Part 19 (2/2)
”Right.”
”You're pretty tricky.”
”Keep talking.”
She sat on the bed again, choosing her words carefully, explaining to me that it was her guess that by now Frank Sprenger had reported her missing, and with whom and how, to the McDermits. He would have to do that to take the edge of plausibility off any report the confidant might make. There wasn't one, but he had no way of knowing. Or maybe now there was one. Me. The only way Sprenger could feel completely safe would be to arrange the private, efficient, anonymous deaths of Mary Alice McDermit and Travis McGee, and recover the fortune in rarities with which Mrs. McDermit had fled. ”They're aboard?” She nodded. ”Show me.” She snapped the tram case open. I went over and stood over her, tensed for any unpleasant surprise she might bring out of the dark blue case. She took out the top tray, and under it were three six-by-nine manila clasp envelopes, with cardboard stiffening, each filled to about a half-inch thickness. She opened one and eased some pliofilm envelopes out and spread them on the bed. I saw blocks of four and six stamps, still in Hawid and Showguard mounts, showing old dirigibles, old airplanes, black cattle in a snowstorm, portraits of Chris Columbus, with and without Isabella.
”All here,” she said. ”Years and years of the good life. It will last forever in the right places. I cleaned some goodies out of the safe too, stuff he has for stock.
”Where'd you get the junk you subst.i.tuted?”
”Indirectly, by Frank, through an independent agent-buyer in New York. I made new inventory lists without any description of quality. He bought junk. Stained, torn, thinned, repaired, regummed, faded, rejoined, even forgeries. They cost a little over twelve thousand, I think. I took them to my apartment and mounted them and put them into the duplicate book. Then when we were close enough to all the traffic could stand, Frank distracted Hirsh, and I switched books and shoved the good one into that box Frank got me that I showed you. We went out together, and I mailed it. Frank thought it was coming to him, but I'd changed the label. G.o.d, was he ever irritated! But what could he do?”
”What could he do?” I wanted to go further with it, but sensed that this was not the time to push. I picked one of the transparent envelopes up and looked at a block of six showing a mob scene around Columbus in chains.
”Careful!” she said. ”That's thirty-five hundred at least.”
”Anywhere?”
”Practically.” She gathered the stuff up and put it back into the envelope. She closed it, hesitated, put the other two back into the train case, and handed me the one she had just closed.
”What's this?”
”It's worth about forty percent of the whole thing, that envelope. I think we should be entirely honest with each other. You've got to forgive me for trying to do a stupid thing. I need your help. Do you have a pa.s.sport?”
”Yes. Aboard.”
”And some money?”
”Yes.”
”I can really be a very loving person, dear. That's at least a hundred and sixty thousand dollars in that envelope in your hand.”
”You mean, leave us flee together, Mrs. McDermit?”
She looked annoyed. ”Well, why the h.e.l.l not? What else have you got working for you? It's what we were going to do anyway.”
”Only at some port of call with an airstrip, I was suddenly going to find you missing.”
”I thought of it. I thought I might, after a long long time alone with you.”
”With me, the great lover?”
”That would probably never never happen again, and if it does, you shouldn't be so silly about letting a person help.”
”But now we start going by air right away?”
”What's the best way to do it?”
”Oh, probably take the Muequita Muequita right across the stream to Bimini. It might jar your teeth and kidneys loose. Top off the tanks and run to Na.s.sau. Tie up at Yacht Haven and take a cab into town and get a visa for London or Rome or Madrid and go out to the airport and wait for something going our way.” right across the stream to Bimini. It might jar your teeth and kidneys loose. Top off the tanks and run to Na.s.sau. Tie up at Yacht Haven and take a cab into town and get a visa for London or Rome or Madrid and go out to the airport and wait for something going our way.”
”That easy?”
”The first part of anything is usually easy.”
”I always wanted to see the Islands. I really did. I just hate missing the Islands. Maybe we can come back some day.”
Yes indeed. I would have truly enjoyed showing her the islands. How the big aluminum plant and the oil refinery of Amerada Hess blacken the stinking skies over St. Croix. Maybe she'd like the San Juan Guayama and Ybucoa areas of Puerto Rico where Commonwealth Oil, Union Carbide, Phillips Petroleum, and Sun Oil have created another new industrial wasteland where the toxic wastes have killed the vegetation, where hot oil effluents are discharged into the sea and flow westward along the sh.o.r.eline in a black roiling stench, killing all sea life.
She might be impressed were I to cruise into Tallabea Bay and describe to her the one and a half billion tons of untreated wastes from Commonwealth-Union Carbide which put a two-foot coat on the bottom of the bay. Or we could take a tour up into the mountains to watch how the trade winds carry the bourbon-colored stink of petrochemical stacks through the pa.s.ses all the way to Mayaguez, ninety miles from the refineries. While in the hills, we could check and see if Kennecott Copper and American Metal Climax have started to strip-mine the seven square green tropic miles of high land which they covet.
It might have made quite an impression.
”Can we start now? Can we?”
”It's full dark on an outgoing tide. The morning is good enough. In the morning I can take the Flush Flush back out the way we came and leave her in storage at Regal Marine. Abandon her and it attracts too much attention. The Coast Guard would get in the act and Civil Air Patrol and guide boats and so on. Then we can go on from there.” back out the way we came and leave her in storage at Regal Marine. Abandon her and it attracts too much attention. The Coast Guard would get in the act and Civil Air Patrol and guide boats and so on. Then we can go on from there.”
”Okay. I feel so much better. I'm so glad we had this frank talk, darling.
”I guess we accomplished a lot.”
”Oh, we did!” She lifted the train case back out of the way and hitched over to me and put a shy kiss near my mouth. I held her and looked past her hair at the manila envelope I still held in my right hand.
Poor helpless little critter. Sharing her wealth, but only on a temporary basis. Only until she could find the right time and place to slip an icepick into my brain through whatever orifice seemed handiest.
”Shouldn't we have a drink to celebrate?” she asked.
Of course, of course. She trotted to the galley to make the drinks. I changed into khakis and a white T-s.h.i.+rt and went to the lounge. As she came smiling in with the drinks, I said, ”If Frank were to come here tonight...”
She jerked and lost some of my drink on the back of her hand and on the carpeting as she was handing it to me. ”Jesus! Don't come on like that, will you?”
”Hypothetical question. Would he come alone?”
She sat opposite me and pondered it. ”I don't know. It depends. He's the kind of guy who likes all the odds his way. I'd say this. If he didn't come here alone, he'd leave alone. There isn't any such thing as trusting people, not when it's worth money to them to put a knife in your back. What he'd probably do, he'd fake one of his slobs into thinking it was some other kind of deal, and when it was done, he'd drop the slob right beside us.”
”Is he really as rough as you seem to think?”
”You've got me nervous. Is it okay to pull those curtains across? I don't like all that black looking in at us.”
”Go ahead.”
She pulled all the heavy curtaining and turned off two of the four lights. She sat beside me and said, ”That's a lot better.” She touched my gla.s.s with hers. ”Happy days,” she said.
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