Sad Wind From the Sea - Jack Higgins [24]
He had omitted to pull down the blind on going to bed so that warm sunlight falling across his face awakened him at nine-thirty. Surprisingly, he felt quite refreshed although he had slept for barely four hours. He stood under a hot shower for fifteen minutes and soaked the stiffness out of his muscles and then dressed in an immaculate satin gabardine suit that some previous patron had carelessly left in the wardrobe after a visit. The suit was quite a good fit but the collar of the only reasonable shirt he could find was rather small. He omitted to fasten the top button and managed to hide the fact with an extra-large knot in the silk, hand-knitted tie that seemed to go with the suit.
He looked at himself in the mirror with a certain satisfaction and reflected that if he could lay his hands on that gold he could wear suits like this for the rest of his life. As he went downstairs he wondered if Rose would be impressed. He shook his head and decided that she was in his thoughts more often than she should be, crowding out important matters.
The house was quiet and still. He wasn't surprised, for, as a rule, even the staff seldom stirred before noon. He found some Chinese cleaning-women in the kitchen, who were extremely alarmed when he appeared, probably because they imagined he might report them to Clara for slacking. He soon established cordial relations after a few bawdy and bad jokes in Cantonese. Within a few minutes he was sitting down to a hastily improvised breakfast of grapefruit and an omelette.
There were several cars in the large garage at the rear of the building. He selected an old and rather battered station wagon, mainly because it looked inconspicuous, and drove down to the waterfront at a steady pace, trying to think of a plan of campaign for dealing with Charlie. He parked the station wagon in an alley at the side of the cafe and slipped in through a rear door.
The place was empty as far as customers were concerned and a large, lugubrious-looking negro was singing to himself as he swabbed the floor. When he saw Hagen he smiled, showing a row of perfect white teeth. 'Why, Mr Hagen, how's every little thing?'
Hagen grinned amiably. There was a bond between them of sorts, for the negro was an American. 'Hello there, Harry,' he said. 'Is Charlie about?'
Harry grinned. 'Now, Mr Hagen, you know he never shows his face before noon.'
Hagen nodded. 'I know, but I want to see him about something pretty important. I'll go on up.'
The negro shrugged and went back to his work and Hagen passed through a door at the rear of the cafe and mounted a flight of stairs. As he turned into a corridor that led into the private part of the building he saw a boy in a white drill jacket, carrying a covered tray. He stood at the door of Charlie's bedroom and the boy came towards him, a look of surprise on his face. Hagen looked at the tray. 'For Mr Beale?'
'Yes, sir. Mr Beale, he asked for breakfast in bed early this morning.'
Hagen took the tray from him. 'I'll take it in. Mr Beale and I have business to discuss.' The boy turned and walked daintily away down the corridor and Hagen knocked on the door and went in.
'Okay, son, put it by the bed.' Charlie had his head turned, as he arranged pillows into a back rest. When he saw Hagen he looked surprised and then grinned. 'Things must be in a bad way in the kitchen. When did the cook start you?'
Hagen poured coffee into a cup and handed it to him. 'Things aren't that bad yet.' He grinned and lit a cigarette. 'You know why I'm here, Charlie. What have you decided?'
Charlie handed him the coffee cup and started to cut into a hard-boiled egg. He took his time in replying. 'I've thought about it and the way I see it you don't stand a chance.' Hagen's heart sank but Charlie went on. 'On the other hand I'm a gambler. The money it would cost is no more than my tables take in an hour. I always liked long odds.'
'You mean you'll do it?'
Charlie nodded. 'That's what I said.'
Hagen sat on the bed, and a feeling of elation surged through him. 'Thanks, Charlie,' he said.