The Strange Story of Linda Lee

by Dennis Wheatley

  ‘Oh, come!’ Big Bear protested. ‘This joint stays open until four. If someone has got to get out of bed to let you in anyhow, what does another hour or two matter?’ But Linda insisted on leaving at once.

  When he drew up in front of the Astley, all the lights in the hotel were out. As she thanked him for a lovely evening he drew her to him and kissed her. She willingly opened her mouth, but when he tried to go further she broke the kiss, pushed his hand away and said firmly, ‘No! That’s enough for now,’ and scrambled out of the car.

  As she ran across the pavement he called after her, ‘See you tomorrow. Pick you up round about midday.’

  She had to ring the bell three times before a light appeared. A few minutes later Mr. Burnaby opened the front door. As Big Bear was still outside in his car waiting to see her safely inside, it was obvious that her lateness had not been caused by an accident, so to her apology he replied only with a surly, ‘Fine time o’ night to come in.’

  The following morning Linda slept late and at eleven o’clock, while she was doing her hair, there came a knock at her door. On her calling ‘Come in,’ the usually pleasant Mrs. Burnaby came in and said dourly:

  ‘Miss Harrison, our custom here is to lock up at eleven o’clock. That is quite late enough for respectable people, except on special occasions, and then I am quite willing to lend permanent residents a key. But you do not qualify for that yet. Another thing. We expect our guests to be out of their rooms at the latest by ten o’clock, in order that my two women can do the beds. Unless you are prepared to conform, I shall have to ask you to find other accommodation.’

  Linda said she was deeply sorry to have got Mr. Burnaby out of bed, and left it at that, reluctantly realising that if she was to continue going out with Big Bear she would have to move to a bigger hotel with a night porter, which would be much more expensive.

  At midday Big Bear picked her up and took her across the peninsula to Cardero Street, at the end of which lay the S.S. Princess Louise II, originally the passenger ship Lady Alexander that, at the cost of a million dollars, had been converted into a floating restaurant. From the restaurant there was a fine view of Vancouver harbour and, beyond it, the mountains on the western skyline.

  Over baked clams and abalone they got to know still more about each other. Big Bear’s favourite sport was skiing and the first winter that he could afford to take sufficient time off to make it worth while he meant to go to Switzerland. As he had never been to Europe, Linda told him about London, Paris, Venice, Spain and the South of France. Having told him the previous day that she had been married only a few months, she had to say that she had been with her parents. When he asked about them she again used the story she had given Elsie, that her father had owned an estate in Lincolnshire, but had recently died, leaving her mother very badly off.

  He then said, ‘Don’t tell me if you’d rather not, but I’m mighty curious to know why you left your husband.’

  Stubbing out her cigarette, Linda kept her eyes lowered and invented a plausible story. ‘I’m not a prude. In fact before I married I had an affair with a man with whom I was in love. It lasted for eighteen months and I thoroughly enjoyed all the usual games. But—er—Alistair, that is my husband, wanted me to do things that I wasn’t willing to. In fact, I found them utterly disgusting. And it was when he tried to force me that I pulled off my wedding ring and threw it at him. Next morning I walked out.’

  Big Bear’s black eyes narrowed. ‘The dirty bastard! You were dead right to quit. I’d like the chance to use a stock-whip on him for being so foul with a sweet kid like you.’

  For dinner he took her to the Jester’s Room at the Ritz, which she found very English. Afterwards they strolled round the corner to Oil Can Harry’s—an extraordinary contrast. It was the largest night haunt in the city, and could hold a thousand people. There were several rooms: Dirty Sal’s, where couples could lounge and drink or eat at dimly-lit tables; the Back Room, decorated with gangster posters, in which films of the ‘Roaring Twenties’ were shown; the longest bar in Canada and a sunken dance floor.

  Linda said how clever Big Bear was to find such a variety of places to take her. He shrugged. ‘I owe that to Dave Kane. He put me wise about this city. And talk of variety! There are at least a score of night spots in Vancouver. We’ve yet to try the Down Under, Diamond Jim’s, Pharaoh’s Retreat, the Red Garter, Your Father’s Mustache and a whole lot more.’

  ‘That would be fun.’ Linda made a grimace. ‘But if we’re to do that I’ll have to change my hotel. The woman who runs it gave me a rocket this morning. Normally they lock up at eleven o’clock.’

  ‘Snakes alive!’ he exclaimed. ‘It’s just on that now.’

  ‘I know. I’m terribly sorry, but we will have to leave soon after half past. I’m prepared to keep them up till twelve, but it wouldn’t be fair to get the old boy out of bed again. I’ll look round tomorrow for a place that has a night porter.’

  For a moment he was silent, then he laid his hand over hers and said earnestly, ‘Look, honey. After a week in Vancouver I’d planned to spend a week in Victoria Island. I’m booked in at the Empress, and they say it’s a real grand hotel. Having fallen flat on my face for you I meant to call them tomorrow, cancel and stay on here. But we could play it another way. From what you told me lunchtime, it wouldn’t be cradle-snatching. How about my calling the Empress in the morning, and telling them that I’m bringing my wife along?’

  Linda threw back her head and laughed. ‘Really! As girls said of proposals in the old-fashioned novels, “This is so sudden”. After all, we haven’t yet known each other for forty-eight hours.’

  ‘What in heck has that to do with it? I’m quite a connoisseur of dames, yet I’ve never played round with one who could hold a candle to you. And you’re not far off hooked on me. You showed it in that kiss you gave me last night. Come, now. We’re not children. Why not let’s grab a real fine time together?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ Linda fiddled with her champagne glass nervously. ‘You must give me time to think. Let’s dance again before we go. I’ll let you know tomorrow.’

  A little before twelve o’clock, as he brought his car to a stop in front of the Astley, he did not attempt to kiss her, but said, ‘It’s the better part of an hour’s drive to the ferry, so if we go I ought to pick you up sharp at eleven o’clock. I’ll call you early, to give you plenty of time to pack.’

  Linda took his hand and pressed it. ‘Don’t think too badly of me, darling, if my answer is “no”. I do like you a lot; but I’ve known only two men that way before, so it would be quite a step. I do promise, though, to think it over really seriously.’ Then, giving him a swift kiss on the cheek, she slipped out of the car.

  Chapter 11

  A Joyous Interlude

  For Linda it was a big decision to make, and for the past hour she had been turning it over in her mind. Apart from being raped when she was sixteen, she had so far had only two lovers: Jim and Rowley. Jim had been gentle, but not very expert. Poor dear Rowley had roused her fully, but only because when he made love to her she had always thought of Eric.

  She still thought of Eric now and again, although ever since he had left London she had done her best to put him out of her mind. She felt certain that he would always be the love of her life; but, after she had stolen the jewels, she realised that her act had put an end to all hope of being happily united to him. Not only was he thousands of miles away but, as he was such an upright man, she felt sure that if they ever did chance to meet he would not, now that he must have learned that she was a criminal, want to have anything to do with her, let alone marry her.

  Although she was not in love with Big Bear she recognised that he was as attractive a man as any girl could wish for in a lover. And, after all, she had never been in love with poor dear Rowley; yet she had been his mistress for close on two years.

  Against that, she was just a little frightened of going to bed with Big Bear. Mentally he did not appear
to differ at all from a well-educated Englishman or American, but he had that dash of Red Indian blood and, according to tradition, the Indians were very cruel. He was, too, a very powerfully-built man, so if he did have a cruel streak in him she might be letting herself in for a very unpleasant time.

  A few lights were still on in the hotel, and it was Mrs. Burnaby who opened the front door. ‘Late again,’ she said sharply; then, in a very loud voice, in the belief that Linda was deaf, ‘Really, Miss Harrison, I can’t have this. I told you that we lock up at eleven.’

  Subconsciously Linda must have already made up her mind. Spontaneously she replied, ‘I’m awfully sorry, Mrs. Burnaby, but I have been making fresh arrangements. I am going away for a week, but I’d like to keep on my room at the price we agreed, although I shan’t be here for meals; and when I get back I shall be going out very little in the evenings. Will that be all right with you?’

  The normally good-natured woman smiled. ‘Certainly, my dear. Having lived in Hollywood, I appreciate that you are not used to the early hours we keep here. We’ll be glad to have you back.’

  Next morning Linda rose early and packed, then Big Bear called for her. Bursting with high spirits he drove her out through the city and over the two arms of the Fraser river across flattish country to Tsawwassen. The ferry steamer there was the largest she had ever seen. Its centre was a huge tunnel into which streams of cars, coaches and lorries disappeared. The deck above consisted of glassed-in lounges and a large self-service restaurant.

  While they ate a picnic lunch at a corner table near a window, they enjoyed the view of calm waters on which yachts were sailing, and a group of islands ahead. All of them were densely covered with pine trees but, as in the Rockies, few of the trees were more than twenty feet in height. When she remarked on that, Big Bear told her that it was because the soil was so poor and the trees were so close together.

  Presently they passed between two of the islands and shortly afterwards docked in Swartz Bay. From there they drove another twenty miles through pleasant, undulating country, with occasional pine woods and, between them, many pleasant houses of clapboard or brick in an acre or more of ground. For the last mile and a half they were on the main street of Victoria City and found the Empress Hotel to be nearly at its far end.

  The hotel resembled a huge, nineteenth-century French château. They entered it through a conservatory which gave on to a spacious lounge in which there were numerous shops, and other big rooms opening off it. Big Bear had asked for a room overlooking the sea. He need not have bothered, as the hotel was on a narrow isthmus and at both back and front there were harbours with many small craft either moored or moving to and fro, and several large ships anchored further out.

  As soon’ as their luggage had been brought up Big Bear took Linda into a truly bear-like hug. She let him kiss her for a few minutes, but then pulled away her head and said, ‘No, no! Don’t let’s spoil things by rushing them. It will be much more fun after dinner and champagne, with all night before us and no need to dress again.’

  After pressing her hard to let him have his way with her there and then, he reluctantly let her go. Highly conscious of the frustration he was feeling now he had her on her own, she took a long time unpacking, then persuaded him to go down with her and explore the hotel. They looked in at the restaurant, a handsome room having, in addition to many tables in the centre, others on a low gallery running round it. For a while she lingered, commenting on the contents of the numerous shops. To avoid going up with him again to their room she asked a porter if there was a coffee shop. There was, on the floor below the lounge, at the end of a long corridor, the walls of which were lined with paintings of Victorian royalties. On returning to the lounge floor they learned that the bar was now open, and Linda gave a silent sigh of relief.

  With a view to fortifying herself against the uncertainties of the coming night, she made a start by putting away two large Bacardis. By then it was time for them to go up and change for dinner. On the way up in the lift she wondered anxiously what might happen when he saw her with her clothes off. As a precaution she took the dress she was going to wear into the bathroom, and began to change there. She thought of locking the door, but decided that would be going too far and might quite possibly enrage him.

  Her fears that he would come in and again attempt her were soon realised. No sooner had she pulled the dress she was wearing over her head and taken her bra off than he came striding in, gave a hearty laugh, grabbed her, pushed her down on to the floor and began to pull down her briefs. Struggling beneath him she gasped:

  ‘Stop it! Stop it, damn you! I said I preferred to wait until bedtime. If you force me I won’t play. I’ll go as limp as a corpse and that won’t be much fun for you.’

  ‘Have a heart, honey,’ he panted, pressing his mouth hard against her neck. ‘You’re angelic. The sight of you in your undies just drove me crazy. I’ve got to have you.’

  ‘Not like this,’ she shot back. ‘You may be a barbarian, but I’m not. Civilised people don’t make love on the floor.’

  Her taunt did it. He loosed his arms from round her, knelt up, stooped again to kiss one of her nipples, then said angrily, ‘O.K., have it your way. But you agreed to come here, and I’m not used to dames saying “no” to me at any time I feel like laying them. If you don’t give me a good time tonight, I’ll beat the living daylights out of you.’

  After he had left her, slamming the door behind him, she spent some time in the bathroom. When she went into the bedroom to do her hair, he was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling. A few minutes later he got up and, without a word, walked past her to shave and wash. Returning, he dressed, maintaining a sulky silence.

  Linda was hard put to it to conceal her nervousness. If she allowed the present atmosphere to continue, it boded ill for the hours to come. When they were ready to go downstairs, she made an attempt to change it by smiling at him and saying, ‘Did the wicked lady spoil the little boy’s fun, then? Perhaps he’ll feel better when a kind waiter has given him a lollipop.’

  At that he suddenly roared with laughter. ‘You win, kid. Maybe I am a barbarian where sex is concerned. But you’ve said it. Let’s go eat, and plenty. You’ll need all your energy before we’re through.’

  Although his good humour was restored, that did not sound particularly reassuring and, since he had threatened to beat her if she didn’t prove as eager as himself, she wondered nervously if he took pleasure in beating girls, so might do so to her just to get a kick.

  They were given a table on the gallery in the dining-room, and the dinner proved excellent. He talked as amusingly as usual all through it and, somehow, she managed to keep her end up. But all the time her thoughts were not far from the bedroom, and the fear that she might be in tears in a hour or so. His appetite, as she already knew, was gargantuan, and she was unable to do full justice to all the food he had ordered; but she did her share in emptying a magnum of champagne. She was in half a mind to top off with a liqueur but refused one fearing that it would make her really drunk, he had a double brandy and drank it off in a couple of gulps, then signed the check.

  In the lift on the way upstairs, again Linda silently upbraided herself as an utter fool for having agreed to come on this jaunt with a man she hardly knew. But there was no escaping whatever might happen now. She could only thank God that she was three parts tight, which would help her to go through with her part in the affair.

  Up in the bedroom he almost tore off his clothes, and threw them on the floor. She also, undressed quickly, anxious now both not to anger him by delay and to get her coming ordeal over. When she came out of the bathroom in her dressing gown, he was standing stark naked, a splendid figure of a man. The sight of him sent a shiver of excitement through her and made her suddenly conscious of her womanhood.

  Next moment he had stripped her of her dressing gown and, big as she was, picked her up in his arms as easily as if she were a child, then flung her on the bed. In little
more than a minute it was all over. He left her gasping, yet unsatisfied.

  But not for long. His virility reasserted itself so swiftly that she was amazed. That second time she gave herself until she was near delirium.

  As the streaks of early-morning light showed between the curtains, she was lying in his arms her head pillowed on his broad, hairy chest. Vaguely she tried to count up how many times it had been, but she could not clearly remember. Never had she known anything like it, or imagined that any man could be capable of such frequently-renewed vigour. She felt exhausted, yet completely relaxed and happy. Her last waking thought was how stupid she would have been had she refused to come to Victoria with Big Bear, and so missed this wonderful experience. Then she drifted off into a heavy, dreamless sleep.

  They both slept late, made love again on waking, then rang for the waiter and ordered an enormous breakfast.

  For Linda the next six days were like a honeymoon. Some days they went for runs in the car, taking a picnic lunch with them to eat in the pine woods. Learning that she had never driven a car, he decided to teach her.

  As the roads a few miles outside the city had little traffic on them, the island was an excellent place to learn and, although she was at first a little nervous, she soon got the hang of it. On other days Big Bear hired a motor launch that took them out to the islands. Usually on their return they strolled up the long main street to drink in restaurants, and on one occasion they visited the floodlit Butchart Gardens, said to be the most flower-covered thirty acres in the world. But they always dined at the Empress and were in bed making love by half past ten.

  Yet, happy as Linda was, every now and again she was momentarily cast down by the thought that, all too soon, she would lose this gay and handsome lover whose companionship, both in bed and out of it, she found so stimulating. Then she would be back at the Astley, again a lonely exile. Another thought occurred to her. Although she still had plenty of cash, sooner or later she would have to dispose of some of the jewels. That might prove difficult and even dangerous if she was unable to give as a reference some solid citizen who knew her; so she would be missing a good opportunity if she neglected to sell some of them before Big Bear left her.