A shadow fell across the door, and Morrie’s face, still grey with pain, appeared over his shoulder. His features were working in dumb anxiety.
‘Boss said no talk. He——’
‘I don’t give a damn what he said, see? He ain’t here, so I’m the boss now—
got it
?’ His words ended in a shout.
Morrie seemed to shrink from the fury of the little man, and he nodded his great head obediently.
Cooper turned back to the others, his face flushed with triumph. He was beginning to extract real pleasure from his little act.
‘Oh boy! You sure made a big mistake when you tangled with this outfit!’
‘You can cut out the Chicago manner for my part,’ said Vivian wearily, ‘and get down to what you’re trying to say.’
Cooper grinned slowly. ‘’Kay, I’ll tell you. You saw the big gravel pits around here? Well,’ his face hardened, ‘the car’ll be found in one of ’em, with you two inside!’
Vivian felt his body grow cold, and behind him he heard the girl give a little cry.
Cooper warmed to his story, his lips growing moist.
‘It’ll seem as if the bridge has collapsed under the weight of the car, d’you see?’
‘You’re mad!’ Vivian shouted. ‘How do you propose to explain all this when people start asking questions?’
‘Simple. I forgot to mention that the little girl here will be in the back of the car, sort of tied up. Folks’ll think that you’d kidnapped her, and you were on your way somewheres, when Pfft!’ He snapped his fingers. ‘Bridge
collapses,
and you an’ victim take a bath!’ A horrible giggle escaped his lips. ‘Neat, eh?’
‘And why should I be kidnapping a girl, when everyone knows she was with me aboard my boat? It’s no good, Cooper, you’ll have to do better than that!’
‘I reckon that a good reason’d be because she’s found out you killed her uncle!’
Although Vivian had been half expecting it, the implication dropped like a bomb at his feet, and he knew he was cornered.
‘Nobody’ll believe it!’
Even as he said it he knew he was wrong. They’d find Jensen’s body, eventually, and inquiries would start. Karen would be reported missing, and then so would he. It might be ages before they found the car, and their bodies. His mind reeled. Only Felix knew that he hadn’t committed the murder, and he would be as much in the dark as anyone.
He forced himself to speak calmly. ‘And I suppose you’ll just carry on as if nothing has happened?’
‘Well, maybe we’ll take a little sea trip, till it all blows over.’ Cooper grinned.
‘And you’re going to get me to drive into a gravel pit?’
‘Let’s put it another way. You’ll be at the wheel, but I guess we’ll put you to sleep before you start the journey.’ He allowed his gaze to flicker in Karen’s direction. ‘I reckon I’ll tame that little bitch before we start, too!’
‘You bastard!’
But even as he moved, the gun-barrel dropped, until it was level with the girl’s stomach.
‘Shouldn’t do that!’ The tone was sharp. ‘Pity to spoil such a swell figure.’
‘Look, Cooper, there’s something you don’t know.’
‘Yeah?’ The voice was almost disinterested.
‘I only brought half the plates with me. I guessed you’d try something like this, so unless you think you are going to make a fortune one dollar at a time, you’d better get hold of Mason, and quick!’
‘A good try, fella. But you’ll have to do better than that!’
‘Well, tell me, did any one of you check to see if the plates were complete? I’ll tell you. Your intelligent boss just looked at the top ones, didn’t he?’ He waited, watching a shadow of uncertainty cross the ferret-like face. ‘Well, am I right?’
‘Just supposin’ I believed you, where are the others, then?’
‘I gave ’em to one of the harbour officials,’ lied Vivian calmly, surprised that his brain was clear, and that Cooper appeared to be swallowing his story.
‘If you’re playing for time, sailor, it’ll be too bad for the pair of you. Especially the babe here!’ He beckoned impatiently to Morrie. ‘Here, bonehead, tie ’em up with that cord. I’ll get on up the road and make a ’phone call. Just to see what the boss has to say.’
Vivian’s heart sank and he cursed himself for not thinking that Cooper would realize the folly of leaving his prisoners untied.
Morrie stepped heavily into the room, unwinding a length of cord, his small eyes watching Vivian with hatred.
‘Don’t forget, one bad move, an’ she gets it!’ Cooper’s voice was edgy. He was obviously taking no chances.
Vivian bit his lip with pain, as the cord cut into his wrists, pulling his arms behind him. With a final tug, Morrie gave a satisfied grunt and turned to the girl. As he pulled her arms back, Cooper whistled softly.
‘Phew, what a dish! You’re sure goin’ to be nice to me when I get back.’ Then harshly, ‘Now keep an eye on ’em, Morrie, I’ll be about half an hour.’
‘Why not take her car?’ Even a short sentence seemed to be an effort for Morrie.
Cooper looked at him pityingly. ‘What if I’m seen driving it, bonehead? The sailor there is supposed to have pinched it when he snatched the girl, see? Fine thing if I got nicked in a hot car. I must say!’ He lifted his chin, listening to the rattle of rain on the roof. ‘Jeez! I’ll get goddam wet though!’ he added inconsequently.
Without a further glance at any of them he hurried away, and they heard the door slam in the outside office.
Morrie gestured towards the bed. ‘Sit!’ he commanded, and when the girl had lowered herself into a sitting position, he turned back to Vivian.
‘You can kneel for a bit!’ he growled and jabbed him sharply in the stomach with a half-clenched fist.
Vivian grunted and pitched awkwardly on to his knees. As he fell, a sharp stabbing thrust in his right leg made him cry out.
Morrie permitted himself a brief smile.
‘That’ll show you,’ he muttered and stamped out, slamming the door.
‘Philip, are you all right?’ Her voice was filled with anxiety and fear.
He nodded, gritting his teeth. He could feel the blood beginning to run across his foot. The paper-knife that he had slipped into his sock and had completely forgotten during the last, nightmarish hours, had pierced his leg as he fell. But he hardly felt the pain any more, and as he reached backwards with his numbed fingers, groping for the hilt, a wild scheme was already forming in his mind.
SLOWLY AND PAINFULLY
he strained back, cursing the small sharp waves of cramp which took first one finger and then another, until at last he felt the smooth, rounded surface of the metal handle. In his eager excitement he almost dropped the knife, and he sobbed aloud as the thin cord bit into his skin.
It was a race. Either he cut the cord with the blunt blade, or his hands would lose all their strength and feeling. Already the circulation seemed to have stopped, and as he crouched on his knees, as if in prayer, he felt rivulets of sweat pouring down his bare chest and his jaws were clamped tight with the frantic exertion.
‘Keep listening, Karen!’ he gasped. ‘Let me know if you hear that big brute coming back!’
She nodded quickly her body tensed as she leaned forward, as if to encourage his efforts.
Back and forth, up and down, he sawed with a fanatical desperation. The muscles across his shoulders bulged and writhed and he felt he wanted to scream out with anger and despair.
Without warning there was a sharp snap and the knife skittered across the floor. For a moment neither he nor the girl moved, and then, as he gingerly pulled at one lacerated wrist, he gave a grunt of triumph, as with a final jerk his hands were free.
A thousand hot needles pricked his arms as he rubbed urgently to bring back life and feeling to his wrists and fingers, but as he dashed the sweat from his eyes, he shot the girl a twisted grin of satisfaction and mounting excitement.
Stiffly he scrambled across to her side, and in a few seconds she too was looking in childlike amazement at the red lines on her skin, her eyes shining.
‘Right, now listen Karen.’ His voice was short. ‘Sit just as you are, and keep your hands behind you. Our one hope is that he’ll come back in here before Cooper returns. If he does, I’ll try to grab him.’
He studied her face, fixing every detail in his mind, and held her hands in his, feeling their soft warmth.
‘Whatever happens, no matter what I am doing, you
must
make a run for it!’ He emphasized each word carefully, noticing the growing look of alarm on her face. ‘When you get outside get in your car and drive like hell over that bridge!’
‘But, Philip! I can’t——’ Her mouth quivered.
‘You must! The car’s a real bit of luck. God knows how they got it here, but it’s too good a chance to lose.’ His voice hardened. ‘When I’ve finished in here, I’ll come running!’ He paused, breathing heavily, the prospect of action again filled him with a sense of savage elation. ‘But you must do as I say. Do you understand?’
She bowed her head, bunching her hands until the knuckles showed white. ‘I will try,’ she answered in a small voice.
He bared his teeth in a grin. ‘Right then. I’ll take up my position.’
Stooping he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, but as her arms reached out for him he turned away, knowing that it was his only hope. Picking up the knife he squatted
down
as before, facing the door, his hands hidden behind him.
He stared at the dark shape of the door until his eyes danced in their sockets, making him imagine that it was stealthily opening, or that a shadow was moving behind it.
As if at a signal the rain stopped and, but for the heavy drip of water from the edge of the roof, the sudden silence was shattering. The violent pounding of his heart seemed to fill the room, and he licked his parched lips, straining every nerve in his body.
Once a slight sound in the other room brought him to a point where he almost jumped to his feet and flung himself at the mocking black shape of the door, but as silence fell again, he sank back on his haunches, a sick taste in his throat.
When Morrie entered the room it was somehow unexpected, and almost as if he had been waiting for Vivian to fall off his guard. But as he stood framed against the watery sunlight, his face in shadow, Vivian could sense that the other man was relaxed, almost to a point of being indifferent. He stared from one to the other, the light catching the gleam of his stone-like eyes. As he turned his gaze back to Vivian, his mouth twisted down at one corner, and they saw the look of hatred, mixed with one of animal pain.
Vivian’s body, glistening with sweat, seemed to attract him, as if he was unable to keep his hands from smashing into the apparently helpless man before him.
He took a couple more steps, so that his huge frame blotted out the light of the door. He was so close, that Vivian could see the thick veins on the backs of his hands, which hung, half clenched, at his sides.
Vivian’s heart was beating and throbbing so painfully against his ribs, that he thought it must be clearly audible
to
the other man, and he clamped his teeth together, while he waited and watched for his chance. He knew that there could only be one such chance, one small hope for Karen to make good her escape.
Morrie’s lips moved soundlessly, while he stared down with a weird, fixed intensity.
‘They say I’m not to touch you, but I’m the boss now! I’ll make that pretty face so that nobody won’t recognize it!’ He stopped, his chest heaving rapidly.
‘By God, Morrie, that was a jolly long sentence,’ said Vivian calmly. ‘Cooper must have been giving you some elocution lessons.’
It was, as he suspected, all that was needed to goad the man into action, enough to snap the last bond of reason and sanity. With a throaty growl, Morrie lunged forward, his heavy body moving with surprising agility, and Vivian felt the hard hands wrap around his unprotected throat in a stifling grip. The strong thumbs felt and held his windpipe, caressing it almost lovingly, but to hold him as he wanted, he straddled his legs across Vivian’s folded knees.
‘You hurt me, now I hurt you!’
And as Vivian felt the hands begin to tighten, he saw flecks of saliva glistening on the thin lips above him. Vivian’s tensed body swayed back in the powerful grip, but using his own neck as the pivot for his attack he whipped both hands from behind him, and even as they flashed upwards towards the unprotected groin, the two hands were reshaping themselves into one moulded weapon, which, when it landed, struck like a woodman’s axe into a tree.
The wild cry of surprise altered in pitch to a high, thin scream of agony, and Morrie’s eyes rolled upwards, showing their whites, as the vicious, chopping blow brought him crashing down to the ground. Before he could recover,
Vivian
bunched his fists and struck out again and again at the rolling, threshing figure, which flung itself around in desperation, as if to be rid of the all-consuming fires which had been started by that first, wild blow.
‘Quick, Karen! Run!’
Vivian’s hoarse cry was stopped, as one of Morrie’s flailing fists struck him on the side of the head, exactly on top of the angry bruise already received, and before he could think, Morrie was on top of him, his kicking, clawing body forcing the wind out of him. He could smell the sour animal odour, and feel the savage, snarling breath against his shoulder. The hands, groping, feeling, fighting down Vivian’s resistance, moved relentlessly upwards again for his throat. His strength seemed to grow out of his own pain, and like a mad thing, he sought to destroy his victim in one final test of muscle and fury.
Vivian kicked out frantically, and as the grip slackened slightly he called out again, ‘Now, Karen!’ Through a haze he saw her slim legs run past, within inches of their thrashing bodies, and he heard her crying his name.
The grip suddenly slackened and Morrie’s reddened eyes widened in surprise as they lighted upon something behind Vivian’s shoulder. He grabbed with his right fist, and when Vivian twisted his eyes round he saw to his horror that Morrie was holding the paper-knife, poised above his head. Seizing his wrist, he tried to keep the gleaming blade away, but in his failing grip the wrist felt like a bar of iron. Down and down. The point wavered and swayed, inches above his carotid artery.