin’s drinks were doped, how he, himself, was a prisoner in his cabin because of the dogs, and how Marvin had found Suka gone and one of the boats missing.

‘Okay,’ Grandi said abruptly. ‘I accept that. Then what happened?’

‘My guess is Suka was well paid. He neutralised the fence and the kidnappers came in, grabbed Miss Grandi and took her away in their own boat. At 07.45, I left my cabin, found Marvin drugged, called Suka who found Amando drugged. I then checked the grounds and found the harbour gate open. I immediately suspected Suka, and I told Amando and Marvin my suspicions. Suka had a bug in here.’ Frost paused to produce the box containing the two bugs. He put the box on the desk. ‘He overheard my talk with Amando and Marvin, panicked and bolted. It wasn’t until after talking with Amando and Marvin that I electrified the fence again and warned the guard at the entrance to let no one out. If there is a fault, sir, I should have immediately electrified the fence, but I missed out on the guardroom being bugged.’