Okay, he thought, let’s see how smart you are. Let’s act this out as if it were a movie. What have I got to lose anyway? A few more months of life? If I don’t get the money, there are the sleeping pills to take care of the final fade out So I’ll pretend to play along with you. Could be I’ll be trickier than you think you are. At least, it could be fun... acting out one of my movies, but this time for real.
‘It’s an idea,’ he said. ‘So what do you plan to do?’
Vin moved uneasily.
‘Let’s take another look at this: we have now the chance of getting five hundred grand. Let’s work out a new deal. Joey and Cindy get a hundred and you and me get two hundred each. How’s about it?’
Joey was listening and worrying. A hundred thousand dollars! This was money beyond his dreams. He cringed at the thought of the prison sentence Cindy and he could get if this operation turned sour.
‘No... count us out!’ he exclaimed. ‘We’ve never done a job this big and we don’t want to do it now!’
Vin looked contemptuously at the old man.
‘Okay, then pull out. Elliot and I can swing it without either you or Cindy. So, okay... go back to your small time if that’s the way you want it.’
Cindy leaned forward, her eyes sparkling.
‘It’s not the way I want it!’ she said. ‘I’m sick of small time.’ She looked at Joey. ‘Okay, dad, if you want to pull out I won’t try to persuade you but I’m staying in!’
Joey stared helplessly at her, then he lifted his hands in despair.
‘Now, listen, baby...’
‘I’m staying in! That’s final!’
Joey looked at Elliot.
‘Well, Mr. Elliot, so we stay in, but how can we help? I don’t see how we come into this.’
‘That’s where the wonder boy earns his cut,’ Vin said. ‘I can fix the alarms and get the stamps if I know where they are. That’s my job and I can do it. Elliot has to dream up an idea of getting the register from Larrimore. If he can’t use you two, you’re out anyway. This take is strictly for workers.’
Cindy looked hopefully at Elliot.
‘We know Larrimore carries the register around in his inside jacket pocket,’ Elliot said after a moment’s thought. ‘At night the register is locked in a safe in his bedroom.’ He looked at Vin. ‘Right?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Joey... do you think you could steal the register off Larrimore if you got close to him?’
Joey didn’t hesitate.
‘Yes... that’s no problem.’
‘Suppose we have a demonstration.’ Elliot got to his feet and went into the bungalow. From the bookcase he took a paperback and put it in his inside jacket pocket, then he came back into the garden.
‘I have a book in my jacket pocket, Joey. Let’s see you get it.’
Cindy was on her feet and moving by Elliot she appeared to stumble and lurched against him.
‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘My foot slipped. Go on, dad, show him.’
Joey grinned uneasily.
‘It’s gone, hasn’t it, Mr. Elliot?’
Cindy was holding the paperback in her hand.
‘Impressive,’ Elliot said. ‘Okay, I’ll think about it.’
Leaving them, he went to his bedroom and lay on the bed. He lay thinking, staring up at the ceiling for the next hour. Then when Cindy called that lunch was ready, he got up and joined the other three in the small dining room.
‘Got an idea, buster?’ Vin asked as he cut into the steak on his plate.
‘The problem is to get to Larrimore,’ Elliot said. ‘He only goes out in his car. He doesn’t receive visitors, but I have an idea that might work.’ He looked at Cindy. ‘You would have to handle it. After seeing your demonstration I think you could do it. Here’s the idea: Larrimore gets a letter telling him the undersigned — that’s you, Cindy — has inherited a collection of stamps left to you by your grandfather. You have heard dealers offer little or nothing for valuable stamps. You have no idea if the collection is valuable or not. You are asking him as you have heard he is a famous philatelist, if he would look at the stamps and if there are any of interest to advise you. I think that is the kind of bait Larrimore might rise to. You’ll say your grandfather started the collection when he was young. That might make Larrimore think there could be a few valuable stamps in the album. He might invite you to call on him. If he does, then it is up to you to get the register off him. We know the stamps are indexed under countries. If you get hold of the register and while he is examining your stamps, find the CCCP section, you could be lucky to find the number of the drawer which contains the eight stamps we want. This is a long shot but it might come off. What do you think?’
‘That’s bright,’ Vin said, annoyed he hadn’t thought of this himself. ‘It could work.’
‘I’ll do it,’ Joey said. ‘I don’t want Cindy to do it.’
Elliot shook his head.
‘I’m sorry, Joey, but Cindy must do it. With her looks, she would throw Larrimore off his guard. A young girl coming to him for advice will flatter him.’ He looked at Cindy. ‘Shall we try?’
Cindy nodded.
‘Okay. I’ll draft a letter for you to write.’ Elliot looked over at Joey. ‘Will you go down to the waterfront and take a look at the junk shops there? I’m sure you’ll find an old stamp album full of trash that you can pick up for a few dollars. The older it looks the better. Then go to one of the better stamp dealers and buy three or four good stamps. They must be around 1900, not more recent. Tell the dealer you want to give them as a gift and you know nothing about stamps. Pay up to four hundred dollars. We’ve got to make this album a little interesting or Larrimore might get suspicious.’
Joey nodded.
Elliot finished his steak and pushed his plate away.
‘Now you, Vin... how are you finding out who the buyer is?’
Vin’s eyes shifted.
‘You can leave that to me. I’ll find out.’
‘That’s not good enough. We’re working together as a team. We want to know. How are you finding out?’
Vin thought quickly. He realized that without Cindy, he wouldn’t get the register. He had to be careful not to alert Elliot’s suspicions that he planned a double cross.
‘Judy Larrimore knows who he is.’
Elliot cut himself a slice of cheese, then pushed the cheese plate over to Vin.
‘How did she find out?’
‘She read a letter she found on her old man’s desk.’
‘Why hasn’t she told you who the buyer is?’
Vin felt a trickle of sweat run down his face.
‘She’ll tell me. I’ve got to soften her up a little.’
‘And how do you do that, Vin?’
Elliot’s probing eyes made Vin look away.
‘I’ll fix it... leave it to me.’
‘Sorry, Vin, you’re not convincing,’ Elliot said. ‘Let’s get this straight. We’ve just made a deal... remember? We four are now partners. You’re holding something back. I want to know what it is. I want to know more about this babe who, you tell me, eats out of your hand.’
Vin shifted in his chair.
‘She wants money, but I’ll pay her off... I’ll do that out of my share. For a grand she’ll give me the name of the buyer. That’s all there’s to it.’
‘Then why didn’t you say so before?’
‘It’s a deal I did with her. Why should I bother you with that for God’s sake?’