"Will you stop this!" Felix said violently, "I'm warning you! If we try to double-cross Alsconi it'll be the last thing we do. Will you get that into your head?"

"So you think it's better to wait for Alsconi to double-cross you?" Lorelli said, her voice shrill. "You'll look a fool if Crantor takes over from you, won't you?"

"If Crantor comes here, I'll fix him before he gets near Alsconi," Felix said viciously.

"If Alsconi hasn't fixed you first!"

Felix stood up and kicked the chair out of his way. He went over to Lorelli, grabbed her by her arms and pulled her to her feet.

"I've never got tough with you yet," he snarled, "but I will if I have to, and believe me, when I get tough with a woman, it's too bad for her." He gave her a hard little shake. "Listen: there's no way out for either of us. We're in this thing too deep. Do you want me to tell Alsconi that you've lost your nerve and you want to quit? You know what he'll do with you? He'll hand you over to Englemann. If you don't pull yourself together, I'll wash my hands of you. I said I'd be responsible for you, but don't kid yourself I'm going to cover you up if you ask for trouble. I'm not sticking my neck out for anyone!"

Lorelli suddenly relaxed against him.

"All right, Felix," she said. "I'm sorry. My nerves are bad, but I'll be all right."

"You'd better be all right," he said and released her. "Now, look, you have nothing to worry about. I'll take care of you. Just do what I tell you. Do you understand?"

She nodded, not looking at him.

"Okay." He glanced at his watch. "I've got to see the old man now. I can rely on you to take that letter?"

"Yes," Lorelli said.

"Good girl," Felix said and patted her arm. "Be there at half-past two."

When he had gone Lorelli moved slowly to the dressing table and sat down. She was shocked to see how pale she was.

She picked up her rouge pad and heightened her colour. Then she lit a cigarette.

She felt trapped. She told herself she would never have mixed herself up with Alsconi if she had known he was going to start a worldwide and murderous racket like this. How could she possibly have known?

When she had first met Alsconi, five years ago, he had been an impoverished violinist in a cafe band in Rome. She had been a professional dancer at the cafe. She had regarded Alsconi as had the other members of the cafe staff as an egocentric crackpot, not to be taken seriously.

At that time, Alsconi was always bragging about his ancestors of Siena, hinting darkly that it wouldn't be long before he was back as head of the historical and notorious Vaga family, with unlimited wealth. When he wasn't playing the violin in the cafe band, he would roam the cafe tables, looking for someone who would listen to his monotonous story of how the Vagas had been exiled from Siena and how they had sworn to return.

Then one day he cornered Lorelli and put a proposition to her. Why didn't she go into partnership with himself and Johnny La.s.siter, a young American who washed dishes at the cafe? There was big money to be made playing the badger game. He had already spoken to Johnny who was willing if Lorelli came in with them. He (Alsconi) knew a number of wealthy men who would be easy prey. He would introduce Lorelli to them. Her job would be to get them into a compromising situation, then Johnny would appear as the outraged husband and the sucker would pay up to avoid a scandal.

At that time Lorelli was desperate for want of money. She was sick of being a professional dancer. She discussed the proposition with Johnny, and after some hesitation, had agreed to give Alsconi's idea a trial.

Over a period of sixteen months the three of them had made a considerable sum of money. Alsconi had insisted that he should take two-thirds of the proceeds as his introductions were not only profitable and safe, but they were also free from police prosecution. Lorelli and Johnny split the remaining third between them.

But it wasn't long before Johnny began to hanker for a bigger rake off. Why should they turn over two-thirds of the proceeds to Alsconi, he argued to Lorelli, when they did all the dirty work and took all the risks? Why not drop Alsconi and handle the set-up themselves ? By then Lorelli had a vague suspicion that Alsconi was not only cracked, but also dangerous, and she hesitated. While she was hesitating, Johnny suddenly disappeared, and a few days later, his murdered body was found by the police floating in the Tiber.

Alsconi had shrugged at the news. Obviously, Johnny had made an enemy, he had said, smiling. He was a reckless, foolish fellow. What could he expect? He told her to look out for a new partner: someone more reliable than Johnny.

She had found Felix and had introduced him to Alsconi who had been impressed by Felix's record. By then the badger game was small beer to Alsconi, although Lorelli didn't know it. With the money he had saved from playing his violin in the cafe band and from the proceeds of the badger game, he was ready to begin his extortion racket and his threat of "pay up or die" was producing quick and big dividends. He made Felix his second in command and let Lorelli into the racket. She enjoyed working with Felix. Money rolled in far quicker than it had when playing the badger game. The first dozen or so victims paid up without a fuss, then Alsconi raised his demands and he met with resistance. The first murder came as a shock to Lorelli, but by then life was too easy to think of backing out. She was in love with Felix and she was making money.

As the months went by and more murders followed and the police seemed helpless to stop Alsconi, Lorelli ceased to be shocked. She a.s.sured herself she had killed no one, so why should she worry? But Gina's death had shaken her badly and now Micklem had traced her to Siena, she felt panic-stricken. She had been mad, she told herself, to have had anything to do with either Ferenci's or Gina's deaths. She must get away before the police moved in. If Felix hadn't the sense to get out, then she would go without him.

As she sat staring at herself in the mirror, a solution to her problem dropped into her mind. If she was to get away from the organization she must have a large sum of money and a safe hiding place. Micklem had the money. It was possible she might do a deal with him.

She sat for a long moment thinking, then she got up and went to the clothes closet. She took from it a lightweight beige coat and slipped into it. She put on a close-fitting black hat. Returning to the dressing table she pulled open a drawer and took from it a .25 automatic which she slipped into her coat pocket. Picking up the letter, she left the room and walked quickly down the corridor to the lift.

As Marian paid off the taxi that had brought her from the station, Harry came out on to the veranda and shot down the steps to take her overnight case.

"We've been trying to get you, miss," he said. "I reckon we've telephoned every hotel in Florence."

Marian looked sharply at him: his pale, worried face sent a little stab of alarm through her.

"Has something happened, Harry?"

Cherry came out on to the veranda. There was a fussed, anxious expression on his usually placid pink face.

"Mr Micklem is missing," Harry said.

They joined Cherry on the veranda and Marian led the way into the lounge.

"How long has he been missing?" she asked, making an effort to sound calm.

"Perhaps you would like a cup of coffee, madam?" Cherry said from force of habit.

Marian didn't even hear him, she was looking at Harry.

"Since last night," Harry said, and went on to tell Marian how Cherry and he had followed Carlos and had lost him when he had driven away in his car. "The road was straight and we could see his headlights. He appeared to turn off the main road into what I thought could be a drive to a house. I reported to Mr Micklem, and he and I went out there. We found a road where this n.i.g.g.e.r had turned off. Some way up the road was a big house, surrounded by a high wall. Well, you know what Mr Micklem is. He wanted to have a close look at the house. He got into the garden, leaving me on the wall. I waited for about half an hour, then I heard dogs barking. I expected Mr Micklem to come, but he didn't. After a while I saw lights in the garden, and I thought I'd better see what was happening. I was very nearly nabbed by one of the dogs. I legged it back to the car and drove back to the villa and woke up Cherry. We decided to wait and see if Mr Micklem turned up. After a couple of hours I thought I'd better go for help."

"You don't know for certain he was caught?" Marian asked.

"One of the dogs very nearly had me," Harry said grimly. "There were three others. I don't think he could have got away. If he did, why isn't he here?"

She nodded.

"What did you do then?"

"I left Cherry here in case Mr Micklem returned and I went to the police." Harry's face darkened. "Believe it or not, not one of those perishers could speak a word of English. You'd have thought one or two of them would have been educated, wouldn't you, miss? I got nowhere with them. I very nearly got slung into jail. I went back to the villa and put a call through to Superintendent d.i.c.ks. When I finally got him, he was pretty quick to take action. He got into touch with the bloke in charge of the Tortoise case in Rome and this bloke flew up right away and Cherry and I went down to the police station and gave him the story. When I described the negro and the house, the local police nearly went mad. They said the negro was a well-known character in the city and was completely harmless. He was the personal servant of the owner of the house, a bloke named Simon Alsconi who was a rich and respected member of the community. They said it was ridiculous to suspect him. Anyway, Rossi made me give him the full story, I could see he didn't think much of it. I must say it did sound a bit thin when he started to it pick to pieces. I couldn't prove the n.i.g.g.e.r had anything to do with the Tortoise organization. I told him how Mr Micklem had seen Lorelli, but of course I couldn't prove she had anything to do with the n.i.g.g.e.r nor had we seen her near the house. But the fact they couldn't talk me out of was that Mr Micklem had got into the garden and had vanished. Rossi said Mr Micklem had no right to be in the garden and Alsconi could charge him with unlawful entry. He said we had no proof that he was in the house. Finally, he went out to the house. He wouldn't let either Cherry or me go and we had to wait at the police station. They came back after a while. Rossi said the house had been thoroughly searched and Mr Micklem wasn't there. He then had the nerve to suggest Mr Micklem might be suffering from amnesia and he might be wandering about the countryside. He then went back to Rome, leaving the local police to look for Mr Micklem. They don't seem to be looking very hard, and that's as far as We've got at the moment."

"If Don has been kidnapped," Marian said, "the kidnappers would have had plenty of time to take him somewhere far from this house, wouldn't they?"

"Yes, but I don't think they did. I think he's still in the house," Harry said.

"But if the police searched it..."

"You want to see the place. It's just the kind of joint that would have underground pa.s.sages, secret panels and hidden rooms. It's my bet he's there."

Marian looked across at Cherry.

"What do you think, Cherry?"

"I don't know what to say, madam," Cherry said miserably. "I should have thought they wouldn't have kept him in the house."

"You haven't seen the place either," Hairy put in. "Wherever he is, we've got to find him and we've got to start looking somewhere."

"Yes," Marian said. "What are you thinking of doing?"

"Well, miss, this is a job we can't tackle alone. We've got to have help. If the police won't play, we'll have to look elsewhere. Let's get hold of Giuseppe. He's the boy who can help us. We'll ask him to collect a bunch of his gondolier pals to come here. We could then bust into the house and if Mr Micklem is there, we'd find him."

"But, Harry, you don't know for certain he is there. You can't break in on the off chance. You'll only be arrested and that won't help Don," Marian said. "I'm sure that's not the way to handle it. The Tortoise is an extortioner. He won't pa.s.s up the chance of getting money out of Don. I think it is more likely we'll get a ransom note before long. I think we should wait until the ransom note arrives and then take action. I agree we must have help. I'll see if I can get Giuseppe. He may be at the palazza now."

"Well, all right," Harry said, reluctantly. "I don't like sitting here doing nothing. I'm pretty sure if we had a bunch of Giuseppe's pals we could bust in and find Mr Micklem."

"We'll get Giuseppe first," Marian said, and crossing to the telephone she put a call through to Don's palazza in Venice.

Giuseppe Spinolo was Don's gondolier, and while Don was not in residence, Giuseppe also acted as caretaker to the small palazza Don owned on the Grand Ca.n.a.l. Marian was lucky to contact him and she told him briefly what had happened.

"Harry wants you here," she went on. "If you can bring some of your friends..."

"I will come at once," Giuseppe said, "and I will bring my friends. Do not worry, we will find il signore. We will be with you some time tonight."

"He's coming," Marian said as she hung up. "Now, Harry, I would like to see this house. Let's get the car out and explore. We'll want to know what the roads and the country are like before Giuseppe comes..." she broke off as Harry suddenly jumped to his feet.

Seeing he was staring past her, she looked quickly over her shoulder.

Standing in the doorway, a .25 automatic in her hand, was Lorelli.

The mid-afternoon sun blazed down into the garden of the Trioni villa and Willie, sitting with his back to a tree where he had a good view of the villa, struggled to keep awake.

He had seen Marian arrive, and he had been told that within an hour Lorelli would be coming to the villa to deliver the first instructions concerning Micklem's ransom.

Felix had said to him: "Your job is to cover Lorelli. Keep out of sight, but be ready to move in if they try any tricks. Use your gun if you have to."

Willie took out a dirty handkerchief and wiped his sweating face. He would have given a lot to be able to shut his eyes and have a refreshing sleep, but he knew that was more than he dared do. He looked at his strap watch. She should be here any moment now. He pulled a .38 automatic from his hip pocket and checked the clip. He balanced the gun in his hand while he looked at the villa, wishing he was in there and out of the burning sun. It seemed to Willie that he had spent all his life wishing for something. His main pa.s.sions in life were women and high-power cars. Women shunned his pockmarked face and stunted body and he never seemed able to earn enough money to buy the car he wanted.

At the age of fourteen he had started life as a porter to a small disreputable hotel in Genoa. His feeble attempts to make money by stealing from the hotel's clients had eventually landed him in jail. He had spent most of his forty years in and out of prison, and it was only when Alsconi had taken him into his organization that his prison sentences ceased.

Although he was now reasonably well paid, he still could not indulge himself in the car he wanted, and women were still out of his reach. He hankered for more money. No matter how ugly a man was, he argued, women would favour him if he had money: not the kind of money he earned, but big money, and he ached to have it. If there was one thing he ached for more than anything else it was Lorelli. She bewitched him. He knew she was Felix's woman and that it would be disastrous for him if Felix knew what was in his mind. He knew too Lorelli wouldn't look at him. His face, his physique and his lack of money presented far more formidable barriers than Felix's fists. Up to now he had accepted the position, but he never gave up hoping. He dreamed of Lorelli and hoped. Without his dreams or his hopes life wouldn't be worth living. For forty years he had lived on dreams. Sooner or later, he kept a.s.suring himself, his dreams must turn to reality.

He was brooding about Lorelli when, looking up, he saw her.

She was making her way towards the villa through the shrubs and trees. He caught sight of her just in time. He had been told by Felix not to show himself, and he flattened out into the long gra.s.s, lying motionless as Lorelli pa.s.sed within twenty feet of him.

He raised his head to watch her, and he admired the way she slipped from shrub to tree and from tree to shrub, moving silently and swiftly.

He got to his feet and went after her. He saw her run across the open s.p.a.ce between the villa and the garden, mount the steps to the veranda and pause outside the front door.

He waited behind a tree, watching her. He saw her turn the handle of the door and open it. She looked back, but Willie, who was an expert in such matters, had antic.i.p.ated such a move and had quickly withdrawn behind the tree. When he peered around the tree again, she had disappeared from his sight.

Holding the .38 in his hand, he moved towards the villa, darted up the steps and to the front door. She had left it ajar, and he leaned against the wall by the door and listened.

He heard Marian say: "We'll want to know what the roads and the country are like before Giuseppe comes..."

Then Lorelli's voice said, "Don't move - any of you!"

Willie nodded his head approvingly at the tone of her voice. She had got just the right snap in it. He could imagine her with the .25 in her hand, her green eyes glittering. It was going to be a dead easy job for him. She could handle this: he wouldn't be called on to help.

The snap in Lorelli's voice checked Harry's move forward. He looked at her hard white face, at the gun and then back to her again and decided the distance between them was too great.

"Sit down!" Lorelli said, and lifted the gun so that it pointed at Harry's eyes.

Harry sat down.

Lorelli moved into the room. She decided only Harry was dangerous. Marian she dismissed instantly, and after a quick look at Cherry who sat on the edge of his chair, his fat face startled and his eyes popping, she dismissed him too. She kept well away from the three of them and leaned her back against the wall.

"Micklem is well and safe," she said, speaking rapidly. "He is no longer in Siena so it is useless to try to find him. He has written a letter to his New York bank and you are to deliver it at once." She looked towards Marian. "If there is any query by the bank about the amount, you are to tell them Micklem is going to buy a villa in Italy."

Without taking her eyes off Harry, she opened her handbag, took out the letter and tossed it across the room where it fell at Marian's feet.

Harry said in a cold, hard voice, "You don't kid me. I know Mr Micklem is in that house, and if your gang hurts him you and they will be d.a.m.ned sorry."

Willie, who had moved silently into the hall, grinned. He propped himself up against the wall, his gun hanging slackly in his hand while he listened.

Marian picked up the letter. She slit it open and read the contents. She recognized Don's firm handwriting. The letter contained instructions for selling certain stocks to the value of five hundred thousand dollars which were to be immediately transferred to the Banca de Roma. There was no message for her which she hoped to find.

She said quietly, "And when the money is paid into the bank what happens then?"

"Micklem will write a cheque," Lorelli said. "You will cash it. When the money is handed to us, he will be released."

"What guarantee have I that he will be released?"

Lorelli shrugged.

"That's nothing to do with me. I am telling you what I have been told to tell you. You are to leave for New York immediately."

Marian looked over at Harry, then she shrugged. The transfer of such a sum of money would take several days. There was time to work out what the next move should be.

"Very well," she said. "I will follow out the instructions."

"If you contact the police about this," Lorelli went on, "Micklem will suffer. Neither you nor the police will ever find him. If you try any tricks, you will never see him again."

Pretty nice, Willie thought. I couldn't have handled it better myself. He made to move back to the front door to be out of the way when Lorelli came out, when her next words brought him to an abrupt stop.

"That is what I have been told to tell you," she said, looking at Marian, "but it is a lie. Micklem will not be released. He is worth two million pounds. They intend to get all of it, and when they have got it, they will murder him."

Marian's face paled. As Harry made to get to his feet, she put a restraining hand on his arm.

"Why are you telling us this?" she asked.

"Because I intend to break away from the organization," Lorelli said. "I can't break away without money. I want to do a deal with you. I know where he is. I can get him out. I'll take half what they're asking - two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. You're getting a bargain. If you deal with them, you will go on paying until there is no more left. If you deal with me, you'll get Micklem back."

"So you're ratting on your pals," Harry said angrily. He turned to Marian. "Don't trust her, miss."