Plender Read Online Free Page B

happened?”
    “Nothing. I dropped her off and that was it.”
    “Did you see her into the house?”
    “I saw her to the door. Nice place Gorton has.”
    “Ought to be. The money came from his percentage for the Rotham by-pass contract. Did you see Gorton?”
    “Briefly. He fluttered about a bit at the door. He couldn’t wait to get inside.”
    I lit a cigarette.
    “Anyway,” I said, “I know you’ve had a busy week, but I’m afraid there’s something come up.”
    “What?”
    “Camille has a client. I want you to supervise the cine and the rest of the gear.”
    Gurney’s face twitched a little bit, which was his way of throwing a tantrum.
    “Oh, I mean to say, sir—” he began, but I didn’t let him get any farther.
    “I’d do it myself only Mr. Froy wants me to do something special for him. And Froy is keen to get the goodies on Camille’s Playmate of the Month. He doesn’t want any slip-ups.”
    That shut him up. Gurney was Froy’s man. He was the only person who worked for me who knew about Froy and the Movement. Apart from the muscle and the informers and the queers and the brasses and the con men, the other politically motivated gentlemen who worked for me were from such scramble-headed groups as the N.F. or the Union with Europe mob. The two things my little helpers had in common was their dedication to the job and the fact that they all had records. They knew I had political links with something they could only guess at and that was good enough for them. They were well pleased to find themselves so gainfully employed. But Gurney was different. Gurney had been Froy’s man from way back. He’d been a condition of my employment. Not that I didn’t want him: I did. But he hated my guts. He felt he should be sitting where I was. But Froy hadn’t thought him good enough. So he had to put up with the ride I gave him. The only satisfaction he got was his reporting back to Froy, letting Froy know what I was up to, because that was a part of his duties, too. But so far he’d had nothing of any consequence to report. He knew nothing of my extra-curricular activities; he knew nothing of my file on Froy. So he was just waiting his time out, waiting for me to slip. But he’d have a long wait. I’d no intentions of getting my feet wet.
    “So there you are, Gurney, old boy,” I said. “Looks like another working weekend.”
    Gurney smiled one of his smiles.
    “Looks like it, Mr. Plender,” he said.
    KNOTT
    I looked at my watch.
    “Here, look at the time,” I said. “It’s twenty to eight.”
    Eileen knocked back the dregs of her fourth gin and bitter lemon.
    “Time flies when you’re enjoying yourself,” she said, giving me the knowing look she’d given me at least fifty times in the last hour. “Still, we’ve got plenty of time. The night’s young.”
    “Well, we’d better get a move on. It’ll take an hour or two to get through.”
    I got up and gave Eileen a hand and she levered herself out of her seat.
    “I hope I can stand up straight,” she said. “I’d hate to make a muck of your pictures.”
    PLENDER
    I hated Peggy’s Bar. It made my skin crawl. All that perfume and shrieking and prancing about. But I’d thought I’d better wander over just to check on Camille. Make sure he turned up. It would’ve been typical of him not to—he even behaved like a woman in that department, too.
    I walked into the bar. Thank God. It was almost deserted. The rain must have kept most of them in.
    I sat down on a stool at the bar.
    “Good evening , Mr. Plender,” Peggy said. “To what do we owe this rare pleasure?”
    Peggy was the exception to the rule. Peggy I could stand. I don’t know, but he was the only one that didn’t make me feel creepy. Perhaps because he was getting on a bit and he was a bit cynical about the whole scene.
    “Thirst,” I said.
    Peggy smiled.
    “I was afraid so,” he said. He poured me a vodka with ice and a twist of lemon. “On me.”
    “Thanks,” I