I drew in a long slow breath.
Fifty thousand dollars! My heart began to thump at the thought of so much money.
‘And what’s that?’
‘You sound interested, Mr. Barber. Would you take risks for such a sum?’
‘I’d take a lot of risk.’
I was thinking what I could do with all that money. Nina and I could leave Palm City. We could start a new life together.
‘Before we go any further, Mr. Barber,’ she said, ‘it’s only fair to tell you I haven’t any money except the allowance my husband makes me. My husband believes that his daughter and I should be able to manage on the allowance he provides. I admit they are generous allowances for reasonable people, but it so happens neither my stepdaughter nor I are reasonable people.’
‘If you haven’t the money, why offer me fifty thousand dollars?’ I said impatiently.
‘I can show you how you can make it.’
I stared at her and she stared at me.
‘Tell me – how do I make it?’
‘My stepdaughter and I need four hundred and fifty thousand dollars. We must have this money within two weeks. I am hoping you will help us get it, and if you do, you will be paid fifty thousand dollars.’
I studied her and decided she wasn’t crazy. On the contrary, I had never seen a woman who looked more sane.
‘But how do I do it?’ I asked.
But she wasn’t to be hurried.
‘Of course my husband could provide the money without any difficulty,’ she said. ‘Naturally, he would want to know why we wanted such a sum, and that is something neither of us can tell him.’ She paused to tap ash off her cigarette. ‘But with your help, we could get the money from my husband without having to answer awkward questions.’
My first surge of excitement was waning. This sounded like a confidence trick. I was now very alert.
‘Why do you want all this money?’ I asked.
‘You were clever to find out who I am.’
‘An idiot child could have found that out. If you want to remain anonymous, don’t drive that Rolls.
Are you being blackmailed?’
‘That doesn’t concern you. I have an idea to get this money, but I need your help, and I’m willing to pay you fifty thousand dollars.’
‘Which you don’t have.’
‘But with your help, I shall have.’
I was liking this less and less.
‘Let’s get to the point. What is this idea of yours?’
‘My stepdaughter is going to be kidnapped,’ she told me coolly. ‘The ransom money will be five hundred thousand dollars. You will get ten per cent of that. My stepdaughter and I divide what is left.’
‘Who will do the kidnapping?’
‘Why, no one. Odette will go away somewhere, and you will make the ransom demand. That is why I need your help. You will be the threatening voice on the telephone. It is simple enough, but it will have to be well done. For making the telephone call, and for collecting the ransom, I am offering you fifty thousand dollars.’
Well, the cat was out of the bag now. I felt my mouth turn dry.
Kidnapping was a capital offence. If I was going to touch this job, I would have to be more than careful. A kidnapper went to the gas chamber if he was caught.
This idea of hers could be as dangerous as murder – it carried the death sentence.
CHAPTER THREE
I
A small dark cloud drifted across the face of the moon. For the space of a minute or so, the sea looked suddenly cold and the beach dark and uninviting, then the cloud passed, and once more there was silver on the water and brightness on the beach.
Rhea Malroux was looking at me.
‘There is no other way of raising such a sum,’ she said. ‘It will have to be kidnapping. It’s the only way to make my husband part with the money. It is easy enough. It’s just a matter of working out the details.’
‘Kidnapping carries the death sentence,’ I said. ‘Have you thought of that?’
‘But no one is being kidnapped,’ she returned, and stretched out her long, beautiful legs. ‘Just supposing something went wrong, then I will tell my husband the truth, and that will be that.’
To me, she was as convincing as a carpet salesman trying to sell me a fake Persian rug.
But at the back of my mind was the thought of fifty thousand dollars. Maybe, I told myself, if I handled the set-up, worked out all the details myself, I could sink a hook into that money.
