She began to breathe again.
“That's just it. It's too tough. I'm so glad and relieved, darling, you realize it now. You will drop it, won’t you?”
He lifted his heavy eyebrows.
“Of course I'm not going to drop it. No, the idea now is to find a big enough organization who could handle it and then sell the idea to them. I stand a chance of picking up fifty grand for the idea, and that will give me the start I want.”
She very nearly lost patience with him, but controlled herself in time.
“Darling, that's not a very sensible idea, is it? How can you possibly sell anyone such an idea. They wouldn't pay you until you told them what your idea is, and once they know they wouldn't have to pay you. You're dealing with crooks. You couldn't trust them to pay you.”
Harry grinned.
“You obviously don't think much of my brains,” he said. “I'm not that much of a sucker. This plan of mine relies on two things: the means of identifying the aircraft that will carry the diamonds, and where in the desert it is possible to make a safe landing. I happen to know both these things. Without them, the job can't be done, and unless I get the money, cash on the barrel-head, I don't part with the information.”
Glorie's heart sank.
“I see,” she said, trying to keep calm. “But, Harry, you have no connections. You wouldn't get to anyone big enough to handle the job. They would think it was a police trap. You just wouldn't get them to believe you.”
He drew in a long, deep breath. At last he had got her to the crucial point. She was saying exactly what he had planned and hoped she would say. It depended now on how far he could press her and the extent of her feelings towards him.
“That's right, Glorie,” he said, watching her. “I agree they wouldn't trust me, but they would trust you.”
She stared at him, not believing she had heard him correctly.
“Trust me?” she said blankly.
“Ben Delaney would take your word, Glorie, even if he wouldn't take mine.”
Her reaction to this startled him. She jumped to her feet, her eyes angry, her face a hard, white mask.
“What do you know about Ben Delaney?” she demanded.
“Take it easy. No need to jump down my throat. You and Delaney were friends once, weren't you?”
“How do you know that?”
His face hardened.
“Don't go shrill on me, Glorie. You're not making a secret of it, are you? I happened to pick up an old magazine and this fell out of it.”
He took Delaney's photograph from his wallet and tossed it on the table.
Glorie looked at it, her eyes glittering.
“You're lying!” she said. “You didn't find that in a magazine! You've been reading my letters.”
Harry began to lose patience.
“So what? If you didn't want me to read them why put them where I could find them?” he said. “Stop glaring at me! If you want to make a fight of this, say so, and I'll give you one!”
She was suddenly deflated by fear. A scene like this could be dangerous. He might lose his temper and walk out on her.
“All right, Harry,” she said, and sat down, looking away from him. “Never mind. I think it's pretty rotten of you to read my letters, but I'm not going to fight about it.”
“I'm sorry,” Harry said, not wishing to hurt her. “I just came on them. Let's get away from this, shall we? The point is Delaney could handle this deal. He has the organization and he has the men. You know him. I want you to put me in touch with him.”
Her hands went to her throat.
“Oh no, I won’t do that. That's one thing I won’t do.”
“Now look . . .”
“I'm sorry, Harry.”
He had expected trouble and was pretty sure how to handle it. He stared at her for a long moment, then shrugged.
“Okay, if you won’t, you won’t.”
He turned and began to walk towards the bedroom.
“Where are you going?” she asked, fear entering into her like the slow thrust of a knife.
“I'm getting out,” he said, pausing at the bedroom door. “I told you: no one is going to stop me doing this job. I'm not kidding myself that I'll get to Delaney without your help, so I'll try to handle the job on my own. I'll get a couple of guys from somewhere to help me. If I get the diamonds, then I'll go to Delaney and offer them to him. He'll see me all right if I have the diamonds. I'm clearing out because this is something I'll do better on my own. It'll be tricky and dangerous and I don't want my nerve broken down by a lot of objections from you.”
“But, darling, you can't leave here.” Glorie said, cold with panic. “Where will you go? How will you live?”
He laughed.
“For heaven's sake! I'll take a thirty-buck job for a couple of weeks. What do you think I am? Soft or something?”
“No, I don't think that.” She hesitated, then said, “Then you don't love me anymore, Harry?”
“What makes you say that? Of course I love you, and when I get the money, I'll take you to Europe with me. That's a promise.”
“Do you really mean that?”
“Well, I can't prove it, but I might be able to convince you,” he said, coming over to her. He pulled her to her feet. His mouth came down on hers, and he held her against him so tightly she could scarcely breathe. She didn't care. Her hands moved up his neck and into his hair. When he finally leaned away from her, he said, “I'm crazy about you, kid. I know I'm giving you a bad time right now, but it'll work out all right in the end. I've got to get my hands on some money, and this is the quickest way of doing it.”
She tightened her grip on his shoulders.
“You're really determined to do this thing, Harry?” she said.
“There's nothing I can say or do to stop you?”
Looking down at her, Harry saw he had won, and he had to make an effort not to show his triumph.
“There is nothing anyone can do to stop me. I'm sold on it It's my one chance and I'm going to take it. I'll tell you something, Glorie. This isn't just a sudden idea. When I heard about those diamonds as far back as three months ago, I planned to grab them. I've been living with this thing for three months, day and night, and every day I'm more convinced that I've got to do it.”
She let go of him and walked over to the armchair and sat down.
“All right, Harry, if you've made up your mind then we'll do it together.” She didn't look at him. “There are a lot of things I've learned about this kind of business that you don't know. I didn't live with Ben for fourteen months for nothing. Will you give me until tomorrow morning to think about it? I'm not wasting time. It will need a lot of thought.” She hesitated, then went on, “I want you to know why I am going to help you. I know I am a fool to have anything to do with it, but I love you. You mean more to me than anything else in the world. I think you may have a chance of getting away with this if you will only listen to me and do what I tell you. If we have any luck at all, I think I'll be able to keep you out of prison. I'll introduce you to Ben. It won't be easy. I haven't seen or spoken to him for two years: but I'll try. So will you give me until tomorrow morning to get this thing straightened out in my mind?”
“Why sure,” Harry said, suddenly uncomfortable.
The despair he saw in her eyes turned his carefully planned triumph a little sour.
“Would you go to the movies or something?” she went on. “I would like to be alone for a while.”
“Sure.” Harry crossed the room for his topcoat. “I'll do that. See you around midnight.”
He started for the door, then remembered he hadn't any money. He wasn't going to ask her for any, and shrugging his shoulders, he opened the door and started down the passage.
“Oh, Harry . . .”
He turned.
She was standing in the doorway.
“You forgot your money.” She was holding out a five-dollar bill. “You must get something to eat. I'm sorry to be turn
ing you out like this.”
Harry came back slowly and took the bill. Feeling ashamed of himself was a new experience, and he didn't like it.
“Thanks,” he said. “I'll owe it to you.”
He went down the passage and down the stairs without looking back.
IV
The following day was Sunday. Their usual practice was to stay in bed until noon, then have a late lunch, and if the weather was fine, they would go for a walk. But on this Sunday, they were both up and sitting in front of the fire soon after nine o'clock.
“Don't let's waste any time,” Glorie said, as soon as she had poured out the coffee. “I've thought about this thing and now I know I can help you. I'm not going to be a bore and ask you again not to do it. If you're really determined to do it, then it's up to me to do everything I can to make it a success.”
“I'm going ahead with it,” Harry said, frowning. “I'm sorry if I'm upsetting you, Glorie, but . . .”
“All right,” Glorie broke in, “let's take all that as read. There're no point in taking the diamonds if you're not sure of getting away with them, is there? I mean the most important part of your planning must be first to make sure the police won’t catch you.”
Harry moved impatiently.
“Don't worry your brains about that angle. I'll take care of that. The most important part of the setup is getting into touch with Delaney.”
“You're wrong,” Glorie said, her face white and set. “If you get the diamonds and if Ben pays you, you still want your freedom to spend the money, to travel, to buy your partnership, don't you?”
“Well, of course.”
“So the most important part of your planning must be to make sure the police don't catch you.”
Harry shrugged.
“Well, okay, I guess it is if you put it that way.”
“Will there be anyone on the aircraft who will recognize you?”
Harry frowned.
“There could be. I'm certain to be recognized by some of the staff on the airfield if I'm not spotted in the kite. That's why I'm planning to skip into Mexico before they can come after me.”
“But they can bring you back from Mexico.”
“If they can find me. I'll fix up some sort of disguise as soon as I get to Mexico. But that's something I can work out later. What is more important . . .”
“No,” Glorie said sharply. “Nothing is more important than getting away. Can't you see the danger you are putting yourself into? You will be recognized. The police will know who they are looking for and that will make their task easy. How long do you think you will remain free once the police know who you are? They can get a photograph of you from the Air Transport's records. Every newspaper in the country will carry it. Someone will recognize you sooner or later and give you away. The insurance companies will offer a reward for you. Once they know who you are, you're sunk, Harry.”
“For God's sake!” Harry said angrily. “That's a risk I've got to take. If we start worrying about that angle, we'll never get anywhere.”
“If they know who you are they will hunt you for the rest of your life. You will never have a moment's peace.”
“Well, so what? I can't stop them knowing who I am if I'm to handle the kite, can I? It's just one of those things.”
“Oh no, it isn't. You are going to change your appearance before you do the job. From tomorrow Harry Griffin is going to disappear. In his place, Harry Green will appear, and Harry Green will steal the diamonds. Then Harry Green will disappear and Harry Griffin will reappear. The police will be looking for Harry Green and not you.”
Harry stared blankly at her.
“I don't catch on. Let's go over that more slowly.”
“It's simple enough. Before you do the job, you will disguise yourself so no one can possibly recognize you. You will be a stranger who has no background and no friend to recognize him. When the job is done you will take off your disguise and no one will know you have done the job.”
Harry ran his fingers through his hair.
“It's a good idea, Glorie,” he said thoughtfully, “but it won't work. The success of the idea lies in disguising myself so no one will recognize me. That can't be done. Most of the guys on the airfield know me pretty well. They're certain to recognize me. I couldn't disguise myself well enough to get away with it. This is a pipe dream, Glorie.”
“Oh no, it isn't,” Glorie said. “I'll handle your make-up. I once knew a man who was one of the best make-up artists in Hollywood. I learned a lot of tricks from him. I could change your appearance so no one would know you.”
“Honest?” He leaned forward, his eyes excited. “You're not kidding?”
“I don't kid about things like this. But it won’t mean just changing your colouring and your looks. Your clothes, the way you talk, the sound of your voice, even your personality will have to be changed. A lot depends on you. How much time have we got?”
“Twenty days.”
Glorie nodded.
“We should be able to do it in that time. There's a lot to do. Tomorrow you must go to the airfield and meet your friends again. You will tell them you are going to New York to look for a job.”
Harry flushed.
“To hell with that for an idea. I don't want to See those guys again. Why should I tell them I'm going to New York?”
“You've got to! “ Glorie said sharply. “After the diamonds have been stolen, the police will begin an investigation. They will know right away it is an inside job. Sooner or later they will come across your name. They will find out you were to fly the aircraft and that you knew the diamonds were going to be on board. You will be one of their suspects. Your boss isn't going to speak well of you. That's why you must be out of town long before the robbery. You must go to New York and register at a hotel. You must be able to prove that you have been in New York, even though you drop out of sight later on. You must even get some kind of travelling job. We'll go into details later on. I want you to get the general picture of what you have to do.”
“For the love of mike, Glorie!” Harry said. “I can see the sense of this, but going to New York will cost money. It can't be done.”
“Never mind about the money just now,” Glorie said. “Just listen to me. You must make sure to make an impression on the staff of the hotel so if the police check the staff will remember you. You must then find a travelling job. It won’t be difficult if you go after one of these commission-only jobs, but you've got to get it. By then I'll be in New York. You will join me there, taking care no one sees you arrive. I'll then change your appearance and you will become Harry Green. Before you leave New York, Harry, you will write three or four letters to any of your friends. We will get hotel addresses in Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Minneapolis, and you will head each letter with one of the addresses we'll find. You will tell your friends you are travelling and enjoying yourself. I'll take these letters to each town and post them. We've got to have proof that you have been travelling and the only proof we can offer are the post marks on the letters.”
“But wait a minute . . . “ Harry began.
“Let me finish,” Glorie said. “That's your alibi taken care of.
Now you will come back here and meet Ben. Get yourself a room at some cheap hotel and show yourself. The more you show yourself and impress yourself on people the better. Whenever you get the chance brag about you being an ex-pilot and that you want a flying job. Act tough, that is the best way to be remembered. Go to one of these Photomat places and get photographed. Impress yourself on the photographer. Refuse to pay for the photographs; make a scene so he will remember you and so when he reads your description in the papers he'll give the police a copy of your photograph. Do you see what I'm getting at? If the police and the public are looking for Harry Green, they won’t be looking for you.”
Harry was gaping at her now.
“Well, who would have believed it? You're a knock-out, Glorie. This is terrific. I would never have thought
of it. This way I can't fail to get away with it.”
“Please don't say that. It is so easy to make a mistake. At least it will give you a chance.”
“Of course it'll work. I'm sure of it. It's a terrific idea. But there's one point I don't agree about. I want to see Delaney before I go to New York. If he won’t play, then I'll have to think of another angle and I won’t have to go to New York.”
“You must meet him as Harry Green,” Glorie said, her voice low and tense. “You must never let him know who you are. I know Ben. He might double cross you. If the police thought that he was handling the diamonds and put pressure on him, he would give you away. You don't know him: I do. Once you get your money, you must disappear as Harry Green so that neither Ben nor the police will ever trace you. This is important. You must do what I say.”
Harry shrugged.
“Well, okay. It makes sense. So I'll meet Delaney when I come back from New York, but how am I going to get to New York — walk?” He grinned at her. “Let's face it, baby. It'll cost at least a thousand: your fare and mine to New York, and your fares to these other places, my hotel bills until I pull the job. We couldn't do it under a thousand. Where's that coming from?”
She got up and went into the bedroom, and after a few minutes she came back, carrying a small leather jewel case which she set on the table. She opened the case and took out a small diamond brooch and a gold bracelet set with sapphires. She tossed them into Harry's lap.
“We should be able to raise a couple of thousand on those,” she said. “I've kept them for this kind of a rainy day.”
Harry examined the two pieces of jewellery, then he looked at her.
“They're nice. Don't you want to keep them? Seems a pity to sell them.”
“No, I don't want them,” Glorie said woodenly. “What's the good of keeping stuff like that? When do I ever get the chance of wearing them?”
He got out of his chair and went to her.
“You hate parting with them, don't you?” he said, and took her in his arms. “Well, we need the dough now, but I'll get you something even better than these when the time comes. I promise you. Don't think I don't appreciate what you are doing for me. I love you for it, and thanks.”
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