Free Fast Buck by James Hadley Chase Page B

terrific. Nothing wil stop him once he’s made up his mind. I wish I could say the same of Rico. Of course he may be all right, but I wish I was sure of him. Kile’s not tel ing him the details, is he?’
    ‘No. He’s just asking Rico if he’d come in with him, but he’s not tel ing him much.’
    ‘Did Kile say if he was going to give you anything for the idea?’ Gil is asked.
    Eve laughed bitterly.
    ‘Of course not. It never entered his head. He’s quite sure I’l be with him to spend it with him.’
    ‘Oh, wel , he’s due for an unpleasant surprise,’ Gil is said carelessly. He glanced at his wrist-watch.
    ‘You’d bet er get back. For the moment there’s no point in let ing him know I’m in this. I’ll drop in tomorrow night. I might be a little late; about half-past twelve. Leave the shade down if he’s there.’
    ‘He won’t be. He’s going out to dinner. Can’t you come earlier, Adam? I’ll be alone from eight o’clock.’
    Immediately he became shifty.
    ‘I don’t know if I can. I’l try. I might get round by nine. Yes, I think I could manage nine.’
    Again she knew he was lying, but she hid her knowledge from him. It would be stupid and dangerous to warn him that his lies were so transparent to her. So long as he wasn’t on his guard, she knew she could spot his lies, but if he took more trouble to deceive her, he might succeed. She told herself that one day he might tell her a serious lie; a lie that might affect them both. It was this lie she knew she had to recognise when it came.
    ‘Al right, darling,’ she said, trying to make her voice sound gay. ‘Then, if I don’t see you at nine, I’ll expect you at half-past twelve.’
    ‘You’l see me at nine,’ he said, deciding that half-past twelve was quite early enough. He had no wish to sit with her all the evening. There were times when she bored him to distraction. She would be so serious all the time: she would fuss over him.
    She opened the car door.
    ‘Oh, Eve…’
    Holding the door half open, she glanced quickly at him. She knew what was coming: every parting of theirs had this sordid little postscript.
    ‘How much do you want?’ she asked gently.
    ‘Oh, damn it! You make it sound as if I were always sponging on you,’ he said irritably. ‘But you wait… in another month I’l have al the money I need. I’l pay you back. I know exactly how much I owe you. I’ve writ en it down in a book.’
    ‘How much, Adam?’ she asked again.
    ‘Well, I owe a fella thirty dollars. I had to borrow off him tonight. You were so late I had to settle an account…’
    ‘Never mind the details, darling, just tell me how much.’
    ‘Would fifty ruin you?’ he said sullenly. He liked to explain why he wanted the money. He justified himself in his own eyes when he gave her a fictitious list of debts.
    She opened her bag and checked the amount of money she had in it.
    ‘I’ve only forty.’
    ‘That would do. I’l be seeing you tomorrow night. Can’t you squeeze something substantial out of Kile? I hate this continual asking. Three or four hundred would see me through to the end of the month.
    He should be good for that if you’re nice to him.’
    ‘You mean if I behave more like a tart than I usual y do?’ she said quietly.
    ‘There’s no need to talk like that!’ he snapped. ‘I didn’t mean anything of the kind. You can persuade him your expenses…’
    ‘But don’t you understand he hasn’t any money?’ she said impatiently. ‘It was you who told me he owes thousands.’
    ‘A man like Kile can always raise money. People trust him. That’s why I picked on him. Hasn’t he made a hit with the Rajah? A man with his looks and reputation can always get money.’
    She gave him four ten-dollar bills.
    ‘You must try and manage with that,’ she said. ‘I can’t ask him for any more just yet. I don’t know how I’m going to manage myself: I’m cleaned out.’
    He touched the gold chain bracelet around her