Read Online Fast Buck by James Hadley Chase - Free Book Online Page B

going to come out of the half a mil ion. Kile intended to keep every nickel of that for himself.
    He watched Rico make two highballs. When Rico came over to the desk and put one of the highballs near Kile, Kile said, ‘That’s a nasty bruise you’ve got there. How did you get it?’
    Rico sat down.
    ‘I had an accident. It’s nothing. It looks worse than it feels. I hoped you’d be in tonight, Mr Kile. I’ve something I wanted you to see. Unfortunately it’s as hot as a stove at the moment, but in a year or two it’l fetch three or four grand; probably more.’
    Kile pursed his lips.
    ‘I don’t think I’d be interested,’ he said, ‘but let me see it.’
    Rico walked over to the office door and turned the key. Then he went to the wall safe, opened it and took out the bracelet. He put it on the desk in front of Kile.
    Kile studied it without touching it. He glanced up at Rico’s anxious face.
    ‘How hot is it?’
    ‘The woman who owned it was murdered,’ Rico said in a hushed voice.
    Kile made a wry grimace.
    ‘Jean Bruce?’
    Rico nodded.
    ‘I’m surprised you touched this,’ Kile said. ‘How did you get hold of it?’
    ‘By accident,’ Rico lied glibly. ‘It wasn’t until I saw tonight’s paper I knew it belonged to the Bruce woman.’
    ‘Think the police would believe you?’
    ‘I said it was hot,’ Rico pointed out. ‘I wouldn’t give you a wrong impression, Mr Kile. I thought one of your rich friends might have it. It’d have to be re-set, of course, but it’s a beautiful piece.’
    Kile picked up the bracelet and studied it closely.
    ‘Yes; it’s nice. What do you want for it?’
    ‘Twenty-five hundred,’ Rico said promptly. ‘It’s worth at least six grand.’
    ‘It’s worth five,’ Kile said. ‘At the moment it isn’t worth a dime. I’d have to keep it for some time: maybe a year. It’s a dangerous thing to keep. I might give you a thousand for it, but not a dollar more.’
    ‘Make it two, and you can have it,’ Rico said hopeful y, then as Kile pushed the bracelet back to him, he went on hastily, ‘Wel , okay. I’m losing money, but I want it out of my place. I’l take a grand.’
    Kile nodded.
    ‘You’l have to wait for the money, Rico. I’l let you have it in a week or two.’
    ‘That’s okay,’ Rico said, sit ing down. ‘I trust you, Mr Kile. Two weeks is okay with me.’
    Kile nodded again and put the bracelet in his inside pocket.
    ‘There’s something I want to talk to you about, Rico,’ he said, paused to take a long drink from his glass, stared across at Rico, trying to make up his mind how much to tell him. He decided to say as little as possible. ‘There may be a big job coming along in the near future,’ he went on. ‘If it comes off you could make yourself fifteen thousand. It’s in the air at the moment, but I’m trying to get two or three good men together. Would you be interested?’
    Fifteen thousand! Rico’s eyes gleamed. This was big-time stuff!
    ‘Why, sure,’ he said, leaning across the desk. ‘You know I want to work with you, Mr Kile. What would you want me to do?’
    ‘I don’t know yet,’ Kile said. ‘I haven’t even started to organise the job, and it’l need a lot of organising. I wanted to be sure I could rely on you.’
    Rico felt a twinge of uneasiness. He was too cautious to commit himself without knowing something of what Kile was planning.
    ‘But can’t you give me some idea, Mr Kile? For instance: is it dangerous?’
    ‘Could be,’ Kile said mildly, thinking how horribly dangerous the whole idea was, ‘but you wouldn’t be in on that end of it. You could get yourself a ten to fifteen year stretch if it turned sour. You see, you’re not the only one who doesn’t want to give a wrong impression.’
    Rico showed his teeth in a mirthless smile. Ten to fifteen years! He wasn’t going to walk into that without knowing where he was going!
    ‘What are the chances?’ he asked. ‘I don’t take unnecessary