‘Why, sure.’
‘Then why did he run into the desert?’
Joe frowned at her, ran his fingers through his short, crinkly hair.
‘What do you mean?’
‘If he wanted to get away, he would have run towards the Highway, wouldn’t he?’ she asked patiently.
Joe’s face lost its animated expression. He turned to snarl at me.
‘What’s cooking, fella? Weren’t you alone?’
‘Why, no. I had a girl with me,’ I told him. ‘She’s gone for the Law.’
Mary lifted her shoulders in a resigned shrug.
‘I give up, Joe,’ she said in disgust. ‘You make a mess of everything you handle.’
‘For crying out aloud!’ Joe said, his face turning red, ‘How was I to know?’
‘Never mind; but you better do something about it.’
‘Yeah.’ He pulled a face, glared at me. ‘Jeepers! It means walking back to that damned mine again. Can you look after this fella?’
She nodded.
‘I’ll take care of him. You’d better hurry, Joe.’
‘Want my gun?’
She took the heavy .45 and balanced it in her hand.
‘Get going, Joe.’
He looked over at me.
‘Don’t kid yourself she can’t use that rod. She can.’
He went out of the cabin.
I listened to him crashing through the bushes on his way down the hillside. It would take him the best part of half an hour to reach the mine.
By that time Mifflin would have arrived.
Mary Jerome moved away from the fire and sat in an arm- chair facing me, but on the far side of the room. She dropped the gun into her lap and leaned back, resting her head against the padded back of the chair.
I considered the possibility of diving across the room, but decided there would be nothing in it for me except a slug through the head.
‘It seems a long time since we met,’ I said. ‘Was it you who told Paula I was in the mine?’
‘Yes. Don’t ask me why. I guess I’m going soft.’ Her voice sounded weary.
‘Who’s this guy, Joe? A pal of yours?’
‘Not exactiy.’ She raised her head and stared at me. ‘You’re bursting to ask questions, aren’t you? Well, go ahead and ask them. I’m through with being smart. I’m pulling out of here. I thought I could handle Joe, but I can’t.’
‘Let’s pull out together.’
She shook her head.
‘Nothing like that. Joe wouldn’t like it, and I can’t afford to get on his wrong side. We’ll wait a while. If he doesn’t come back, you can go.’
‘But suppose he does come back?’ I said and moved cautiously to the edge of my chair. ‘What’ll happen to me?’
She shrugged.
‘He won’t harm you. Joe’s not like that. He’ll keep you here until he’s ready to pull out himself. You don’t have to worry.’ She lifted the gun and pointed it at me. ‘Sit back and relax. You’re staying here until Joe gets back.’
That didn’t worry me a great deal, as I felt pretty certain Joe wouldn’t come back.
‘Just where do you fit in this set-up?’
She give a bitter little smile.
‘Can’t you guess? I’m Lee’s wife.’
I sat forward again and stared at her.
‘Dedrick’s wife?’
‘That’s what I said.’
‘But he’s married to Serena Marshland.’
‘He married me first.’ She reached for a box of cigarettes, lit one and frowned into the fire. ‘Lee can take a little thing like bigamy in his stride.’
‘You mean Serena’s marriage was a fake?’
‘Yes. Of course, she didn’t know at the time. She knows now,’ and again she smiled bitterly.
‘Did you tell her?’
‘I told her father.’
‘Was that why he went to see you at the Beach Hotel?’
She raised her eyebrows at me.
‘You found that out? Yes, that’s when I told him. I had to have money. I was cleaned right out. He gave me a thousand dollars to keep out of sight.’
‘Now don’t rush this. Suppose you begin at the beginning. When did you marry Dedrick?’
‘Oh, about four years ago, I forget the exact date. It isn’t anything I cherish. Being married to Lee isn’t a romantic dream. I met him in Paris, and fell for him. He’s the kind of heel most women would fall for. I don’t know why he married me, but he did. He always had plenty of money, and never seemed to do any work. I guess his money attracted me. Well, I got what I deserved.’ She flicked the cigarette into the fire, and reached for another. ‘I found out he was smuggling dope into Paris. Joe worked with him. He persuaded me to help him too.’ She smiled at me. ‘You don’t know how persuasive he can be. Then he met the Marshland woman. I hadn’t an idea what was cooking. He was often away for weeks at a time, and I thought he was handling a consignment. Then without warning, he disappeared. Joe and I were left holding the baby. Joe tried to carry on, but he just hadn’t what it takes. The police nearly caught us. We managed to get out of France, and came here. That was when I found out he had married Serena Marshland. I went to Barratt. You know about Barratt?’
I said I knew about Barratt.
‘He wants watching,’ she said, her face hardening. ‘He fooled me all right. He said Lee had married Serena Marshland to get her money, and as soon as he had it, he would return to me. He asked me to co-operate; to keep away from Lee and give him a free hand. Like a fool, I believed him. I was staying at the Chandos Hotel, and on my way back from seeing Barratt I was shot at. I knew then that Barratt was going to get rid of me, and I moved to the Beach Hotel.’ She glanced at me, asked, ‘Are you enjoying this?’
‘More or less,’ I said. ‘It’s not what I was hoping to but never mind. Go on.’
‘What were you hoping to hear?’
‘Finish what you’ve got to say. I’ll tell you later.’
She shrugged.
‘There’s not much more. I thought if I could only see Lee I might persuade him to come back to me. I found out he was going to Ocean End, and I went there to see him. That’s when I met you, and heard he was supposed to have been kidnapped. He hasn’t been kidnapped, has he?’
‘No. But by faking his own kidnapping he collected five hundred thousand dollars off Serena, and that ain’t hay. The last time I saw him he was staying with Barratt.’
‘I’ve read about that. It’s just the kind of thing he would get away with. Well, that’s about all. I knew Barratt kept his main supply of reefers in the mine. Joe and I hooked up together. I wanted to get even with Barratt. My idea was to burn the stock: it’s worth thousands, but Joe has other ideas. He’s planned to hi-jack the stuff and start an organization of his own. Dope smuggling’s too dirty for me. I’ve had enough of it. Joe won’t get anywhere. He hasn’t the brain for the work. I’m quitting. He’s getting ideas about me.’ Her mouth curled. ‘A woman can’t live under the same roof with a man for long. Sooner or later, he makes a pest of himself.’
‘Some women can,’ I said and grinned at her.
Then suddenly, without warning, the distant sound of gunfire brought us both to our feet.
‘What’s that?’ Mary asked sharply, running to the window.
‘Maybe the cops are chasing Joe,’ I said hopefully, ‘but just to be on the safe side, I’ll put out the light.’
