minutes later. The cat paused expectantly, regarded the still body lying in a patch of sunlight, twitched its whiskers, then dropped from the window into the room with a solid plop of paws.
With the selfish indifference that is natural to a cat, it walked purposefully to the refrigerator in the kitchen. It sat before the refrigerator, waiting with anxious impatience.
At eight-thirty p.m. Harry Lewis left his office, took the red velvet-lined elevator down to the second floor, nodding to the boy who ran the elevator.
The boy, immaculate in the bottle-green and cream uniform of the Casino, his hands in white cotton gloves, his tanned face shiny, ducked his head, gratified to be recognised.
This was Lewis’s favourite hour when the Casino began to come alive. He liked nothing better than to go out on to the big, overhanging balcony and look down on the terrace below, where his clients were drinking, talking and relaxing before going to the restaurant and then into the gambling rooms.
The full moon made the sea a glittering, still lake of silver. It was a warm night with a slight breeze that moved the palm trees, surrounding the terrace.
He stood for a long moment, his hands resting on the balustrade, as he looked down at the crowded tables below. He saw Fred, the head barman, moving from table to table, taking orders, passing them to his various waiters, pausing to make a discreet joke or to exchange a word with an habitue, but always efficient, seeing that no guest had to wait for a drink.
“Mr. Lewis…”
Lewis turned, raising his eyebrows. This was his ritual moment when he disliked being disturbed, but seeing the pretty, dark girl at his side, he smiled. Rita Wallace was in charge of the vault. She had worked now for Lewis for five years, and he had found her completely dependable, supervising the work of the vault with a calm, efficient manner that make the exacting work easy for the other girls.
“Why, Rita… good evening.” Lewis regarded her. “Something wrong?” He asked the question automatically. He never saw Rita unless there was some problem she couldn’t solve, and that was seldom.
“I’m a girl short, Mr. Lewis,” she said. He regarded her neat, black dress and wondered how much she had paid for it. Lewis had that kind of mind. He was curious about everything. “Lana Evans hasn’t come in.”
“Oh? Is she ill?”
“I don’t know, Mr. Lewis. I called her apartment an hour ago, but there was no answer. I must have another girl. Could I have Maria Wells from the general office?”
“Yes, of course. Tell her I hope she will help us out.” Lewis smiled. “I think she will.” Then he thought, looking at Rita inquiringly, “Odd about Lana. I can’t remember her taking a night off without letting us know. You say she doesn’t answer her phone?”
“That’s right, Mr. Lewis.”
Lewis shrugged.
“Well, try again later.” He smiled, nodded and dismissed her. This was a domestic problem he knew she could handle. As she left him, he turned once again to survey the lower terrace, then satisfied that everything was working with its normal clockwork efficiency, he made his way through the big gambling hall.
At this hour only fifty or sixty habitues were at the roulette tables: elderly, rich residents of Paradise City who remained rooted to the tables from midday to midnight.
He caught the eye of one of the croupiers who had been in his service for the past eleven years. The man, fat, sleek, with bulging eyes, gave him a dignified nod as he guided a stack of chips with his rake to an old woman who reached out her little fat fingers to welcome them.
Lewis walked into the restaurant and had a word with Maitre d’hotel Giovanni whom he had stolen from the Savoy Hotel, London, at a considerable cost. There were a few early tourists, studying the enormous menus that a suave Captain of Waiters had presented to them. In another hour, the restaurant would be a maelstrom of hungry, noisy people.
“All well, Giovanni?” Lewis asked.
“Perfect, sir.” The Maitre d’hotel lifted a supercilious eyebrow. The very suggestion that it couldn’t be well in his restaurant was an implied insult.
Lewis studied the menu that Giovanni handed him. He nodded.
“Looks excellent. Tomorrow is the night. Anything special?”
“We have grouse and salmon from Scotland. Baby lamb from Normandy. The
Lewis looked suitably impressed.
“So we won’t starve?”
The tall, thin Maitre d’hotel flicked away an invisible speck of dust from his immaculate dinner jacket.
“No, sir. We won’t starve.”
Lewis moved through the restaurant, noticing that each table had a bowl of orchids cunningly lit from below. He thought Giovanni’s table decoration excellent, but he wondered about the cost, for Harry Lewis was an extremely practical man.
Out on the terrace, amid the noise of the chatter and the soft music of the band, he paused until he caught the eye of the head barman. Fred, thickset, short, slightly ageing, moved towards his master, a happy grin on his fiery red face.
“Going to be a big night, sir,” he said. “Can I get you a drink?”
“Not right now, Fred. Tomorrow is going to be the night.”
“I guess. Well, we can take care of it.”
Seeing flicking fingers across the terrace, Fred turned and hurried away.
Satisfied that his machine was working smoothly, Lewis returned to his office. He had still a number of letters to deal with before he had a simple meal served on his desk. He was unaware that Jess Chandler, sitting alone at a table away from the band, nursing a whisky and soda, watched him leave the terrace.
Chandler was uneasy. Maisky’s plan seemed sound, but he was worried at the enormity of the task. Here, after spending an hour or so on the terrace, watching, seeing all these people, arrogant and so confident in their wealth, the steady movement of the guards, .45 revolvers at their hips, the feeling of solidarity that the Casino exuded, made Chandler realise that this was a millionaire’s bastion that was protected alarmingly well, and that anyone planning a robbery was taking on more than a major opertion.
He had no misgivings about his own part in the operation. He was quite happy with the role that Maisky had given him. It was just the right job for him. He was completely confident that he could talk his, way into the vault. What really worried him was that Maisky had picked Jack Perry for the operation. Chandler knew all about Perry. This man wasn’t human. In a squeeze, he wouldn’t hesitate to kill, and violence to Chandler was something he had always avoided and feared. If Perry started a massacre — and he might well do — then they all in real trouble. He knew Mish was a clever technician. He knew nothing about Wash nor did he care, but Perry scared him.
Suddenly sick of the luxury surrounding him, he paid his check and walked into the gambling rooms. For a moment he paused to look around, noting the four uniformed guards who stood by the box elevators that conveyed the money up and down to the vaults. They all looked young, aggressive and alert. Grimacing, he walked across the ornate lobby where he collected his passport from the Check-in office. There was a big crowd coming in: every woman wore diamonds and had a mink stole — the uniform of the rich. Chandler was aware that some of them looked at him with interest, their bored eyes lighting up. Not in the mood, he ignored them.
As he walked down the flat, broad steps into the garden of the Casino, he saw Jack Perry, wearing a tuxedo, a cigar between his teeth, corning towards him. Chandler turned away from the approaching man and made his way down a narrow path that led to the beach.
Maisky had told them all — not Wash, of course — to take a look at the Casino and to familiarise themselves with the background of the place. Now, Perry had arrived, but Chandler had no wish to be seen with him.
After walking down a long flight of steps, he found himself on the broad promenade that ran around the Casino’s private bathing beach.
There were still a number of people in swim suits on the beach, some sitting at tables, drinking, others in the sea. He paused to watch a couple water-skiing, holding a flaming torch in their hands and both very expert. Then he continued on his way, leaving the Casino beach and taking the circular road that would eventually lead him back to
