Still leaning my weight on his arms, I felt under his chin, found the join of the latex mask and levered it off his face.
I looked down at him as he stared, with despairing eyes, at me.
Then a shock ran through me: a shock that paralyzed me, and send cold waves down my spine.
I heard in my mind, Mazzo’s sneering voice: Jerks like him often have car accidents.
Pinned under my weight was Larry Edwards!
I scrambled off him and stood away, staring at him.
‘Larry! Good God! They told me you were dead!’ I exclaimed.
He got slowly to his feet. He looked haggard and frightened.
‘I’ve got to get out of here!’ he shrilled in an hysterical voice.
‘You’re not leaving here until you tell me what the hell’s going on,’ I said. ‘Sit down! I’ll get you a drink.’
He looked at the open french windows and then at me.
‘Don’t try it, Larry!’ I said. ‘I’ll break your goddamn arm if you don’t sit down and talk.’
He hesitated, then giving a hopeless shrug, he dropped into a lounging chair. Without taking my eyes off him, I moved to the liquor cabinet, poured a stiff scotch and gave it to him. He drank eagerly.
‘Why are you here? What’s the idea telling me to go to the residence?’ I demanded, standing over him.
‘I wanted to gain time,’ he muttered. ‘I’m sorry about that, Jerry. I was only thinking of myself.’
Moving around him, I sat opposite him.
‘What do you mean? Look, Larry, let’s have it from the beginning. What are you doing, disguised as Ferguson?’
So he talked.
He had the exact experience as I had. Lu Prentz had arranged for him to go to the Plaza hotel. He had met Mrs. Harriet. He had been drugged, waking up in Mrs. Harriet’s home. He had been offered the bribe of a thousand dollars a day. He had accepted, and Charles Duvine had worked on him. He had learned to forge Ferguson’s signature and imitate his voice. Finally, he had been flown to the Ferguson’s residence as I had been.
‘Did you meet Loretta?’ I asked.
He wiped the sweat from his face.
‘I couldn’t keep that crazy bitch out of my bed. All that talk about not being married, and some priest. I guess you got the same treatment.’
‘She’s dead. They murdered her.’
He flinched.
‘They told me she was sleepwalking.’
‘I was there when it happened. I heard her scream. You don’t scream when sleep walking. Mazzo broke her neck.’
‘No. Mazzo’s not like that. If anyone broke her neck it would have been Pedro. He’s Durant’s hitman. When he finds I’m not there, he will come after me. I’ve got to get the hell away from this goddamn city.’
‘But why two standins? I don’t understand. What have you been doing?’
‘I’ve been in Peking. Ferguson is mentally sick. They had to have you and they had to have me. You fooled the press while I fooled the Peking people. I went with a team. I just signed papers while the team did the talking. All the time, Ferguson was locked up in the residence.’
I thought of the man I had heard pacing up and down. Ferguson!
‘So what are you doing here?’
He held out his empty glass.
‘Give me a refill.’
This time, I made myself a drink as well.
As we drank, Larry said, ‘John Merrill Ferguson died at six o’clock this evening.’
I slopped my drink.
‘Died?’
‘Yeah . . . a massive heart attack.’
‘How do you know?’
‘You can say that again. Luck . . . only pure, unadulterated luck. I was in the Ferguson suite doing nothing. There was a sudden commotion: voices, trampling of feet, and I heard the key turn in my door. I was locked in. I kept listening: more voices. Then the telephone bell on the desk gave a tinkle. Luck! I lifted the receiver. They had forgotten to unplug the extension. Mazzo was on the line to Mrs. Harriet. He told her Ferguson had died. That woman! She took the news as if it was a weather forecast. She told Mazzo to do nothing until she arrived. Durant was in Washington. She said she would tell him. Then she said, and I can still hear her flat, cold voice, “Tell Pedro that Edwards and Stevens are now dispensable. Do you understand? Pedro will know what to do.” ’
I stiffened, turning cold.
‘She said that?’
‘I’m telling you! Then Mazzo told her Pedro was in Miami for the night, but he would follow her instructions tomorrow. She wanted to know if I knew her son was dead. Mazzo said I didn’t. I was locked in my room. She said she would be arriving tomorrow and hung up.’
‘You really mean she ordered our murders?’ I couldn’t believe what he was saying.
‘How many more times do I have to tell you!’ Larry shouted. ‘I waited until Mazzo went to bed, put on the mask, pushed the key out of the door onto a piece of paper, drew in the key, unlocked the door and walked out. Although the guards knew you were impersonating Ferguson, they really believed I was Ferguson. I had no trouble taking the Jaguar and driving here. The guard let me in, thinking I was Ferguson.’
‘But why should she want to kill us?’ I still couldn’t believe it.
He made an impatient movement.
‘Use your head! The Peking deal is fixed. Ferguson is dead. You and I could prove we had signed the documents and then all hell would break loose. They have to silence us!’
I stared at him.
‘You told me to go back to the residence.’
His eyes shifted.
‘Yeah, I’m sorry. I was scared crapless. With you back there, they wouldn’t think I had got away. I was trying to gain time.’
I looked at him with sick disgust.
‘You rotten creep! You were sending me back to be murdered while you got away.’
‘Okay, okay, I lost my head! Now, we both have to get out of here! We’re wasting time! When Mazzo brings in the breakfast trolley tomorrow morning and finds me gone, they’ll start a manhunt! Listen, Jerry, I’ve seen the way these people work. They have connections everywhere. I’m going into hiding until they are convinced I won’t talk. If you want to stay alive, you do the same. Whatever you do, don’t tell anyone what’s been going on. You and me could upset their empire, but I’m not crazy in the head to do it! I’ve got money. I’m going to get lost. You’d better look after yourself. We have just eight hours start.’
He jumped to his feet and bolted out into the night.
I made no attempt to stop him. If that eyebrow hadn’t fallen off, I would have gone back to the residence and tomorrow, I would have been dead!
But what he had said made sense. It was time to go!
I paused for a long moment, thinking. I too had money.
Once away from this city, I could instruct my bank to send my money to some other bank.
Where to go?
I had to control a feeling of panic. I went into the bedroom and checked my wallet. I had just under a thousand dollars.
I would drive to Miami, leave the car at the airport, then take a plane to New York. Once in New York, I could get lost.
I packed all my clothes in two suitcases, then I remembered the manuscript. I wasn’t going to leave that behind. Moving fast, I took the pile of typewritten pages and dumped them in one of the suitcases.
The typewriter, sitting on the desk, was a giveaway.
If they found that they would guess I had been making a statement. I lugged the typewriter to the car, put it
