‘Well, that’s really something,’ I said admiringly. ‘So you just wanted an excuse to get to know me?’
She looked at me, then modestly looked away.
‘I would never have told you this, Ches, only I feel you should have an explanation. It’s something a girl doesn’t like to admit.’
‘I can understand that. So you fell in love with me the moment you saw me?’
She bit her lip, looking away from me.
‘Yes.’
‘But I remember when we were on the beach together and I asked you if you loved me, you not only seemed surprised at the idea, but you even seemed angry.’
She moved uneasily.
‘I –I thought it might be dangerous to admit I loved you. I –I didn’t want to…’ Her voice died away.
‘Well, I won’t embarrass you, Lucille. But I must get this straight. You pretended you couldn’t drive only because you wanted to have some fun with me. Is that right?’
Again she moved uneasily.
‘Well, not exactly. I wanted to get to know you. I thought you would be interesting to know.’
‘Well, now you know me, do you find me interesting?’
She flushed a little.
‘Of course. It’s nice to know a man is in love with you. Love is an important thing in a girl’s life. Roger doesn’t love me.’
‘Did you discover that before or after he married you?’
She looked up, and for a brief moment, her eyes glittered, then she remembered the role she was playing and her expression changed to hurt bewilderment.
‘It was after I married him. He just isn’t interested in me any more.’
‘I wonder why?’
She shifted in her chair, frowning.
‘He’s old. We don’t have the same interests,’ she said, looking away from me.
‘That I can understand. So naturally you looked around to find someone who would be interested in you and you picked on me.’
She flushed angrily.
‘I know how you must be feeling, Ches,’ she said, trying to speak gently. ‘I would probably feel the same if I were in your place. I don’t blame you for feeling bitter. I’m sorry. A lot of this is my fault. I was so lonely. You made my life come alive.’
‘Well, you certainly managed to shake up my life, too,’ I said. ‘Now I’ve had your explanation for what it is worth, let’s examine it a little more closely. So you have been driving for two years?’
Her hands suddenly turned into fists.
‘Oh, no. I haven’t. I have had a permit for two years, but I haven’t driven much. Roger wouldn’t let
me use his cars. I only drove for a week or so, then he said I drove too fast, and he wouldn’t let me drive again.’
I smiled at her. She had been quick enough to have seen the trap and avoided it.
‘So you were really starting again when you asked me to teach you?’
Her hands relaxed. ‘Yes.’
I tossed the driving permit into her lap.
‘I hope you can prove it. I hope your husband’s chauffeur will be ready to perjure himself if he is asked if you ever use your husband’s cars. I suspect you do, Lucille. It is one thing for a beginner to kill a cop, and another thing for an experienced driver to kill one. When the judge takes a look at your permit, he will need a lot of convincing.’
She stiffened.
‘Don’t talk like that! You know you’re only trying to frighten me!’
I stared at her.
‘I wish I could frighten you, Lucille. You’re so sure you are getting away with this, aren’t you?’
For the first time her eyes showed she was losing confidence and she began to look irritated.
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she said sharply.
‘Don’t you? Do me a favour, will you? Will you take your frustrations, your interests and your difficulties out of here? Will you remove your sex appeal, your little-girl attitude and your attractive body out of my sight and temptation? I’ll admit I fell for you when you were displaying yourself in your nice little nightie. I also fell for you when I found you waiting for me in my car. I fell again when you lay on the sand and seemed to be offering yourself to me, free, gratis and for nothing, but since those moments I have got wise to myself. I’m no longer interested. I think you are a cheat. I know you are a liar. I am equally sure you are in need of money for some reason best known to yourself, and I am certain you’re not going to get it from me. So go away. Find some other sucker. There must be thousands of men who will fall for you as I did. Try again, but pick a guy who hasn’t much intelligence. Take my advice and give me up as a dead loss. If you work fast, you’ll find someone else and I wish you luck. Now, take your nice little body out of here and leave me in peace.’
She sat motionless, staring at me, her hands gripped between her knees, her face suddenly white, her eyes hard and glittering.
‘I don’t know what you mean,’ she said finally, and her voice was now breathless and hard. ‘How can you talk to me like that? We are being blackmailed! You are in this as much as I am! I have explained why I have a driving permit. But that doesn’t alter anything. This man wants thirty thousand dollars or he’ll tell Roger about us, and he will go to the police and tell them about the accident! How can you speak to me like this?’
I got to my feet.
‘Tell me something, Lucille,’ I said, moving over to her and squatting down by her side. I looked directly at her. ‘How long have you and Oscar been working together? How many suckers have you taken for a ride? Tell me that before I take you by your lying little neck and throw you out of here!’
Her face twisted into an expression of savage rage. Her hand in the shape of a claw swung at my face, but I was ready for her this time. I caught her wrist, jerked her out of the chair, and twisted her arm behind her.
She gave a little squeal of pain as I pulled her up on her feet. I spun her around, let go of her wrist, then caught hold of her arms while I stared down into her furious, glittering eyes.
‘Well? What’s the answer?’ I said, giving her a little shake. ‘How long have you two been working together?’
She tried to break free, but I tightened my grip.
‘You’re making a mistake,’ she gasped. ‘I’m not working with that man! How could you think such a thing?’
I let go of her.
‘You’re not kidding anyone,’ I said. ‘It sticks out a mile. You trapped me into going down to that lonely beach. There was no one there. I went and looked the place over yesterday. There are no footprints except yours and mine, and that told me Ross couldn’t have been there. He knew what happened because you told him. You two are after the twenty thousand I’m putting in your husband’s business. He told you about it, didn’t he? That’s why you were so interested in asking questions about it when we first met. You told Ross, and you two planned to get it from me by blackmail. When I called you on the telephone and told you I had found a way out, you weren’t pleased. I spotted that in the tone of your voice. As soon as I hung up, you called Ross and told him. He came down here fast to see what I was up to and he brought a flashlight camera with him. Now lie yourself out of that little lot if you can!’
She slumped down in her chair and hid her face in her hands and began to cry.
I crossed the room and mixed myself a highball with lots of ice in it. By the time I had carried the drink to my chair and had sat down, she had stopped crying and was wiping her eyes on the shirt sleeve like any little gutter child who has had a hiding and now feels sorry for herself.
‘Ches…’
‘Here we go again,’ I said, leaning back in my chair and looking at her. ‘Now what yarn have you cooked up?’
‘Ches, please be kind to me,’ she said and wrung her hands. This was something new, and if I weren’t sick
