‘What are you scared of? What don’t you want me to find out?’
‘Seventy-five thousand!’ she said.
‘What’s happened to Dedrick? Did someone hit him too hard? Have you discovered your father’s at the back of this, and you want to buy his life? Or is it purely selfish motives and you don’t want the great American public to know you were taken for a ride by a reefer-smuggler?’
‘A hundred thousand!’ she said, through white lips.
‘Not a million!’ I said, getting to my feet. ‘So save your breath. I’m going ahead with this job, and I’m going to finish it. Good night!’
She stood up. There was a dangerous stillness about her that made me look quickly to see if she had a sandbag with her, but she hadn’t. In the mood she was in now I wouldn’t put it past her to shoot me.
‘Are you sure?’ she said.
‘I said, good night. You can’t expect always to get your own way. Run along, Mrs. Dedrick. You bore me.’
‘There’s another way of taking care of you,’ she said with a cold, set smile. ‘I’ll give you one more chance. Two hundred thousand.’
‘Get out!’ I said, and crossed the room to throw open the door.