Just Another Sucker

going to be the biggest goddam thing that’s ever hit Palm City. Don’t you want to be in on it?’

I was aware that Nina was standing in the doorway, looking at me. My hand was so slippery with sweat I had trouble holding the receiver. So the lid had already come off this thing. It looks as if his daughter has been kidnapped. If I worked with the D.A., at least I would know what the moves were. I hesitated for about three seconds, then I said, ‘I’m on my way, John.’

‘Fine… fine… and hurry,’ Renick said. ‘I’ll be waiting for you.’

I put down the receiver.

‘What is it, Harry?’ Nina asked.

‘I don’t know. He’s excited about something. He didn’t say. He wants me down at the D.A.’s office.

They’re paying a hundred and fifty. I’m not turning that down.’

‘Oh, Harry!’ She threw her arms around me. ‘I’m so glad. A hundred and fifty!’ She kissed me. ‘I knew it would be all right for you. I knew it!’

I wasn’t in the mood for love. I patted her and then pushed her away.

‘I’ve got to get down there fast.’

I went into the bedroom and threw on my clothes. My heart was hammering so hard I had trouble with my breathing. So Rhea had been too confident. Malroux had told the police. Well, I had lost out. I wasn’t going to make fifty thousand dollars, but at least, I had a hundred and fifty dollar a week job.

I paused as I knotted my tie.

But had I the job?

If the police found out I was mixed up in this faked kidnapping, I wouldn’t hold the job for five minutes. Maybe those two tapes would save me from being prosecuted, but they wouldn’t save the job.

I got down to the D.A.’s office a few minutes after nine o’clock. A girl took me to Renick’s office.

‘Come on in, Harry,’ he said, getting up from behind a massive desk. He gripped my hand. ‘I’m glad you’ve decided to throw in with us. You won’t regret it. The D.A. is on his way now. He should be here any minute.’

I sat on the arm of a lounging chair and took the cigarette he offered me.

‘What’s all the excitement about, John?’ I said, trying to sound casual. ‘What’s this about Malroux’s daughter?’

There was a tap on the door and a girl looked in.

‘Mr. Meadows is here now, Mr. Renick.’

Renick stood up.

‘Let’s talk to Meadows,’ he said.

As we walked down the long passage, Renick went on, ‘Watch your step with him. He’s a good guy, but a little touchy. He knows all about you and he admires your work and also the way you came out of that mess. You deliver the goods, and you’ll have no trouble with him.’ He paused outside a door, rapped and entered.

A thick-set man with chalk white hair was standing by the window, lighting a cigar. He glanced around. His small, piercing blue eyes swept over me. He was around fifty: his red fleshy face, jutting chin and this thin hard mouth gave me an immediate impression of ruthless efficiency.

‘This is Harry Barber,’ Renick said. ‘He’s on the staff from this morning.’

Meadows pushed out a cold, hard hand.

‘Glad to hear it,’ he said. ‘I’ve heard about you, Barber: what I’ve heard is good.’

I shook hands with him.

Blowing a cloud of smoke from between his thin lips, Meadows walked over to his desk and sat down. He waved Renick and myself to chairs.

‘You’ve spoilt my week-end,’ he said to Renick. ‘I was planning to take the wife and kids for a picnic. What’s all this about?’

Renick dropped into a chair and crossed his long legs.

‘Could be we have a kidnapping on our hands, sir,’ he said. ‘I thought you would want to be in on it from the start. Early this morning, I had a telephone call from Masters, the manager of the Californian and Los Angeles Bank.’ He looked over at me. ‘We have an arrangement with all the banks to report sudden withdrawals of any large sums of money if the circumstances seem urgent and unusual. From experience, we have learned that such withdrawals usually mean they are for ransom demands.’

I took out my handkerchief and wiped my sweating face. This was something I hadn’t known and hadn’t even suspected.

‘Masters said he had just had a telephone call from Malroux telling him to open up the bank and have ready for him five hundred thousand dollars. This is Sunday of course, and Masters tried to persuade Malroux to wait until tomorrow, but Malroux, who is the bank’s best client, said he must have the money right away. This seemed to conform to the arrangement between Masters and us, so he telephoned.’

Meadows scratched his chin.

‘Maybe Malroux is swinging a business deal involving cash.’

‘That’s what I thought, and I decided to check.’ Renick looked over at me. ‘As you should know, Harry, what usually happens in a kidnapping case is the parents of the kidnapped child are so scared that something will happen to their child that they pay up at once without consulting us. They seldom give us the chance to mark the money or set a trap for the kidnappers. Then when the child isn’t returned, they come running to us and expect us to find it. I’m blaming no one for not coming to us: a kidnapper is the most vicious type of criminal we know. He always warns his victim if he goes to the police the child will be murdered, but by not coming to us, they put us in a bad position to get moving. Hence this idea of getting bank managers to co-operate secretly. We don’t, of course, act on the