'And you? If you had enough money to get away from here, what would you do?'
'Live! I'm twenty-six. I know men go for me.' She stared directly at him. 'You go for me, don't you?'
'So what's that to do with it?'
'If I could get to Miami, I'd find a man and I'd squeeze every dollar out of him for services rendered. You know something? I thought this was the golden land of opportunity when I landed here three years ago. Was I green? I spent two months in New York in a Travel Agency, routing old jerks to Sweden. God! Was that a bore! Then I got a transfer down to Jacksonville: the same old bore. Then one day . . . my unlucky day . . . when I was fed up to my back teeth, I had to run into Ed, full of plans of starting up in the haulage business, owning his own truck, in a year owning two trucks, in four years a fleet of trucks . . . really in the money! So I married him! Okay, I asked for it and got it! We came here. 'Give me a year,' he said, `and you'll see. Let's rough it for a year, then I'll get another truck.' That's two years ago! And what a man! What a man to live with!' She looked directly at Johnny. 'Are you on to him?'
'What does that mean?'
'He's kinky. High heels and whips. So we sleep apart. He gets his fun in Richville and I get my fun fishing!'
Johnny lifted his hands and let them fall heavily on his knees.
'I'm sorry.'
'Don't be.' She got to her feet. 'Come on, lodger. You want me and I need a man. This time it's for free. Next time, it'll cost you. I've got to save money and get out of here or I'll damn well drown myself.'
Johnny remained seated.
'I want you, Freda, but not on those terms,' he said, quietly. 'I've never paid for it and I never will.'
She stared at him, then she smiled.
'I think I'm going to like you, Johnny,' she said. 'I think you're all man. No conditions . . . let's see how good you really are.'
He got up and putting his arm around her waist, cupping her heavy breast, he went with her into his tiny bedroom.
'What's the time?'
Her voice sounded lazy and sleepy.
Johnny lifted his wrist. It was a few minutes after 15.00. She lay naked, her body on his, her blonde head half on his shoulder and half on the pillow.
'Just after three.'
'Oh, damn! I must go to the village.' She swung off him and on
to her feet, standing, looking down at him.
He looked up, feasting his eyes on her suntanned body. He reached up to touch her, but she moved out of his reach.
'Do you want to come with me?'
He very nearly said he would, then he remembered it would be safer to keep out of sight, to keep away from the village.
'I guess I'll stay: What have you got to go for?'
'The mail if any and the newspaper. Ed likes the newspaper.'
'Anything I can do while you're away?'
'You've done enough.' She smiled down at him. 'You're not much to look at but you know how to satisfy a woman.'
'Good?'
'Hmmm.'
She went away and reaching for a cigarette Johnny lit up, then relaxed on the bed.
She had been good too, he thought: starving for it. He lay there, thinking about her for the next half hour, then getting off the bed, he took a swim.
He was dressed and sitting on the deck when she returned in the motorboat. The time now was 16.30. He helped her scramble up on deck, then tied up the boat.
'Want to see the paper?' She offered it to him. 'I'll stuff the bass,' and she left him.
Newspapers seldom interested Johnny except to read the Sport's news. He glanced at the headlines, found nothing to hold his attention, turned to page two, paused to read an account of a girl who had been found raped and murdered, grimaced, then flicked through the rest of the pages until he came to the funnies. He read 'Peanuts' and grinned, then as he was turning to the Sports' page a headline caught his eyes.
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN?
$10,000 Reward
Then with a sudden cold sick feeling he saw his own photograph.
With shaking hands he read the letterpress.
Dyson & Dyson! Carlo Tanza's attorneys!
