"You don"t have to trust me," Lorelli said. "I"ll have to trust you. I don"t expect you to give me the money until he"s free. How long will it take to get the money to Italy?"
"Five or six days," Marian said.
"If I show you how to get him out will you give me your word to pay the money into a bank I will nominate and also to say nothing to the police?"
"If Mr Micklem is unhurt and we free him I will do my best to persuade him to give you the money," Marian said. "I can"t do better than that: it is not my money to promise you."
"If they found out what I am doing, you don"t know what would happen to me," Lorelli said huskily. "One of them is a drunken surgeon. He spends his time experimenting with animals and humans when he can get them. I"ve seen the results of some of his experiments. If they found out I"m betraying them I should also become one of his experiments. I am trusting more than my life to you. I must have your promise. I won"t help you if you don"t give me your word."
Marian hesitated, then she said, "All right. You shall have the money."
"And you"ll say nothing to the police?"
"Yes."
Lorelli lowered the gun, then she slipped it into her pocket and moved away from the wall. The other three stood up.
Harry said, "He is in that house somewhere, isn"t he?"
"Yes. Thirty feet below the building there is a system of underground rooms," Lorelli said. "I know where he is and how he can be reached. It will be difficult and dangerous."
"How dangerous?" Harry asked sharply.
"Any one of the pa.s.sages can be flooded at the touch of a b.u.t.ton," Lorelli said. "There are alarms everywhere. All the corridors have steel doors at either end, and they are electrically controlled. There are guards and dogs always in the grounds."
"Then how do we get him out?" Harry demanded.
"I must work out a plan," Lorelli said. "I wanted first to be sure you would give me the money. We have at least three days. I"ll let you have a plan of the place so you will know where the alarms are and where the guards patrol. I"ll give you all the details you want, but it will take a little time. I will come here on Thursday night with a definite plan."
Outside in the hall, Willie listened. His pockmarked face was vicious and frightened. She would be out any moment now. She mustn"t see him. He stepped silently to the front door and slipped out on to the veranda.
Ten: Willie.
Don looked ruefully at the five cigarettes in his case and decided to resist the temptation and keep them for a more pressing occasion.
He was sitting on the straw-covered floor, his back against the wall of the cave, the steel bracelet and chain attached to his ankle. It was close on half-past three in the afternoon. Since Felix had "come into the cave some three hours ago, no one had been near him. Felix had come for the letter to Don"s New York banker. He was surprised when Don had written the letter without protest. But by writing the letter, Don reckoned on gaining at least four days in which to organize his escape, and he knew he would need those four days. Although the police had failed to find him, he was sure Harry wouldn"t give up, and if it were possible to break into this fortress Harry would do it, but it was bound to take time. When Marian got the letter to the bank, she would know that he was alive, and he hoped she wouldn"t be influenced by the unsuccessful search made by the police.
Don had no intention of paying the ransom. He had no illusions about Alsconi. He was sure Alsconi wouldn"t be content with five hundred thousand dollars nor would he release him. It was a comforting thought to know that Harry would be doing his best for him, but Don knew the difficulties, and he didn"t intend to rely on Harry"s efforts. If he were to get out of his underground prison, he would have to rely largely on himself.
He regarded the bracelet around his ankle with disgust. Without some tool there was no way of tackling the lock. He had already tried to lever the staple to which the chain was fastened out of the wall without success.
He was considering the problem, wondering if the next time they brought him food he couldn"t break off one of the p.r.o.ngs of the fork and use that to pick the lock when he saw a light coming down the tunnel.
He was startled to see Lorelli come out of the shadows into the pool of light in which he was sitting.
Lorelli was agitated. Her face was pale and her eyes showed the fear that gripped her.
She came over to him and dropped on her knees beside him. "I"ve talked to your secretary," she said in a breathless whisper. "I"ve told her I would get you out of here. In return I want two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Your secretary has promised me this sum, but you have to pay it, and I want your promise too."
Don saw the fear in her eyes and realized at once that she meant what she said.
"That"s quite a chunk of money," he said. "Why this, sudden change of heart?" I "I"ve had enough of them. I want to break away. I must have money to be safe," she said. "They won"t ever let you free. They intend to get all your money and then murder you. I can help you escape, but you must give me your word that you will pay me two hundred and fifty thousand dollars when you are free."
"That"s fair enough," Don said. "You won"t get the money unless I am free so I"ll give you my word. It"s a promise!"
"You mean that?"
"I"ve told you - it"s a promise. How are you going to get me out?"
"I"m working on a plan now. All the doors here are electrically controlled. The pa.s.sages can be flooded. There"s a control room that is guarded night and day. Before you can hope to get out of here you will have to overpower the man in charge. It"ll be easier to escape during the night. Everyone will be asleep except Carlos who is in charge of the control room at night."
Don grimaced.
"You mean I"ll have to overpower him?"
Lorelli nodded.
"Can you get me a gun?" Don asked.
"I think so. I"ll try."
"Do more than try. Without a gun, I don"t think I"m going to have a great deal of success with Carlos. What about this?"
He tapped the bracelet around his ankle.
"I could get you a file."
"I"d rather have a hairpin," Don said and grinned. "Have you got one?"
Her hand went up to her red-gold hair and she found a hairpin which she gave to him. Then she got to her feet.
"I"ll come again," she said. "I"ll try to get a gun for you, but it won"t be easy. If I have to I"ll let you have mine." She looked down at him. "I"m trusting you to give me the money when I get you out."
"I"m not out yet," Don said, "but if I do get out, you"ll have the money. Don"t fool yourself, will you? The police want you. There"s nothing I can do about that."
"I"m not worrying about them."
"Where is the control room?"
"Opposite Englemann"s surgery. You"ve been there, haven"t you?"
"Yes. Try to get the gun. Carlos will take a lot of stopping."
"I"ll do what I can."
She went away quickly, and after a moment or so, Don lost sight of her torch down the tunnel.
He decided the occasion justified a cigarette and he lit one, drawing the smoke deep into his lungs. He felt his future now was a lot more secure. He didn"t waste time to wonder what lay behind Lorelli"s sudden desire to get away. That was something he could think about later. He settled down to work on the lock with the hairpin she had given him. It took him a half an hour of patient fiddling before the lock turned, and the bracelet dropped off his ankle. It was a snap lock, and he could fasten the bracelet back on to his ankle again in a matter of seconds. He was about to stand up and savour his freedom when he spotted a light coming down the tunnel and he hurriedly replaced the bracelet and slid the hairpin under his watch strap.
Dr Englemann came out of the shadows. He lurched slightly as he walked and his lined bitter face was pallid. As he came into the light, Don could see the sweat beads on his forehead.
"h.e.l.lo," Don said, "What do you want?"
Englemann looked down at him, his deep-set eyes glittering.
"There seems a possibility, Mr Micklem," he said, his words slurred, "that you may be placed at my disposal for a certain experiment. Of course the matter isn"t entirely settled, but it would help me if you wouldn"t object to a few preliminary tests some time this evening. I would like a specimen of your blood and your pulse rate. I would also like to examine your eyes."
"Sorry to disappoint you," Don said curtly, "but I object strongly. It is only fair to warn you that if you come within reach of me I shall take great pleasure in strangling you."
Englemann"s face hardened, but he took a step back. "I am anxious not to lose time. My experiment is of the utmost importance, but if you won"t cooperate, then I must wait until I have permission to force you to cooperate."
"You"re going to have a long wait. I intend to pay the ransom."
"I think not," Englemann said. "I told il signor Alsconi that you are merely trying to gain time. I know your type. You are not the kind of man who can be forced to do something against your will."
"Then you had better tell Alsconi you have made a mistake," Don said. "I"m not at all anxious to be a subject of one of your experiments."
"Signor Alsconi did tell you what I am attempting to do?" Englemann said. His hands moved unsteadily to his coat lapels and anch.o.r.ed there. "You realize the importance of the experiment?"
"He told me," Don said. "He also mentioned that you would probably be tight when you did the operation and it would be certain to fail."
Englemann looked at him; his eyes seemed to catch fire. "I shall take great pleasure in having you on the operating table, Mr Micklem," he said. "I don"t think I shall have to wait very long."
He turned and walked away, steadying himself, his hand on the wall of the tunnel.
Don watched him go. He was annoyed to find his heart was thumping and his mouth had turned dry.
Willie sat under the shady tree where he could watch the entrance to the Trioni villa. He was in such a state of nerves and excitement that sweat ran down his face as if a sponge of water had been squeezed over him.
He felt something should be done immediately about Lorelli"s treachery. His first inclination was to bolt back to Felix and tell him what he had overheard, but Felix had told him to watch the villa until Jacopo relieved him, and this put him in a quandary. Felix expected his orders to be obeyed, and if Willie deserted his post, he could run into trouble. He reluctantly decided to wait for Jacopo and then report to Felix.
Then into Willie"s cunning and easily frightened mind, there dropped an unpleasant thought: Lorelli was Felix"s girl.
How was Felix going to react when he heard she was selling them out? Suppose he didn"t believe what Willie had to tell him? Felix had a reputation of being quick with his fists, and often, before he struck a blow, he had been known to slip on a leather glove, covered with bra.s.s studs. Willie had seen a man"s teeth broken by a punch from that glove, and he flinched at the recollection. But surely, he reasoned, Felix wouldn"t be such a mug as not to believe him? He wouldn"t want two million pounds to walk out on him and the cops to walk in. Surely he couldn"t be so besotted with Lorelli that he would let her get away with this? But he would have to be careful how he broke the news to Felix. Maybe he had better keep his gun handy. If Felix looked like starting trouble, he would show him the gun.
But what was he personally going to get out of this? Willie asked himself. Would it be a smarter idea to put the bite on Lorelli? He could keep track of her until she got the money, then move in and demand half: a hundred and twenty-five thousand bucks. His face lit up at the thought. But after thinking this idea over, he realized that he hadn"t the nerve to go through with it. Alsconi would go after Lorelli, and he would eventually catch her. Willie knew enough of Alsconi"s methods not to know how long his arm was. No one had quit the organization and got away with it. If he took money from Lorelli he would be putting himself in bad with Alsconi, and he wasn"t all that soft in the head.
After wrestling with the problem for some minutes, he came to the conclusion that the safest way to play the hand was to tell Felix, and rely on Felix to do the right thing by him. He"d ask Felix to get him a bonus: that was the least he deserved.
It was a pity about Lorelli. She was almost certain to be handed over to Englemann. Willie grimaced at the thought. But it was her own funeral. She was asking for trouble, and she would certainly get it.
While Willie was sweating over this problem, Felix was reporting to Alsconi who sat at his desk, his hands folded on the blotter.
Within reach of those long white fingers was a small ivory b.u.t.ton let into the desk that when pressed would fire a gun, cleverly concealed in the front of the desk, and which was pointing at this moment at Felix.
"Micklem"s letter has been delivered," Felix was saying. "There was no trouble. His secretary is flying to New York right away. She believes the money will be at the Banca de Roma in five days."
Alsconi absently rubbed the top of the ivory b.u.t.ton with the tip of his forefinger. It gave him a feeling of intense pleasure to know that he had only to press down on the b.u.t.ton for Felix to get a bullet in his stomach.
"So they appear willing to cooperate?" he said.
"They seem more than willing."
"And Lorelli delivered the letter?"
"Yes."
"She was alone?"
"She thought she was alone," Felix said. "I had Willie watching outside in case there was trouble."
"She made it clear that if they went to the police, Micklem would suffer?"
"She followed my instructions," Felix said curtly. "She did the job very well."
"Splendid." Alsconi examined his fingernails, a bland expression on his fat face. "Where is Willie?"
"He"s still at the villa. I told him to wait until Jacopo relieved him," Felix said.
Alsconi scratched the side of his nose while he looked at Felix.
"So you have the report only from Lorelli, and no confirmation yet from Willie?"
Felix stiffened.
"Confirmation? I don"t understand. I haven"t yet talked to Willie, but he won"t have anything to tell me. Are you suggesting we can"t trust Lorelli anymore?"
Alsconi lifted an eyebrow.
"Certainly not. It is always better to have confirmation of any report. For all we know Lorelli might have lost her nerve at the last moment. She might not have gone to the villa. I am quite sure she did go, but it will be more satisfactory not only for me but for her if Willie confirmed what took place at the interview."
"Willie was watching from the outside," Felix said. "He wouldn"t have heard what was said."
Alsconi picked up the telephone receiver.
"Carlos? Send Jacopo at once to the Trioni villa to relieve Willie. Willie is to report to me immediately he comes in."
He replaced the receiver. "Don"t let us a.s.sume anything, Felix. It is a fatal mistake. I"ll talk to Willie."
Felix shrugged angrily.
"If that"s the way you want it."