Free 1975 - The Joker in the Pack by James Hadley Chase Page B

him, but she was beyond caring. “Will you be in for lunch?”
    “No, I don’t think I will. I’ll either lunch in the grillroom or out.”
    “Is there anything I can do for you, madame?”
    How she longed to tell this solid, kindly man about Jackson. She shook her head.
    “Give me one of your beautiful cocktails at six this evening,” she said. “Nothing more. Do go out and enjoy yourself, Hinkle.”
    “Thank you, madame. If there is nothing then I will take advantage of the sun.”
    When he had gone, she finished her coffee and then went along to Herman’s suite.
    Nurse Fairely, smiling, let her into the big living room.
    “I’ve come to see if I can find this letter that is worrying my husband,” Helga said. “How is he?”
    “He is gaining strength, Mrs. Rolfe. He had a good night.”
    “Can I see him?”
    “I am sure he would be pleased to see you.”
    Helga felt a little chill crawl up her spine. She braced herself as she crossed to the bedroom. Nurse Fairely tactfully went into the kitchenette.
    Helga stood in the bedroom doorway, looking at her husband as he lay in the bed. She felt her heart contract. Could this ruin of a man be the mighty Herman Rolfe with all his millions, who with a flick of his fingers commanded attention, who held the magic key that unlocked the doors of the world? The skull-like face was now like a face modeled in wax and that had been exposed to a flame and had melted. The right side of his mouth was flaccid and hung open, showing his teeth and saliva dripped onto a towel on his white silk pajamas. The useless right hand and arm lay on a pillow. The eyes that had always been cold, hard and forbidding were now like liquid pools of stagnant water without life.
    They stared at each other. Helga shivered, then pity for him rushed through her and she moved forward, but she stopped abruptly as his eyes lit up. His left hand moved and a bony finger pointed accusingly at her. The slack lips twisted and a sound came: “ Bore!” Which she knew meant whore.
    “I am sorry, Herman,” she said, her voice husky. “Really and truly, I am sorry. God help us both.”
    His fingers flicked her away. The eyes expressed his dumb hatred. Shuddering, she stepped back and closed the door. For a long moment, she stood motionless, then controlling herself, she walked to the desk.
    Nurse Fairely came from the kitchenette.
    “It must be a shock to you, Mrs. Rolfe. So very sad . . . such a fine man.”
    “Yes.”
    Helga made a show of looking through the papers in the drawers while the fact, amiable nurse stood watching her.
    “There is no letter here. Please tell Mr. Rolfe.”
    “Perhaps you would tell him, Mrs. Rolfe. It is odd. He is so insistent.”
    “I can’t face him again for the moment.” Helga’s voice broke. “You are at liberty to look through all these papers, nurse. Ask him if he would like you to do that.”
    She was close to tears and turning away, she walked quickly back to her suite. It took her several minutes to recover, then with her capacity to absorb a shock, she switched her mind from her husband to Jackson.
    Know your enemy .
    That was to be her first move. Picking up the ‘Room vacant: please service’ card, she left the suite, hung the card on the door handle and rode down in the elevator to the lobby. She asked for a taxi and was driven to the Nassau National Bank. She told the taxi driver to wait. She entered the bank and arranged for fifteen thousand dollars to be available to her for the following day. As she left the bank, she saw across the road an automobile showroom. Above the door was a banner: The Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Motorcycle .
    Telling the taxi driver to wait, she crossed the road and entered the showroom.
    A young colored salesman approached.
    “I am interested in this motorcycle,” she said. “May I see it?”
    “The Electra Glide?” The salesman spread his hand in an exaggerated gesture of despair. “We sold our only model, madame,