TRUSTED LIKE THE FOX

chapter 11

When Adrian was out of sight, I went over to the liquor cabinet. I felt in need of a drink. I poured a big shot of Scotch and drank it, then lighting a cigarette, I paced up and down, trying to assess the danger from this old vulture.

Could the Cuban police take action if Adrian had written to them? It depended on what he had to say. If he pointed out that Perry had disappeared, his wife and the stepbrother were sleeping together, and the police might react. Often enough, I had read in the newspapers that murders had been discovered by neighbors passing on gossip and rumorss to the police. If the police did make inquiriess and couldn't find any trace of Perry in Cuba —his description was an easy one to remember—they might alert the Venezuela policemen who were never overworkedd, and they would have came out.

They would have wanted to know who I was and where I came from.

But how to shut Adrian's mouth? The obvious way would be to give him money. That would hold him for a couple of months.

Would he believe my story that at the end of this time, Perry had found some other woman and had given Point of No Return to Delphina? Unless we could show him a letter, telling him it had come from Perry, he would most certainly not believe such a story.

Had he ever seen Perry's handwriting? I thought it was more than likely. He most certainly knew his signature. It was too dangerous to attempt to forge the letter.

The more I thought about it, the trickier the situation became. When dealing with a man of Adrian's character, a man with nothing to do and with a flair for smelling out trouble, I had to watch every move I made.

I had to talk to Delphina. We had a common enemy now. Maybe between the two of us, we could think of a way to stall Adrian.

Delphina didn't get back until after ten o'clock. By that time, I was pretty worked up, and I had found no solution how to deal with Adrian.

I had just finished clearing up the kitchen and stacking the dishes when I heard the sound of an approaching car.

I looked out of the window and saw Delphina driving into the garage.

I went out and caught up with her as she was crossing over to the house.
"I want to talk to you," I said.

She quickened her step, ignoring me. I walked with her up the path, waited until she had unlocked the front door, and then I crowded in with her.

She turned, her green eyes pools of fury. "Get out!"

"We've got to talk," I said. "Adrian was here this morning."

That gave her a jolt. She stiffened. Wariness took the place of anger in hereyes.

"I'm not interested. Get out!"

"You will be."

I crossed the hall and entered the sitting room. I noticed she had washed out the blood stain in the carpet. I went over to an armchair and sat down.

She stood in the doorway, waiting. She had taken off her hat. Her hair went well with the green dress. She looked pretty good.

"He wanted your husband to sign his pension papers," I said. "He's going to make trouble. He wanted to know where he could find Perry."

She didn't say anything. Her face remained expressionless.

"I told him he was somewhere in Cuba. He said he had to get his papers signed or he wouldn't get the pension. When I told him he would have to wait, he said he would write to the Cuban police and ask them to find him."

That jolted her out of her sulky indifference. She moved into the room, shutting the door behind her. She walked over to a chair and sat down. The skirt of her green dress rode up over her knees. She didn't attempt to pull it down. I didn't even look twice. I had too much on my mind to bother about a pair of pretty knees.