I waited for him to sit first, on a cane chair where I could see for myself there wasn’t any weapon within reach. I selected a chair without arms, where there would be nothing to restrict easy access to the .38.
“All right, let’s hear the talking.”
He folded his hands across the huge stomach and pursed his lips.
“I’m going to have to tell you certain things. I don’t like doing it, but there are two reasons why I shall. First of all, if you decide to go to the police, I don’t see how they can fail to find out anyway. Indeed I should probably have to tell them myself to be sure of clearance on this charge of murder.”
“And the other reason?”
“The other is that I think if you know the facts, it might decide you not to tell the police. I like to think— don’t we all?—that I am somewhat of a judge of a man. I believe you will respect my confidence.”
I set down the empty can on the floor before replying.
“Don’t overplay that. In my own curious fashion I’m on the side of the law. The fact that you choose to confide in me, doesn’t place any inhibitions on my right to repeat it. I’m neither a doctor nor a priest. And this isn’t the boy scouts.”
“At least you are honest. I know where I stand. Did you mean what you said about blackmail, about it being as dirty as murder?”
“I meant it.”
“Good.”
He sat thinking for a moment, and I was beginning to wonder whether he’d changed his mind. Then he spoke, quite softly, and staring at the floor. There was no flamboyance now.
“You are right about one thing. There is blackmail here. It’s just that you have your casting wrong. I am not a blackmailer, Preston. I have been many things, but never that. The truth is, I am one of the people being blackmailed.”
I hoped my mouth wasn’t hanging open.
“Last night when you came here, I was waiting for my tormentor to arrive. I’d almost screwed up my courage for murder, but your untimely appearance destroyed whatever resolve I thought I had.”
That would certainly account for the gun.
“You’d better tell me the rest,” I suggested, “Anybody can say what you’re saying. But if you’re going to talk your way out of this you have a long way to go.”
“Yes, yes. I am aware of that. For me, this is the hardest part. This is the part where I have to put myself in your hands.”
He looked across for any sign of sympathy on my face. There wasn’t any.
“A long time ago,” he began, “I was involved in a large robbery. A very large robbery. We got away with almost a quarter of a million. Does that surprise you?”
“I gave up being surprised years ago. What happened?”
“There were three of us. We got away with the operation itself. It was a lovely job,” his eyes went dreamy. “There was no violence, no last-minute hitches it went like clockwork. A lovely job. I planned it myself, naturally.”
“Naturally,” I said dryly.
“You see,” he ignored the interruption, “we are none of us criminals. We are ordinary people, leading ordinary lives. We had agreed to carry on as normal for at least a year afterwards, then collect our individual shares, and begin to enjoy the proceeds. We were betrayed by the most damnable piece of luck. A couple of months after the robbery, one of my partners had to have an internal operation. It was nothing really major, but of course it involved anaesthesia. You can imagine what happened.”
I nodded.
“He talked his head off under the anaesthetic and you were all picked up. Say, that really was a bad break.”
“Indeed it was. We were arrested within hours, and the trial was more or less a formality. Not even an idiot could have pretended to believe we weren’t as guilty as hell. We each got a sentence of ten to twelve years. We were offered three to five if we told where the money was, but we had already agreed not to do that. And so we went to jail. That was eleven years ago. I served eight and a half years. One of my partners unfortunately could not survive the rigours of prison life. He died after about five years. So, you see, that left two of us to share the money in the end.”
A hundred thousand dollars apiece and maybe more. It was certainly something to dream about during the years behind the gray walls.
“We were watched of course, but we took our time for some months. Then one night we recovered the money and left town with just the clothes we stood up in. In different directions, that is. I think you are probably beginning to see the end of the story?”
He looked at me questioningly.
“I imagine so. If the cops traced you in possession of stolen goods or money, they’d clap another charge on you. You’d get another sentence, a tough one with all that money involved, and this time you wouldn’t have the money waiting when you came out.”
“Precisely. The whole thing would have been in vain. I would have given all those years of my life for nothing. This is not a prospect to be contemplated.”
“I can see that. So this blackmail you mention, this means somebody showed up in town who recognized you, and they put the bite on you.”
He spread his shoulders in a huge shrug.
“Again, a piece of remarkable coincidence. This creature happened to be in the same penitentiary as myself for a time, thousands of miles from here. As I say, really very bad luck. Well, there you have it. I’ve been quite honest with you. Are you going to turn me in?”
I wish people wouldn’t ask me questions like that. Who am I to sit in judgment?
“You say nobody got hurt?”
“I can show you the complete newspaper clippings on the robbery and the trial. You
