‘What’s biting you, Ted? Why, damn it, I’ve been dealing here for over ten years. Mr. Hammond would be glad to oblige me.’
Ted’s face brightened.
‘I guess that’s right, Mr. Barber. Maybe you’ll just sign the form? Then tomorrow when you bring her back…’
‘Sure.’
I followed him into the office and waited impatiently while he searched for the form. He finally found it and spread it on the desk in front of me.
As I took out my pen, a car drove into the garage.
It was Hammond.
If I’d only been five minutes sooner I would have been gone by the time he arrived. Now I had an argument on my hands. I knew it when I saw his expression change at the sight of me.
Somehow I managed to give him a grin as he came into the office.
‘Hello, Mr. Hammond,’ I said. ‘You’re keeping late hours.’
‘‘Evening,’ he said curtly. He looked sharply at Ted. ‘What’s going on?’
‘I’m hiring the Chevvy,’ I said. ‘My car’s got a bust gearbox. I’ll get you to pick it up sometime next week. I’ve a rush date in Palm Bay and I must have a car.’
He relaxed a little.
‘That’s okay. If you’ll fill up the form, Mr. Barber. It’ll be thirty bucks for gas, insurance and the deposit.’
I began to fill up the form. My hand was so shaky I didn’t recognise my own handwriting.
‘I’ll settle with you tomorrow when I bring her back,’ I said as casually as I could. ‘This is an unexpected date. I hadn’t time to get to the bank before it closed. I’ll settle with you tomorrow.’
I signed the form with a flourish and pushed it over to him. He ignored it.
‘Give me Mr. Barber’s credit card,’ he said to Ted.
Ted produced the card, then went out into the garage. He seemed embarrassed.
Hammond examined the card, then he looked at me and there was a bleak expression in his eyes.
‘Mr. Barber, you owe me a hundred and fifty bucks for repairs, gas and oil,’ he said.
‘Sure thing: I know. I’ll settle that tomorrow too,’ I said. ‘I’m sorry it’s run on for so long.’
‘I’ll be glad if you would.’ There was a pause, then he said, ‘I’m sorry, Mr. Barber, but until the account is settled, I can’t give you any more credit.’
I nearly lost control of myself. With my hands in fists, I said, ‘Now look, I want a car urgently. I’ve dealt with you for ten years. This is no way to treat an old customer. I wouldn’t ask you to do me this favour if it wasn’t urgent.’
‘There’s the bus, Mr. Barber, if you have to go to Palm Bay. Your account has been running unpaid for close on eighteen months,’ Hammond said. ‘I’ve spoken to Mrs. Barber about it a number of times. I always get the same story: ‘I’ll settle tomorrow.’ I’m sorry, but I’m not giving you any more credit. You can have the Chevvy when you have paid the deposit and settled the account. That’s final.’
I felt so bad I wanted to die. I had to have that car! My life depended on it!
‘I’m in a situation that is very, very urgent,’ I said, struggling to keep my voice steady. ‘I must have a car tonight. I tell you what I’ll do. I’ll leave my wife’s jewellery with you as a deposit. The stuff is worth a couple of hundred bucks. Then tomorrow, I’ll pay the whole account. You may not have heard, but I’ve a job now. I’m the Press officer to the District Attorney.’ I took out my Press card and handed it to him.
He glanced at it and handed it back to me.
‘If you’re working for the District Attorney, Mr. Barber, you’d better get a police car if it’s all that urgent. I don’t want your wife’s jewellery. I don’t do my business in that way.’
Then suddenly I remembered that in the trunk of the Packard was the briefcase containing five hundred thousand dollars! What was I doing, standing here, begging this punk to do me a favour when I could buy up his whole goddam garage if I wanted to? I would use some of that money! It was dangerous, but nothing like so dangerous as leaving Odette’s body in my garage.
‘If that’s the way you feel about it, you can go to hell,’ I said and I walked out of the garage.
About a mile from home, there was an all-night service station. I would go there when Nina was in bed and hire a car from them, paying them with the money from the ransom bills.
I started down the long road leading to my bungalow. Halfway, I saw two policemen coming towards me on the opposite side of the road. They paused outside a house of a neighbour of mine, then one of them pushed open the gate and walked up the path. The other policeman moved on and went to the house next door.
The house-to-house search had reached my street!
With fear squeezing my heart, I quickened my steps. As I came within sight of my bungalow, I came to an abrupt standstill.
For a long moment, I just stood there, fighting the urge to turn and run and keep on running. Had the body been found? Were they waiting, out of sight, to arrest me?
One of the policemen had come out of the house across the way. He stared curiously at me.
