Kile pursed his lips.
‘I don’t think I’d be interested,’ he said, ‘but let me see it.’
Rico walked over to the office door and turned the key. Then he went to the wall safe, opened it and took out the bracelet. He put it on the desk in front of Kile.
Kile studied it without touching it. He glanced up at Rico’s anxious face.
‘How hot is it?’
‘The woman who owned it was murdered,’ Rico said in a hushed voice.
Kile made a wry grimace.
‘Jean Bruce?’
Rico nodded.
‘I’m surprised you touched this,’ Kile said. ‘How did you get hold of it?’
‘By accident,’ Rico lied glibly. ‘It wasn’t until I saw tonight’s paper I knew it belonged to the Bruce woman.’
‘Think the police would believe you?’
‘I said it was hot,’ Rico pointed out. ‘I wouldn’t give you a wrong impression, Mr Kile. I thought one of your rich friends might have it. It’d have to be re-set, of course, but it’s a beautiful piece.’
Kile picked up the bracelet and studied it closely.
‘Yes; it’s nice. What do you want for it?’
‘Twenty-five hundred,’ Rico said promptly. ‘It’s worth at least six grand.’
‘It’s worth five,’ Kile said. ‘At the moment it isn’t worth a dime. I’d have to keep it for some time: maybe a year. It’s a dangerous thing to keep. I might give you a thousand for it, but not a dollar more.’
‘Make it two, and you can have it,’ Rico said hopeful y, then as Kile pushed the bracelet back to him, he went on hastily, ‘Wel , okay. I’m losing money, but I want it out of my place. I’l take a grand.’
Kile nodded.
‘You’l have to wait for the money, Rico. I’l let you have it in a week or two.’
‘That’s okay,’ Rico said, sit ing down. ‘I trust you, Mr Kile. Two weeks is okay with me.’
Kile nodded again and put the bracelet in his inside pocket.
‘There’s something I want to talk to you about, Rico,’ he said, paused to take a long drink from his glass, stared across at Rico, trying to make up his mind how much to tell him. He decided to say as little as possible. ‘There may be a big job coming along in the near future,’ he went on. ‘If it comes off you could make yourself fifteen thousand. It’s in the air at the moment, but I’m trying to get two or three good men together. Would you be interested?’
Fifteen thousand! Rico’s eyes gleamed. This was big-time stuff!
‘Why, sure,’ he said, leaning across the desk. ‘You know I want to work with you, Mr Kile. What would you want me to do?’
‘I don’t know yet,’ Kile said. ‘I haven’t even started to organise the job, and it’l need a lot of organising. I wanted to be sure I could rely on you.’
Rico felt a twinge of uneasiness. He was too cautious to commit himself without knowing something of what Kile was planning.
‘But can’t you give me some idea, Mr Kile? For instance: is it dangerous?’
‘Could be,’ Kile said mildly, thinking how horribly dangerous the whole idea was, ‘but you wouldn’t be in on that end of it. You could get yourself a ten to fifteen year stretch if it turned sour. You see, you’re not the only one who doesn’t want to give a wrong impression.’
Rico showed his teeth in a mirthless smile. Ten to fifteen years! He wasn’t going to walk into that without knowing where he was going!
‘What are the chances?’ he asked. ‘I don’t take unnecessary risks, Mr Kile. I’m not saying the pay isn’t good – it is, but ten to fifteen years!’
‘I can tell you about the risks better later on,’ Kile said. ‘It’l depend largely on the man who does the outside work. If he’s a good man, has plenty of nerve and plays his cards right, there won’t be any risk.
But if he slips up, loses his head, then we’re al sunk.’
Rico nodded.
‘Who’s the man, Mr Kile? Anyone I know?’
‘I haven’t found him yet,’ Kile said, taking out his cigar-case. He made motions of offering it to Rico, who shook his head. ‘It occurred to me you might know someone. He must have nerve. This isn’t an easy job, Rico: it’s damn near impossible, but I think the right man could pull it off. He’d have to be reliable, quick-witted, and a killer.’ He noticed Rico winced when he mentioned kil ing. He didn’t blame Rico for that. ‘Don’t misunderstand me,’ he went on. ‘I dislike killing as much as you do, but we’ve got to face facts. If this man is to be of any use to me, he’s got to have the qualities of a killer. That doesn’t mean to say he has to kill anyone.’
Rico looked relieved.
‘I know the man,’ he said. ‘His name’s Verne Baird. He’s only been in town a couple of months. He and I’ve done jobs together. He’s reliable, and he’s got al the qualifications you mentioned.’ He lowered his voice as he said, ‘It’s my bet he’s responsible for the Bruce killing. I don’t know for sure, but I think he is.’
