1973 - Have a Change of Scene (18 page)

I was now listening intently.

‘But surely you have some clues?’ the nurse said.

‘Baby, you have been reading too many detective stories.’ Lepski’s voice sounded bitter. ‘All we know is a man and a woman broke into Fremlin’s place, shot him, put Carr out of action and scrammed. We have a description of them. The nightman heard the shot and saw them leaving. His description amounts to nothing. So it depends on what Carr saw and what he knows. So I sit here. You get the photo?’

‘I’m glad I’m not you.’

‘That makes two of us.’ A long pause, then Lepski asked, ‘What’s for supper?’

‘You’ve just had your lunch, Mr. Lepski.’

‘Never mind. I’m a man who looks ahead. What’s for supper?’

‘I wouldn’t know. It depends on how the cook feels.’

‘Is that right? How about telling her I’ll give her a feel if she cooks up something good?’

The nurse giggled.

‘That’s not a nice way to talk, Mr. Lepski.’

‘You’re right. Sitting around here, looking at this guy turns me off. You going?’

‘I certainly am before you get a feeling for me.’

‘An idea! If I wasn’t a respectably married man.’

I heard the sound of the door closing.

So they didn’t know the necklace had been stolen. So Lawson had seen Rhea and Fel leave, but as Lepski had said, that didn’t mean a thing. In their disguise and moving fast, they would be as good as anonymous. I lay still, thinking, then decided I mustn’t come to the surface for at least a couple of hours. I mustn’t let Lepski have an inkling that I had heard what he had told the nurse.

So I lay still and thought while time moved on. My head ached and Lepski’s fidgeting irritated me.

From time to time the nurse looked in. Finally, the doctor arrived and I decided now I could show signs of life. As I heard him greet Lepski, I moved, groaned softly, opened my eyes and looked up at a fat face bending over me, then I shut my eyes.

‘He’s coming to.’

‘Man! Is that news!’ Lepski exclaimed.

I opened my eyes again and raised my hand to my aching head and felt bandages.

‘How do you feel, Mr. Carr?’ This from the doctor.

‘Where am I?’ The classical remark made by people returning to consciousness.

‘There’s nothing for you to worry about. You’re in the city hospital. How do you feel?’

‘I have a headache.’

‘I’ll fix that. Don’t worry. Just relax, Mr. Carr.’

‘Sydney - they killed him.’

‘Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll give you a shot and you take it easy. There’s plenty of time.’

‘Hey! Hold it! I want to talk to him!’ Lepski said, feverishly. ‘This is important.’

‘You don’t talk to my patient yet.’ There was a snap in the doctor’s voice. ‘Nurse .’

A moment later I felt her dab my arm and then the prick of a needle. As I drifted off I thought that time was on my side. I was in no rush to talk to Lepski, but I knew in this coming game of poker, I held the better cards.

* * *

Sunlight woke me. I moved, raised my head, then blinked around. The pain in my head had gone. My mind was clear. Across the room, standing by the window was a tall, lean man with a heavy sun tan who I guessed was Lepski. Seated by my side was an attractive nurse who, seeing me move, got to her feet and bent over me.

‘Hello, Mr. Carr, feeling better now?’

‘I’m feeling pretty good.’ I lifted my hand to my head. ‘What’s been going on?’

‘Just relax. I’ll call Dr. Summers.’

She crossed the room to the telephone as Lepski converged on me. I found myself looking up into two hard pale blue eyes: cop’s eyes.

‘Hi, Mr. Carr,’ he said, keeping his voice down. ‘Am I glad to see you alive again. Do you feel like talking?’

‘Who are you - the doctor?’

Then Lepski was shoved aside by the nurse.

‘Not yet,’ she said to him. ‘You don’t talk to him without Dr. Summers’ say-so.’

‘Is this a goddamn ball!’ Lepski said and walked back to the window.

A moment later a short fat man wearing a white coat came bustling in. He took my pulse, beamed at me, said I was doing fine and not to worry about anything.

‘Mr. Carr, there’s a police officer who wants to question you. Do you feel like talking to him? Don’t hesitate to say no if you don’t feel well enough, but it seems important.’

‘It’s about Sydney Fremlin?’ I made my voice husky, a whisper.

‘Yes.’

I closed my eyes and remained silent for several seconds. I wanted him to know I still felt pretty bad.

‘All right.’

The doctor turned and beckoned to Lepski.

‘Just a few minutes.’

Lepski came and stood by my side.

‘Mr. Carr, I can guess how you’re feeling, but this is important. Can you tell me what happened? Just briefly, just tell me what happened to have gotten you in this mess.’

I noted his voice wasn’t hostile and that surely meant he wasn’t suspicious of me.

Sounding weary and speaking in a whisper, I said, ‘Fremlin and I were working. The door burst open. A man and a woman rushed in. Fremlin tried to stop them. The woman shot him and then she hit me.’

‘What were you working on?’

‘A design for a diamond collar.’

‘Have you any idea what they were after?’

‘The diamond necklace.’

‘What necklace?’

‘We were converting the necklace into a collar. The necklace was lying on the desk, did they take it?’

‘There was no necklace when we arrived,’ Lepski said, leaning forward and staring at me. ‘What necklace, what was it worth?’

That would be enough for now, I told myself and wearily closed my eyes.

‘That’ll do,’ Dr. Summers said. ‘He must rest now.’

Lepski made a noise like a trapped bluebottle fly.

‘This is a murder case, Doc. I’ve got to talk to him. Hey! Mr. Carr!’

I opened my eyes, stared at him, then closed my eyes. I got another prick in the arm and I drifted away, hearing Lepski protesting.

When I came to again, I found another man sitting by my side. He was tall, lean and ugly in a pleasant way with an easy quiet manner.

‘How are you, Mr. Carr?’

Behind him hovered the nurse.

‘A bit doped,’ I said, shut my eyes, moved my head, then looked at him again. ‘Who are you?’

‘I’m Steve Harmas,’ he told me. ‘I represent the National Fidelity Insurance Corporation.’

I felt a cold chill start up my spine.

So this was the man who I had heard so much about: the man who solved frauds and murders with Maddox behind him.

This man would be far more dangerous than Lepski. I was sure of that, but I couldn’t stall any longer.

This was the showdown. I had to convince him or I was sunk.

‘Feel like talking?’ Harmas asked. His voice was quiet and he had this bedside manner, but I wasn’t conned.

‘Yes.’ I made out I was making an effort and I raised myself slightly so I could look directly at him.

‘Go ahead.’

‘I’ll make it brief, Mr. Carr.’ His voice wasn’t hostile, but his eyes were watchful. He didn’t con me for a moment. ‘Did you know Mr. Fremlin had insured a diamond necklace for three-quarters of a million dollars?’

‘Yes he told me.’

‘We get the idea the necklace has been stolen. From what you told Lepski, it was the necklace they were after. Mr. Fremlin’s safe was open, no sign of the necklace. Did they get it?’

‘No.’

He stared at me.

‘They didn’t? Are you sure?’

‘Yes.’

He regarded me doubtfully.

‘Do you know where it is?’

Here it is, I thought, now I play my ace card.

‘Yes, I know it’s in my safe in my apartment.’

There was a long pause as Harmas regarded me, his eyes quizzing.

‘In your safe, Mr. Carr? I’m not following you.’

I closed my eyes and pretended to rest, then looking at him again, I said, ‘I can assure you the necklace hasn’t been stolen. There were two necklaces. The original in diamonds and an imitation in glass. We were working with the imitation.’

Harmas let breath whistle out between his teeth.

‘Is that good news! My boss thought we were going to be stuck for a three-quarters of a million claim! You really mean this?’

‘Yes. Fremlin was scared to have the real necklace in his apartment. He asked me to house it in my safe. Unless the thieves have been to my apartment, then the necklace is still in my safe.’

‘Could I check, Mr. Carr? My boss is having one coronary after the other and I’d like to put him out of his misery.’

‘Go ahead. You’ll find my apartment key in my jacket pocket.’ I gave him the address. ‘The combination of the safe is X-11-0-4. Go ahead,’ and I closed my eyes.

‘You take it easy, Mr. Carr. Don’t worry about a thing,’ and he was gone.

I drew in a long deep breath. Surely, I thought, this has got me off the hook. But there was this risk: if the police caught up with Rhea and Fel, they would talk, then this slick inspiration of mine would come unstuck at the seams.

EIGHT

S
ergeant Fred Hess, in charge of the Homicide squad, was a short, fat man with bushy eyebrows, cold eyes and a quizzing, alert manner.

An hour after Harmas had gone, Hess, followed by Lepski, entered my room and converged on me.

‘Mr. Carr, I’m Hess: City Police, Homicide,’ he said in a voice that sounded like a fall of gravel. ‘Dr. Summers says you aren’t fit enough to make a full statement, but I’m hoping you feel like answering a few questions.’

‘I’m all right,’ I said. ‘Dr. Summers means well, but he fusses.’

This went down well with Hess who gave a little grin, pulled up a chair and sat by my bedside. Lepski went over to the window, sat down and took out a notebook.

I had had plenty of time to go over my story and I was ready and fairly confident.

‘Okay, Mr. Carr, suppose you tell me about this necklace. Harmas tells me the killers stole an imitation. Is that right?’

‘If the necklace is missing, then they stole the imitation.’

‘Would they know it was a fake?’

‘No, it would fool anyone but a top expert. But to get this straight, Sergeant, suppose I give you the story right from the start.’

He squinted at me, then nodded.

‘That would be fine.’

So I told him how Mrs. Plessington had wanted a necklace, how I had a glass replica made so she would be able to make up her mind if the design was what she wanted. I explained after the sale, Sydney had wanted to sell the imitation but that, since it had been my biggest sale, I had decided to keep it as a souvenir. I said Sydney went along with this (My first lie.) and that I had paid him three thousand dollars for the necklace. Then I went on to tell Hess about Mrs. P.’s gambling urge and how, in panic to cover her losses, she had asked Sydney to sell the necklace. I explained why the deal had to be in secret and how Sydney and I got the idea of converting the necklace into a collar. I went on to explain that Sydney had decided to prevent any leak, to work on the collar in his apartment.

‘But Sydney was scared to have the necklace in his apartment and I suggested we used the imitation to work with,’ I went on. ‘Then he asked me to spread the risk by keeping the original necklace in my safe.’

‘Just a moment, Mr. Carr,’ Hess broke in. So far, he had sat still, his face expressionless, listening. ‘I’d like to get this clear. We’ve examined both your safe and Mr. Fremlin’s safe. Fremlin’s safe is a better one than yours. His safe is wired to police headquarters: yours isn’t. How come Fremlin thought it safer for you to keep the necklace?’

This was a question I expected him to ask and I had the answer ready.

‘Sydney was nervous,’ I said. ‘He thought it unlikely any thief would suspect I had anything worthwhile in my safe whereas he felt he could be the focus for thieves.’

‘Yeah.’ Hess scratched his nose. ‘Nervous, huh? You mean he was nervous someone would break in?’

‘He had paid for this necklace out of his own money. Although he had insured it, he wanted to divide the risks.’

‘That’s not the question, Mr. Carr. He was nervous?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then how come he never locked his front door?’

‘He was always forgetting his keys. His manservant will tell you the same. He felt secure, leaving his front door unlocked because he knew the entrance door downstairs was always kept locked.’

‘Yet it wasn’t locked on the night of the robbery. How come?’

‘I wouldn’t know. When I arrived just after 10 o’clock, the door was locked. I had to buzz for Lawson, the doorman, to let me in. Claude, Mr. Fremlin’s manservant, was leaving and he and I had a brief talk, but Lawson returned to his office. Maybe he forgot to lock up after Claude had gone.’

‘Lawson said he didn’t lift the catch on the lock so when the door shut after Claude, it would lock automatically,’ Hess said.

‘It didn’t, did it? Otherwise these two wouldn’t have got in, would they?’

‘Yeah.’ Hess stared down at his fat, brown hands, his forehead in wrinkles. ‘Lawson heard the shot and came out of his office as the killers came out of the elevator. They both had guns in their hands.

Lawson is no hero. He stepped back out of sight, but he’s given us a description of them.’ He paused, then went on, ‘When a man’s scared, he’s likely to be an unreliable witness. I’d like you to give me a description of these two as you saw them, Mr. Carr.’

‘Don’t imagine I wasn’t scared,’ I said. ‘It happened so suddenly. The door burst open and these two rushed in, yelling at us. I was going to the bathroom for an Aspro and walked right into them. The man hit me across the face and I went down.’ I went on to describe how Sydney had gone for the man and how the woman had shot him, then as I was crawling towards Sydney, she had hit me.

‘So it was the woman? She shot Fremlin and knocked you out?’

‘Yes.’

‘The man was wounded?’

‘Sydney cut his arm with the dagger.’

‘Yeah. We have this blood group from the dagger,’ Hess said. He spoke casually but his words sent a sudden chill through me. A blood group! One small step towards pinning the murder on Fel if he was ever caught.