of it in time, I told myself. I had Timoteo on my mind. For the moment, she had to take second place.
Carrying the envelope, I went into the bedroom. She was in the bathroom, taking a shower. I put the envelope under my pillow, then sat on the bed, waiting for her.
Neither of us slept much that night.
CHAPTER TWO
We got up at 04.45, and while Lucy heated the coffee, I took a shower and had a shave. Although I had slept badly, I was now more relaxed. I had a job of work ahead of me, and when I'm working, I'm always in a good frame of mind. During the past four months when I had had so little to do except worry about our finances, I had been getting slack and irritable. That doesn't mean I hadn't enjoyed having a lazy time with Lucy, but enough was enough. I was ready to go to work again.
I found Lucy sitting on the patio, sipping her coffee and watching the sun come up behind the palm trees.
'When Timoteo arrives,' I said, taking the cup of coffee that was waiting for me on the table, 'you won't see me until lunch time.' I sat down by her. She looked a little wan and still worried, but this wasn't the time to worry about her worries. I would have to shelve that problem until later. 'I want you down at the bank by nine o'clock. When you get back, will you telephone our six pupils and tell them we are closed until the end of the month? I don't think they'll care. Colonel Forsythe might be tricky. Turn the charm on. Tell him we just have to paint the place. I am sure you can handle him.'
'All right, Jay.'
'Get enough food in to last a week.' I hesitated, then went on. 'Watch your cooking. His father is paying the bills. He'll expect to be well fed. We have five hundred dollars to cover the expenses.'
Panic showed in her eyes.
'All right, Jay.'
I smiled at her.
'Now don't flap. We are about to earn fifty thousand dollars. Remember you are as important as I am in this deal. I'm relying on you to take everything off my back except teaching this guy to shoot.' I finished my coffee and lit a cigarette. The first cigarette of the morning is always my favourite. 'Everything good that comes to me, I want to share with you.'
She pressed her hands together.
'Is it this job or the money that has made you change?' she asked in a low voice.
'Change? I haven't changed. I don't get it.'
'You have changed, Jay.' She looked up and forced a smile. 'When you told me the first time we met that you had been an army instructor, I found it hard to believe. You weren't like an army man . . . you were so kind, so understanding to me. I couldn't believe you could handle men, give orders, be ruthless. It puzzled me.' She paused. 'I see now why you will teach this man to shoot. I'm a little scared of you now. I do see you have to be rough and hard if you are to succeed, but please try not to be tough and hard with me.'
I got up and pulled her out of her chair and took her face in my hands.
'No matter what, Lucy, remember this: I love you. I am the luckiest guy alive to have found you. Go along with me for a few days, then it will change. You'll look back on this and you'll forgive me if I've hurt you and you'll see what I'm doing now is right for both of us.'
We were kissing, holding each other and I was even forgetting what was ahead of me when the sound of an approaching car parted us.
'Here they come,' I said. 'Okay, honey, I'll see you at lunch time.'
I moved off the verandah into the sun.
Coming up the drive was a small truck. Two men were in the front seats. The driver, seeing me, waved his hand, then steered the truck towards me. I waited.
The truck pulled up and both men got out. The driver was middle height, wearing only a pair of black boxing trunks. His body was covered with thick, coarse hair. He was around thirty years of age with a fleshy, swarthy face. If you like the Dago type — I don't — you could call him handsome. He was certainly sexy and in fine condition. Flat muscles rippled under his skin. He could be as quick as a lizard and as strong as a bull.
My eyes shifted to his companion. He was older, shorter and he wore one of those Hawaiian shirts that have dropped out of favour : yellow flowers on a red background and a pair of grubby white slacks. His swarthy face was pock-marked, his eyes small, his lips thin and his nose broad and flat. He looked like one of those types you see on TV, playing a minor moronic gangster.
The driver came towards me, revealing perfect white teeth in a wide, know-all smile.
'Mr. Benson? I'm Raimundo. I'm Mr. Savanto's right hand, left hand and possibly left leg.' His grin widened. 'This is Nick. Don't bother about him. No one does. He's just the jerk who sweeps up the horse droppings.'
As he didn't offer his hand, it saved me from shaking hands with him. I didn't like him. I didn't like his companion.
'What are you doing her?' I asked.
'We've got things for you, Mr. Benson.' He suddenly looked beyond me and his eyebrows went up. I glanced over my shoulder. Lucy was moving into the bungalow, carrying our cups. She was wearing a halter and cotton jeans. As she moved, her bottom gave a little twitch.
'Is that Mrs. Benson?' Raimundo asked, his eyes moving back to me.
