give it to me, I was going to take it. But before I could lay my hands on it I had to find out the
combination of the safe, and that wasn’t easy. There was half a million in cash in that safe,
and it was a good one. Unless I found the combination I had no more chance of breaking into
it than I had of swimming the Atlantic.
It was a problem, and I didn’t know how to solve it. All I could hope for was to hang on
and wait for a break. The other thing I had to do before I married Ginny wasn’t anything like
so difficult. I had that already doped out: where to go when the time came.
I figured I could lose myself in Cuba. The moment I got my hands on the money, I’d
charter a plane, and Ginny and I would fly to Cuba. I reckoned we’d be safe there. Della
wouldn’t think to look for me in Cuba, and even if she did, and even if she found me, there
was nothing she could do about it.
So when Ginny said, “Just how soon can we get married?” I had part of the answer ready
for her.
I told her I thought in about six weeks.
“My boss has told me if I make a success here,” I said, “he’s going to give me the
manager’s job at our branch in Havana. It’ll be a fine job, Ginny. We’ll have all the money
we need. You won’t have to work any more. How do you like the idea of living in Cuba?”
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She said she didn’t mind where she lived so long as I was with her.
.Every now and then I got scared, wondering how I was going to make good oh the lies I
was telling her, but it was no good worrying about that. The things I had to worry about were
getting the safe open and getting away from Della.
When I wasn’t with Ginny I worked at the casino. I got a big bang out of running the place.
Every morning I called a meeting with Della in the chair. I insisted that Louis, the head chef,
the top croupier, the housekeeper and the wine steward should sit around the conference
table. Della didn’t like the idea, but she soon found I was right. We got ideas from these
people. They had never been consulted before, and they liked being consulted, and they gave
out ideas that meant more money in the kitty. I had ideas, too. I had a piece of ground cleared
and had a helicopter landing-ground constructed. I fixed with a Miami airport for a taxi
service of helicopters to fly a shuttle service from Miami to Lincoln Beach. If our people got
bored with the casino they could hop over to Miami, and if the playboys and girls in Miami
wanted a change, they could hop over to us.
I got that idea going in the first week, and it paid dividends.
Another idea I had was to hook up with the local television station and put the casino on the
air. We had a good band and cabaret every evening, and I fixed it we had a nightly spot which
I gave free in return for the publicity.
“I wouldn’t have believed you had it in you, Johnny,” Della said one night. We were
together in her cabin. She had just got back from Bay Street, and I had just beaten her by five
minutes from Ginny’s place. “That television idea of yours is goingfine.”
“Yeah, it is. How about a token of appreciation? How about that quarter of a million you
promised me - word of honour? I can invest it as well as you.”
She gave me her silky smile. I knew it was a waste of time,
but every so often I punched it home.
“Have patience, Johnny. You’ll get it,”
“When?”
“Come here, darling.”
That was the part I hated. Making love to her when she crooked her finger. But I had to do
it. I had to keep her away from Ginny. So long as I made out I was crazy about her I figured I
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was safe. So I made out I was crazy about her.
